IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


A 


/ 


4ls 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


^1^  1^ 
:;  li  1112.0 


1.4 


1.6 


Wo 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STRUT 

WIBSTIR.N.Y.  M5S0 

(71«)  «73-4503 


rv 


^ 


'  ■€. 


V 


at- 


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^*- 


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8 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICIViH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Historical  Microreproductlon.  /  Instltut  canadien  de  microreproductlons  historlques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notss  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  !e  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'!l  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Ljs  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Stre  uniques  du 
point  de  vte  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mdthode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


D 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 


D 


Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommag^e 


(T/j    Pages  damaged/ 
j^i    Pages  endommag^es 


D 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pe!licul6e 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


M 


Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  ddcolordes,  tachetdes  ou  piqudes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtach^es 


D 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  cu  ncire) 


D 


Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


D 


Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


D 


Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Qualitd  in^gale  de  I'impression 


D 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli^  avec  d'autres  documents 


D 


Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  &upplemontaire 


[TTT    Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
Jr\\    along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieuce 


D 


Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pcrges  blanches  ajout^es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparai&sent  dans  Is  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6X6  film^es. 


D 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


V    an 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 

ips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  ,jartiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuilint  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  6  nouveau  de  fapon  6 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


D 


Additional  comments./ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires; 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film^  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqud  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

G 

Z 

12X 


1§X 


20X 


28X 


32X 


/ 


ler 


le 


1 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  p/inted  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  Imprea- 
sion.  or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  T;iose  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  ia 
gen6ro8it6  de: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

Las  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  roprcduitas  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettet6  de  l'exemplaire  filmd,  at  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  film6s  en  commanpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commengant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminart  par 
la  derniira  page  qui  comporte  une  teile 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  —^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE ',  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Stre 
filmis  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  filmd  d  partir 
da  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
at  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'imagas  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammed  suivants 
{llustrent  la  m«thode. 


jre. 


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:••  WW  .\MM  I'I'iN  oF  TI!K  v'vi.\>;irrrH'N  ; 

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t  r-    '■  u ::  K  i'.  V I  >  L  i;  m  ••,  y. 
vol-    I. 


tM'.'il     F.niTON,    UCVlStn     AND    iNLA'^OeO 

llliv  \l)Kl.i'f(TA  : 

K  T>  W  A  n  !)      Y  Ol'  N(J      .<c      ^:<> 

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A    HISTORY 


/  ^' 


/ 


or 


FROM 


1608  TO  1860: 

EXHIBITISa 

THE  ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH  CF  THE  PRINCIPAL  MECHANIC  ARTS  AND 

MANUFACTURES,  FROM  THE  EARLIEST  COLONIAL  PERIOD 

TO  THE  ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTiTUTION  ; 

AND    COMPRISING 

ANNALS  OP  THE  INDUSTRY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  MACfalNKRY, 
MANUFACTURES  AND  USEFUL  ARTS, 

Wlin   A   NOTICE  OF 

f|jc|nipitintlni)cuttflnsJ;mfrs,attM|eicsultsofc:ul]gctennial(Ji;tns«!5. 

By  jV'lEANDER  BISHOP,  A.M.,  M.D. 


WITH    AN    APPENDIX,    CONTAINING 

«iTATISTirS  OF  THK   PIUNCIPAL   MANUFACTURINO   CKNTRKS,   AND   UKSCRIPTI0N3 
STATISTICS  OF  JJ^J;^ Jj^';,,';^  jUNUFACTOlUIiS  At  THE  PKtSKNT  TIMK. 

IN    THREE  VOLUMES. 
VOL.    I. 

THIRD    EDITION,    REVISED    AND    ENLARGED. 
PHILADELVHIA  : 

EDWARD      YOUNG      &      CO., 

Ko.    144    SOUTH     SIXTH     Sl'KEET. 
LONDON: 

SAMSON  LOW,  SON  &  CO.,  47  LUDOATE  HILL. 


3 


f 


Entered  accorcliug  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 

EDWIN  T.  FREEDLEY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  tlie  United  States,  in  and  for 

the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


COLLINS,   PRINTKB,  706  JAVNB    BXnEKT, 


:i68,  by 

tates,  in  and  for 


EDWIN  T.  FREEDLEY,  ESQ., 


AT   WHOSE  INSTANCL  THIS   WORK   WAS  UNDERTAKEX, 


S*    WHOSK  JUDICIOUS  COUNSEL  AND   KIND   ENCOURAGEMENT  IT  HAS 
BEEN   CARRIED  ON, 


THESE  PAGES   ARE   INSCRIBED, 


A3   A   GRATEFUL  EXPRESSION    OF  THE   RESPWft 


LONG  CHERISHED   FRIENDSHIP 


THE    AUTHOR. 


r 


I 


PREFACE. 


ercss  in  productive  industry,  ana  m  product  of 

p.,a»  value  .1  me  than  .e.  h  ^^^_^_^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  _^,__._^__^  ^^  ^^„^^ 

cap,..l  .mpl.je.l  ■    ^-.  «  ;»  ,^„„„„,,  ,„  „„,.  „,„  lUa„  .toco- 

rr:r;cr.r^"»   t    «...er  .,»ehe,.  a,,-...  »,>  C.»™eKC, 

progress  m,gh.  be  «•«'»*«     ^„^,^,  .„,  p„,i„,.,  «it..[.us,  of  pul.lie 
te,  .»a  appetences,  »f*« ;°''"';7  "'  '     n,      „.ali.e  indaa.r,  of 

economy  and  of  '^''''^^:;Z:^:::>^,  I  p.M.0  and  ..eia. 

"'""''"''°";' fj  :l  been  modiSed  b,  eaeh  and  all  of  U.e.e.    I«  h»- 
Governments,  and  has  m  luru  „  „o.,rlv  all  the  great  questions 

.or,  fnrnisbe.  lessons  «' ;»'7;'»  f™!;!;    LI  iLlsUbe  »er. 
ofHed.,,lnlerestn,8.1.ketotheles*tor,tn    p  „,„^ 

ebant.  the  „annfae.«rer,  and  .he  '>'''•»'''"'     '^  J  '"'lei  our  present 
seemed  to  Justif,  a.  attompt .»  tn.ee  the  »  J  ^  7^;,7,;„,  „..L  or 

position  baa  been  -'7^-°; -„;::'    r   ^  t,e  present  l.s.anee, 

promoted  that  projre    •    f^"  "J     ,^       ^„„,  i„.  „„ked  .be  gro^.b 

been  conBaed  obieJj  to  a  roeora  m  ..c.,tained  relations  to 

.,  onr  Ma.nfae.ures  and  tbeir  "^  7]".' ^f  ^i.ns  in  lepsl- 

..n,e.,lea,in,tb.dlse«,s»nof.b,.r.^^nn'P^^^^^^ 

tion,  in  moral,  poUlieal,.oe,al,  legal,  pbysieal  or  ^^^  ,       ^^ 

oonneet  tbemselve,  tberewilb,  to  abler  bands,    1  he  more  ^^^ 


1 


3 


PREFACE. 


collecting  a  body  of  facts  upon  the  subject,  has  appeared  to  me  the  less  presump- 
tuous inasmuch  as  the  ground  had  not  been  previously  occupied  to  any  great 
extent.    We  have  the  valuable  statistical  works  of  Fitkins,  Seybert,  and  some 
others,  on  the  early  commerce  and  resources  of  the  United  States,  and  a  few 
Bpccialities  upon  particular  branches  of  the  practical  arts,  as  those  of  Thomas, 
ou  Printing,  and  of  White  (Memoirs  of  Slater   on  the  Origin  of  the  Cotton 
Manufacture.    The  Federal  Government  since  1810,  has  decennially  collected 
the  statistics  of  Manufactures,  though  very  imperfectly ;  and  several  of  the  local 
Ix-gislatures  publish,  at  stated  intervals,  returns  of  the  industry  of  their  States, 
while  much  useful  information  is  now  constantly  furnished  by  the  periodical 
press,  through  the  organs  of  special  branches  of  trade  and  manufactures,  of 
scientific  and  mechanical  associations,  or  publications  devoted  wholly  or  in 
part  to  the  discussion  of  industrial  topics ;  but  no  work  has  yet  appeared  in 
which  the  progressive  increase  of  our  national  Manufactures,  has  been  consecu- 
tively presented  in  one  entire  view.    Believing  that  it  would  prove  serviceable 
to  a  large  number  of  intelligent  manufacturers,  and  others  interested  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  industry  and  resources  of  the  country,  I  have  spent  much 
time,  and  unremitted,  and  nearly  unaided  labor,  in  collecting  and  arranging, 
with  a  simple  aim  at  usefulness,  the  materials  for  such  a  history.    The  hope  of 
securinfT  the  co-operation  of  many  who  have  it  in  their  power  to  aid  in  the  fur- 
ther pi    .ecution  of  the  work,  by  furnishing  corrections,  suggestions,  and  con- 
tributions of  facts,  has  induced  an  assent  to  the  request  of  the  publishers, 
to  issue  a  portion  of  it  in  advance  of  the  completion  of  the  whole  work. 

In  the  volume  which  is  here  offered,  I  have  traced  more  circumstantially 
than  was  at  first  intended,  the  origin  and  early  condition  of  several  branches  of 
Manufactures  which  have  since  becone  irapcrtant,  or  seem  likely,  at  no  distant 
time,  to  be  engrafted  upon  the  staple  industries  of  the  country.    I  have  en- 
deavored to  follow  the  history  of  each  as  an  art,  from  its  first  introduction,  as 
nearly  a?  could  be  ascertained,  in  each  of  the  colonies,  through  the  transitional 
period  of  our  history,  to  the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitution,  when  we  may 
be  said  to  have  first  had  a  national  existence.    The  space  thus  occupied  may, 
to  some,  appear  disproportioned  to  the  importance  of  the  subject,  inasmuch  as 
our  domestic  manufactures  were  yet  quite  in  their  infancy.    It  was  indeed,  in 
all  but  its  latent  physical  and  moral  resources,  a  day  of  small  things  with  this 
nation.    Though  emancipated  from  foreign  political  domination,  the  people 
seemed  yet  chained  in  complete  dependence  upon  the  workshops  of  Europe, 
—from  which,  notwithstanding   our  marvelous   progress,  they  are  not  en- 
tirely liberated.    But  the  foundations  of  a  bioad  and  varied  industry  had  been 
already  laid  in  the  patient  toil,  indomitable  energy,  and  prudent  foresight  of  an 


,8  presnmp- 
I  any  great 
,,  and  some 
and  a  few 
of  Thomas, 
the  Cotton 
ly  collected 
of  the  local 
,heir  States, 
B  periodical 
factures,  of 
vholiy  or  ia 
appeared  in 
Ben  consecu- 
:  serviceable 
d  in  the  de- 
spent  much 
u  arrsuiging, 
The  hope  of 
id  in  the  fur- 
ns,  and  con- 
e  publishers, 
ork. 

eumstantially 
I  branches  of 
at  no  distant 

I  have  en- 
troduction,  as 
le  transitional 
when  we  may 
)ccupied  may, 
,  inasmuch  as 
was  indeed,  in 
ings  with  this 
n,  the  people 
pg  of  Europe, 

are  not  en- 
istry  had  been 
bresight  of  aa 


PREFACE. 

ancestry,  gathered  from  the  skillful  ranks  of  all  nations.    Far  back  in  the  colo- 
TZl  where  the  germs  of  American  liberty  and  independence  were  im- 
;;l:    we  e      vl:  tl.  seeds  of  those  frugal  and  industrious  habits,  that 
£;:3^'i„  adapting  means  to  ends,  and  in  m.Ung  the  peculiar  con   ngen.es  ^ 
their  lot.  that  still  characterise  the  majority  of  American  people.    1  ^^^^^^.l^on 
ts  planted  most  of  the  mechanic  arts,  and  the  roots  of  a  vigorous  c.a.^^  o^^^^^^^ 
our  s  il  while  their  children  carried  shoots  from  the  same  hardy  stem    ut    the 
III  'elin.  wilderness.    The  revolutionary  fathers,  asserting  the  r.ght  to  ab  r 
:   en    y  the  fruits  of  their  toil  as  free-born  men.  defended  the  tree  o    1  ,erty 
hough  he  storm  and  tempest  of  war.    The  prohibition  of  the.  manufactu 
e    ri  tions  upon  their  trade,  and  taxation  of  their  industry,  were  serious  c  nnts 
he  Mil  0    indictment  against  the  mother  country.    The  blow  hey  stru  k 
r  ecinal  rights,  was  not  in  defense  of  a  mere  theory  or  abstrac    pnnople^ 
B  t  w  i le  their  :acompromising  assertion  of  the  rights  of  the  subjec    taugh 
TsLdness  of  political  freedom,  the  example  of  their  earnest  and  laboring 

lives,  also  taught  that— 

"  Tlins  at  the  darning  forge  of  life 
Our  fortunes  must  be  wrought ; 
Thus  on  the  burning  anvil  nhaiied 

Each  burning  deed  and  thought."     .  i 

They  bequeathed  us  an  enfranchised  industry  and  respect  for  property,  with- 
oulwhich  he  useful  arts  can  never  flourish.    And  now  the  nauon  has  be  . 
ong  s  in  grateful  complacency  beneath  the  vine  and  fig-tree  o    this  early 

plant  ngl  ^eLse.  and  historians  and  antiquarians,  with  affectionate  zeal,  ar 
^r     1    A..i  of  the  remote  past,  and  are  questioning  every  traditional  source 
t:S^^^^:^o  Z  p.sonal  history,  thoughts  and  deeds  of  those 
w  0    nanyway.contributedtobuildupthefairfabricofourn^^^^^^^^^ 
Id    Lrt  es     It  cannot  therefore  be  deemed  unworthy  of  the  subject,  to   n- 
TuL  as  to  what  were  their  everyday  pursuits,  how  they  lived  an    supported 
I      fl  1  es,  and  shaped  the  character  or  directed  the  channels  of  American 
IZr  Iswell  as  to  know  their  Uneage  and  connections,  for  whom  they  voted  and 
htwty  fought.    Unfortunately,  history  has  been  too  little  cognizant  of  any- 
thTng  bit  the  public  acts  or  words  of  the  world's  benefactors ;  while  often  the 
Wr   Ltructive  examples  of  their  struggles  and  triumphs,  the  heroism  o    the. 
ZZ    fe.  is  consigned  to  a  narrower  influence.    It  has  been  justly  said  th 
.tie  wo  Id  might  -.11  afford  to  lose  all  record  of  a  hundred  ancien  battles 
.it  s!if  it  could  thereby  gain  the  knowledge  of  one  lost  art;  and  even   he 
p^amids  bequeathed  to  us  by  ancient  Egypt  in  her  glory,  would  b    wel    cx^ 
I"  d  for  a  few  of  her  humble  workshops  and  manufactones  as  they  stood 


10 


PREFACE. 


in  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs.  Of  the  true  history  of  mankind,  only  a  few  chap- 
ters  have  yet  been  written ;  and  now,  when  the  dettcicucies  of  that  we  have  are 
beginning  to  be  reali^.od,  wp  find  the  materials  for  supplying  them  have  in  f^ood 
part  perished  in  the  lapse  of  time,  or  been  trampled  recklessly  beneath  the 
hoofs  of  the  war-horne."  Our  histories,  though  in  ail  other  respects  full  and 
complete,  contain  very  meagre  and  unsatisfactory  accounts  of  the  daily  life  and 
employments  of  the  people,  their  modes  of  cultivation,  their  arts  and  systems 
of  economy. 

In  endeavoring  to  rescue  from  oblivion  the  facts  in  relation  to  our  early  in- 
dustry, recourse  has  been  had,  as  much  as  possible,  to  original  or  cotonipo- 
raneous  records,  and  such  later  ones  as  appeared  deserving  of  confidence.  All 
the  general  histories  of  the  country  and  those  of  particular  States,  as  well  as 
many  town  histories,  State  papers,  volumes  of  laws,  minutes  of  assemblies  and 
councils,  early  periodicals,  the  publications  of  the  various  historical  societies. 
and  many  English  works,  have  been  diligently  sifted  and  collated.  It  would 
be  tedious  to  particularize  all  the  sources  of  information  from  which  we  have 
drawn:  sufTicc  it  to  say,  th'xt  no  accessible  field  which  promised  anythuig  has 
been  left  ungleaned.  Credit  has  been  generally  given,  although  ii  has  been 
found  impossible  to  assign  authority  for  every  separate  statement  where  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  facts  is  given. 

With  a  view  to  convenience,  the  matter  in  this  volume  has  been  topically  a  - 
ranged ;  thus  grouping  together  such  facts  as  could  be  gatiiered  with  regard 
to  the  history  of  er.ch  art  in  the  several  original  States.  The  local  details 
which  might  otherwise  seom  inadmissible,  thus  fall  into  their  pi  oper  relations, 
and  it  is  hoped  may  prove  interesting,  at  least  to  many  who  are  still  pursuing 
in  their  original  seats,  the  same  forms  of  industry  that  were  introduced  several 
generations  back.  Tin's  method  while  't  may  have  practical  advantages  by 
presenting  p.  topic  in  its  completeness,  has  involved,  I  am  aware,  some  repeti- 
tion in  regard  to  governmental  policy  and  other  extraneous  circumstances.  In 
regard  to  dates,  wliich  1  have  endeavored  to  ascertain  and  give,  in  place  of 
vague  generol  statemeuts,  much  care  has  been  used,  and  it  is  hoped  tiiey  may 
generally  bo  found  correct.  But,  at  this  distance  of  time,  and  with  so  many 
BourceB  of  error,  it  is  impossible  to  vouch  for  entira  occuracy  in  all  cases. 
Notices  of  particular  enterprises  will  in  a  few  instances,  as  in  that  of  Iron,  be 
found  to  e.\tend  beyond  the  date  (1790;  which  was  intended  as  the  limit  of  this 
volume.  I  have  not  pursued  a  strict  luctiiod  in  that  respect,  when  un  in- 
creased activity  in  any  branch  generally,  Oi'  in  j  irticular  regions,  warranted  r»>. 
ferences  which  could  not  be  made  hereafter. 

It  was  intended,  had  spiue  allowed,  to  have  noticed  several  branches  o' 


nv 


ind,  only  a  few  chap- 
s  of  that  we  have  are 
ig  them  have  in  f;,oort 
jcklessly  beneath  the 
her  respects  full  and 
is  of  the  daily  life  and 
heir  arts  and  systcma 

ition  to  our  early  in- 
original  or  cotempo- 
Ig  of  confidence.  All 
ular  States,  as  well  as 
ites  of  assemblies  and 
18  historical  societies, 
id  collated.  It  would 
n  from  which  we  have 
iromise(?  anythuig  has 
although  it  has  been 
statement  where  a  mul- 

3  has  been  topically  n  - 
3  gathered  with  regard 
es.    The  local  details 
their  pi  opcr  relations, 
1  who  are  still  pursuing 
(\-cre  introduced  .several 
•uctical  advantages  by 
am  aware,  some  repeti- 
ous  circumstances.    In 
1  and  give,  in  place  of 
nd  it  i£  hoped  they  may 
time,  and  with  so  many 
I  accuracy  in  all  cases. 
s,  as  in  that  of  Iron,  bo 
ided  as  the  limit  of  this 
it  respect,  when  an  in- 
ir  regions,  warranted  rp- 


rnEFACE. 


11 


colonial  industry,  which  were  relatively  more  important  ^^^^^^^J^^J'^^ 
be  n  noticed.    Of  th-s  class,  were  manufactures  of  Pot  and  Pearl  Ashes,  Tar^ 
r^h  Turpentine,  and  other  naval  stores.  Distilling,  and  some  others,  whib 
^?e  profitable  occupations,  while  Vine-growing,  and  a  few  more,  were  qui, 
:;::L    The  former,  however,  are  less  strictly  --^---^  -;;-;: 
those  treated  of,  and  have  now-from  the  disappearance  ..  much  of  our  forest 
es  d  to  be  of  national  importance,  while  wine-making,  if  still  an  ineonsider- 
b    branch,  will,  it  is  confidently  believed,  one  day  become    ighly  important^ 
With  the  e  explanations,  this  volume  is  offered  to  the  ca-^^^^'^^^ 
of  the  public,  in  the  hope  that,  whatever  its  imp.rreetions,  it  will  be  fo  nd  to 
0    ain  alarger  collection  of  facts  than  is  elsewhere  to  be  obtame    pertam.ng 
trearly  manufactures  of  this  country.    The  .nthor  claims  only  the  men 
pls-taLg  diligence,  and  a  conscientious  ^^-e  -  render  it  useM 
r-.Uable  by  presenting  a  true  and  impartial  statement  of  those  facts     Fo   the 
raining  portion  of  the  work,  which  will  probably  require  another  velum 

rger  thin  the  present,  the  sources  of  information  are  not  only  more  ample 
1'  :  Itifarious  but  also  more  suictly  authentic  and  ..elia,,le.    The  ma Uer 
being  more  fresh  and  recent,  will  be  found  to  possess  a  -'^h  larger  degree  o 
•      rest  to  most  readers,  as  a  considerable  portion  of  the  events  to  be  record  ^ 
a     transpired  within  the  recollection  of  living  men.    Much  valuable  mater.  1 
ha^b  en  collected,  and  an  earnest  appeal  is  made  to  all  interested  m  the  3ub^ 
1  to  communicate  interesting  facts  in  th.ir  possession,  that  nothing  may  be 
itulg  for  a  presentation  of  the  essentials  of  our  recent  marvelous  progress. 
Th etm^ary  Lch  it  is  designed  to  furnish,  of  the  Ce.us  -t..- »    "lanu 
factures  in  each  decennium  since  they  first  began  to  be  eoUected.  will,  .t  > 
bl  be  a  valuable  feature  of  the  work.    The  occasions  and  dates  of  th 

„  todu^^^^^^^^  of  now  branches  of  manufacture,  the  establishment  of  new  centres  of 
indust  h.^^^^^^  our  rapidly  expanding  territory,  the  evidence  >  of  1^^  many 
sde,f  tile  inventive  talent  of  the  American  mind,  furnished  .y  te  more 
m  tant.  labor-saving  machines.  ...d  processes  it  has  origmated,  .nd  numer^ 
CUB  other  topic,,  it  is  confidently  hoped,  w.il  render  the  book  not  unworthy  the 
Mceptance  of  intelligent  Business  Men.  ^   ^   ^ 


ed  several  branches  o'' 


MJ 


ORIG 


T 

rane 

in  h 

presi 

the 

and 

con 

1 

app 

nie< 

and 

poi 

ofl 

loo 

da| 

ual 

tht 

bri 

pr 

OSi 
CO 
UK 


A    HISTORY 


OF 


MANUFACTURES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAFTER   I. 

ORIGIN  or  AMEniCA.   MANUFACTURES,  AND  A  OT.ANCE  AT  THE  STATE  0» 
THE   ARTS  IN   KUROPK   IN    THE   SIXTEENTH   CENTURY. 

THE  oriRin  Of  American  Manufactures  may  be  ^aid  to  he  contompo- 
f,  ?  th«  first  settlement  of  the  country.  Tho  earhest  mentu.a 
7:Z.7T1  '^T^^^^  monufacturing  estahl.h.ent  within  the 
1  entTerritory  of  the  United  States  is  in  1608.  only  one  year  after 
SrrterrKngUsh  settlement wasmade  at  Jamestow^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
and  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years  subsequent  to  the  discovery 

"t!:;:"  ent'^J^B  :^  ^-^  to  a  period  anterior  to  the  discovery  and 
11  IS  eveni  ca  instrumentalities  m  science  and 

the  grirtLawot  Dnircr,.!  a,.,i,.ti«n  w^  I.m,»lf  unborn      1»<1  « 
u^ewotiat,  and  other  forms  of  Engraving,  and  n,ost  of  the  .mprovcmu. 


14 


HISTORY    OF   AMERICAN    JIANUFACTUBF3. 


which  have  made  that  Art  the  most  potent  agent  of  civilization,  are  r^ 
more  recent  origin.     The  Mariner's  Compass  had  been  invemed,  Ijui 
the  Quadrant  was  undiicovered;  and  Chronometers,  if  used,  were  most  m- 
perfect ;  while  the  Thermometer,  Barometer,  and  Telescope  had  not  re- 
vealed their  uses ;  Shipbuilding  was  but  a  rude  art,  and  the  geograidiy  of 
the  sea  was  altogether  unwritten.     Those  great  agencies  of  mechanical 
Industry  which  have  augmented  a  thousand-fold  the  productive  power 
of  man,  and  proportionally  increased  his  comfort,  as  the  use  of  fossil  coal 
and  the  blast  furnace  in  the  smelting  of  Iron,  of  gunpowder  and  steam 
in  Mining,  of  the  flying  shuttle,  spinning-frarae,  power-loom,  and  carding- 
machines,  and  improvements  in  bleaching,  dyeing,  and  stamping,  and 
others  in  the  Textile  manufactures,  and  the  wonderful  discoveries  in 
Chemistry,  all  belong  to  a  subsequent  period.     Cotton,  which  now  em- 
l)loys  millions  of  people  and  millions  of  capital  in  its  growth  and  manu- 
facture, was  not  long  before  only  regarded  as  a  worthless  weed  or  a  curious 
exotic'    The  tire-engine,  safety-lamp,  life-boat  and  life-preservers,  gas- 
light, vaccination,  the  tourniquet  and  chloroform,  and  many  other  appli- 
ances for  the  conservation  of  life  and  property,  were  unknown  in  that 
era.     In  short,  whatever  proficiency  rjay  have  been  attained  in  the  Arts 
of  civilization  in  the  early  ages,  we  may  say  truly  that  their  present 
development  from  a  state  of  almost  barbaric  rudeness  has  been  conteni- 
poraneous  with  American  History.  ^      ^ 

Let  us  consider  briefly  the  condition  of  the  principal  countries  m 
Europe  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  especially  with  reference  to  the 
state  of  the  Arts.     When  tht  "London  Company"  made  its 
u^l  i.m'  fir^t  settlement  in  Virginia,  the  vigorous  but  haughty  sway  of 
the  Tudors,  which  had  been  exercised  for  one  hundred  and  twenty  years, 
had  come  to  a  close  by  the  death  of  Elizabeth,  and  James  the  First  of 
England  harl  boon  four  years  seated  upon  the  throne  of  the  Stuarts. 
The  rule  of  tlie  former  line,  commencing  with    Henry  Seventh,  who 
united  the  rival  claims  of  York  and  Lancaster,  was  an  eventful  period. 
It  had  witnessed  the  decay  of  the  feudal  system,  and  the  emaiicipation 
of  la''nr  and  the  common  people ;  the  subversion  of  the  power  of  the 
barons  ami  0'"  encroachments  of  royal  prerogative  ;  the  use  of  the  marU 
ner's  compass  and  vl!"  growth  of  navigation ;  the  discovery  of  America 
•    and  the  cpcning  of  new  scwt-s  of  enterprise  and  civilization  ;  the  genera 
use  of  the  printing-press  and  the  .toady  revival  of  learning  and  intelli- 
gence ;  the  spread  of  the  Reformation  and  the  estnblisiimeut  ..f  the  rights 
of  dec  thouglit.     11  saw  the  chaotic  ehmients  oi  I-^iropean  nationalities 
settle  down  into  prettv  mu;-h  their  pr(""M.t  form,  and  vV.sod  with  tho 
c.>n8olidnti..n.  under  the  new  dynasty,  of  England,  Scotland  ami  J-cland 
lulo  one  kingdom,  nearly  double  in  extent  that  which  Elizabeth  had  letu 


EARLY   MANLFACTLllES   IX    rilANCE. 


15 


,  are  r'^ 
ted,  Ijui 
most  iiu- 
.  not  re- 
va\ihy  of 
•chaiiical 
c  power 
:)ssil  coal 
id  steam 
carding- 
ling,  and 
yeries   in 
now  em- 
iid  mauu- 
a  curious 
vers,  gam- 
ier apiili- 
u  in  that 
I  the  Arts 
ir  present 
a  couteni- 

nntries  iu 
ice  to  the 
'  made  its 
y  sway  of 
!n1y  years, 
3  First  of 
e  Stuarts, 
'cnth,  wiio 
ful  period, 
laricipation 
wer  of  tlio 
f  llic  mari. 
if  Anierick 
Lhe  genera 
and  intelli- 
f  tiie  riglits 
ationalities 
!d  with  the 
ind  I '•eland 
Ih  had  letu 


The  weakness  anu  i.ieapadty  of  James,  and  the  arbitrary  chaiaete  of 
his  successors,  plunged  the  nation  into  civil  wars,  and  at  length  expelled 
U^e  off  ndt'rLe;  but  it  taught  the  people  their  power,  and  secured 
lhe  foldatron  of  free  institutions  and  of  the  subsequent  growth  ot 

En"-lish  crreatness  and  power.  ,  .  ,  ,     i  i   n  „„,,..] 

Tn  France  the  long  line  of  the  Uouse  of  Yalois.  which  had  held  rega 
au  to  i^y  for'  two  hundred  and  sixty  years,  had  in  1580  become  extinct 
bvthe  cLth  of  Henry  the  Third;  and  the  Bourbon  pru.ce    ,  . 

lienry  of  Navarre,  suruamed  "  the  Great,"  was  now  upon  the 
th  one  as  Henry  the  Fourth.     He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  goo 
St  Loul  Tnd  inherited  many  of  his  virtues  ;  emulating  h.m  especially  m 
^c's  of   ustice  and  toleration.     Having  in  1508,  by  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
n  t  J^i  end  to  he  relio-ious  wars  which  for  many  years  had  distracted  France, 
^l:^:y^^o;^^^  able  Sully,  he  took  effective  measures  to  promote 
ufp  welLe  of  his  subjects  and  to  repair  the  desolations  caused  by  nearly 
hi  f  a     ntury  of  civil  and  religious  strife.     His  efforts  in  behal  o    Com- 
m    ce      d  Mlnufactures,  and  all  the  arts  of  peace,  were  suspended  by 
uZely  assassination  in  1610.     During  tlie  minority  and  reign  of  h 
Tn  Louis  XIII.,  the  celebrated  llichelieu  established  despotic  pow  r, 
r  Lt^d   ho  pers  cution  of  the  Protestant  Huguenots,  and  subsequently 
^antLL  n^cility,  became  leagued  with  the  I'^-^^j;  ^P-^ 

;„  fi,o  Tl.irtv  Years'  War  commenced  lu  1()18,  wlucU  invoivcu 
S;:U  Eu      J^^^series  of  that  .nal  conflict  of  the  Ke^vm.ijm^ 
Zit  his  iron  rule,  however,  Richelieu  encouraged  literature  and    he 
Irt    founded  the  F  ench  Academy  and  "Garden  of  Plants  '  buil    the 
tbo    ;  and  the  Palais  Royal.     To  him,  but  es;  edally  to  Uie  Du  e  de 
Sully  and  to  Count  Colbert,  the  prime  minister  of  Louis  XH  .,  Fia    e 
ow  s  the  establishment  or  lirst  encouragement  of  many  of  her  most  val  a. 
ble  LbUc  improvements  and  manufactures.     In  the  tune  ot  Henry, 
!      c   ebrated  silk  manufactures  of  Lyons  received  their  hrs    impulse.     1 
'      r  wa     d  .vith  patents  of  nobility  those  who  had  spent  twcl^.  y  ai.  u 
hi  manuLtuie.      Colbert  placed  under  royal  patronage  the  tamou 
Gobrn  tlpest"  manufactures,  to  which  he  also  annexed  a  celebrated 
manu^lctory  0  Flemish  carpets,  originated  in  160T  by  Sully,  under  let  ers 
.rfrom  the  kinK      A  vast  manufactory  of  Sevres  china  was  estab- 
[iSi    tL  t:w^  by  Colbert,  which  became  the  pride  of  the  splen  . 

n?  T  ouis  XIV      The  manufacture  of  Glass,  little  produced  befo.e 
;rZe^wsT>  ought  by  him  from  Venice,  and  put  on  a  permanent 
fLi  g     i'"  till  then  unknown  there,  as  well  as  the  r-anutaj-ture  o 
fiiie  cU,tb   and  the  stocking-machine,  was  introduced  from  Lngland 
a  d  WaU-p"  r,  in  which  France  has  so  much  excelled,  was  inven  . 
ab  uMbel     time.     Those  splendid  public  works,  the  Louvre,  tho 


Ig  HISTORY   OF  AMERICAN   MANUFACTURES. 

Invalidcs,  and  Palace  of  Yersaillcs,  were  built,  aud  the  Canal  of  L.Mg.io. 
doc  commenced  under  the  same  munificent  patronage.  But  the  rcvooa- 
tion  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  by  Louis,  in  1685,  drove  from  us  k.njrdom 
nearly  half  a  million  of  his  best  subjects,  who  carried  to  England  Amer- 
iea,  and  other  parts,  the  knowledge  of  the  arts  which  he  bad  fostered 
and  gave  a  serious  check  to  the  industry  of  France,  from  which  to  tins 
day  she  has  not  fully  recovered.  The  knowledge  of  working  tm  and 
Bteel  is  said  to  have  wholly  disappeared  from  France  with  the  Huguenots 

By  the  abdication  of  Charles  the  Fifth  of  Austria-the  grandson  of      , 
Ferdinand  anu  Isabella-in  1550,  his  Spanish  possessions  in  Europe  and     . 
America  fell  to  his  son,  ThiUp  the  Second,  who  also,  m  1583,  inherited     : 
the  crown  of  Portugal,  with  all  its  Colonies  in  America  and  the  Eas^     j 
rendering  him  the  most  powerful  of  European  kings.     The  Neth  .lands     . 
constituted  one  of  the  most  valuable  portion  of  ^'f  ^^''^''^''^u.lTll 
Manufactures,  and  commerce  were  equally  flourishing.      Antweip  was 
the  most  imp;rtant  mart  of  Europe,  and  Holland  the  -^ff^^^^ 
Endand.     But  the  zealous  bigotry  of  Philip,  like  that  of  Louis  \l^., 
ArL  vast  numbers  of  his  Protestant  subjects,  with  their  arts  and  en- 
terprise, to  England,  establishing  their  Manufactures  and  hor  .cult  le 
here      Under  the  same  impulse,  he  planned  the  disastrous  attempt   o 
invTde  Sgland.     During  his  reign,  which  continued  but  fi  teen  year  , 
and  that  of  Philip  the  Third,  who  succeeded  him  in  1598,  not  only  Hul- 
land  was  lost  to  the  Spanish  crown,  but  a  revolt  in  Portugal  placed    he 
fi;!  of  J^l^nnza  u  >on  the  throne  of  that  kingdom      The  expulsion 
of    le  Ch  istiln  Mooi-s  from  Spain,  to  the  number  of  s  x  hundred  thou- 
n    of     is  most  industrious  subjects,  and  the  general  corruption  and 
le    of  industry  induced  by  the  golden  wealth  of  the  American  Colo- 
2,  now  ripidly  hastened  the  decline  of  Spain  from  her  former  grandeur 

"IrrSu  dominions  of  Charles  were  at  this  time  nded  by  the 
eccetrif  Rudolph  II.,  who  was  succeeded  in  1612  by  Math. as,  am    m 
mo  by  Ferdinind  II.,  King  of  Bohemia,  who  was  elected  Emp    oi  of 
a      lie  German  States.     The  revolt  of  his  Protestant  subjects  ^^  .  the 
n  1    ncemcnt  of  the  Thirty  Y  ears'  War.  _  Deninark,  Norway,^nd  S   e- 
ae„  did  not  become  prominent  in  the  affairs  o    Europe  unt  1  ait        us 
The  heroic  Gustavus  Adolphus  succeeded  Charles  IX.  of  bweaui  in 
1  12       d       .  contemporary  with  the  early  events  in  the  Anglo-Ame   - 
an  colonies.     The  Papal  power  was  at  this  time  shorn  of  much  of  it 
nfluene         tuo  progress  of  the   Reformation,  and  Russia  had  no 
n  "g"d  from  barbarism.     Such  was  the  vexed  and  unpromising  po h  .    1 
•o  dftion  of  E.rope  during  the  latter  part  of  the  Sixteenth  and  begin- 
;        r the  SevenLenth  centuries.     War  was  still  the  game  of  kings,  a« 


i 


f  Lniigno- 
he  rcvoca- 
s  kiiitr<loni 
nd,  Ainer- 
1  fijslcrod, 
ich  to  Ihia 
)g  tin  and 
luguenots. 
randson  of 
Europe  and 
5,  inherited 
I  the  East, 
'Netherlands 
1.     Its  arts, 
itwerp  was 
t-gardcn  of 
lOuis  XIV., 
rts  and  cn- 
horticulture 

attempt  to 
ifteen  years, 
)t  only  llol- 

placed  the 
he  expulsion 
indred  thou- 
ruption  and 
lerican  Colo- 
ner  grandeur 

ruled  by  the 
thlas,  and  in 
.  Emperor  of 
ects  was  the 
ray,  and  Swe- 
til  alter  this. 
)f  Sweden  in 
(Vnglo-Ameri- 
f  much  of  its 
ssia  bad   not 
lising  political 
(h  and  bogin- 
le  of  kings,  M 


I 


THE   ARTS  IN    THE   MIDDLE   A(1E3. 


n 


it  had  been  in  past  ages;  the  balance  of  power,  rel.gums  annno..  y  or 
personal  an.bition,  the  rulir.g  motives.  In  times  so  turbulent  as  tho.c  t  o 
arts  of  peace  could  scarcely  thrive ;  and  consequently  we  find  the  social  and 
industrial  features  of  that  age  wholly  unpromising. 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  nearly  all  knowledge  of  the  arts  of    nt  - 
quity  had  perished  in  the  gulf  which  swallowed  up  so  ™-'^;  ^^  f   J"^; 
and  manly  sentiment,  and  political  and  social  rights  of  he  pto- 
^-ilral:  ""  pie  and  Feudalism  debased  all  labor,  physical  and  inte  lectual, 
and  every  Art  but  that  of  carnage.    The  feeble  lamp  of  learning 
burned  dimly,  and  only  in  the  cloister  of  the  monk.     At  length  the  spirit 
of  Chivalry  arose  to  stay  the  hand  of  oppression,  to  succor  the  weak,    ul- 
livate  the  principles  of  truth,  honor,  justice,  and  generosity  and  to  plan 
the  wide  moral  waste  with  the   sentiments  of  love  and  of  poet.y.     1 
nrocess  of  time,  this  institution  itself  degenerated  into  one   of  m.  r. 
Tagea  try  and    .hantasm.     During  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  centu- 
rTes   the  principal  arts  in   requisition  were  those  of  the  armorer,    l.o 
ew'eler    the  beed-maker,  and  the  costumer.     They    abricated  ccnv     s 
ind  Bui  s  of  embroidered  silk  and  cloth  of  gold,  or  jeweled  and  enamelled 
dgniafurthe,uailedknight,gaytrappingsoflaceandsdverorh,ss^^^^^ 

and  chaplets,  rosaries,  gold  and  silver  clasps,  and  images  of  the  V.ig.n 

for  the  hand  of  his  lady-love. 

From   the   fascinating   spectacle   of  the  Tournament,  whei.   gallant 

knights,  who  could  neither  read  nor  write,  received  the  meed  ot  vu lo 

f    m  the  hands  of  high-born   ladies,  whose  only  knowledge  was   th 
aragement  of  their  palfreys  or  their  hawks,  how  to  play  the  sp.ne 

or  the  lute,  make  a  little  needlework  or  confectionary,  .he  boorish  and 

degraded  populace  retired  to  their  wretched  dwellings  to  rest  on  floors 

of  clay,  with  billets  of  wood  for  their  pillows. 

About  this  time,  indeed,  we  read  of  the  rich  laces,  ^V^^-^^^^'^; 

and  cloth  of  gold,  the  elegant  products  of  the  silk  looms  of  Venice     of 
he  inen  fabr' s  of  Brescia,  the  woolen  manufactures  of  Padua   an.  the 

ll  s^iousesof  Murano,all  dependencies  of  the  "  City  on  a  Hundred 
iL  "  These  unrivaled  manufactures,  as  well  as  the  riches  o  Egypt 
Sv  ia  and  the  East,  her  enterprising  traders  transported  to  the  most 
distant  parts  of  Eu;ope,  and  built  up  in  their  sea-girt  refuge  from  op- 
pres^on  amid  the  shallow  waters  of  the  Lagunes,  the  ^"^^  ^plend.d 
rS.  commercial,  and  manufacturing  power  of  the  Middle  Ag  s^ 
Her  oni;  rivals  in  opulence,  art,  and  naval  supremacy,  were  the  c  ties 
of  aenc,a,  Pisa,  and  Florence,  which,  with  Venice,  rose  to  the  height 

eTr  nfluence  about  the  middle  of  the  Fourteenth  century^     T  e  imin- 
time  genius  of  the  former  nurtured  the  adventurous  spirit  of  Co  ummis, 
ird  the  liberality  of  the  merchant  princes  of  the  latter  fostered  the  new- 
2 


18 


nisTonv  OF  amkrican  manufactl-rks. 


bora  arts  and  learning  of  Europe.  But  when  at  length  the  knowledge 
of  the  silk,  pkte-glass,  .olen  and  other  uuuiufactures  slowly  found  their 
way  into  Western  Europe,  as  they  had  been  slowly  introduced  into  Italy, 
by  the  Greeks  and  Saracens  from  the  East,  they  long  continued,  as  in 
their  former  seats,  to  minister  chiefly  to  the  magnificence  of  courts  and  of 
the  nobility,  while  the  humbler  mauufactures  and  the  mechanic  arls  had 
scarcely  an  existence.  The  condition  of  the  common  people,  and  even 
of  the  wealthy  classes,  was  therefore  but  tardily  improved  during  the 
Blow  growth  of  knowledge  and  of  industry.  And  when  Manuf.ictures 
began  to  revive  under  more  favorable  auspices,  the  injurious  etfects  of 
monopolies,  growing  out  of  the  abuse  of  royal  prerogative,  by  limiting 
its  profits  to  a  favored  few,  repressed  all  competition  and  all  stimulus 

to  Improvement. 

The  condition  of  the  English  people,  as  respects  their  civilization  and 
social  comfort  in  the  century  which  includes  tiie  very  early  history  of 
the  American  colonies,  may  be  inferred  from  a  few  facts,  whicli  supply 
the  place  of  correct  statistics.     During  the  comparatively  trau(iuil  reign 
of  Elizabeth,  England  had  rapidly  progressed  iu  wealth  and  power ;  and 
as  history  too  commonly  deals  only  with  the  intrigues  of  courts  and 
cabinets,  and  the  actions  of  illustrious  persons,  it  might  be  inferred, 
from  the  splendor  of  her  court  and  nobility,  that  the  common  people  of 
England  were  in  a  condition  of  comparative  comfort.     In  mere  outward 
display,  particularly  of  dress,  upholstery,  and  retinue,  those  days  exceeded 
our  own ;  but  in  point  of  comfort,  even  the  nobility  and  gentry  of  the 
Sixteenth  century,  scarcely  equalled  the  humblest  peasantry  or  mechanics 
of  England  or  the  United  States  at  this  time  ;  while  the  latter  classes 
were  for  the  most  part  worse  fed,  clothed,  and  lodged  than  any  class  at 
present  known  among  us. 

.  In  the  beginning  of  the  Sixteenth  century,  the  bouses  of  the  com- 
mon people  were,  many  of  them,  built  of  mud  and  wood,  thatched  with 
En  iisu  straw,  and  consisted  of  one  room  without  division  of  stories. 
comfort  \n  rpi,„  Qqq^  ^^g  the  bare  earth  or  clay  covered  with  rushes  or 
Century,  gt^^w,  "  Under  which,"  says  Erasmus,  "  lay  every  thmg  that  is 
nauseous."  Chimneys  were  almost  unknown,  even  in  the  houses  of  the 
gentry ;  and  late  iu  the  century,  even  in  the  larger  towns,  but  few  houses 
contained  a  chimney.  The  fire  was  kindled  against  a  hob  of  clay  called 
the  rere  dosse,  in  the  back  or  centre  of  the  room,  which  was  filled  with 
smoke  from  wood— the  only  fuel  used— that  found  its  way  out  by  an 
opening  or  lantern  in  the  roof.  In  this  apartment  the  family  dined  and 
dressed  their  meals ;  and  in  farm  houses  the  oxen  often  lived  under  the 
same  roof.  Their  utensils  were  mostly  of  wood  ;  glass  was  scarce,  and 
pottery  wliolly  unknown.     In  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  no  fire 


ENCill.-n    COMFORT   IN    THE    SEVEXTEENTII   CENTURY. 


19 


nowlo.'lge 
mud  their 
nto  Itoly, 
netl,  as  in 
rls  and  of 
c  ar'.s  had 

and  even 
luring  the 
nufticturea 

effects  of 
)y  limiting 
1  stimulus 

zation  and 
history  of 
it'll  supply 
Kpiil  reign 
ower ;  and 
courts  and 
e  inferred, 
I  people  of 
•e  outward 
's  exceeded 
ntry  of  the 
'  mechanics 
Iter  classes 
my  class  at 

f  the  cora- 
itched  with 

of  stories. 
I  rushes  or 
ling  that  is 
•uses  of  the 
,  few  houses 

clay  called 
3  filled  with 
J  out  by  an 
f  dined  and 
I  under  the 

scarce,  and 
hth,  no  fire 


I 


! 


,.as  allowed   in   the   University  of  Oxford.     Glass  windows,  carpets 
chairs,  and  looking-glasses,  were  still  less  common  than  chunncys  ;   and 
forks  were  not  known  until  the  time  of  James  I,     Glass  wmdows  in 
Elizabeth's  reign,  were  movable  furniture  in  the  houses  of  the  nobility, 
and  the  dining  halls  of  the  gentry  were  covered  witli  rushes  or  straw. 

The  bedding  consisted  of  straw  pallets  or  rough  mats  cn-ered  only  by 
a  sheet  and  coarse  coverlet,  with  a  good  round  log  instead  of  a  bolster 
or  pillow.     An  old  annalist  says  :  "  As  for  servants,  if  they  hud  any  sheet 
above  them  it  was  well ;  for  seldom  had  they  any  under  their  bodies  to 
keep  them  from  the  pricking  straws  Hiat  ran  oft  through  the  canvas  of 
the  pallet,  and  rased  their  hardened  hides."    A  mattress  or  flock-bed  and 
sack  of  chaff  for  a  pillow,  were  considered  evidences  of  prosperity  in  one 
who  had  been  seven  years  married,  who  considered  himself  "as  well  lodged 
as  the  lord  of  the  town."     Skipton  CasUe,  one  of  the  most  splendid  nian- 
Bions  of  the  North,  had  but  seven  beds,  and  none  of  the  chambers  had 
chairs,  glasses,  or  carpets.     Even  the  Baronial  household  of  ^orthunv. 
berland,  in  the  beginning  of  the  century,  employed  but  two  cooks  for  a 
retinue  of  two  hundred  persons,  including  seventy  strangers  daily  counted 
upon:  had  no  sheets;  and  the  table  linen,  often  extremely  costly,  was 
^s-ashed  about  once  a  month.     Forty  shillings  was  the  yearly  allowance  for 
the  washing  of  the  household.     The  earl  had  three  country  seats,  w.th 
furniture  for  but  one,  and  carried  all  with  him  when  he  removed,  one  cart 
sufficin"'  for  all  the  kitchen  utensils,  cooks'  beds,  etc. 

The  food  of  artificers  and  laborers  in  Henry  the  Eighth's  reign,  was 
"horsecorn,  beans,  peason,  oats,  tares,  and  lentils."    Barley  bread  was 
the  usual  food  of  the  poorer  classes  in  1626,  and  white  bread  was  but 
little  used  by  them  in  1689.     Even  as  late  as  172.5,  when  an  improved 
agriculture  had  made  wheat  bread  common  in  the  southern  counties 
in  Cumberland,  it  is  said,  none  but  a  rich  family  used  a  peck  of  wheat 
in  a  year,  and   that  at  Christmas.     A  wheaten  loaf  was  only  found 
after  much  search  in  the  shops  of  Carlisle.      Servants,  and  the  very 
poor  ate  dry  bran  bread,  sometimes  mixed  with  rye  meal,     let  the 
English  peasantry  were  better  fed  than  the  French  at  that  period,  who 
ate  apples,  water  and  rye  meal.     Corn  was  mostly  ground  at  home  by 
the  querne  or  hand-mill,  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth.     Holland  at  the  time 
supplied  London  with  vegetables,  and  a  century  later  a  large  part  of 
England  was  an  unproductive  waste.     In  the  early  reign  of  Henry  VIII., 
it  has  been  said,  not  a  cabbage,  carrot,  turnip,  or  other  edible  root  grew 
in  England.    Traveling  was  most  tedious  and  perilous,  as  well  on  account 
of  the  wretched  condition  of  the  roads,  as  the  prevalence  of  moss-troopers 
and  highwaymen,  who  as  late  as  the  times  of  Charles  II.  were  hunted  m 
some  counties  with  blood-hounds.     In  the  reign  of  Henry  VUl.,  it  ip 


20 


HISTORY    OF   AMERICAN    MANUI'ACTLUES. 


paid,  10,000  thieves  were  hanged  in  England.     "Until  the  middle  of  tho 
Sixteenth  century  nearly  all  traveling  was  on  horseback,  and  goods  were    ^ 
transported  on  pack-horses,  the  foremost  wearing  a  bell  to  warn  travt-iers    ^ 
to  turn  out  to  let  them  pass,  such  was  the  narrowness  of  tho  way.    j 
Coaches  did  not  become  general  until  the  time  of  Elizabeth,  or  later,    ; 
when  they  were  without  si)rings  and  very  clumsy.     The  queen  in  her 
old  ao-c  is  said  to  have  reluctantly  used  so  effeminate  a  conveyance,  winch    , 
it  was'a  disgrace  fur  a  young  man  to  be  seen  to  use  ;  -nd  she  is  said  also    ) 
to  have  declined  a  breakfast  at  Cambrhlge  because  she  had  tivdve  vult'S    < 
to  travel  bcfcre  she  slept  I     Turnpikes  were  established  by  Act  of  Tarha-    \ 
ment  in  the  time  of  Charles  the  Second,  but  the  gates  were  pulled  down    : 
by  a  mob.     In  HOS,  public  coaches  were  advertised  to  perform  the  whole    i 
journev  from  Eoudon  to  York  in  four  days  !     And  in  HGO,  a  coach  left 
Edinburgh   for  London  once  a  month,  and  occupied  a  month  m  the 
journey.     Owing  to  the  difficulties  of  transportation,  many  articles  were 
nearly  worthless  a  few  miles  from  any  market. 

Coals,  in  the  time  of  Ilonry  A- III.,  were  worth  but  12d.  per  chaldron  at 
Newcastle,  and  four  shillings  in  London.  They  became  so  dear  in  1643, 
that  many  perished  for  want  of  fuel,  which  the  tardy  means  of  supply 
could  not  prevent.     A  pamphlet  of  that  period  has  the  imprint— 

"  Printed  in  the  year 
That  sea  coal  was  exceeding  dear." 
Pins  were  introduced  from  France  in  1543,  previous  to  which,  royal 
ladies  used  instead  ribbons,  clasps,  and  skewers  of  brass,  silver,  gold, 
ivory,  bone,  or  wood.  They  were  first  made  in  England  iu  1626.  Um- 
1>rellas,  though  of  great  antiquity,  were  not  known  in  England  until  1768, 
and  their  first  use  excited  the  jeers  of  the  vulgar.  Loudon  and  West- 
minster were  first  lighted  by  order  of  Parliament  in  1743,  and  coal  gas 
was  first  used  for  that  purpose  in  1814.  Yet  at  that  late  day  the  meas- 
ure was  opposed  by  so  enlightened  a  person  as  Lord  Brougham. 

But  our  theme  does  not  permit  us  to  enlarge  upon  this  topic.  Every 
department  of  the  public,  private,  and  social  economy  of  the  period,  in 
its  intellectual,  moral,  or  industrial  aspects,  would  furnish  ample 
evidence  of  the  dwarfish  condition  of  the  kingdom,  compared  with  its 
present  august  stature  in  all  the  arts  of  civilized  life.  Those  who  would 
derive  a  most  instructive  lesson  from  history,  would  do  well  to  consult 
the  third  chapter  of  Macaulay's  History  of  England,  and  compare  the 
state  of  England,  as  depicted  by  him,  just  previous  to  the  Revolution 
of  1688,  when  the  population  of  the  kingdom  was  between  five  ami  six 
millions,'  witli  that  of  Great  Britain  as  she  exists  at  this  day.  The 
progress  made  since  the  beginning  of  the  century  had  been  compara- 
tively  small ;  and  ti.e  examination  may  lietter  enable  the  reader  to  appre- 


MINiNO   AND   AeilUCUMLi; 


\L    I'llO[>;\/rS   IN-    SKVKNTlCENTll    CENTLRY.    21 


die  of  tho 
oods  were 
a  travi'iers 
the  way. 
1,  or  later, 
Bcn  in  her 
nee,  which 
is  said  also 
uelve  miles 
t  of  Parlia- 
alled  down 
1  the  whole 
I  coach  left 
nth  in  the 
rticlcs  were 

chaldron  at 
iar  in  1643, 
>  of  supply 
at— 


vhich,  royal 
silver,  grold, 
1626.     Um- 

I  until  1768, 
and  West- 

nd  coal  gas 
ly  the  uicas- 
lam. 

pic.  Every 
le  period,  in 
rnish  ample 
ircd  with  its 
e  who  would 

II  to  con.sult 
compare  the 
J  Revolution 
1  tive  ami  six 
i  day.  The 
sen  conipara- 
iler  to  appre- 


ciate the  evidences  of  activity,  and  of  sl-.w  l.ut  steady  progress  made 
amidst  poverty,  hardship,  and  sava-o  hostility,  in  our  own  country,  even 
previous  to  the  time  when  national  iu.lepcndence  and  puljlic  spirit,  com- 
bined with   a   suddenly  progressive    character  in   the   age,    gave   our 
industry  a  permanent  impulse.     The  period  of  our  colonization  was  one 
of  much  talent  and  great  promise,  but  the  "car  of  improvement'' was 
many  years  in  getting  under  way.     Macaulay  assures  us  that  a  large 
part  of  the  country  beyond  Trent  was,  down  to  the  eighteenth  century,  in 
a  state  of  barbarism  !     That  in  1085,  the  value  of  the  produce  of  tlie  sod 
far  exceeded  the  value  of  all  the  other  fruits  of  human  industry.     \  et  the 
wheat  crop  was  estimated  at  less  than  two  millions  of  quarters.     l.ut  the 
mineral  wealth  of  the  kingdom  was  still  less  developed.     Tin  had  been 
an  article  of  export  for  over  two  thousand  years,  and  was  still  one  of  the 
most  valuable  of  native  minerals.     Its  product  was  about  sixteen  hundred 
tons      in  1856,  it  was  reported  at  eight  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
forty-seven  tons.     The  copper  mines,  he  says,  then  lay  wholly  neglected, 
and  were  not  reckoned  in  the  value  of  land;  but  Cornwall  and  Wales,  at 
the  tirae  he  wrote,  produced  fifteen  thousand  tons  annually,  wortli  near 
a  million  and  a  half  sterling,  or  twice  the  annual  value  of  the  produce  ot 
all  Enn-lish  mines  in  the  Seventeenth  century.     In  185t,  Great  Britain 
produc-ed  twenty-three  thousand  and  soventy-tlirec  tons  of  copper,  wm-th 
over  two  and  a  quarter  millions  of  pounds  sterling.*'    Beds  of  rock  sidt 
were  discovered  after  the  Restoration,  but  not  worked,  and  the  salt  made 
in  rude  brine  pits  was  nauseous  and  unwholesome.     A  great  part  of  the 
iron  used  at  the  close  of  Cliarles  the  Second's  reign  was  imported,  and  the 
wh(de  quantity  cast  annually  did  not  exceed  ten  tliousand  tons.     In  17  40, 
England  and  Wales,  from  fifty-nine  furnaces,  produced   only  seventeen 
thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty-six  tons;  and  in  1750,  twenty-two  thou- 
sand tons.     In  1856,  the  product  of  pig-iron  was  olUcially  stated  to  be 
three  millions  of  tons." 

The  wages  of  farm  laborers,  at  the  same  period,  did  not  exceed  ordi- 
narily four  shillings  a  week,  but  ranged  as  high  as  six  or  seven  in  summer. 
And  for  workmen  in  woolens,  the  staple  manufacture  of  England,  six 
shillings  were  considered  fair  wages.  Tiiese  prices,  it  is  evident,  were  n..t 
more  than  one  iialf  the  rates  paid  at  present;  while  most  articles  of  con- 
sumption cost  more  than  half  their  present  prices.  Although  as  early 
as  1351  free  labor  had  been  recognized  in  place  of  villeinage  l)y  the 
le.^islatiire,  the  statute  book  continued  to  be  loaded  with  iniquitous 
laws  re-rulating  the  price  of  labor,  down  to  tlie  time  of  Elizabeth,  when 
the  law  of  supply  and  demand  was  seen  to  be  a  better  regulator  of  wages 

(1)  Annals  of  British  Legiflution,  vol.  ii.         (2)  Ibid. 


82 


TlISTC'llV    t  ■. 


a'.:i..ii'an  man;  rA''"ii>'-^- 


f,  of  Pnrliament      But  artificers  were  even  th.-n  conipelkHl  (hy  5th 

of  the  undevelopea  state  of  the  -jnufac^mng  ^^^-        '  ;  '^^f,,,,,  ,,, 
ia  the  population  was  st.U  more  .    ^  -^^    ^^^  ,^„„,,  ^^  ,,, 

populatiou  of  England  -;^^^  ;\«  ;;\^f  t^..^  was  about  thirty  per 
hundred  years.  Trom  l^^^V^,,  V  Rf.^  vears  In  the  first  half  of 
cent.,  and  twenty  per  eent.  m  f « -'^^'^  ^,7^^;  ;,a  K  ngdom  doubled 
the  present  century,  the  P^P^r^irof  L^ation  ^  this  country 
itself,  besides  furnishing  a  constant  sti tarn  ol  cm  g 

invention.     Ihe  art  oi  pru.ui  o-  „nl^ritv  of  the  magnet  was 

k„ow».     B"?""-  ™°™;       ,f„4  i„  ,„  t„„„a  i„  the  direction  ot  cxpcti- 

Novum  Organum      That  S  ^^^  wm       u  ^^^  ^^^^^^  .^^  ^^^^ 

Ir!  ;?  the  restoration  of  the  old  constitution,  is  also  the  era  from  which 

(1)  "Rights  of  Indus  ry." 


THE    IMVEDI.MKNTS    TO    I'lUiOllKSS    CONSIPEUED. 


23 


Ik-a  (!))•  5lh 
,e  hai'vesl.' 
ere,  in  tlie 
ideiice  alone 
3  of  increase 
to  1575, the 
iblcd  in  live 
it  thirty  per 
first  half  of 
lorn  doubled 

this  country 
)  globe, 
vhcn  the  first 
ijority  of  the 
,  that  general 
veloped  state 
teen  made  in 
rgin  mine  of 
pes,  had  been 
!  magnet  was 
ed  some  faint 
ion  of  experi- 
B  some  discov- 
But  his  illus- 

publishcd  his 

and  when  the 
seemed  ill  pre- 
d  superstition, 
Europe  had  not 
rves  Macaulay, 
ial  season.  He 
t  had  solemnly 

generation  his 
m  slowly  ripen- 
"  he  adds,  "  the 
era  from  which 
year  the  Royal 
of  glorious  and 

ts  coming  in  the 
with  opposition. 


At  this  moment,  in  progressive  England,  where  labor-saving  appliances 
have  so  enlarged  the  area  of  useful  industry,  and  promoter!  the  comlort 
of  all  classes,  the  boot  and  shoe  manufnoturing  districts  of  Northampton 
and  Stallbrdshire  arc  trembling  in  apprehension  ..f  popular  violence,  upun 
tlie  attempt   to  introduce   the   sew^*g-machine  in  that   business.    _l>ut 
in  the  Seventeenth  ceutu'-y,  it  war.  not  owing  to  the  opposition  arising 
from  tiie  su.Wen  displacement  of  labor,  the  interference  witli  prerogatives 
and  monopolies,  or  a  conservative  dread  of  innovation  merely,  that  im- 
provement so  long  lingered  on  its  march.     The  general  apathy  of  the 
a-e  the  imperfect  and  tardy  interchange  of  knowledge,  tlie  want  of  a 
stimulating  collision  of  idea.s,  and  often  impolitic   legislation,  clogg.d 
the  wheels  of  progress.     Tlie  slow  accumulation  and  insecurity  of  capital, 
and  its  conflicts  with  labor,  powerfully  impeded  the  success  of  industry. 
Ignorance  of  the  true  sources  of  individual  and  national  power  and  wealth 
and  of  nearly  all  the  principles  of  political  economy,  paralyzed  much  of 
the  industrial  effort  of  the  times.     "  It  is  not  more  than  a  century  ago," 
says  a  modern  author,  "that  even  those  who  had  '  a  great  deal  of  philos- 
ophy '  first  began  to  apply  themselves  'to  observe  what  is  seen  every 
day;'  exercising,  in   the   course  of  human   industry,  the   greatest  in- 
fluence on  the  condition  and  character  of  individuals  and  nations.     Ihe 
properties  of  light  were  ascertained  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton  long  before  men 
were  ac-reed  upon  the  circumstances  which  determined  the  production  of 
a  loaf  of  bread;  and  the  return  of  a  comet  after  an  interval  of  seventy-six 
years,  was  pretty  accurately  foretold  by  Dr.  Ilalley,  when  legislators  were 
in  almost  complete  ignorance  of  the  principle  which  regularly  brought  as 
many  cabbages  to  Covent  Garden  as  there  were  purchasers  to  demand 
them  "     Centuries  were  required,  in  some  instances,  for  the  knowledge 
of  particular  arts  to  travel  into  contiguous  kingdoms,  or  to  be  usefully 
applied.     Thus  the  art  of  making  Glass  was  known  to  tlie  Romans  when 
they  conquered  Britain,  and  was  introduced  into  the  island  as  early  as 
674  •  but  glass  did  not  begin  to  be  used  in  windows  there  until  the  Thir- 
teenth century.     It  was  rarely  found  in  windows,  and  was  not  made  in 
England  until  the  middle  of  the  Sixteenth.     It  was  more  than  a  hundred 
years  later  before  its  use  became  general ;  and  country  houses  in  Scotlard 
were  not  glazed  as  late  as  1661.     Plate  glass  was  first  made  in  England 
by  Venetian  artists,  at  Lambeth,  in  16T3.     The  manufacture  of  silk  was 
m  .re  than  one  thousand  years  in  traveling  into  England  from  the  shores 
of  the  Bosphorus.     It  had  been  practiced  four  hundred  years  in  Italy 
before  it  crossed  the  Alps. 


CHAPTER    II. 

ORIGIN   OF    AMKRf^AN    MANUFa'ITURES    CONTINUED,  AND   THOSE    IN    VIR- 
GINIA,  TO   THE   CLOSE  OP   THE   SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY,    CONSIDERED. 


The  origin  of  American  Miinufactures  is  usually  referred  io  a  period 
in  our  history  much  less  remote  than  that  stated  in  the  previous  chapter. 
It  was  not  until  1810,  two  hundred  years  after  the  first  colonization  of 
Virginia,  that  a;iy  systduatic  attempt  was  made  to  collect  general  statis- 
tics of  Manufactures.  The  few  particulars  which  can  now  be  gathered, 
as  to  the  progress  made  during  those  two  centuries,  are  scattered  through 
numerous  memorials,  local  histories,  records  of  councils,  and  statutes  of 
assemblies.  Those  are  nevertheless  interesting  and  instructive,  as  sliowing 
from  what  feeble  beginnings  our  ancestors  conducted  their  infant  mnnu- 
facturi's,  through  numerous  difficulties,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  their 
j)rescnt  success.  Comimring  tLjir  condition,  even  up  to  the  clo.se  o."  the 
last  century,  with  tiie  state  of  productive  industry  in  our  time,  or  willi 
tiie  progress  nuide  during  tlie  last  half  century,  in  which  iUany  new  agencies 
of  great  i)ower  have  added  intensity  to  every  form  of  intellectual  and 
material  progress,  the  product  makes  but  a  small  figure  in  tlie  annals  of 
liistory.  lUit  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  tJieir  advance  was  at  that  time 
equally  slow  in  most  parts  of  the  world.  I']vv!ii  at  the  present  day,  many 
countries  wiiich  were  reckoned  elders  in  tiie  family  of  nations,  ere  the 
ring  iif  tlie  a.\e  was  heaul  in  the  forests  of  America,  are  essentially  less 
independent  \v.  regard  to  some  products  of  manufacture,  than  were  the 
American  Colonies  at  the  jieriod  of  the  ivcvolulion.  Equally  with  the 
sister  arts  of  Agriculture  and  Cummerce,  our  Manufactures  have,  from 
the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  advanced  with  the  increase  in  popu- 
lation. We  shall  lu'oceed  to  notice,  in  their  chronological  order,  some 
of  the  early  attempts  to  establish  mannfacturing  industry  in  this  country, 
and  a  few  of  the  encouragements  and  hindrances  which  attended  those 
cfl'orts  iliiriug  the  colonial  jieriod,  and  .ip  to  the  time  when  our  Manufac- 
tures first  attained  stability  oiid  a  commanding  national  importahco 

The  first  settlers  in  America  brought  with  them  to  these  shores  a 
knowledge  of  most  of  t';e  Arts  and  Manufactures  of  the  parent  country. 
Many  of  them,  moreover,  were  accustomed  to  the  comforts,  and  even 
(i'4) 


THE   SETTLEMENT   AT   JAMESTOWN. 


25 


\ND  THOSE    IN    VIR- 
rURY,   CONSIDEBED. 

■  referred  to  a  period 
the  previous  chapter. 

first  colonization  of 
collect  general  statis- 
;an  now  be  gathered, 
are  scattered  through 
ucils,  and  statutes  of 
instructive,  as  showing 
:ed  their  infant  mnnu- 
lie  foundation  of  their 
up  to  the  close  o."  the 
^  in  our  time,  or  with 
lichaianynewDgtncicB 
rm  of  intellectual  and 
ligure  in  the  annals  of 
vance  was  at  that  time 

the  present  day,  many 
lily  of  nations,  ere  the 
lea,  are  essentially  less 
ifacture,  than  were  the 
on.  Ecpuilly  with  the 
anufactures  have,  from 

the  increase  in  popu- 
•onologicai  order,  some 
ndustry  in  this  country, 
8  which  attended  those 
ime  when  our  ^lauufac- 
itional  importaiico 
hem  to  these  shores  a 
g  of  the  parent  country, 
the  comforts,  and  even 


what  were  considered  luxuries  in  that  era  of  civilization.     Their  primary 
wants  in  their  new  homes  were  those  of  subsistence,  shelter,  and  clothing. 
These  could  only  be  supplied  by  their  own  energy  in  subduing  t,.e 
unbroken  forest  and  the  virgin  soil,  which  labors  again  required  for  their 
rudest  exercise  the  implements  of  husbandry  and  other  mechanical  appli- 
ances     To  obtain  the  means  of  ameliorating  their  condition,  the  colonists, 
whose  only  wealth  was  the  strong  arm  and  the  iron  will,  were  force,,  to 
rely  mainly  upon  their  own  unaided  exertions.     This  was  particularly  tne 
case  with  regard  to  the  first  settlers  of  New  England,  whose  expatriation 
was  u  voluntary  one,  in  behalf  of  their  principles,  which  left  them  without 
that  support  and  patronage  which  watched  over  the  more  speculative 
enterprise  of  the  earlier  ami  wealthier  colonists  of  Southern  Virginia. 

The  early  elforts  to  make  settlements  upon  the  coasts  of  North  America 
had  been  stimulated  by  the  accounts  of  the  great  wealth  that  Spam  had 
drawn  from  the  discoveries  of  gold  in  her  transatlantic  Provinces,  and 
the  London  Company,  which  in  1607  first  successfully  planted  a  colony  at 
Jamestown,  had  hopes  of  similar  discoveries.    Hut  they  seem  also  to  have, 
from  the  first,  contemplated  some  form  of  manufacture.     We  are  m- 
formed  by  one  of  her  historians, >   that  in  the  second  voyage  of  Captain 
Newport  to  the  colony,  in  the  latter  part  of  1008,  the  Company  sent  out 
in  the  ship-which  brought  also  a  crown  for  the  Sachem  Towhatan,  and 
orders  for  his  "crownation"-eieht  Poles  and  G.imans  to  make  Pitch, 
Tir  (Jlass  Mills,  and  Soap-a^lics,  which,  he  observes,  had  the  country  l,.-eu 
neopl.'d,  would  have  done  well,  but  proved  only  a  burtlicn  and  hn.hnnc, 
,„  the  rest.     After  noticing  a  voyage  of  exploration  and  lor  the  pur.'liase 
of  corn,  and  the  return  of  the  vessel  to  Jam.'stown,  he  continues,  "No 
sooner  were  they  landed  l)ut  the  president  dispersed  as  niary  as  were  able, 
some  to  make  glass,  and  others  for  pitch,  tar,  and  soap-ashes      Leaving 
them  at  the  Fort  under  the  Council's  care  and  oversight,  he  Inmself 
carried  thirty  about  live  miles  down  the  river,  to  Ica/n  <o  cut  down  trees, 
vwke.  clapboards,  and  lie  in  the  woods.-     The  Council  in   London, 
complaining  that  no  gold   or  silver  was  sent,  wrote   an  angry  letter 
to  the   president,  threatening  that  if  the  expenses,  i.-20()0,   were  not 

(t)  Stith'.  llUto^y  of  Virginia.  London,  day  than  a  hundred  of  the  ro.t,  «''|'  --'  b; 

\'       ,  drove  to  it  by  coinpiilmon.  •  •  ISul  the  axet 

S  "aL«    .he.0   were   tro   fl,.   nn.l  often   Id.torinK   thoir  tend.   fi"«".  ^h^y 

p.Ver,;e,.,J.,.,  of  .ho  la.t  supply.     Thee  .ou.d.    at   every    ^^^'"^^^l^"^^^, 

«ore  at  first  stranRO  divcrMons  (■     men  of  cchoeK  «ith  a  round  voUoy  ..  o.  l>a,    o  rtm- 

:;:.«.:."'  lod....,  o,.,.  ,  nd  .-, U,  edy  which  ,in,  the  president  -<  "^;    "-j^ 

lary  gcntlemeu  would  have  done  more  in  a     bu  oath  wai  not  heard  m  a  weok. 


26 


niSTOUY   OF   AMERICAN   MANUFACTUUES. 


defrayed  by  the  sliip's  return,  they  should  be  deserted.  To  this  hntPi 
Captain  Smith  returned  'a  plain  and  scholarly  answer"  by  the  ship,  | 
"which  was  at  lengtii  dispatched  with  tiie  triah  of  Pitch,  Tar,  (7iati.<. 
Frankincense,  and  Soap-ashes,  with  ichat  wainsvol  and  clapboard  could 
be  provided."  This  cargo,  of  the  value  of  which  we  are  not  informed, 
appears  to  have  been  the  lirst  export  made  from  the  British  Colonies  to 
a  foreign  country,  witii  the  exception  of  a  load  of  sassafras  gathered  near 
Cape  Cod  in  KJOS,  and  consisted  almost  exclusively  of  manvfaclured 
articles,  in  the  strict  sense  of  that  terra. 

The  Olass-house,  he  informs  us,  stood  in  the  woods,  about  a  mile  from 
Jamestown,  and  though  probably  very  unpretending  in  its  dimensions 
and  appointments,  it  was  doubtless  the  first  manufactory  ever  erected  in 
this  country.'  During  the  next  year  (IfiO'J),  in  which  a  new  charter  was 
granted,  we  are  told  they  prosecuted  their  business  with  alacrity  and 
success.  Tiiey  made  three  or  four  "  lasts  '  jf  tar,  pitch,  and  soap-ashes  ; 
produced  a  trial  of  glass;  sunk  a  well  in  the  fort ;  built  twenty  houses  ; 
new  covered  tlie  church  ;  provided  nets  and  seines  for  fishing ;  built  a 
block-house  to  receive  the  trade  of  the  Indians ;  thirty  and  forty  acres  of 
ground  were  broke  up  and  j)lantcd,  etc.  *  *  *  And  /'or  their  erer- 
cine  at  leisure  times,  they  made  clapboards  and  wainscot."*  The  year 
following,  Sir  Tiiomas  Gates  testilied  before  the  Council  in  London  * 
that  the  country  so  abounded  in  white  mulberry  trees,  that  with  so 
favorable  a  climate  he  believed  it  would  yield  silk  equal  to  Italy ;  that 
there  were  divers  minerals,  especially  "  iron  oare,"  some  of  which,  having 
been  sent  home,  had  been  found  to  yield  as  good  iron  as  any  in  the  world  ; 
that  a  kind  of  Ilcmp  or  Flax  and  Silk  grass  grew  there  naturally,  which 
would  yield  material  for  excellent  cordage,  etc. 

But  tiie  prospects  of  the  country  having,  from  various  onuses,  grontly 
declined,  when  Captain  Argall  arrived  as  Governor  in  1017,  he  found  the 
public  buildings  and  woiks  of  Jamestown  fallen  to  decay,  and  only  five 
habitable  houses  in  the  place.  The  peoi)le  liad  turned  their  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  tobacco,  and  he  found  the  market-place,  the  streets,  and 
all  spare  places  [danted  with  it.     Its  price  was  about  three  Bhillii^js  per 


(1)  The  firft  ,  ..'ent  grnnted  in  Englnnd 
for  the  inanufiu'turu  uf  ghi8K,  wne  on  22u 
Mny,  IflZa,  to  Sir  Robert  Mimscll,  for  " a 
method  of  iiiHkin);  ){liiiii>  with  roa  ponl,  pit 
colli,  or  any  other  fuel  not  beini;  tiiiibi'r  or 
wood."  Uln>B  bottlei  and  wlndow-f;l»Hi 
were  flrat  innde  there  in  li57,  and  |dute- 
glttssin  lATK. 

(3)  A  "lait,"  according  to  MrCuUucI    !i 


gonsrnlly  entimnted  at  4,00  '  iba.,  but  varies 
much  ncpordin);  to  the  article,  and  in  differ 
cnt  countrici'  A  hist  of  |iitch,  tar,  or  a*huB, 
is  iiliout  fonrti'cii  barrels. 

(II)  Tli«  Colony,  nt  thiu  llinc,  conn'iitod  of 
20(1  pumonii,  but  wiia  iuurci;!<iU  inon  after  to 
600. 

(1)  A  True  Declaration  -f  Virginia,  1610. 
Foroe'n  Collection  of  Tracta,  vol.  iii. 


T 


EARLY   MANLFACTIUES   IN   VIUOIXIA. 


2T 


this  Icttci 
^  tlic  ship, 
Ta?;  (7uiKi', 
oinyl  could 
t  iuforuied,  1 
Colonies  to 
tliercd  near 
mifaclujvd 

a,  mile  from 
dimensions 
•  erected  in 
charter  was 
ducrity  and 
soap-Hslies ; 
[ity  lionses ; 
'ig ;  built  a 
•ty  acres  of 
tlirir  p.Tcr- 
Tlie  year 
n  London  < 
lat  with  so 
Italy;  that 
rich,  havinf^ 
I  the  world  ; 
rally,  which 

ises,  prontly 
le  found  the 
lid  only  five 
attention  lo 
streets,  and 
ihillin^js  per 

ibg,,  but  varies 
,  BiiJ  in  ilitTcr 
,  tar,  ur  unIicb, 

p,  (lonn'Stod  of 
i  loun  at'lur  to 

l^irginiB,  1610. 
rol.  iii. 


pound,  at  which  price  it  was  fixed  shortly  after  by  the  governor  s  ed.ct, 
under  penalty  of  three  years  slavery  to  the  Colony. 

0.1  the  nth  .f  May.  1620,  a  meeting  of  the  Company  was  call  dm 
London,  at  which  many  persons  of  the  highest  distinction  joined  the 
Xr  so,  and  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  whose  term  of  oilioe  as  treasurer 
he  Company  had  just  expired,  made,  we  are  told,  '.  a  long  an      .nd. 
speech"  on  the  at!'  -"s  of  the  Colony.     He  stated  the  means  he  had  t..k  n 
turn  the  attention  of  the  eolonists  from  tobacco  to  "tl-  -nore  use  d 
and  necessary  commodities.     That  for  this  purpose  one  hundred  and  i  tly 
pi       hvd'been  sent  to  set  up  three  i.o«-.o... ;  ''f  ^'-t.ons  luvd 
been  given  for  making  eordage.  as  well  as  hemp  and  flax,  and  mo, 
e    eci'ally  silk  gr.ss,  which  grew  there  natut-ally  in  great  abunda.ce  am 
wL  found  npon  experiment  to  make  the  best  cot.lage  and    u.e   a 
world      Each  fa.nily  was  ordered  to  set  one  hundred  plants  of  t,  and  the 
governor  himself  five  thousand.     They  had  tvlso  been  a^v-ed  to  ma^^^^ 
pitch  tar,  pot  and  scap-ashes,  and  timber  for  shipping,  masts,  plank.,  and 
oaiH^s  e  e    for  which  purpose  men  and  materials  had  been  sent  over  to 
"u  g^^ndry  .oM^-'^.^     The  cultivation  of  m.lberry-trees  an 
Ik  was  strongly  recommended,  and  the  king,  for  the  second  tune,  1  ad 
tZL  silkworm  seed  of  the  best  sort,  from  his  own  ^- j  -   - 
grapes  of  excellent  quality  were  a  natural  production,  sever         »"  - 
Growers  with  abundance  of  vine  slips,  had  been  sent ;  and  lastly,  that  the 
r;a,  which  had  been  suffered  to  go  to  decay,  were  re.ored  i^^^^^^ 
set  up  and  that  there  were  now  hopes  of  such  plenty  as  not  only  to  serve 
t  C Jlonv  for  the  present,  but  also  shortly  to  supply  the  great  fishery  on 

^'•^r;::ril.eed,  appears  to  have  been  made  H.  the  domesti 
cation  of  the  principal  nseful  arts  in  Virginia,  as  the  following  list  of 

1     t  ad  sme.i  whoii  it  was  designed  to  transfer  thither  will  show  :  v,.., 
lllulndmen,  Gardners,  Brewers.  Bakers,  Sawyers  Carpenters,    oync^ 

Shipwrights,  Boatwrights,  rionghwrights.  Millwrights,  Masons,      i.        . 

SmL  of  all  sorts,  Coopers  of  all  sorts.  Weaver-,.  Tanners.  Pot  e.s, 

FlllFish.hooi.makL.    ^'etmakers.     Shoemakers.    Bope-akcrs. 

(1)  It  i«  probable  tbat  no  „..n.ill  w,«     »ny»  .he  original  recor,..  "or.ler  i.  given 
(1)  It  la  proDauie  ,,,,1,  ,.  „.,  ,t.i,e,l     f„r  imiliinK   it  iu  Bbun<lttn<-e,  an.l  after  tbo 

worku.  .n,  very  fkillful,  to  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^  j^  ,1,^^   Cclony. 

"^'stUh.  Book  IV.,  p.  tT«.    "  For  .alt."     Wi..low,  In  hi.  "  Good  New.  for  New  Eng- 


28 


HISTORY   OF   AMERICAN    MAMFArr.  ni:>. 


Tilcinakers,   Edgc-tool-raakers,  Crickinakors,  Bricklayors,   l>iT.>ti-s   of    ^ 
Henipc  and  Flax,  Lime-burners,  Lctber-drcssers,  Men  skilirul  m  vines,    f; 
Men  ibr  iron-works,  Men  skillful  in  mines."    Of  the  eharacter  of  tl..  He,    | 
savs  the  old  chronicle  :'    "  The  men  lately  sent  have  been,  most  of  them,    I 
choice  men,  borne  and  bred  up  to  labor  and  industry  ;  out  of  Devonshire 
about  one  hundred  men  brou-ht  up  to  husbandry  ;   out  oi  Warwickshire    \ 
and  Staffordshire  above  one  hundred  and  ten  ;   and  out  of  Sussex  about 
forty,  all  framed  to  iron -tear  kv>i,  etc."     Among  the  natural  commodities 
enumerated  in  the  same  Tract,  are  "  cotton -icooU  and  sugcr-canes,  all  of 
which  may  tliere  also  be  had  in  abundance,  with  an  infinity  of  othcrinore."  ' 
As  much  as  possible  to  discourage  the  use  and  cultivation  of  tobacco,^ 
several  othor  branches  of  industry  were  encouraged  ;  and  to  promote  still 
further  the  culture  of  silk,  a  person  skillful  in  the  business  was  sent  over 
from  the  king's  own  garden  at  Oatlands  to  instruct  others  in  it.     Others 
were  expected  from  France ;  and  to  give  full  instruction  in  it,  a  French 
treatise  on  the  subject  was  translated  by  one  of  the  Company,  printed  at 
its  expense,  and  sent  over  in  sufficient  numbers  for  distriljution.     In  ref- 
erence to  the  iron-works  above  alluded  to,  Beverley,  in  his  History  of 
Virginia,  after  noticing  several  appropriations  of  the  Burgesses,  the  first 
Colonial  Assembly  ever  held  in  America,  who  met  the  governor  and 
Council  in  May,  1620,  observes,  "  Many  of  the  people  became  very  indus- 
trious, and  began  to  vie  one  with  another  in  planting,  building,  and  other 
improvements.     A  mlt-icork  was  set  up  at  Cape  Charles  on  the  Eastern 
shore,  and  an  iron-work  at  Falling  Creek  in  .Jamestown  River,  where  thry 
made  proof  of  good  iron  ore,  and  brought  the  whole  work  so  near  a  per- 
fection thai  they  writ  word  to  tiie  Company  in  London  that  iliey  did  not 
doubt  but  to  finish  the  work,  and  have  plentiful  provision  of  iron  for  them 

by  the  next  Easter."* 

In  16-21,  three  of  the  master-workmen  having  died,  the  Company  sent 
over  Mr"  John  Berkeley  with  his  son  Afaurice,  who  were  commended  as 
very  skillful  in  that  way,  with  twenty  other  experienced  workmen.  °     On 


land,"  «»y«,  "For  UioukIi  our  bays  and 
creeks  are  full  of  bn»8  anJ  other  llsili,  yot 
for  want  of  Hi  and  strong  ^oinea  ami  i>tlier 
netting,  they,  for  the  moat  part,  hnike 
through  and  earriod  all  awuy  before  them." 
If  they  had  had  these,  they  could  hardly 
have  suffered  lo  mueh  for  wunt  of  food. 
Young'i  "  Chroniolw  of  Plymouth,"  pp.  171 
and  294. 

(1)  AD-^olnrationof  theStateofVirgiuia, 

16'.'0.     Foree'n  Coll.,  vol.  iii.  No.  5. 

(2)  Ihid.  p.  4.    Mr.  Bancroft,  vol.  i.  p. 
17tf,  iiuno  1621,  observes:  "The  first  cultl- 


vation  of  Cotton  in  the  United  Statei  de» 
serves  eoinineuioratio^i.  This  year  the  seeds 
were  planted  as  an  experiment,  and  their 
plentiful  coming  up  wiis  at  that  early  day  a 
euhjeet  of  intore.-t  in  America  and  Eng- 
land." 

(3)  "Against  which,"  says  Slilh,  "that 
Solomon  of  England  (King  James)  wrote  • 
treatise  entitled  <A  Counlerhlaato  to  To- 
bacco.' " 

(4)  History  of  Virginia,  p.  30. 

(5)  Stlth. 


EARLY   lUON-WOUKS   IX   VIUOINIA. 


29 


ii'r.>>irs    of 
il  iu  vines, 
;r  of  tl)'  He, 
st  of  tlieni,    I 
Devonsliire 
arwicksliire 
iissex  about 
onnuodities 
anes,  all  of 
herinore."' 
of  tobacco," 
iromote  still 
IS  sent  over 

it.  Others 
it,  a  French 
y,  printed  at 
on.  In  ref- 
,  History  of 
!ses,  the  first 
overnor  and 
'i  very  indns- 
ig,  and  other 

the  Eastern 
r,  where  they 
o  near  a  per- 

ihey  did  not 
iron  for  them 

^Jompany  sent 
jmniended  as 
rkmen."     On 

nited  Stntei  de» 
is  ycnr  the  seeds 
iuicnt,  mid  tUuir 

Ihttt  eiirly  diiy  a 
lurica  und    Kug- 

«y»  Slilli,  "  ttisl 
5  Jiiinoi')  wrote  a 
torljluato   tu  To- 

p.  36. 


the  22d  of  May  following,  the  plan  of  a  general  massacre  was  put  m 
eveculion  by  the  Indians,  of  whom  all  fears  had  for  some  time  been  laid 
aside,  and  Berkeley  with  all  his  workmen  and  people,  except  one  boy  and 
a  trir    who  managed  to  hide  themselves  and  escape,  were  cut  oil,  vs.  h 
tl  i        he  num'ber  of  three  hundred  and  forty-seven.     The  tron-wor  s 
d  the  glass-house  were  entirely  demolished,  and  ^V^^^^^ 
the  manufacture  of  other  commodities  were  abandoned.'     ^^'"^         '   ' 
work  on  Falling  Creek  had  really  gone  into  operation  appeals  lio.n  fur- 
hi  reference  to  .t  by  Beverley.     "  The  iron,"  he  says,  "  proved  reason- 
lb     go      ;  but  befoi'   they  got  into  the  body  of  the  im,..e,  the  pcop  e 
wer'e  cut  off  in  that  fatal  massacre,  and  the  project  >-  neverW.Mi  sa  on 
foot  since,  till  of  late ;  but  it  has  not  hud  Us  lull  trial      _ 
"The  superintendent  of  this  iron-work  also  discovered  a  vein  of  lead  ore, 
which  h    kept  private,  and  made  use  of  it  to  fur.dsh  all  the  ne.ghbors 
:S  bullets  and'shot.     But  he  being  cut  otT  with  the  rest,  aii.l  the  secret 
not  having  been  communicated,  the  lead  mine  could  never  a  te    l>e  found 
m  Colontl  Boyd,  some  few  years  ago,  prevailed  with  an  Indu.n  unde 
pretense  of  hun  ing.  to  give  him  a  s'gn  by  droppi.ig  his  tomahawk  at  th 
p  :      (I  not  darUig  publicly  to  discover  it,  for  fear  of  beu,g  tnurdered., 
S      ign  was  accoiiingly  given,  and  the  Company  at  that  tn.>e    onnd 
several  pi.-ces  of  good  lead  ore  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
aarked  the  trees  thereabouts.     Notwithstatiding  which,      '--;  >";^    ^^ 
what  witchcraft  it  happens,  but  no  mortal  to  this  day  couUl  ever  hnd    ha 
place  though  it  be  upon  part  of  the  colonel's  own  possessions.     And  so 
rests  till  ti."e  and\hicker  settlement  discovers  it.-     Tins  mine  wa 
subsequently  rediscovered,  and  lead  obtained  from  it  not  many  yea  >  ago. 
S  use  of  Iron,  notwithstanding  its  high  anti,nity_furna,.es   or  ex- 
tracting the  metal  from  its  ores,  and  its  manufacture  uito  swords,  kn.ves. 
etc    big  assigned  to  a  period  before  the  time  of  Moses-seems  to  have 
been  unk^.own  to  the  Indians  generally,  although  gold  and  copper  were 
knowa  to  those  of  Mexico  before  the  discovery  of  tl-t  -"ntry  by  t  e 
Europeans.     Tl>is  is  doubtless  owing  to  the  fact,  as  stated  by  McCu  lo.  ,, 
[hat  <■  iro     though  the  most  common,  is  the  most  dillicult  o.  all  the 
LeL  to  obtain  iu  a  state  fit  for  use  ;  and  the  discovery  of  the  method 

(,)  It  U  a  curlou.  clrcum.tance.  that  of  wln-h,  though  of  «,  vn,t  i  't>oH«noe  t, 
about  the  ,u,no  time  that  the  .avage.  in  the  wur.d  a,  the  former  wa,  to  ^  .rg  n  « 
Virginia  were  ,.,.Hi.,g  an  end  to  thi,  "  good     was  like  the  lat.er.  not  aga.n  rev.cd  tor 

norant  muh  iu  Kn(jl«nd  destroyed  the  works  (2)  The  riMw  1  oi   mo  n 

of  Edward  I-nrd  Dudley,  for  the  .melting  .,f  alluded     to     t.ok    pl.ce    uhout    the    y.ur 

iron  ore  with  pit  coal  by  hi.  newly-discov-  1712-1;.. 

ered  proceHS,  patented  in  1621  i  and  the  use  (3)  Uovcrl.y 


80 


mSTOUY    OF    AMEKICAX    MAXI  FACTTUES. 


of  working  it  seems  to  tiare  been  posterior  to  the  use  of  gi)M,  silver,  and 
copper." 

Notwithstanding  several  attempts  to  divert  thi-.  leople  from  tlie  culti- 
vation of  tobacco,  so  profitable  had  the  business  becouto  thro -.gh  the 
increased  productiveness  under  the  improved  cultivation  by  the  b\iarfe. 
commenced  in  1611,  and  the  increased  consumption  and  price  in  Europe,  I 
that  in  1021,  store-houses  and  factors  were  established  at  ]SIiddlcburgh 
and  Flushing,  end  fifty-five  thousand  pounds  were  exported  to  Holland, 
but  none  to  England.*  The  year  following  they  made  sixty-six  thou- 
sand pounds,  and  in  1G39  the  Assembly  ordered  all  the  tobacco  in  the 
Colony  made  in  that  and  the  two  succeeding  years  to  be  destroyed,  except 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  pounds,  in  due  proportion  for  en'-h 
planter.  For  several  years  preceding  the  Revolution,  the  exports  ,i 
tobacco  from  Virginia  were  about  the  same  annually  as  in  1G21.  The 
instructions  brought  by  Sir  Francis  Wyatt  to  his  government  in  tlie  latter 
year  were,  to  withdraw  attention  from  tobacco,  and  to  direct  it  to  corn, 
wine,  silJJ,  and  others  already  mentioned  ;  to  the  making  of  oil  of  walnuts, 
and  employing  the  apothecaries  in  distillation  ;  and  searching  the  country 
for  minerals,  dyes,  gums,  drugs,  and  the  like.  A  fund  was  also  subscribed 
for  a  glass-furnace  to  make  Ijeads,  which  were  the  current  coin  with  the 
Indians ;  and  one  Captain  Norton,  with  some  Italian  workmen,  was  sent 
over  for  that  purpose.'  The  next  year  a  master  shipwright,  named  Bar- 
ret, and  twenty-five  men,  were  sent  to  build  ships  and  boats. 

In  1623,  Alderman  Johnson,  in  justification  of  himself  and  Sir  Thomas 
Smith,  who  had  been  charged  with  ruining  the  Colony  '  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  latter  ending  in  1619,  drew  up  an  account,  in  which 
he  states,  among  otlier  evidences  of  its  prosperity  in  that  time,  that 
barks,  pinnaces,  shallops,  barges,  and  other  boats,  were  built  in  the 
country  ;  but  some  of  his  statements  seem  to  have  been  questioned  by  the 
Assembly.* 


(1)  Thi«  win  in  consequence  of  the  impost 
which  had  been  laid  upon  tobacco.  Spanish 
tobacco  sold  about  thiH  time,  we  are  told,  at 
eighteen  BbillingB  per  pound,  while  that  oi' 
Virt{initt  was  limited  in  the  Colony  to  thtoe 
shllHngx,  and  the  duty  wits  the  aaine  upon 
both.  The  following  was  the  valuation  of  a 
few  articles,  growing  or  to  be  had  in  the 
Colony  in  1021,  viz. :  Iron,  ten  pounds  ater- 
ling  per  ton;  eilk  cuddes,  2a.  6d.  per  lb. ; 
raw  silk,  i:!<.  id,  per  lb.,  which  rose  in  1060 
to  2.)f.  iind  28«.  per  lb. ;  silk-grnss  for  cord- 
age, 6(/.  per  lb. ;  hemp,  from  10<.  tu  '22:  per 
cwt. ;  flax,  from  22ii.  to  ;iO«.  per  cwt. ;  cord- 
age, 2U<.  lu  2U.  per   cwt.;   cu((o»  wuull,  SU. 


per  lb.;  hard  pitch  and  rosin,  each,  6«.  p«r 
cwt. ;  ninddcr,  40i. ;  cimrse,  25».  per  cwt. ; 
woail,  from  ll.'».  to  2ll>.  per  cwt.;  aiiiso  seed, 
4U«.  per  cwt.;  liiiists  fir  i<hi|is,  10».  to  3£  • 
piece  ;  potashes,  from  12».  to  I4«.,  which  were 
in  ICAO,  3J«.  to  4U«,  per  cwt. ;  .soap-ii.-<lics,  6f. 
to  S«.  per  cwt. ;  etc.  A  ninii's  labor  was  then 
computed  at  ten  pounds  stg.  per  uiuium, 

(2)  Stith. 

(.3)  At  the  end  of  twelve  years,  the  Com- 
pany  had  expended  £S(l,IM)0,  and  were 
£4,000  in  debt,  and  the  Colony  only  num- 
bered 600  periims. 

(4)  "  Ijiit  in  tho  midst  of  these  trouble! 
and  alarms,"  says  Mr.  Stith,  under  this  dutOf 


THE   1> 

To  prom  I 

ordered  all 

imiiosing  a 

l)erry  tree  t( 

its  encourag 

in  1651,  a  r 

introcSweod  i 

on  his  retui 

majesty's  pi 

und  Manuf 

Tiie  Compa 

and  a  few  y 

who,  throut 

tlie  Colony 

also  offered 

for  flax  ali 

by  Captain 

of  Virginia 

pounds  of  1 

the  premiui 

A  tract 

London  in 

brew-house 

began  to  b 

are  great  ti 

idl  Christei 

had  fallen  : 

and  hemp 

};i)od ;  and 

that  they 

many  hors 

much  as  ( 

that  they  i 

"  the  Jfu»e« 
time  Mr.  0 
Treasurer  of 
of  Ocid'i  i 
pcrformaneo 
this  perform 
tributious  t 
Literature," 
first  book  101 
iu  what  ia  i 


TIIK    INin-S'TnV    OF    VIRGINIA    IN    THK    ^  F.Vr.NTEKXTn   rENTURY.         31 


silver,  and 

I  tlie  culti- 
ro^-.gh  the 
tlie  »v;f<3o, 
n  Europe, 
ddlobiirph 
I  Holland, 
-six  tbou- 
eco  ia  the 
ed,  except 
1  for  ep'^h 
xportt  <i 
1521.  The 
the  latter 
it  to  corn, 
f  walnuts, 
he  country 
subscribed 
a  with  the 
1,  was  sent 
amcd  Bar- 

iir  Thomas 
ng  the  ad- 
t,  in  which 
time,  that 
uilt  in  the 
)ncd  by  the 

each,  6>.  per 
5«.  per  cwt. ; 
, ;  niiiso  seed, 

10«.  tu  3£  a 
r.,  which  w«re 
uii|)-ii.«hc!<,  6f, 
ibur  was  tbeo 
or  uiuiuiii, 

irs,  tlie  Com- 
I),  and  wer» 
ly  uiily  iium- 

icse  troiibliii 
dur  this  duto, 


To  promote  the  silk  culture,  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  in  lfi23 
..ni.Tcd  all  settlers  to  plant  mulberry  trecs,'^and  in  IfioG,  pa.ssed  an  act 
iini.osing  a  line  on  every  planter  who  should  not  have  at  least  one  mul- 
Iterry  tree  to  every  ten  acres  of  land.  In  1651,premiuin9  were  o  lie  red  for 
its  encouragement ;  and  it  is  said  that  Charles  II.  wore,  at  his  coronation 
in  1651,  a  robe  and  hose  of  Virginia  silk,  the  art  of  weaving  which  was 
introfiviced  into  England  in  1620.  Sir  William  Berkeley,  the  governor, 
on  bis  return  from  s  visit  to  England,  upon  the  Restoration,  earned  his 
majesty's  pressing  instructions,  for  encouraging  the  people  m  Husbandry 
and  Manufactures,  but  more  especially  lo  j'rnmote  silk  and  vineyards. 
The  Company  had  established  a  vineyard  in  the  Co1on>  i^r/^vious  to  1020, 
and  a  few  years  after  sent  out  a  number  of  French  and  Italian  vuiinr'W.y 
who,  through  bad  management,  were  unsuccessful.  Wines  were  made  in 
tiie  Colony  in  1(547  by  a  Captain  Brocas;  and  in  1651,  premiums  were 
also  offered  for  its  encouragement  as  well  as  for  that  of  hemp  ;  and  in  16.')7, 
for  flax  also,  both  whioh  latter  were  annually  grown,  spun,  and  woven 
1)V  Captain  Matthews  of  that  State,  prior  to  1648.>  In  1662,  an  edict 
of  Virginia  required  each  poll  to  raise  annually  and  manufacture  six 
pounds  of  linen  thread.     The  manufacture  declined  on  the  withdrawal  of 

the  premiums. 

A  tract  entitled,  "A  Perfect  Description  of  Virginia,'"  published  m 
London  in  1649,  states,  that  "they  had  three  thousand  sheep,  six  public 
brew-houses,  but  most  brew  their  own  beer,  strong  and  good ;  that  indigo 
began  to  be  planted  and  throve  wonderfully  well,  from  which  their  hopes 
are  great  to  gain  the  trade  of  it  from  the  Mogul's  country,  and  to  supply 
nil  Christendom ;  that  the  quantity  of  tobacco  had  so  increased  that  it 
had  fallen  in  price  to  three  pence  a  pound  ;  that  they  produced  -auch  flax 
and  hemp ;  that  iron  ore  was  abundant,  and  had  been  tried  and  proved 
p,)od ;  and  that  an  iron-work  erected  would  be  as  much  as  a  silver  mine  ; 
that  they  had  four  wind-mills  and  five  water-mills  to  grind  corn,  besides 
many  horse-mills  ;  that  a  saw-mill  was  much  wanted  to  saw  boards,  inas- 
much as  one  mill  driven  by  water  will  do  as  much  as  twenty  sawyers ; 
that  they  make  tar  and  pitch,  of  which  there  was  abundant  material,  as 


Mi'^^j 


"the  Muten  were  not  silent.  For  in  this 
time  Mr.  George  Sandys,  the  Company' 
Treasurer  of  Virginia,  made  his  translation 
of  Ovid'i  Metnmorphoteii,  a  very  laudable 
performance  for  the  times."  In  relation  to 
this  performance,  Mr.  Moran,  in  his  "Con- 
tributions toward  a  History  of  American 
Literature,"  remarl«s,  "It  is  curious  that  the 
first  book  wrillen,  and  the  first  book  priuleii 
iu  what  ia  now  the  United  States,  were  in 


verse,  the  one  being  Snndi/i'  Trantlation  of 
Ovid't  itftnmorpluieet,  the  other  the  Bay 
I'unbn  limjk,  works  widely  difTerent  in  uhar- 
ftcter,  and  yet  somewhat  prophetic  of  th» 
practical  taste  of  the  future  nation  to  whos»« 
curly  literary  contributions  they  belong."— 
Truhiifi't  O'uiile  lo  Amtricnn  Lilernlure. 

(1)  Patent  Office  Report,  ISiS,  201. 

(2)  Force's  Collection  of  Tracts,    fol.  iU 
No.  8. 


32 


HISTORY   OF   AMERICAN    MANUFACTURES. 


REMARK 


well  as  for  pot  and  pcavl-ashcs ;  that  all  kinds  of  tradesmen  lived  well 
there  and  gained  mueh  by  their  labors  and  arts  as  turners,  potters, 
cooper,  to  make  all  kinds  of  earthen  and  wooden  vessels ;  sawyers,  car- 
penters!  tyle-makers,  boatwrights,  tailors,  shoemakers,  tanners,  fishermen,  | 

and  the  like."  ,.  ,  j  , 

At  what  time  precisely  this  want  of  a  saw-mill  was  supplied  does  not 
appear,  but  Ed.  Williams  published  in  London  in  1650,  a  small  tract  con- 
taining an  "  Explication  of  the  saw-mill  or  engine  wherewith,  by  force  ot 
a  wheel  in  the  water,  to  cut  timber  A^ith  great  speed."  It  was  accompanied 
by  an  engraving,  and  contained  some  ingenious  modifications  of  the  mi  I 
«s  then  used  in  Norway.  Substituting  weights  for  the  toothed  wheels 
which  moved  the  carriage  in  the  former,  which  done,  he  says  "the  in- 
geuious  arti.t  may  easily  convert  the  same  to  an  instrument  of  threshing 
wheat,'  breadng  of  hemp  or  flax,  and  other  as  profitable  uses."  All  this 
he  proposed  to  make  very  useful  in  Virginia. »  This  mill  is  said  to  have 
differed  little  except  in  the  use  of  less  iron  from  many  to  be  seen  within 
a  very  few  years  in  parts  of  the  country  in  our  day. 

In  an  earlier  pamphlet,  or  an  earlier  edition  of  the  same,  by  this 
writer  (published  the  same  year),'  he  holds  out  to  the  adventurers  m  a 

(1)  The  practice  of  treading  out  gr.iin  by 
horses— and  Bometiines  by   oxen,  niter  the 
manner  of  tlio  unoients— was  generally  prac- 
ticed on  the   peainsula  of  the   CUesiipeuke 
Bay  as  late  as  1790.    Horses,  however,  were 
{.referred;  and  the  ndvantnges  of  this  mode 
over  tbav  bv  the  Uail,  as  used  in  the  North- 
ern States  and  ling^.nw  nt  that  time,  were, 
that  an  entire  crop  couUl  be  '  ■iitei\  vat  in  a 
few  days,  thus  seeurinR  it  from  the  ravages 
of  the  fly,  which   prevailed  there,  and  also 
from  thievei,  and  having  it  earlier  ready  for 
market.     Three  thousand  bushels  could  be 
ieoured  thus  iu  ten  days,  which  would  em- 
ploy  five   men  one  hundred  days  with  the 
flail.    Troading-floors  were  sometimes  shift- 
ed from  field  to  field,  but  a  permanent  floor 
of  good  waxy  earth,  which  became  smooth, 
hard,  and  glossy  by  use,  was  preferred.  The 
floors  were  made  from  forty  to  one  hundred 
•nd  thirty  feet  diameter,  usually  sixty  to 
one  hundred,  with  a  path  or  track  at  the 
outer  circumference  twelve  to  fourteen  feet 
wide,  on  which  the  sheaves  were  laid;   and 
they  were  usually  fenced  round,  sometimes 
with  an  oulor  and  inner  fence.     The  hori.o8 
were  led  round  by  halters,  in  ranks  equi- 
distant from  each  othor,  and  at  a  souer  trot. 


Thus,  four  ranks  would  preserve  the  rela- 
tive position   of  the   four  main  arms  o.  a 
wheel,  or  the  four  cardinal  points  of   the 
compass.     This  method  was  then  believed 
by  some  to  be  preferable  to  any  known  mode 
of  threshing  Kn''"'-  I»  ''*  probable  the  thresh- 
iiig-niaching  has  rendered  it  obsolete  by  this 
time.— See  Amerkan  JfMetim,  vol.  vii.  p.  64. 
(2)  Moore's  Patent  Offiee,  Append.  3U6. 
■;.?>  The  title  of  this  curious  volume  runs 
thus  :  "  ViRoisi*.,  more  especially  the  South- 
ern part  thereof,  richlj  «v.'J   truly  valued; 
viz.,  the  fertile  Cnrolana  and  no  less  ti.«0. 
lent  Isle  of  Uoanoak,  of  latitude  from  thirty- 
one  to  thirty-seven  degrees;    relating  the 
moans  of  raysing  infinite  profits  to   the  ad- 
venturers and   planters.     The  second    edi- 
tion,  with  addition  of  the  discovery  of  silk- 
worms, with   their  benefit,  and  in  planting 
of  mulberry  trees ;  also,  the  dressing  of  vines 
for  the  rich  trade  of  making  wines  in  Vir- 
ginia; together  with  the  making  of  the  saw- 
mill, very   useful   in  Virginia   for   cnttinj? 
timber  and  clapboard  to  build  withal;  oud 
its  conversion  to  many  as  profitable  uses: 
by   E.  W.  Gent,  London.   1650."     The  nc- 
cinint  of  the  saw-mill  he  promises  soon  to 
publish. 


style  of  glow 

Colonies,   an 

means  of  gt 

adopted  l)y  B 

a  source  of  | 

nists  as  well 

commonweal 

seed,  flax,  ci 

etc."     In  re 

other  provii 

cannot  prom 

if  this  noble 

Virginia  wil 

allowing  tht 

the  silk  gra; 

of  China,  th 

Virginia,  N 

voluntary  p 

plied  and  ii 

wliich  becai 

of  this  Qui 

made  and  \ 

great  river 

as  of  iniini 

i)eing  sixty 

In  refer( 

arts,  I^Ir.  '. 

session   un 

encouragcr 

pngaged  tl 

favor  indvv; 

bine  to  rei 

of  enterpri 

culture  of 

tion  of  Vii 

exists  in  a 

no  labor  \ 

every  coin 

was  the  sv 

fortunate 

to  the  mo 

tiie  coloin 


REMARKS   ON   EARLY   ATTEMPTS   TO    ESTABUSH    MAMKACTUHES. 


33 


lived  well 
•s,  potters, 
svycrs,  car- 

fishennen, 

i  does  not 
I  tract  con- 
by  force  of 
icompanic'il 
of  the  mill 
tiled  wheels 
s  "the  in- 
f  threshing 
,"  All  this 
aid  to  have 
seen  within 

me,  by  this 
iturers  in  a 

serve  the  reU- 
lain  arms  o.  a 
points  of   the 
then  believed 
ny  known  mode 
nlile  the  thresh 
obsolete  by  this 
H,  vol.  vii.  p.  64- 
Append.  306. 
lus  volume  runs 
?ially  the  South- 
i   fruly  valued; 
id  no  less  ticc). 
ude  from  thirty- 
s  J    relating  the 
rofits  to   the  ad- 
Che  second    edU 
iscovery  of  silk- 
and  in  planting 
dressing  of  vines 
ng  wines  in  Vir- 
iking  of  tlio  saw 
;inia   for   cnttinj; 
)uild  withal;  ond 
1  profitable  uses; 
1650."     The  ae- 
pruiuisea  soon  to 


stvle  of  o-lowing  description  the  immense  profit  to  be  derived  from  the 
Colonies"  and   recommends   their  encouragement  by  government  as  a 
means  of  getting  rid  of  criminals  from  the  kingdom,  a  plan  already 
adopted  liy  King  James  some  years  previously,  and  which  afterward  proved 
a  source  of  great  detriment  to  the  social  and  moral  interests  of  the  colo- 
nists as  well  as  to  their  industry.    "  It  will  be,"  he  says,  moreover,  "  to  this 
commonwealth  a  standing  full  magazine  of  wheat,  rice,  cole-seed,  rape- 
seed  flax,  cotton,  salt,  potashes,  soptj-ashes,  sugars,  wines,  silks,  olive=i, 
etc."     In  regard  to  Iron  he  says  :  "  Necther  does  Virginia  yield  to  any 
other  province  whatsoever  in  excellency  and  plenty  o.  this  oare :  and  I 
cannot  promise  to  myself  any  other  than  extraordinary  snccesso  and  game 
if  this  noble  and  usefull  staple  be  but  vigirously  followed."    Ue  compares 
Virginia  with  Persia  and  China  in  regard  to  climate  ami  productions, 
allowiiK--  the  latter  no  advantage  but  in  their  antitpiity ;  and  in  reference  to 
the  silk'grass  already  mentioned  he  says  :  "  For  what  c-verns  the  Flax 
of  China,  tiiat  we  may  not  lose  the  smallest  circumstance  of  parallell  with 
Virginia'  Nature  herselfe  hath  enriched  this  her  bosome  favourite  with  a 
volmitary  plant  which  by  art,  industry  and  transplantation  may  be  imdti- 
plied  and  improved  to  a  degree  of  as  plentifuU  but  more  excellent  nature, 
which  because  of  its  accession  to  the  quality  of  silkc  wee  entitle  silke  grass; 
of  this  Queen  Elizabeth  had  a  substantial  and  rich  peece  of  Grogaine 
made  and  presented  to  her.     Of  this  Mr.  Porey,  m  his  discovery  .)f  the 
jrretit  river  Chamonoak,  to  the  south  of  James  River,  delivers  a  relation 
as  of  inlinite  quantity  covering  the  surface  of  a  vast  forest  of  pine  trees, 
being  sixtv  miles  in  length." 

In  reference  to  these  early  attempts  to  establish  the  manufacturing 
arts    Mr    Bancroft  remarks :    "  The  business  which  occupied  the  first 
session   under   the  written   constitution  (1621)   related   chiefly  to  the 
encouragement  of  domestic  industry  ;  and  the  culture  of  silk  particularly 
Pngaged  the  attention  of  the  assembly.     But  legislation,  though  it  can 
fiivor  im^-trv.  cannot  create  it.    When  soil,  men,  ami  circumstances  com- 
bine to  render  maim&^'ture  desirable,  legislation  can  protect  the  infancy 
of  enterprise  against  the  unequ-vJ  /-nmpetiton  with  established  skill.     The 
culture  of  silk,  long,  earnestly  and  freque\^'Jr  recommended  to  the  atten- 
tion of  Virginia,  is  successfully  pursued  only  where  Jv  -«periority  of  labor 
exists  in  a  redundant  population.     In  America  the  first  want,  cjf  life  lett 
ao  labor  without  a  demand.     Silk-worms  could  not  be  cared  for  wuca 
every  comfort  of  household  existence  required  to  be  created.     Still  less 
was  the  successful  cultivation  of  the  vine  possible."    He  regards  it  as  a 
fortunate  circumstance  that  their  attention  was  turned  from  such  eilorts, 
to  the  more  profitable  one  of  cultivathig  tobacco.     Of  the  prosperity  ot 
tlie  colonv  a  few  years  later  he  writes  :  "  Possessed  of  security  and  great 


84 


UISTOKY   OF  AMriUCAN   MANUFAOTrilES. 


jjnindanct  of  land,  a  free  market  for  their  staple,  and  ].ractically  all  the 
rights  of  an  independent  state,  having  England  for  its  guardian  against 
foreign  oppression  rather  than  its  ruler,  the  colonists  enjoying  nii  the 
prosperity  wliich  a  virgin  soil,  equal  laws  and  general  unifovniity  of 
condition  could  bestow,  their  numbers  increased;  the  cottages  were 
filled  with  children,  as  the  ports  were  with  ships  and  emigrants.  At 
Christmas,  1040,  there  were  trading  in  Virginia,  ten  ships  from  London, 
two  from  Bristol,  twelve  Hollanders,  and  seven  from  New  England. 
Tiie  numlier  of  colonists  was  already  twenty  thousand." 

In  1()62  for  the  encouragement  of  Manufactures,  prizes  were  olTercd 
for  the  best  specimens  of  linen  and  woolen  cloth,  and  a  reward  of  fifty 
pounds  of  tobacco  was  given  for  each  pound  of  silk.     It  was  enjoined 
upon  every  person  to  plant  mulberry  trees  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  acres  of  land  he  held.     Tan-honses  were  erected,  with  "curriers  and 
shoemakers  attached,"  one  in  each  county,  at  its  own  expense,  at  which 
hides  were  received  at  a  fixed  price  and  shoes  sold  at  rates  prescribed  by 
statute  :  and  to  encourage  the  salt-works  of  Colonel  Scarborough  on  the 
Eastern  Shore,  the  importation  of  salt  into  that  county  was  prohibited. 
Rewards  were  appointed  in  proportion  to  their  tonnage  of  all  vessels 
built,  and  all  fees  and  duties  payable  to  such  shipping  were  remitted. 
The  duty  imposed  upon  tobacco  by  Cromwell  (1652),'  and  reenacted  at 
the  Restoration,  so  embarrassed  this  trade,  that  in  16C6  new  efforts  were 
made  to  introduce  Manufactures.     Each  county  was  ordered  to  set  up  a 
loom  at  the  public  expense ;   the  rewards  for  silk  were  renewed,  and 
severe  penalties  imposed  for  neglecting  flax,  hemp,  etc.*      Sir  Edmund 
Andros,  governor  in  1692,  we  are  informed,  greatly  encouraged  Manu- 
factures ;  in  his  time  fulling-mills  were  set  up  by  act  of  Assembly,  and  he 
also  "  gave  particular  marks  of  his  favor  toward  the  propagation  of 
cotton,  which  since  his  time  has  been  much  neglected."     Of  his  successoi 
Governor  Nicholson  (1698),  it  is  complained  that,  "  instead  of  encour 
aging  Manufactures,  he  sent  over  inhuman  and  unreasonable  memorials 
against  them :  viz.     That  while  he  represented  their  tobacco  crops  as 
insuflicient,  from  its  low  price,  to  procure  them  clothing,  he  recommended 
Parliament,  "  to  pass  an  act  forbidding  the  plantations  to  nmkc  their  own 
clothing,"  which,  in  other  words,  is  desiring  a  charitable  law  that  the 
planter  shall  go  naked.* 

But  manufacturing  enterprise  seems  also  to  have  been  less  congenial 

(1)  This  icemi  to  have  leen  the  com-  (3)  Beverley,  p.  82  There  can  be  no 
mcncemcnt  of  the  system  of  jntcrfer«;nce  doubt  that  the  injudicious  policy  of  Grcnt 
with  American  trade  and  manufactures.  Urit.iin  wa,s  much  influenced  by  the  repre 

(2)  liuverlcy  p.  58.  scntationa  of  lier  Colonial  governors. 


to  the  Virgin 

continued  lor 

and  other  s 

staple  Toba( 

hemp,  silk,  v 

Si)  great  \ 

I  rcpvoiicht'uU; 

of  industry 

disposition  ( 

formerly  bes' 

as  linen,  wo 

nowhere  in 

and  bear  gi 

mulberry  trc 

like  a  weed, 

without  any 

first  from  tl 

only  for  co\ 

with  much 

careless  a  r 

others ;   an 

vouchsafe  t 

abominable 

yet  they  ha 

tables,  sto( 

much  as  th 

laziness," 

As  a  rea 

want  of  CO 

very  true  c 

where  tobt 

Tiie  Vi 

raercial  as 

of  agricul 

tobacco  ai 

the  more  ( 

their  soil, 

acquire  es 

tastes  of 

have  not 

whose  set 


BEVERLEY'S   CASTIOATIOX    OF   THE    VinOlN'IANS. 


85 


here  can  he  no 
policy  of  Orcnt 
pil  hy  the  ropre- 
;overnor8. 


I  hemp,  silk,  wool,  leather,  etc.,  whieh  usually  incite  to  sueh  ""'  ert.k.n,-.. 
*      So  Kvcat  was  their  depeiulence,  that  Beverley,  who  published  in  170,,, 
n,n-oa.'hfullv  laments  the  sa.l  .lefectiou  of  his  countrymen  from  the  lial.itH 
of  industry  wiiieh  he  had  con> mended  in  the  first  settlers,  and  the  in- 
disposition  of  the  assemblies  to  give  that  encouragement  which  they  had 
forinerlv  bestowed.     "  They  have  their  clothing  of  all  sorts  from  Lnglaud, 
as  linen,  woolen  and  silk,  hats  and  leather.     Yet  flax  and  hemp  grow 
nowhere  in  the  world  better  than  there.     Their  sheep  yield  good  increase 
„„d  Ijcar  good  fleeces;  but  they  shear  them  only  to  cool  them.     Ihe 
mull)erry  tree,  whose  leaf  i.,  the  proper  food  of  the  silkworm,  grows  there 
like  a  weed,  and  silkworms  have  been  observed  to  thrive  extremely  and 
without  any  hazard.     The  very  furs  that  their  hats  are  n^ade  of  perhaps  go 
first  from  thence  ;  and  most  of  their  hides  lie  and  rot,  or  are  made  use  of 
only  for  covering  dry  goods  in  a  leaky  house.     Indeed,  some  few  hides 
with  much  ado  are  tanned  and  made  into  servants'  shoes,  but  at  so 
careless  a  rate  that  the  planters  don't  care  to  buy  them  if  they  can  get 
others;    and  sometimes   perhaps   a  hotter  manager  than  ordinary  will 
vouchsafe  to  make  a  pair  of  breeches  of  a  deer  skin.     Nay  tuey  are  such 
abominable  ill  husbands,  that  though  their  country  be  overrun  with  wood 
vet  thev  have  all  their  wooden  ware  from  England  ;  their  cabinets,  chairs, 
'tables,  stools,  chests,  boxes,  cart  wheels  and  all  other  things  eve.  so 
much  as  their  bowls  and  bircheu  brooms,  to  the  eternal  reproach  of  their 

laziness."  ,  ,    . 

A.8  a  reason  for  this  state  of  things,  he  assigns,  m  addition  to  their 
want  of  concentration  in  towns,  and  other  causes,  what  was  proba-.ly  a 
very  true  one  in  that  case,  that  "  such  ManuHictures  are  always  neglected 
where  tobacco  bears  any  thing  of  a  price." 

The  Vir-iuia  colonists  were  essentially  Planters,  and  regarded  com- 
mercial as  well  as  manufacturing  pursuits  as  less  respectable  than  those 
of  agriculture:  heace  their  carrying  trade,_the  exportation  of  heir 
toba.^0  and  the  importation  of  their  supplies,_was  left  tu  the  hands  o 
the  more  commercial  Ndw  Englanders.  The  climate  and  the  fertility  of 
their  soil,  the  cheapness  and  abundance  of  the  land,  enabling  many  to 
acquire  estates  almost  manorial  in  extent,  all  concurred  with  the  native 
tasiosuf  the  inhabitants  in  fostering  this  sentiment;  and  Manufactures 
have  not  to  this  day  become  so  general  in  that  State  as  in  many  others 
whose  settlement  has  been  much  more  recent. 


CHAPTER   III. 


BHIP-BUILBINO    IN    THE    COLONIES    OF    MASSACHUSETTS,    MATNE,    CONNEC- 
TICUT,    NEW   IIAMPSHIIIE,    AND   BUODE   ISLAND. 

We  liave  seen  that  the  history  of  the  efforts  made  during  the  first  hun- 
dred  years,  to  introduce  the  Manufacturing  Arts  into  the  oldest  of  the 
American  Colonies,  is  little  more  than  a  record  of  unsuccessful  enterprise. 
Passing,  however,  to  the  Colonists  whose  advent  upon  these  shores  tooli 
place  December  22, 1C.2(),  an  event  still  commemorated  in  solemn  festivals, 
we  shall  probably  find  some  degree  of  success  even  in  their  earliest 
attempts  in  the  industrial  arts.  With  a  sterile  soil  and  a  rugged  climate, 
they  early  betook  themselves  to  Manufacturing  and  Commercial  enter- 
prises ;  and  so  successfully,  that,  at  the  present  day,  there  is  scarcely  a 
useful  art  of  ancient  or  modern  times,  that  is  not  "  naturalized"  among 
them,  and  scarcely  a  region  of  the  globe  so  remote  or  inaccessible  that 
is  not  familiar  with  the  products  of  their  labor.  Those  efforts,  so  fur  a.s 
we  have  been  able  to  glean  a  knowledge  of  them  from  various  sources,  we 
shall  proceed  to  notice,  nearly  in  the  order  of  their  occurrence. 

Next  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  for  the  supply  of  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence, the  abundance  oUmber,  and  the  comparative  ease  with  which  it 
could  be  prepared  for  market,  naturally  attracted  attention  to  it  as  a 
cheap  and  ready  resource.  For  the  products  of  che  forest  in  every  shape 
there  was  an  ample  demand  at  that  time  in  England,  where  the  timber 
had  already  been  so  wasted  for  the  suvi-ly  of  iron-works,  that  as  early  as 
1581  it  had  been  found  necessary  to  v.s'rain  its  use.  The  West  India 
Islands  also  were  ready  to  exchange  th.ir  staple  products  for  pi|)e-staves, 
hoops  and  lumber,  etc.  Hence  the  first  products  of  the  industry  of  the 
Plymouth  colony,  of  Rhode  Island,  and  probably  of  others,  sent  to  a 
foreign  market,  were  manufactured  from  the  almost  inexhaustible  wealth 
of  the  American  forests. 

On  the  lOlh  of  September,  1623,  a  ship  of  one  hundred  and  forty  tons, 
called  the  "Anne,"  Mr.  William  Pierce,  Master,  was  freighted  at  Ply- 
mouth, and  returned  to  England,  her  cargo  consisting  of  Clap-hoanh, 
with  a  few  beaver  skins  and  other  furs. 

Limiting  our  researches,  however,  at  present  to  only  one  branch  of 
(C6) 


FinsT  VESssEi.s  m  n.T  in  amkrua. 


37 


TTS,    MAINE,    CONNEC- 
ISLAND. 

3  during  the  first  hun- 
into  the  oldest  of  the 
nsuccessful  enterprise, 
pen  these  shores  took 
:ed  in  solemn  festivals, 
even  in  their  earliest 
and  a  rugged  climate, 
id  Commercial  enter- 
ay,  there  is  scarcely  a 
"  naturalized"  among 
te  or  inaccessil>le  that 
Those  efforts,  so  far  as 
om  various  sources,  we 
r  occurrence. 
1  of  the  means  of  sub- 
itive  ease  with  which  it 
i  attention  to  it  as  a 
le  forest  in  every  shape 
land,  where  the  timber 
works,  that  as  early  as 
use.     The  West  India 
roducts  for  pi|)e-staves, 
I  of  the  industry  of  the 
ly  of  others,  sent  to  a 
st  inexhaustible  wealth 

hundred  and  forty  tons, 

was  freighted  at  Ply- 

iisting  of  Clap-hoanh, 

to  only  one  branch  of 


'  Industry,  in  which  th6  products  of  the  forest  were  made  availnblc  in  aid 
,  of  Commerce,  and  in  which  this  country  has  since  become  pre-eminent, 
\  viz-    SniP-Buii.PiNO,  we  find  thnt  the  first  vessel,  with  the  e.xceplion  of  a 
\  few  open  boats,  built  by  the  followers  of  De  Soto,  ever  constructed  by 
\  Europeans  in  this  country,  was  a  Dutch  Yacht,  named  the  "  Onrest,"  or 
I  "Restless,"  of  38  feet  keel,  44 J  fVet  long,  lU  <eet  wide,  a.id  16  tons 
I  Imrden.     She  was  built  by  Captain  Adriaen  Block;  at  Manluatan  River, 
ill  1614,  to  supply  the  place  of  one  destroyed  by  fire,  which,  with  four 
.  others,  arrived  there  that  year  from  Amsterdam.     In  lier,  Captain  Ilen- 
;l  drickson,  in  August,  1616,  discovered  the  Schuylkill  Eiver,  and  explored 
"  nearly  the  whole  coast  from  Nova  Scotia  to  the  Capes  of  Virginia,  after 
which  he  returned  to  Holland ;  and  having  presented  a  finely  executed 
map  of  the  coast,  he  asked  a  grant  of  the  country,  which  was  not  con- 
ceded  however.     During  the  same  year  (1614),  Captain  John  Smith  sailed 
for  "North  Virginia"  with  two  ships  and  forty-five  mea  and  boys,  to 
make  experiments  upon  a  gold  and  copper  mine.   Shey  reached  the  island 
Monahigan,  on  tUc  coast  of  Maine,  latitude  43°  30',  in  April,  where 
they  made  some  attempt  at  the  whaling  business  ;  but  failing  in  that,  they 
built  seven  boats,  in  which  thirty-seven  men  made  a  very  successful  fishing 
voyage.     Thus  the  first  humble  attempt  at  the  fishing  business  was  made 
ill  American  bottoms. 
1.  SuiP-BfiLWNa  IN  rLYMOUTii.— In  1624,  within  four  years  after  the 
m  lauding  the  Colony  at  Plymouth  received  an  accession  of  a  carpenter  and 
I  a  salt-maker,  sent  out  by  the  Company.     Of  the  former.  Governor  I]:-ad- 
I  ford  says  "He  quickly  builds  two  very  good  and  strong  shallops,  with  a 
?  great  and  strong  lighter,  and  had  hewn  tiral)er  for  Ketches  (a  much  larger 
^  description  of  vessel),  but  this  spoilt;  for  in  the  heat  of  the  season,  ho 
falls  into  a  fever  and  dies,  to  our  great  loss  and  sorrow."    The  salt-maker 
-for  whom  the  lighter  appears  to  have  been  built— selected  a  site  aud 
erected  a  building,  and  made  an  attempt  to  manufacture  salt  for  the 
I  fishery,  first  at  Cape  Ann,  and  the  next  year  at  Cape  Cod,  both  of  which 

essays  were,  through  his  ignorance  and  self-will,  unsuccessful. 

I      At  Monamet,  now  Sandwich,  near  Cape  Cod,  whither  the  settlers  re- 

^  moved  about  that  time,  a  pinnace  was  built  by  the  Plymouth  people  in  1 6^7, 

for  the  purpose  of  fishing.     But  the  first  vessel  of  any  size  constructea 

I  there,  was  a  bark  built  by  subscription  in  1641.     She  was  of  about  fifty 

I  tons  burden,  and  was  estimated  to  cost  two  hundred  pounds.     It  appears 

\  by  the  records  of  Plymouth,  there  were  thirteen  proprietors,  of  whom 

William  Paddy,  William  Hanburry,  and  John  Barnes,  owned  each  one- 

ei-rhth  part,  and  William  Bradford,  John  Jenny,  John  Atwood,  SMinnel 

Ilicks,   George   Bower,  John  Cook,   Samuel   Jenny,  Thomas   Willeta, 

Stel-)hcn  Hopkins  and  Edward  Bangs,  each  one-sixteenth  part. 


88 


SniP-BUII.OINa  IN   NEW   ENGLAND. 


The  buiUling  of  this  vessel,  though  small,  it  has  been  truly  rcmarL 
..  L  an  undertakiug  at  that  period  of  exigeucy  and  pr.vat.ou,  surpass, 
the  equipment  of  a  Canton  or  Northwest  Ship  w.th  our  neans  at  1 
p  'sent  iay.'XD     John  Drew,  from  Wales,  who  settled  at  Plymouth 
e    ly  as  1660  is  believed  to  have  been  a  ship-carpenter  ;  and  a  nnml 
o    his  descendants,  in  that  and  other  to  wn«,  pursued  the  busmess_-one 
e     a    H  lifax,  on  the  Winetuxet,  a  small  branch  of  Taunton  lUver 
2    SuiP-BCiLmNO  IN  MABSAOursETTS.-In  the  -cords  of  the  Gove, 
and  Company  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  it  is  stated,  Apn'  17.  16-9, 
Jhey  had 'six  shipwrights,  of  whom  Robert  Molton  is  ch.ef";  nnd 
yZ  following  it  was  recorded  that  provision  had  been  sent  over 
'buihling  ships,  as  pitch,  tar,  okum,  tools,  etc.,"  and  it  was  proposed 
„     apan  a  house  for  such  stores,  to  make  an  inventory  of  them,  and 
S-I  Molten  the  charge  of  the  whole.     Fi.hing  vessels  were  to  be  h 
o     har         The  first'vessel  ever  built  in  lfa,ssac/.«...«_Plymouth  b. 
then  a  separate  colony-was  a  bark  launched  at  Myst.c  (now  Medf, 
on  the  fo  rth  of  July,  1C31,  and  named  by  Governor  Winthrop  to  w 
Be  belonged,  "  The  Blessing  of  the  Bay."     In  the  course  of  the   e. 
t    s  vessef  m  de  several  coasting  trips,  and  soon  after  visited  Manha 
a^^  Long  Island.     On  thi,  occasion.  Mr.  Winthrop  says,  the  sa.lors^ 
surprised  at  seeing,  at  Long  Island,  Indian  canoes  of  great  s.ze      S 
of  these  specimens  of  aboriginal  boat  building  were  capabl    o       n 
eighty  persons.     The  natives  were  no  doubt  equally  amazed  at  the 
lorlions  and  novel  architecture  of  the  largest  vessel,  probably,  that 
vot  floated  on  the  waters  of  the  Sound.     Another  vessel  of  s.x^y 
called  the  "  Rebecca,"  was  built  in  1633  at  Medford,  where  Mr^Cm 
the  first  governor  chosen  by  the  Company,  had  a  shipyard.     A  sin 
Te  hund'ed  and  twenty  tons  was  built  at  Marblehead  by  the  peop 

^' Thl  buL'nm  appears  to  have  received  its  first  impulse  about  this 
from  the  same  cause  which  threw  the  colonists  upon  their  own  reso 
or  h  s^^n^ly  of  many  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  They  had  been  h.l 
supplied  with  all  but  their  corn  and  fish,  by  the  many  emigrant 
which  had  yearly  added  to  their  numbers.  A  suspension  o  this  en 
tion  was  brought  about  by  the  civil  wars  in  Enghua'.  .nd  the  d.mu 
intercourse  caused  thereby  left  them  dependent  on  raoreanl.le  ente 
alone,  which  the  state  of  navigation  then  rendered  precarious  m  t 
tremo  "The  general  fear."  srys  Governor  Winthrop.  in  his  Jo 
"of  -ant  of  foreign  commodities,  now  our  money  was  gone  aia 
IhingB  were  like  to  go  well  in  Kngland,  set  us  on  work  to  provide  shi 

t 

(I)  I,  Mo>«,  nut.  Coll.,  1.  278. 


ENGLAND. 

it  has  been  truly  rcmarlietl, 
iicy  and  privation,  surpassing 
Ship  with  our  neans  at  tho 
who  settled  at  Plymouth,  aa 
lip-carpenter  ;  and  a  number 
pursued  the  business — one  of 
branch  of  Taunton  River, 
n  the  records  of  tlie  Governor 
stated,  Apri'  IT,  1629,  that 
irt  Molton  is  chief";  ond  in 
ion  had  been  sent  over  "  for 
tc,"  and  it  was  proposed  to 
an  inventory  of  them,  and  to 
hing  vessels  were  to  be  built 
assacftuse^s— Plymouth  being 
led  at  Mystic  (now  Medford) 
Governor  Winthrop,  to  whom 
In  the  course  of  the  season 
1  soon  after  visited  Manhattan 
Vinthrop  says,  the  sailors  were 
1  canoes  of  great  size.     Some 
ding  were  capable  of  carrying 
ibt  equally  amazed  at  the  pro- 
•gest  vessel,  probably,  that  had 
Another  vessel  of  sixty  tons, 
t  Medford,  where  Mr.  Cradock, 
■,  had  a  shipyard.     A  ship  of 
t  Marblehead  by  the  people  of 

its  first  impulse  about  this  time 
mists  upon  their  own  resources 
of  life.  They  had  been  hitherto 
;h,  by  the  many  emigrant  shiiu 
A  suspension  of  this  cniigra- 
in  Englant',  ond  the  diminisheil 
icndent  on  rafreantile  enft'rpriep 
1  rendered  precarious  in  the  ex- 
rnor  Winthrop,  in  his  Journnl. 
our  money  was  gone,  uuJ  ttmt 
it  us  on  work  to  provide  shipping 

Al,  1.  278. 


FIRST   SHIP  BVII.T   AT   BOSTON. 


89 


of  ou.  own;  for  which  end  Mr.  Peter,  being  a  man  of  very  ^f!^ 

^;:^^:     '      ::-^^^-  were  content  to  take  such  p^  as  tl.e 
0     trl'      u  d  maUe."     Corn  was  that  year  made  a  legal  ten  er  ^k-    eb 
He  speaks  .n  another  place  of  the  Tru.l,  of  '^'-"^  «- »'    f,  ^.j" 
«ix-tv  tons  probably  the  vessel  alluded  to  above,  as  the  first  slup  b mlt  at 
0    0        r'ailed  for  Bilboa  o«  4th  June,  1G42,  with  Thomas  Grave. 

t:l^z  with  fish,,  which  ^''« ->^^»'n,rt^:i;(M.u: 

from  thence  she  freighted  to  Malaga,  and  arrived  there  tl ..  d.ij  (Ma.th 
2     13  0.  S.)  laden  with  wine,  fruit,  oil,  iron,  and  wool,  w  .c     wa.  a 
! Ltadvanta  Jto  the  country  and  gave  encourage.nent  to  trade.  '    Thu 
Sy  btn"  the  circuitous  and  profitable  trade  to  distant  ports,  tn  wh.ch 
"LaWessels.  at  no  remote  period,  bore  so  P— '-^;,;;  ^^  ^^^^,„„ 
I„  1642  five  other  vessels,  all  of  considerable  size,  ^^e  e  bui  t  at  l^oston 
PI  moutt    Dorchester,  and  Salem  ;  and  in  1C44,  two  of  two  hundred  and 
S^a:    'two  hundred  tons  respectively,  were  built  "t.  ^-"  ^'^^  -/ 
Boston,  which  sailed  [or  the  Cana-ies  with  p.pe  staves,  h.h,  etc.     A  sh.p 
of  three  hundred  tons  was  built  at  Boston  in  1(14(.. 

.'New  England's  First  Fruits,"  a  work  publi.shed  tn  London  ,n  1043, 
thus^Jflrs  0  the  subject:  "  Besides  boats,  shallops,  hoyes,  bgh.ers,  ptn- 
ires  w  areina  way  of  building  ships  of  one  hundred  two  hundred, 
I^e  h'-drell,  four  hundred  tonne  :  five  of  them  are  already  at  sea,  many 

T  o"n;^,rt:t  enacted  that.  -  Whereas,  the  coun.y  is 
.ow  i,? la .  with  the  building  of  ships,  which  is  a  business  o  gre.rt  .m- 
pon  Ve  for  the  common  good,  and  therefore  suitable  cares  been  t  ken 
ZTtw:' be  well  performed,  according  to  the  commendab  e  course  of 
Edand  and  other  Wees,  it  is  therefore  or.lered  surveyors  l,e  appomted 
to  etl:e  any  ship'  buDt.  and  her  worK.  to  .-e  that  it  be  pertorn.ed  and 

^"Tl-:::t:^rtrru:iw..owcaUed  warren  .^^ 

.^:::^,  Francis  Wi.;3.^«--JM^^^^^ 

clmsetts,  who  was  a  merchant,  and  aiumuLUiou  .  , 

in  ordered  that  there  be  a  compat.y  c.l  that  t,ad  .  ace.  i       k 

of  „iUer  i.laces   with  power  to  regulate  bu.hling  of  ships,  and  to  n  a  «, 

:l;:::,ei:;.;d  .aw;  a.uong  themsCves  as  may  conduce  to  the  pubhc 


«0 


siiir-nviLDixo  ix  nkw  England. 


good."  Such  a  cliarter  seems  to  admit  a  sunicieiitly  liberal  interiiretatioti. 
Captain  Jolm.son  .says,  in  1647  :  "Many  a  fair  ship  had  her  framing  and 
finishing  here,  besides  lesser  vessels,  barques  and  ketches  ;  many  a  master, 
besides  common  seamen,  had  their  first  learning  in  this  colony.  Boston, 
Charleston,  Salem,  Ipsw'ch,  etc.,  our  maritime  towns,  begjn  to  increa.se 
roundly,  especially  Boston— the  which,  of  a  poor  country  village,  in 
twice  seven  years  is  becoii"^  like  unto  a  small  city." 

"The  people  of  New  England  at  this  time,"  says  Hubbard,  A.  D. 
1G46-51,  "began  to  flourish  much   in    buihling  ships  and  trafiicking 
abroad,  and  had  prospered  very  well  in  these  aflairs,  and  possibly  began 
too  soon  to  seek  great  things  for  themselves  ;  however,  that  they  might 
not  bo  exalted  overmuch  in  things  of  that  nature,  many  aflliclive  dis- 
pen.sations  were  ordered  to  them  in  this  lustre,  which  proved  a  day  of 
great  rebuke  to  New  England  ;  for  the  firct  news  they  heard  from  Europe 
in  tlie  year  1G4C,  was  the  doleful  report  of  two  of  their  ships,  that  were 
wrecked  the  winter  before  upon  the  coast  of  Spain,  one  of  which  was 
built  in  the  country  the  former  year  by  Captain  Hawkins,  a  shipwright 
of  London,  wno  had  lived  divers  years  in  the  country  before,  and  had 
with  others  been  encouraged  to  fall  upon  such  dealings  as  he  had  formerly 
been  af()uainted  with.     At  the  last  he  had  built  a  stately  ship  at  Boston, 
of  four  hundred  ton  and  upward,  and  had  set  her  out  with  great  orna- 
ment of  carving  and  painting,  and  with  much  strength  of  ordnance.    The 
first  time  she  was  rigged  out  for  tlie  sea  was  the  23d  of  November,  1645, 
when  they  set  sail  for  Malaga  with  another  ship  in  her  company,  whereof 
Mr.  Karman  was  master."     He  then  gives  a  narrative  of  her  loss  at  sea 
with  niiietei'U   persons  on  board.     Another  ship  of  two  hundred  and 
sixty  tons  built  ut  CambridjTc,  and  which  sailed  the  same  year  for  the 
Canaries,  he  tells  us,  was  "  set  upon"  by  an  Irish  man-of-war  with  seventy 
men,  and  twenty  piecis  of  ordnance,  the  New  England  ship  having  but 
thirty  mm  and  fourteen  pieces ;  the  latter  got  off  with  the  loss  of  two 
men.     This  action  Mr.  Cooper  regards  as  the  first  regular  naval  combat 
in  which  any  American  vessel  is  known  to  have  been  engaged.     Another 
vessel  of  one  hundred  tons,  built  at  New  Haven,  was  lost  the  same  year, 
with  seventy  persons  and  a  cargo  of  wheat 

By  papers  d.Iivercd  to  the  Commissioners  of  King  Charles  on  the  Ifith 

of  May,   i''.65,  it  appears  that  Massachusetts  then  had  the  following 

'ships  and  tonnage,  viz.:  about  eighty  of  from  twenty  to  forty  tons,  aiiout 

forty  from  forty  to  on    hundred  tons,  and  about  a  dozen  ships  above  ono 

hundred  tons,  making  in  all  over  one  hundred  and  thirty  sail. 

In  October,  1667,  the  General  Ciurt  of  Massachusetts  having  received 
informntion  "that  divcrs^inskiilful  persons  ])rftending  to  bo  sliipwriglits, 
do  build  ships  and  other  vessels  in  several  parts  of  lliis  country,  whidi 


MASSACHUSETTS — SCITU  ATE . 


41 


,1  intcriiretatioti. 
her  framing  and 
,  nmiiy  a  niuslur, 
oloiiy.  Boston, 
.'gj.n  to  increase 
iiitry  village,   in 

lubbard,  A.  D. 

and  trufliekiiig 
d  possibly  began 

that  they  might 
ny  afllietive  dis- 
[iroved  a  day  of 
ard  from  Europe 
■  ships,  tliat  were 
)ne  of  which  was 
ins,  a  shipwright 
J  before,  and  had 
IS  he  had  formerly 
y  sliip  at  Boston, 

with  great  orna- 
f  ordnance.  The 
November,  1645, 
ompatiy,  whereof 
of  her  loss  at  sea 
wo  hundred  and 
sa;iic  year  foi'  the 
-war  with  seventy 
J  ship  having  but 
th  the  loss  of  two 
ular  naval  combat 
igagod.  Another 
ost  the  same  year, 

harleson  the  IClh 
lad  the  following 
)  forty  tons,  about 
■n  ships  above  one 
ly  sail. 

ts  having  rrceivcil 
to  be  sbipwriglits, 
lis  country,  wiiiili 


are  very  defective,  both  of  matter  and  form,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  the 
merchants  and  owners  and  the  danger  of  many  men's  lives  at  sea,"  ordered 
a  committee  of  five  (one  of  whom  was  Captain  P^dwakd  Juiinson,  cited 
on  the  1  ist  page)  to  draw  up  and  present  suitable  laws  for  the  regulatiou 
of  the  business. 

Ou  the  same  occasion  an  order  was  made  to  encourage  the  building  of 
a  ihy  dock,  by  which  it  was  decreed  that  any  person  who  sho\dd  under- 
take the  construction  of  such  a  dock  in  a  suitable  place  in  Boston  or 
Chiirlestown,  fit  to  take  in  a  ship  of  three  hundred  tons,  should  have 
liberty  to  do  so  with  a  monopolv  of  the  privi  ege  for  fifteen  years.  In 
April,  1068,  t.ie  enjoyment  of  the  right  was  extended  to  twenty-ouo 
years  to  the  person  who  should  build  and  keep  a  dock  in  repair. 

Tiie  Court  in  ^fay,  1667,  laid  a  tonnage  duty  of  half  a  pound  of  gnn- 
powdcr,  or  il''  equivalent  in  money,  per  ton  on  all  shii)sand  vessels  above 
twenty  ton-  '  •■  en,  net  belonging  within  the  jurisdiction  or  principally 
owned  within  it.  The  duty  was  levied  on  every  voyage  and  was  chieHy 
designed  for  the  support  of  the  fort.(l) 

In  Dec,  1673,  the  ship  Anthony  and  a  ketch,  were  ordered  to  be  littert 
out  for  the  defense  of  the  coast  and  the  vessels  of  (he  province,  some  of 
which  had  been  taken  by  the  pirates  and  the  Dutch  of  New  Netherland. 
A.,  an  evidence  of  the  energy  with  which  this  business  was  prooccuted 
ill  Massachusetts  from  the  earliest  period,  it  is  mentioned  that  upon  the 
Xorth  Iliver,  crooked,  narrow,  anc  shallow  at  low  water,  ships  were 
Imilt  of  the  size  of  three  and  four  hundred  tons  throughout  its  whole 
course.     t^vHualr,  at  its  mouth,  was  long  noted  for  its  Shiii-building. 
An  early  chronologist  believes  the  art  of  Ship-building,  so  early  estab- 
lished at  North  River  and  Boston,  may  be  tracpd  to  the  dock-yards  of 
Chatham  on  the  Med  way.     In   1606,  Kuwarp  Ooodwiv,  of  Boston,  a 
shipwright  from  Ch;   >.    .,,  i-.i  Kent,  purchased  a  plantation  at  Hcituate, 
where  he  commoner'  '       •  usiness.     Kdwari)  ond  Miciiaei,  Wanton, 
the  former  belicvvd  ;.'  ■■  ■  ''e  ancestor  of  several  governors  of  Rhode 
Island,  whither  ho  sub.    i    ntly  removed,  carried  on   Ship-building  at 
Sfitua'tc  as  early  at  least  as  1670.    The  barque  Advcntim',  of  forty  tons, 
i  owned  by  the  people  of  Scituate  and  Marshfield,  in  1681  engaged  in  the 
West  India  trade.     The  fi.shery  then,  as  well  as  later,  greatly  stimulated 
this  department  of  industry.     Not  long  after  the  close  of  the  Rovolution, 
it  was  declared  by  an  intelligent  writer  to  be  of  more  value  to  Massachu- 
sftts  than  would  be  the  pearl  fisheries  of  Ceylon.     This  business  was 
actively  i.ursued  by  the  inhibitanta  of  Scituate.     They  had  in  1770  over 
thirty  sail  of  vessels  in  the  mackerel  fishery.     From  l-.rstcr's  Shii'-yard 

(I)  RoeorJi  of  Oov.  and  Company,  vol.  ly.,  pp-  ^^b  ^"i  ^'^- 


42 


gHIP-BtlLDINa   IN   NEW   ENGLAND. 


npon  tlie  Scituatc  side  of  the  rivor,  ships  of  five  huiulred  tons  were  turned  || 
out.     The  nggregate  of  the  tonnage  of  ship-rigged  vessels  built  there  in 
the  last  ecntu'ry  would,  if  known,  be  a  considerable  item  in  the  domestic 
tonnnge  of  Massachusetts. 

8ah'm,  so  early  i-icited  to  the  same  branches  of  industry  by  Mr.  Peters, 
long  prosecuted  Ship-building  with  great  enterprise.  Hardy's  Cove,  on 
South  River,  was  in  1677  a  principal  locality  for  that  business.  The 
shipping  of  that  and  other  towns  suffered  much  by  the  Indians  at  this 
time.  They  captured  in  1677  about  fifteen  Ketches  belonging  to  Salem. 
A  jirominent  ship-builder  in  the  town  in  1690  was  Rijiiard  IIolling- 
wouTii,  who  owned  the  property  now  or  recently  in  the  possession  of  the 
Hawthorne  family.  Boston  and  Salem  together,  in  1735,  owned  about 
25,000  tons  of  shipping.  The  reputation  of  Salem  for  commercial  enter- 
prise was  at  that  time,  and  long  after,  second  only  to  that  of  Boston. 
For  several  years  previous  to  1721  it  cleared  yearly  about  80  vessels  on 
foreign  voyages,  and  in  1748  about  130. 

Tlie  enterprise  of  her  merchants,  ship-owners,  and  seamen,  among  the 
earliest  and  most  conspicuous  of  whom  were  the  Derbys,  gave  ample  em- 
ployment to  her  ship-yards.     A  marine  society  was  formed  there  in  1766, 
and  incorporated  in  1771.     This  town  has  also  the  honor  of  having  pro- 
duced from  the  bosom  of  that  adventurous  class  the  distinguished  mathe- 
matician, Nathaniel  Bowwtcii,  to  whom  the  ship-owners,  merchants, 
and  mariners  of  Europe  and  America  are  more  ir-'^ebtcd  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  life  and  property  than  to  any  other  nmn  tliis  country  has  produced. 
While  he  was  himself  i-.  mariner,  and   practically  acquainted  with  the 
wants  of  those  who  "  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,"  he  prepared  with 
marvelous    accuracy  his   Practical    Navirjator,  which,   as  the   London 
Athemvum  has  observed,  "goes  both  in  American  and  British  craft  over 
every  sea  of  the  glo;;e  and  is  probably  the  best  work  of  tho  sort  ever 

publislied." 

Mcwhiiriiport  was  formerly  celebrated  for  the  extent  and  excellence  of 
its  Sliip-building,  as  well  as  its  commerce.  Its  vessels  were  in  repute  in 
Great  Britain  no  less  than  throughout  the  Colonies.  It  ajipears  by  the 
Town  Records  that  Ezra  Cottle  commenced  Sliip-buildin  -  near  tho  foot 
of  F  deral  street  in  that  tov.n  as  early  as  160S.  In  1723  the  same  busi- 
ness was  carried  on  in  the  locality  known  as  Tliorla's  Bridge.  The  town 
was  noted  for  tho  number  of  vessels  yearly  turned  out  from  its  ship-yards. 
The  business  declined  considerably  after  the  commencement  of  the  Revo- 
lution. The  Continental  frigates  Jhnlon  and  Hancock  were  built  there, 
besides  many  largo  private  armed  vessels  during  the  war.  In  1772  ninety 
vessels  were  built  there;  in  1788  only  three.  Notwithstanding  the  re- 
verses which  overtook  all  commercial  towns  during  that  period,  New- 


NEWBITRYPOUT— NEW   BF.PFOnD— SALISBURY,    KTC. 


43 


ms  were  turned 
3  built  tliere  in 
n  the  douiestic 

by  Mr.  Peters, 
irdy's  Cove,  on 
business.  The 
Indians  at  this 
i<)fing  to  Sivlera. 

lARD   IIOLUNO- 

ossesslon  of  the 
5,  owned  about 
iminercial  enter- 
that  of  Boston, 
ut  80  vessels  on 

men,  among  the 
gave  ample  era- 
d  there  in  1706, 
r  of  having  pro- 
nguished  mathe- 
ners,  merchants, 
for  the  prescrva- 
ry  has  produced. 
n\inted  with  the 
le  prepored  with 
as  the   London 
British  craft  over 
of  the  sort  ever 

ind  excellence  of 
were  in  repute  in 
It.  appears  by  the 
tin  -  near  the  foot 
23  the  same  busi- 
ridge.  Tiie  town 
om  its  ship-yards, 
nent  of  the  llevo- 
;  were  built  there. 
r.  In  1772  ninety 
thstandiiig  the  re- 
hut  i)eriod,  New- 


.        in   I70n  own.^d  nearly  12,000  tons  of  shipping,  which,  in  the  next 
■r  years!  wTincrL/to  31,974  tons.    Its  reputation  in  this  branch 

'  tjt^Z^^^  ^™ous  in  Ship-building  long  be^e  tl^e  R^ntion. 

2C;f:' the  several  branches  of  the  ^^^^^  ^  ^^^J^:: 

1  e  enga.^ed.     The  Cod,  Mackerel,  and  particnlarly  the  \^  hale  F   1   r> 

lust  be'reVrded  as  the  chief  support  of  the  Ship-budd>ng  nUe.est.  of 

"^U;;t  close  of  the  last  century  this  was  the  principal  fish-pn>ducing 

the     r'st  to  push  that  arduous  enterprise  among  the  denuens  of  th 
Scut  ern  Se         It  was  the  school  in  which  American  seamen  accpured 
fCt  Iritte  skill  which  has  covered   the  ocean  w.th  our  merchant 

^%Mury  Massachusetts,  a  few  miles  from  Newburyport,  was  from  an 

sr  ".1  orr  „r ...  tL.,  or  ^ ...  c^^^^ 

„   ,r«r%n  B*.  plac.  in  tl,e  public  regard  «ttcrw.rd  .cc«,„od  i.y 
,  1    f,„r  the  w«r  »n»  conrerted  into  on  En.t  li.di»mnn. 

IJZ-r:, -et  r,S':«a««i.  Bo.,  or  U,e..  c"™-' ™  - 
Lntir  extent  than  tl.ey  liave  done  since  tlml  l.ine.  In  t  le  counlM 
o!  K.L  Midd,e.ex,a„d  8uMi<,  tl,o  b««»«»  1«  .>««1"  I"-"  "»- 
Bidcrable  one. 


44 


SlIIP-BUILPINO    IN    NKW   ENGLAND. 


3.  Smp-BciLDiNO  IN  THE  DisTiucT  OP  Maine.— In  Maine,  then  and 
lonff  after  a  district  of  Massaciiusetts,  upon  the  numerous  hays,  coves, 
and  streams  near  the  seaboard,  in  h)calities  now  destitute    in  a  great 
measure  of  the  timber  formerly  so  abundant,  Ship-building  was  com- 
menced with  energy  almost  as  early  as  in  any  part  of  the  country.     It 
was  beg.!n  there  some  time  previous  to  the  acquisition  by  Massachusetts 
of  a  right  to  the  territory  by  purchase  from  the  heirs  of  Gorges  in  1677. 
Captain  John  Smith,  the  hero  of  Virginia,  visited  the  coast  in  1614  for 
the  purposes  of  trade  and  fishing,  and  at  the  island  of  Monhegan,  in 
Lincoln  Courty,  erected  dwellings  and  built  a  number  of  fishing  boats. 
There,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  New  England  provinces,  the  fishery  was 
the  principal  occasion  of  the  settlement  of  many  towns,  and  a  source  of 
profit  and  even  wealth  to  many  early  settlers.     It  was  the  great  means 
of  fostering  the  ohip-building  interests.     Next  to  Miese,  the  conversion 
of  the  abundant  timber  which  densely  clothed  the  banks  of  all  the  eastern 
rivers  furnished    the   most  profitable  return   for  labor.      Timber,  con- 
verted into  masting,  l-'uber,  staves,  shingles,  and  other  merchantable 
forms,  by  axemen  and  numerous  saw-mills,  was  floated  to  the  tide-waters, 
where'  -esscls  were  built  to  convey  it  along  with  their  fish  to  England, 
Spain,  the  Canaries,  and  West  India  Islands,  and  other  foreign  and 
domestic  ports,  to  be  exchanged  for  the  manufactures  of  Europe,  salt, 
wines,  and  tropical  products,  or  provisions  from  the  Southern  Colonies. 
The  vessels  were  often  sold  in  foreign  ports  after  the  discharge  of  their 
cargoes,  the  great  cheapness  with  which  they  were  constructed  enabling 
their  owners  to  do  so  at  a  good  profit,  and  at  a  less  price  than  those 
built  in  other  countries.     These  branches  of  industry  combined,  consti- 
tuted for  two  hundred  years  the  principal  occupations  of  the  people  of 
'.laine  and  parts  of  New  Hamps  ire,  and  enlivened  with  enterprise  many 
places  in  which  the  hum  of  the  factory  has  succeeded  to  the  ring  of  the 
axe  or  the  clatter  of  the  saw-mill,  and  others  still  which  are  now  the  sites 
of  flourishing  cities. 

Pemaquid  Point,  twelve  miles  north  of  Monhegan,  was  an  early  fish- 
ing station,  much  frequented  by  the  English  on  the  first  settlement  of 
Maine,  at  which  Ship-building  was  also  carried  on.  At  this  place  was 
born,  in  1650,  Sir  William  Puirps,  the  first  Royal  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, who,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  commenced  an  apprenticeship  to 
the  Ship-building  Art.  On  the  completion  of  his  service  he  worked  at 
the  trade  for  a  time  in  Boston,  and  subsequently  engaged  in  it  on  his 
own  account  on  the  Sheopscote  River,  east  of  the  Kennebec,  where  he 
built  ft  ship  for  merchants  in  Boston.  He  afterward  abandoned  the 
business  for  a  maritime  life,  and  was  knighted  by  James  the  Second 
in  consideration  of  his  having,  in  1687,  successfully  conducted  an  cxpedi- 


MAINE— PEMAQUID—KITTKRT,    ETC. 


45 


kliiiiie,  then  and 
us  liays,  coves, 
lit'    ill  a  great 
ding  was  com- 
ic country.     It 
r  Massachusetts 
Jorges  in  1677. 
last  in  1614  for 
'  Monliegan,  in 
f  fisliing  boats, 
the  fishery  was 
iiid  a  source  of 
lie  great  means 
,  the  conversion 
if  all  the  eastern 
Timber,  con- 
!r  merchantable 
the  tide-waters, 
ish  to  England, 
ler  foreign  and 
of  Europe,  salt, 
ithern  Colonies, 
scharge  of  their 
ructed  enabling 
irice  than  those 
ombined,  consti- 
f  the  people  of 
enterprise  many 
)  the  ring  of  the 
ire  now  the  sites 

ms  an  enrly  fish- 
st  settlement  of 
.t  this  place  was 
■ernor  of  Massa- 
pprenticeship  to 
ce  he  worked  at 
;ed  in  it  on  his 
inebec,  where  he 
abandoned  the 
mes  the  Second 
lucted  an  expedi- 


tion in  search  of  a  Spanish  wreck  sunk  near  Hispaniola,  from  which 
property  to  the  value  of  £300,000  was  recovered.  This  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  his  future  wealth,  although  it  is  said  his  generosity  allowed  him 
to  receive  oidy  £16,000  as  his  own  share.  He  was  afterward  conspicuous 
in  the  affairs  of  the  New  England  provinces. 

At  Kiltery  Point,  on  the  Piscataqua,  opposite  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,the 
oldest  corporate  town  in  the  State,  Ship-building  was  also  successfully 
conducted  at  a  very  early  period.     Tliis  place,  in   1696,  gave  birth  to 
another  distinguished  Provincial,  Sir  William  Peppeukll,  an  eminent 
merchant  of  Mass.,  who  was  also  long  identified  with  the  fisiiing  and  ship- 
building industry  of  the  province.     His  father,  "William  Pepperell,  a 
native  of  Tavistock,  near  Exeter,  in  Cornwall,  England,  while  a  young 
man  in  humble  circumstances,  came  to  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  nine  miles 
south  of  Kittery,  in  1675,  in  a  fishing  vessel,  that  place  being  celebrated 
for  producing  the  delicate  dunph,  which  sell  much  higher  than  cod. 
After  four  or  five  years  spent  in  the  business,  he  removed  to  Kiltery,  and 
married  the  daughter  of  an  old  ship-builder,  John  Briiy,  who  conducted 
the  ship  and  boat-building  business  largely  after  the  conclnsion  of  King 
Philip's  war  had  rendered  property  more  safe.     The  Pepperells  also  built 
many  vessels  for  themselves  and  others,  and  had,  at  times,  over  one  hun- 
dred sail  on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  either  maimed  by  them  or  let 
on  shares,  engaged  in  the  fisheries,  and  they  traded  largely  with  southern 
ports.     The  elder  Colonel  Pepperell,  died  in   1734,  after  having  filled 
several  offices,  civil,  judicial  and  military.     His  operations  at  an  early 
period  upjiear  to  have  been  extended  to  other  rivers  than  the  Piscataqua, 
and  vessels  were  built  for  him  at  Snco,  where  he  afterward  purchased 
large  tracts  of  land,  now  covered  .>y  the  factories  and  improvements  of  that 
place.     A  letter  from  him  to  Captain  John  Hill,  Commander  of  the  Fort 
at  Saco,  in  November,  1696,  the  year  in  which  his  son.  Sir  William,  was 
born,  exhibits  the  energy  of  the  man,  a  needful  virtue  in  those  perilous 
days,  and  illustrates  the  customs  of  the  times  among  8hip-buildcrs.(l) 

For  some  years  previous  to  the  French  war,  Ship-biiilding  had  been 
active  8. id  profitable  in  Maine,  and  large  numbers  were  to  be  seen  on  the 
stocks,  as  well  as  throughout  New  England  generally.   The  several  colonies 


(1)  "  Sir — With  much  troublel  have  ijotten 
men  and  sent  lor  the  Sloop,  and  ilosiro  you 
to  despatch  Ihi'tu  with  all  Hpecd  j  for,  if  all 
thinRd  be  roiidy,  they  may  be  fitted  to  leave 
in  two  dnys  as  well  aa  in  seven  years.  If 
jou  and  the  Ciirpentcr  think  it  convenient, 
»nd  the  ({round  has  not  too  much  decent, 
I  think  it  iniiy  ho  eafo  and  belter  to  bend 
her  Jails  heforo  you  launch   her,  ao  as  to 


leave  immediately.  But  I  .shall  leave  it  to 
7  Mr  ninnngemcnt,  and  desire  you  to  hasten 
then,  day  and  ni(,'ht ;  for,  sir,  it  will  be  diin- 
gcrnu»  tarrying  there,  on  account  of  hostile 
envaire.'  in  the  vicinity;  and  it  will  he  very 
expensive  to  keep  the  men  upon  pay.  1 
send  you  a  hiirnd  of  ruin,  and  tlien^  is  a  casli 
of  wine  to  hiunch  willi." 


46 


SniP-BflLPINa   IN   NEW   ENGLAND. 


Of  New  England  had  in  1741,  about  one  thousand  sail  cnfrafrcd  in  the 
fishery  nearly  the  whole  of  which  was  probably  of  home  construction,  as 
vessels'  were  frequently  built  for  English  and  foreign  merchants.     After 
the  peace  it  revived  again,  and  the  ship-yards  of  Maine  tnrnea  out  great 
numbers  of  the  new  class  of  vessels,  called  Schoo     rs,  which  were  found 
particularly  useful  in  fishing,  one  of  them  being  worth,  in  the  cod-fishing, 
two  of  the  shallops  in  use  before  their  introduction.     The  small  vessels 
built  for  this  service  were  in  great  demand.     They  were  constructed  not 
only  on  the  banks  of  the  larger  rivers  and  in  the  numerous  coves  along 
the  seaboard,  b.  t  far  up  the  smaller  tributary  streams  at  the  head  of 
navigation,  and  sometimes  at  considerable  distance  from  the  river,  to 
whidi  thev  were  drawn  on  sledges  in  the  winter  season.     They  were  not 
unfrequcntly  built  two  or  three  miles  from  the  water,  and  as  timber  became 
Bcarcer  were  occasionally  framed  several  miles  inland,  and  tlicn  taken  apart 
and  transported  to  the  water-side,  where  they  were  reconstructed  and 

launched.  .    .    .   ,   ,  .1     ^       t> 

In  addition  to  Pemaquid  ard  Kittery,  which  included  the  two  Ber- 
wicks  and  Elliot,  the  towns  of  Wiscasset,  Warren,  Portland,  or  Falmouth, 
and  other  places  on  the  Casco  and  Penobscot  Bays,  on  the  Kennebec, 
S-ico  Sc  George's,  and  more  eastern  rivers,  became  early  engaged  in  this 
busim-s8.     Bath,  Bangor,  Brunswick,  and  other  extreme  eastern  town?, 
row  so  extensively  engaged  in  ship-building,  were  settled  at  a  date  con- 
siderably  later,  and  had  made  comparatively  little  progress  in  it  durinf? 
the  period  now  under  review.     Bath,  which  has  now  a  registered  tonnage 
of  over  one  hundred  thousand  tons,  was  first  permanently  settled  in  1756. 
Bangor  settled  in  1769,  had  in  1790  only  160  inhabitants.     The  vast 
lumber  trade  and  other  business  of  this  town  now  employs  between  two 
and  three  thousand  sail  of  vessels  annually.     A  large  part  of  Falmouth, 
including  Portland,  was  burned  by  an  English  frigate  in  1775.     bhip- 
building  has  long  been  an  important  business  of  the  place.     In  1 785,  the 
two  towns  owned  5341  tons,  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade,  and  lf.28  tons 
in  the  fishing  and  coasting  business,  amounting  altogether  to  6969  tons. 
The  tonnage  registered  at  that  port  in  1795.  was   13.798.     Wiscasset 
employed,  in  1789.  thirty-five  vessels  of  2090  tons,  and  in  1795,  registered 
102  vessels  of  9944  tons  in  the  aggregate. 

Ships  were  built  at  this  period  on  the  rivers  of  Maine,  according  to  M. 
de  Rochefaucault,  forabout  $26.50  per  ton,  or  $33.50  all  things  supplied, 
and  were  sold  in  Boston  for  $40  to  $43  per  ton.  The  tonnage  of  Maine 
has  ahvavs  been  large  in  proportion  to  her  population.  In  the  beginning 
of  this  centnrv,  it  amounted  to  87,390  tons.  The  yearly  returns  of  new 
tonnage  for  ihat  State,  now  nearly  equals  one-third  that  of  the  whole 
Union, 


JOHN   PECK— CAMCO   SHIPS. 


4T 


cngnfrcd  in  the 
coustnictioii,  as 
3rchaiits.  After 
turned  out  great 
,'liich  were  found 
I  tlie  cod-fishing, 
riie  small  vessels 

constructed  not 
rous  coves  along 

at  the  head  of 
om  the  river,  to 
They  were  not 
as  timber  became 
1  then  taken  apart 
econstrucled  and 

led  the  two  Ber- 
and,  or  Falmouth, 
m  the  Kennebec, 
ly  engaged  in  this 
ne  eastern  towns, 
ed  at  a  date  con- 
irress  in  it  during 
registered  tonnage 
;ly  settled  in  1756. 
bitants.     The  vast 
iloys  between  two 
part  of  Falmouth, 
ein  1775.     Ship- 
ace.     In  17 85,  the 
ade,  and  lf)28  tons 
nher  to  69fi9  tons. 
3,798.     Wiscassel 
in  1795,  registered 

ne,  according  to  M. 
all  things  supplied, 
!  tonnnge  of  Maine 
In  the  beginning 
arly  returns  of  new 
3  tiiat  of  the  whole 


One  of  the  most  eminent  ship-builders  in  the  Colonies  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Revolution,  and  among  the  first  in  this  country  to  apply  the 
principles  of  science  in  the  draughting  and  modeling  of  ships,  was  John 
Peck,  of  Boston.  Peek  is  said  to  have  been  "  the  most  scientific,  as  well 
as  the  most  successful  naval  architect  which  the  United  States  had  then 
produced."  The  ships  built  by  him  were  so  superior  to  any  then  known, 
that  they  attracted  the  attention  of  Congress,  and  he  was  employed  to 
build  some  of  their  ships  of  war.  But  his  talents  did  not  bring  him  that 
pecuniary  reward  which  all  who  knew  the  superiority  of  his  skill,  have 

admitted  was  his  due. 

The  success  of  Mr.  Peck  as  a  Marine  Architect,  in  combining  the  great 
essentials  of  stability,  capacity  and  swiftness,  was  admitted  by  intelligent 
forei.rners.  The  Belisarius,  the  Hazard,  and  the  Rattlesnake,  constructed 
by  him  were  known  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution  for  their  fast  sailing, 
a  quality  to  which  the  American  cruisers  owed  their  efficiency  more  than 
anv  other  They  were  also  said  to  carry  more  than  others  of  the  same 
cla'ss.  It  was  a  common  remarlr  "^  that  period,  that  "to  have  a  perfect 
vessel  it  must  have  a  Boston  bottom  and  Philadelphia  sides." 

In  the  year  1676,  just  a  century  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
the  following  vessels  are  said  to  have  been  built  in  Boston  and  its  vicinity, 
and  then  belonged  to  that  neighborhood,  vis. : 

30  vessels  between  100  r  id  250  tons. 
200       "  "  50    "    100     " 

200       "  "  30    "      50     " 

300       "  "  6    "      10     " 

There  were  at  this  time  in  the  Colony,  thirty  Master  Shipwrights.  (1) 
The  trade  of  Massachusetts  in  1717,  employed  3493  sailors,  and  492 
ships  whose  tonnage  amounted  25,406.  In  1731,  there  were  600  sail  of 
shins  and  sloops  of  thirty-eight  thousand  tons  burden,  engaged  in  the 
same  commerce  one  half  of  which  traded  to  Europe.  From  five  to  six 
thousand  men,  and  one  thousand  sail  of  vessels  were  at  the  same  time 
employed  in  the  fisheries.  The  tonnage  employed  in  these  branches  was 
chiefly  home  built.  The  ship-yards  at  that  date  were  actively  employed, 
and  many  vessels  were  sold  in  foreign  ports. 

Dr  Douglass  has  the  following  observations  on  New  England  Ship- 
building  about  the  year  174G.  "  In  New  England  Ship-building  a  vessel 
fitted  to  sea,  two-thirds  of  the  cost  is  a  profit  to  the  country,  the  other 
third  is  iron,  cordage,  sail-cloth  and  small  stores,  from  Great  Bntain. 
The  ships  built  in  Boston,  exceed  all  of  other  building  yards,  the  many 

(1)  2  M...8.  Hist.  Coll.  vol.  X.  p.  103  ;  Ilutcbinson,  M«,-s.,  Cooper's  Ui.t.  U.  S.  Navy 


48 


SIIlP-BUILPINa   IN    NEW   ENQI-AND. 


merchants  and  ship-masters,  good  connoisseurs,  transienily  inspect  thuni ; 
every  bad  piece  of  timber,  or  length  of  phmk  is  censured.     In  Newberry,  , 
where  tliey  arc  not  much  inspected,  the  builders  act  at  pleusur.',  and  as 
the  contracts  are  generally  to  be  paid  in  goods,  they  build  accordingly ; 

thus  a  noted  builder,  T.  W.,  jocosely  said  'that  he  had  built  for a 

calicoe  ship.'  The  other  country  building  places  are  still  worse,  particu- 
larly North  River,  where,  instead  of  what  is  reckoned  ship-timber,  they 
use  forest  wood  of  any  sort  ;  these  vessels,  with  repairs,  last  only  two  or 
three  voyages,  and  are  designed  as  a  bite  upon  ship-buyers  at  home."  In 
relation  to  the  business  in  Boston,  he  afterward  remarks:  "Ship-buildmg 
is  one  of  the  greatest  articles  of  our  trade  and  manufacture.  It  employs 
and  maintains  about  thirty  several  denominations  of  tradesmen  and  arti- 
ficers ;  but  as  in  all  other  articles,  so  in  this,  more  particularly,  for  a  few 
late  years,  this  country  has  the  symptoms  of  a  galloping  (a  vulgar  expres- 
sion) consumption,  not  so  desperate  but  by  the  administration  of  a  skillful 
physician  it  may  recover  an  athletic  state  of  health,  sublata  causa  tolhtur 
effeclus.  I  shall  illustrate  the  gradual  decay  of  Ship-building,  by  the 
Ship-building  in  Boston,  meaning  top-sail  vessels. 

Anno  1138  on  the  stocks  41  vessels  of  6,324  tons. 

<<      1743  "  30 

"      1T46  "  20 

II      1749  "  15       "  2,450  tons." 

In  1769,  Massachusetts,  according  to  the  tables  of  Lord  Sheffield, 
extracted  from  the  books  of  the  Custom  House  at  Boston,  built  new 
vessels  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven.     Their  registered 
tonnage,  which  was  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  barrels  of  flour  to  a  ton,  and 
was  always  below  the  real  tonnage,  was  eight  thousand  and  thirteen  tons. 
The  amount  was  m^re  than  three  times  that  of  any  other  Colony,  and  was 
nearly  equid  to  that  of  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Maryland,  collectively,  which  were  the  next  four  in  amount. 
The  average  tonnage  of  each  vessel,  making  an  addition  of  one-fifth  to  the 
registered  amount,  according  to  the  official  direction,  was  about  seventy 
tons,  which  was  below  those  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  South  Caro- 
lina.'   The  real  tonnage  is  believed  to  h;.ve  been  one-third  higher  than 
the  registered,  which  would  give  a  total  of  over  ten  thousand  tons  of  new 
shipping  for  that  year.     The  tonnage  returned  in  that  year  for  Massachu- 
setts and  New  Hampshire,  was  more  than  half  that  of  all  the  Colonies 
now  in  the  Union,  a  proportion  which  was  preserved  by  these  provinces 
in  the  two  years  following. 

The  shipping  cleared  from  the  province  in  the  year  ending  January  5, 

mi,  was  70,234  tons,  and  the  amount  entered  was  65,271,  the  outward 
exceeding  the  inwt.id  by  5,013  tons,  partly  made  up  of  shipping  built  for 


FlRSl'    VESSEL   BLlhT    IN    CONNECTICUT. 


49 


y  iiisiioet  lliuni ; 

III  Newbinry, 

pleiisurj,  and  as 

ild  accordingly ; 

built  for  ■ a 

1  worse,  particu- 
iliip-tiniber,  they 

last  only  two  or 
rs  at  home."  In 
:  "Ship-building 
ure.  It  employs 
Jesmen  and  arti- 
cularly,  for  a  few 
(a  vulgar  expres- 
ation  of  a  skillful 
ita  causa  tollitur 
•  building,  by  the 

ton.s. 


tons." 

r  Lord  Sheffield, 

Joston,  built  new 

Their  registered 
our  to  a  ton,  and 
and  thirteen  tons. 
r  Colony,  and  was 
ode  Island,  Penn- 
ct  four  in  amount, 
of  one- fifth  to  the 
ms  about  seventy 

and  South  Caro- 
tliird  higher  than 
usand  tons  of  new 
ear  for  Massuchu- 
if  all  the  Colonies 
by  these  provinces 

ending  January  5, 
j,271,  the  outward 
"shipping  built  for 


fale  of  which  Now  England  at  this  period,  annually  sold  about  filly  vc...scl>. 
Vs  a  branch  of  her  n.a.a.fuctures,  the  building  of  ships  for  sule  was  alway. 
a  considerable  source  of  profit  and  employment  in  Massachusetts      It 
«as  predicted  by  Lord  Shcflield  in  1783,  that  the  business  nvou Ul  be  at 
an  end,  after  the  separation  of  the  Colonies,  if  Knghuul,  which  had  alw^.ys 
l,een  a  principal  customer,  ceased  to  take  An.erican  shipping.     Upon 
I  the  revival  of  commerce,  however,  after  the  organization  ot  the  Goveni- 
„,Mit  under  the  present  Consiitntiun,  and  the  imposition  of  tonnage  and 
other  discriminating  duties,  the  business  extended  with  greater  rapulity 
than  before  the  war.     The  tonnage  returned  by  the  State,  for  the  year 
tndin-  March  4,  17 'J I,  of  which  we  are  unable  to  give  the  precise  amount, 
is  staU'd  by  Mr.  Tench  Coxe,  in  his  review  of  Lord  Shellield's  observa- 
tions to  have  exceeded  the  average  of  the  three  years,  1769,  17.0,  and 
ml    as  given  in  his  Lo.dship's  tables,  by  three  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  thirteen  tons.     The  district  of  Maine  alone,  in  the  eighteen  months 
preceding  December  31,  1792,  built  15,470  tons,  although  the  returns 
were  incomplete  for  that  section.  _ 

4    Smi>-Hmu,iNO  in  CoNNEcncuT.-Tlie  earliest  ment.on  we  hav-c  me 
with  of  Ship-building  in  ConnccUvut  is  in  1C40.  when  the  General  Court 
declared-   "It  is   thought   necessary  for    the  comlbrtable    support   ut 
these  plantations,  that  a  trade  in  cotten  wool:  be  sen  nppon   and   at- 
temoted,  and  for  the  furthering  thereof  it  hath  pleased  the  Oovemu 
that'  noiv  is   (Edward    Hopkins,  Esq.)  to  undertake  the  finishing  anU 
setting  forth  a  ves,sel  with  convenient  speed  to  those  parts  where    he 
'  said  comodity  is  to  be  had,  if  it  be  phesable,  etc,"     It  is  probab  e  that 
the  vessel  was  fini.shed    and   dispatched    for  the   purpose   named;    fo. 
uiore  than  two  years  after,  in  accordance  with  the  Court  s  order,  o 
which   the   above   is   a  part  of  the  preamble,  the   several   towns  h  d 
aLd  upon  the   proportion  of  the  "cotten   wooll"  that  each  shou  d 
!  eto     Mr.  Ilop'lcin;.     The  contingent  for  Hartford  was  £200  worUi. 
In  he  same  year  C1G42)  the  court  appointed  "  Persons  to  tae  tl.e  ac- 
eount  of  what  the  several  towns  will  disburse  toward  the  building  ol  a 
shippe,  and  (if  feasible)  they  have  power  to  engage  workmen  and    o 
cat^-y  ;n  the  w.rk."     In  th...  year  it  was  ordered  that  hemp-seed  should 
Zwn.or  sold  to  those  who  would  sow-"  For  the  '^f -J-;;  >•;';; 
the  River  with  cordage  towards  the  rigging  of  sliipps."     In   IfM  by 
the  same  authority,  all  vessels  upon  the  stock3  were  exempted   ftom 

taxations  in  that  colony."  (1)  „,.    ,     x  i     .i  r,-  ti.n  V..w 

Soon  after  the  building  of  the  vessel  at  Rhode  Island  for  the  N 
Haven  Colony  in  1646,  which  was  lost  at  sea  on  her  hrst  voyag..  the 

(1)  Colonial  Records,  vol.  1,  pp.  59,  70  ;  vol.  2.  p.  255. 


60 


SniPBtlLDINa    IN    NEW   ENGLAND. 


united  Colonies  of  Nesv  Haven  and  Hartford  bu.  t  and    <        -^       - 
carrying  to  guns  and  forty  men  to  cruise  on  Long  I.  and  S     nd   lo 
prevent  the  encroaeh.nents  of  the  Duleh  in  that  quarter      ih  s  Mr 
Too,     CO  aiders  to  have  been  the  first  regular  cruiser  en.ployed  by  th 
Sean  Cdonists,  who  afterward  became  so  efficient  i»  that  «l>cc.es  of 

"Thrattention  of  scientific  and  practical  men  in  England  was  in  1662 
.al  ed  0  the  advantages  of  some  of  the  North  Amer.can  P-v-e  for 
SI  in-bnilding  by  Ml'  John  Winthrop  of  Connecticut,  who,  in  beptem- 
,  1   Sar  while  in  England  as  agent  for  the  Colony  to  obtain  a 

rL;  ::i^rp:r:'on  t^s  Ll^ect  before  tl^Koy.  ^i^  tl...  ju^ 
incorporated.  He  had  been  some  sixteen  years  a  resident  ot  Con.ucl.cut 
b  t  w     b^tve  Virginia  was  more  especially  pointed  out  as  a  fording 

BHtish  merctant.  which  afterward  became  a  profitable  source  of  employ 

^";:^L:^.  on  U.  Thames,  appears  at  an  early  P^^  -^^;- 
led  the  way  in  Ship-building  in  Connecticut;  but  the  vessels  at  fi  .t  con 
1  .td  there  were  for  the  most  part  of  a  small  description.     The  fir.t 
:  Z   th' ^  A^^^  was  John  Coit.  whose  master  builder  was  his  own 

Tltw    U^  Mould.    The  latter  appears  to  have  had  some  reputa  ion 
Ta  builder  and  the  vssels  turned  out  from  their  ship-yard  were  goner- 
rcandild'svess^^^^     Between  1660  and  l^CMhey  built  a  con- 
siderable  number  of  small  vessels  called  barques,  ranging  in  burden  fioii 
twelve  to  twentv  tons,  and  in  value  from  fifty  to  eighty  pounds  :  one  o 
thes     '  The  Endeavour,"  made  several  voyages  to  the  West  Indies,  and 
vas  ;old        Barbadoes  for  two  thousand  pounds  of  s.,ar.     A  vessel 
caUer"  The  New  London  Tryall."  was  built  in  1661  by  John  Llderkn 
aether  of    1.;  primitive  engineers  of  the  place,  and  one  of  the  origund 
;       eLof  the'town.  by  contract  with  merchants  of  New    ;ondon  a 
Newport,  which  cost,  exclusive  of  iron-work,  nails  spikes  etc    two  In 
dred  pounds  :  this  was  considered  a  great  enterprise  at  that  time      S. 
Is  the  first  actual  merchant-vessel  owned  in  that  place.     Ihe  t  im 
Znueso  frequently  met  with  in  the  history  of  that  period,  was  applied 
oly 'snal   vessel  above  the  si.e  of  a  boat.     The  shallops  and  pinnace. 
Iftivt  day  were  little  more  than  decked  boats  of  about  twenty   ons. 
Th     •  N  w  L  ;.don."  of  seventy  tons,  called  a  ship,  bnilt  by  Moi.l     . 
C    t  in  1666  for  merchants  of  New  London,  was  the  largest  vessel    ha 
'Id^en  built  there  up  to  that  time.     Many  of  these  small  craft,  which 


CONNEOTICVT— NEW    LONDON, 


51 


)jic<l  a  vessel 
d  Somid,  to 
'.  TliiM  Mr 
loycd  by  lUo 
lat  species  of 

1  was  in  1662 
provinces  for 
0,  in  Septem- 
ny  to  obtain  a 
iety,  llien  just 
f  Connecticut, 
t  as  iitfording 
ts  timber  and 
debted  to  tlie 
ly  of  tlie  arts ; 
aw  orders  froia 
irce  of  emiiK'y 

leriod  to  have 
els  at  first  con- 
ion.     The  first 
ler  was  his  own 
some  reputation 
ard  were  gcner- 
ley  built  a  con- 
in  burden  from 
pounds :  one  of 
V' est  Indies,  and 
igar.     A  vessel 
John  Elderkin, 
J  of  the  original 
ew  London  and 
;s,  etc.,  two  hun- 
that  time.     Slio 
lace.     The  term 
riod,  was  applied 
ops  and  pinnaces 
,out  twenty  tons, 
iiilt  by  Mo\ild  & 
irffest  vessel  that 
small  craft,  which 


were  cliiefly  employed  in  the  coasting  business,  belong.^  as  did  tlieir 
cargoes,  in  part  to  their  masters :  and  New  London  was  as  much  noted 
at  that  period  for  these  coasting  vessels  and  skippers,  as  in  late  years  for 
her  smacks  and  smackmen.  Voyages  were,  however,  occasionally  made 
to  the  West  Indies,  to  Newfoundland,  and  even  to  Europe.  With  the 
Islands  a  considerable  trade  was  growing  up  already ;  and  in  1C61,  we 
are  informed  there  was  in  New  London  a  "still  and  worm,"  recently  set 
up  for  distilling  rum  from  the  molasses  prooired  there  in  exchange  for 
the  exports  of  the  Colony.  As  early  m  166S-9,  there  was  a  Company 
formed  at  that  port  for  the  purpose  of  Whale-fishing  in  boats  along  the 
coast.  Whaling  was  commenced  about  eight  years  previous  to  this  by 
the  people  of  Nantucket,  but  for  many  years  was  confined  principally  to 

the  coasts. 

The  largest  ship  built  by  Mould  was  the  "  John  Hester,"  of  ninety  or 
a  hundred  tons,  in  1678 ;  but  many  of  less  size,  some  of  which  made 
voyages  to  Euroi)e,  were  built  by  him.  In  1680,  the  magistrates  of  New 
Lond°on  returned  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantations  a  list  of  vessels 
helonging  to  the  port.  They  consisted  of  two  s/(/>,s  of  seventy  and 
ninety  tor  espectively,  three  ketches  of  about  fifty,  and  two  sloops  of 
fifteen  t  -h;  these  together  were  equal  to  about  one-third  the  ton- 

nage of  ii.v.  vyolony. 

The  entire  number  of  vessels  belonging  to  Connecticut  was  twenty- 
seven  viz. :  four  ships,  three  pinks,  eight  sloops,  and  some  other  small 
vessels.  The  total  tonnage  was  only  1050.  There  were  then  in  the 
Colony  about  twenty  small  merchants,  who  traded  to  Boston.  New  York, 
Newfoundland,  and  the  West  Indies.     Population  of  the  Colony,  about 

12,000.  ^  .     ^  , 

The  pro-ress  of  all  kinds  of  manufactures  was  slow  m  Connecticut  for 
many  years.  In  1713  it  was  said  to  own  but  two  brigantines,  about 
twenty  sloops,  and  some  vessels  of  smaller  size;  and  the  number  of  its 
seamen  was  but  120.(1) 

In  nil,  there  arrived  at  New  London,  within  six  weeks,  fourteen 
sloops  from  Boston.  The  vessels  built  at  New  London  previous  to  this 
time  were  chiefly  sloops,  with  occasionally  a  brigantine,  snow,  or  perhaps 
a  hri-;  sloops  were  also  built  in  other  parts  of  the  province.  Joseph 
Wells  of  Westerly,  and  John  Leeds,  were  ship-builders  of  some  note,  who 
succeeded  Mould  ;  and  larger  vessels  now  began  to  be  produced.  Cap- 
lain  John  Jeffrey,  who  had  been  a  master  ship-builder  in  Portsmouth, 
En-land,  about  the  year  1720,  emigrated  to  America,  and  settled  on  tli,^ 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  at  Groton,  where  in  1723  be  contracted  w.Ui 

(1)  Trumbull's  Hist  Conn.,  i.,  435, 


52 


SIIIP-BUILDIXG    IX    NKW    ENULAND. 


one  Ciiplaiu  Stirling,  to  hiiikl  tlie  largest  sliip  tluit  luul  been  construeteil 
oil  Uiis  siilo  of  tlie  Atlantic,  aiul  received,  on  petition,  from  the  town  of 
tJroton,  a  grant  of  land  for  a  building-yard  on  condilioi;  tliat  he  bi'ilt  the 
"Great  ship."  Slie  was  built  and  launched  in  11  "15.  Uer  burden  was 
seven  huiidrei!  tons.  Jtfl'rcy  built,  in  addition  to  a  iiMnibei-  of  smaller 
vessels,  another  large  sliip  of  live  hundred  and  fifty  ton.s,  named  "  The 
Don  Carlo.s,"  which  sailed  for  Lisbon  in  1733.  New  London  had  now 
acquired  liie  reputation  of  building  large  ships. 

In  1730,  an  association  called  "The  New  London  Society  of  Trade 
and  Commerce"  was  formed  under  the  patronage  of  the  Assenuly.  It 
was  composed  of  about  eighiy  members,  belonging  to  the  Colony,  and 
built  and  purchased  a  number  of  vessels,  and  opened  new  channels  of 
enterprise,  in  which  it  prospered  for  a  year  or  two,  but  was  dissolved 
in  1733. 

Oldniixon,  in  1741,  speaks  of  the  convenience  of  New  London  for 
Sliip-1/uilding,  and  mentions  a  line  ship  of  two  hundred  to  three  hundred 
tons  bui  I,  there,  which  he  saw  at  Bristol.  New  London  was  at  that 
l)eriod  a  place  of  some  importance  in  trade,  as  was  also  Norwich,  one  of 
the  oldest  towns  in  the  Slate.  At  the  Norwich  Navy-yard,  at  a  later 
period,  a  frigate  was  built  for  Congress  by  Joshua  Huntingdon.  Genernl 
Jidjcz  lIuuMngdo'i,  of  the  sanu'  ple.ce,  owned  at  one  time  previous  to  the 
Revolution,  it  is  said,  ab'^ut  forty  vessels.  The  latter  was  a  member  of 
the  Council  of  Safety  in  Connecticut  in  1775,  and  sacrificed  his  fortmie 
in  the  service  of  his  country,  in  which  he,  with  four  sons  and  two  sons-iu- 
luw,  entered  with  active  zeal. 

Hougluss,  in  his  History  of  the  llritish  Settlements  i.;  \iuerica,  written 
]irevi()iis  to  1750,  thus  refers  to  Connecticut  Ship-building:  "In  Coniiee- 
ticiit  are  eight  eonvcident  shipping  ports  for  small  craft,  but  all  masters 
enter  and  clear  at  the  port  of  New  I,o,idon,  a  gooil   harbor  five  milesl 
wi'hin  himl,  and  deep  water;  here  they  build  largo  ships,  but  their  timl)cr| 
\i  spongy  and   not  durable,  it  splits  or  rives  well   into  staves;   siuiil 
vessels  are  built  at  Sea-15rook,  Killingsworth,  New  Haven  or  Wullings-I 
ford,  Ptc.'Xl) 

Ship-buildiiig  was  commenced  at  Esse.v,  in  Siiybrook  townsiiip,  iiJ 
17'iO,  by  John  Tucker.  In  1775,  Uriah  Haydon  i)uilt  ut  that  place  tlij 
sliip  "Oliver  Cromwell,"  of  twenty-four  guns. 

A'lont  the  same  time,  this  town  gave  rise  to  a  novel  and  quite  origiiml 
speelnu'ii   of  naval   nrehileciure,    which   is   worliiy  of   notice  rather  n 
n''eount  of  the  ingenuity  displayed  by  the  inventor,  than  for  the  pructiil 


(I)   Fit  tlic  nliovo  imrtlciiliirn  wt>  nro  cti!e6y  ludobtud  to  tlic  vnlualilc  lliiitiiry  "(  N' 
Louduu,  by  I'raiiot'g  Miiiiwiirliig  Cjiullilns, 


;d. 

had  been  constructed 
ion,  fiom  the  town  of 
]itioi:  that  he  built  the 
705.     Her  burden  was 

a  number  of  suiallcr 
'ifiy  tons,  named  "  The 
New  London  had  now 

iidon  Society  of  Trade 
e  of  the  Asserajly.  It 
„g  to  the  Colony,  and 
pened  new  channels  of 
two,  but  was  dissolved 

^c  of  >'ew  London  for 
mdred  to  three  hundred 
;\v  London  was  at  that 
as  also  Norwich,  one  of 
h  Navy-yard,  at  a  later 
»a  Huntingdon.  Genenil 
one  time  previi^us  to  tho 
latter  was  a  m'-Miiber  of 
and  sacrificed  his  furluiie 
our  sons  and  two  sons-iu- 

iiients  i,;  Vincrica,  written 
ip-lmildinij;:  "In  Connee- 
mall  craft,  but  nil  masters 
a  {,'ood  harbor  five  miU'S 
rgo  ships,  but  their  timber 
s  well  into  staves;  small 
New  Ilaveu  or  WuUings- 

ill  Siiylirook  township,  i» 
•don  Duilt  at  that  place  the 

,  a  novel  and  quite  orininid 
ortiiy  of  notice  rather  on 
cnlor,  than  for  the  pructicid 

,1  t„  tl.o  vnlu»Wo  nii't.)r.v  of  N''" 


CtJRIOrS    SrBMAlUNK    INVI-.NTIONS 


-ii.'.viT>  I',;  sii::i:i.r.. 


utility  or  humanity  of  theMeM,.,,  al.h<n„h  the   pnnnplo   may  be  o  . 

pable  of  useful  application.     This  was  the  co„s.rne,,on  of  a  ..Inn:  u 
vessel  contrived  by  David  Bushnell,  of  Saybrook,  for  the  purp..     c^ 
hlowing  up  an  cnen.y's  shippin,.     Subn.arine  tnventu.ns  were  n  t 
,„vin,  employed  the  ingenuity  of  en.inent  mechanu-s  previously    a.    h 
ai.l  that  o    Fulton  at  a  later  date.     But  the  contrranee  of  Bushnell,  of 
which  the  design  was  matured  while  a  student  of  Yale   College    and 
,.,vried  out  immediately  after  his  fcraduntion   in    1775,  was  essentu.lly 
.liflVrent,  it  is  said,  from  any  previous  attempt.     The  strm.  ure,  of  wlu 
a  detailed  account  may  be  found  in  the  Tran.arUon.  of  thcjhven.  an 
mLjMcal   .Soc.vjund  in    SlUnnn.^.  Journal  for  1820,   ts   tnor. 
bviedy  described  as  "  A  machine  for  submarine  navigation,  atogethe. 
.liiferent  from  any  thing  hitherto  dev^ed  by  the  art  of  man.     llos  ma- 
chiaewas  so  constructed  as  that  it  could  be  rowed  horizontally  at  any 
eiveu  depth  under  water,  r.ul  could  be  raised  or  depressed  at  p  easme^ 
To  this  machine,  called  the  '  American  Turtle'  (from  tts  resemblance  to 
Uvo  upper  tortoise  shells  placed  in  contact)  was  attached  «  n-^;'--  . 
,owd,    which  was  intended  to  be  fastened  nnder  the  bottotn  o  la    h    , 
vi.h  a  driving  screw,  in  such  a  way  that  the  same  stroke  winch  d  >.    - 
.n.ed  it  from  the  machine,  should  put  the  internal  clockwork  in  mn,„.. 
Ti^s  being  done,  the  ordinary  operation  of  a  gun-lock  at  *  -  ";^-;-;^ 
,,,f  an  hour,  or  any  determinate  time,  would  cause  the  powder  to  ex  .  > 
and  leave  the  effects  to  the  common  laws  of  nature.     He  «""I  -ci.      a 
combination  discovered  in  the  mechanism  of  this  wonder  ul  •"-';'-; 
been  acknowledged,  by  those  skilled  in  physics  and  T-^-"''''  >    '•     ;  "i 
lies  to  be  no  less  ingenious  than  novel.     Mr.  I'.ushnell  invented  seve 
other  curious  machines  for  the  annoyance  of  the  British  shipping  ;  but 
;!lccidents,  not  militating  against  the  philosophica    rrinc.ples  on 
which  their  success  depended,  they  but  partially  succeeded. 

In  1777  Congress  offered  rewards  for  the  destruction  of  Brit  sh  ships 
and  Bushnell  mtde  an  attempt  on  the  Cerberus  frigate,  Conimcnlore  Sin. 
.ons,  at  anchor  off  New  London,  in  which  he  ^^••^J-^V.'T"'  "^^^ 
near  I.er.    About  Christnms.  of  the  same  year  he  sen  a  fleet  of  W«  j.^^^^ 
the  Delaware,  to  destroy  the  British  ships  which  held  pos  ession  of  the 
0       nd    against  which    fire-sl.ips  had    been    inetfectually  employ    I 
.whig  to  the'darkness,  they  were  lea  at  too  great  a  distiu.cc    rom     m 
Hhipping,  and  were  dispersed  by  the  ice.  but.  during  the  f"'  -  '"^        ' 
e.v  lodc!;i  and  blew  up  a  boat.  0  -casioning  no  little  alarm  to  the   B    .    h 
.eJmen.     This  circumstance  gave  rise  to  the  humorous  song,  bj  Hon. 
Francis  Ilopkinson.  entitled  "  Th.'  JMIIr  '/ ''"' j^;:'  ^  , ,      ....    .. 

Connecticut,  in  17G0,  according  to  l-ord  Sheffield's  tables,  buiK  ti^r 


54 


BIIIP  BUILDINQ   IN  KEW  ENGLAND, 


sail  of  vessels,  wliose  aggregate  tonnnge,  as  entered  with  the  Register, 

was  1542  tuns. 

In  1774  according  to  the  same  statistics,  New  1  ork  and  Connecticut 
together  bnilt  new  vessels  to  the  value  of  £30,000,  and  in  1775, 
£22  000  The  decrease  was  doubtless  occasioned  by  the  war.  The  ton- 
na-e  relumed  for  Connecticut  in  March,  1791,  as  having  been  built  the 
year  previous,  showed  an  increase  of  534  tons,  or  40  per  cent,  over  the 
average  of  the  years  1769,  1770,  and  1771 ;  showing  the  business  to  have 
increased  as  in  other  Slates. 

5  SiiiP-BUiLDiNG  IN  lliiODE  IsLAND.-Tn  1C46  the  New  Haven  colony 
built  a  ship  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  at  Rhode  Island,  which  seems  to 
have-  been  about  the  commencement  of  the  business  there,  where  it  has 
ever  since  been  an  important  branch  of  industry. 

At  Newport,  Bristol,  Warren,  and  other  settlements  on  the  Narragan- 
fiett  Bay,  as  well  as  at  Providence  and  several  places  on  Providence  and 
Taunton  rivers,  the  business  was  carried  on  at  an  early  period,  and  sus- 
tained by  the  nourishing  fisheries  and  lumber  trade  of  the  province.     It 
had  probably  made  no  great  progress  previous  to  the  year  107 2,  when 
■  Ro.'er  Williams  went  from  Providence  to  Newport  in  a  log  canoe,  to  hold 
a  controversy  with  the  Quakers  of  that  town.     The  Report  of  the  Lorda 
of  Trade,  in  1G80,  says  :  "  We  have  no  shipping  belonging  to  the  Colony, 
but  only  a  few  sloops."     In  the  next  twenty-five  years  it  appears  to  have 
increased  much.     In  the  ten  years  from  1698  to  1708,  the  number  of  ves- 
8.;ls  built  in  the  Colony  was  one  hundred  and  three:  viz.,  eight  ships, 
eleven  brigantines,  and  eighty-four  sloops.     The  entire  number  belonging 
to  the  Colony  at  the  last  date,  was  one  hundred  and  forty. 

In  1704  the  Legislature  of  Rhode  Island  imposed  a  tonnage  duty  on 
all  vessels  not  wholly  owned  by  the  inhabitants  of  that  Colony.  Ne^v 
York  followed  the  example  in  1709,  and  Massachusetts  in  1718;  the  act, 
in  the  last  instance,  being  accompanied  by  a  duty,  also,  on  English  goods 
imported,  which  drew  upon  the  Governor  of  that  Colony  a  sharp  rebuke 
from  the  Administration  for  having  assented  to  it. 

Some  time  previous  to  1709,  l-Mward  Wanton,  a  shipbuilder  of  Scitu- 
ftte  in  Massachusetts,  settled  in  Rhode  Island,  where  he  curried  on  the 
business.  In  that  year  the  Colony  purchased  of  him,  for  £400,  the  slon' 
Diamond,  and  the  fourth  part  of  another,  the  E>iJ>avo,ir,  owned  by  hiiu 
and  Henry  Beere,  for  £112  Ifi.s.,  for  the  service  of  the  expedition  thea 
fitting  out  against  Pori  Royal,  in  Nova  Scotia.  This  led  to  the  issiie 
of  paper  currency,  which  afterward  injured  the  trade  and  credit  of  the 
Cuh.ny.  In  1746  Connecticut  ecpiipped  a  sloop-of-war,  built  in  1740, 
with  100  seamen,  on  the  expedition  against  the  same  place. 

The  increase  of  Ship-building  and  Commerce  previous  to  1722,  led  to 


the  Register, 

d  Conijecticut 
and  ill  1715, 
i^ar.  The  ton- 
been  built  the 
cent,  over  the 
usincss  to  have 

V  Haven  colony 
which  seems  to 
e,  where  it  has 

the  Narragan- 
Providence  and 
leriod,  and  sus- 
e  province.  It 
car  1C72,  when 
g  canoe,  to  hold 
)rt  of  the  Lords 
5  to  the  Colony, 
appears  to  have 
E  number  of  ves- 
iz.,  eight  ships, 
juiber  belonging 
r. 

onnage  duty  on 
,  Colony.  Nc>v 
in  1718;  the  act, 
in  English  goods 
r  a  sharp  rebuke 

builder  of  Scitu- 
le  carried  on  the 
•  £400,  the  slo'^) 
ir,  owned  by  him 
)  expedition  tliea 
led  to  the  issue 
,nd  credit  of  the 
ir,  built  in  1740, 
lice. 
IS  10  1722,  led  to 


KnODE   ISLAND.      PROVIDENCE — NEWPOIIT. 


55 


llic  establishment,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Legislature,  of  a  manufac- 
ture of  sail  duck,  on  which  a  premium  of  twenty  shillings  per  bolt  wa.s 
offered,  which  was  that  year  paid  to  William  Borden.  Bounties  on  hemp 
were  also  given  about  the  same  time. 

Proviih'nce  and  Ncwpurt  were,  at  this  time,  rising  commercial  towns, 
and,  in  1730,  contained  each  about  3800  wiiite  inhubitanls,  which,  exclu- 
sive of  negroes  and  a  few  Lidians,  was,  unitedly,  about  one-half  the  popu- 
lation of  the  Colony. 

From  that  date  to  the  Revolution,  Newport  rose  rapidly  in  importance, 
and  l)ecame  one  of  the  principal  seals  of  opulence  and  refmemeut  on  the 
continent.  Its  AVest  India  trade  was  immen.se.  In  1739  upward  of  oiio 
hundred  sail  of  vessels  were  owned  there.  Its  importations  of  molassos, 
at  a  later  period,  employed  thirty  distilleries  in  tlie  manufacture  of  rum, — 
a  staple  article  in  the  African  slave  trade,  which  tarnished  the  fair  fame 
of  its  enterprising  traders.  The  whale  fishery  was  also  prosecuted  by 
the  Xewport  merchants  :  one  of  whom,  Aaron  Lopez,  who  at  one  time 
employed  about  thirty  sail  of  vessels,  was  among  the  first  to  send  ships 
to  the  Falkland  Islands.  This  business,  about  the  year  17G9,  employed 
seventeen  sperm  oil  and  candle  manufactoriea  in  the  town,  where  there 
were  also  five  or  more  rope-walks.  At  this  time,  when  its  population  was 
about  12,000,  as  many  as  eighteen  West  Indiai"en  were  known  to  arrive  in 
a  single  day,  and  Miere  was  insufficient  wareroom  to  store  its  merchan- 
dise. It  was  considered  a  rash  prediction  that  "New  York  might,  one 
day,  equal  Newport."  The  port  now  employed  two  hundred  vessels  in 
foreign  trade,  and  between  three  and  four  hundred  coasting  vessels,  and 
had  a  regular  line  of  London  packets.  The  town  felt  the  force  of  English 
resentment,  on  account  of  its  early  resistance  to  government  measures,  in 
the  destruction  of  the  sloop  Liberty,  stationed  in  the  harbor  to  enforce 
the  revenue  lawj,  in  17(j;?.  and  has  never  recovered  its  lelative  rank. 

Providence,  in  17G4,  owned  fifty-foi.r  sail  of  vessels,  of  4320  tons,  and 
in  1791,  had  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  sail  of  11,943  tons.  Other 
towns  of  Rhode  Island  had  an  active  commerce,  foreign  and  domestic,  in 
colonial  times.  The  commerce  of  the  province  may  well  be  supposed  to 
have  given  much  employment  to  its  slii|i-yards,  which  were  favorably  situ- 
ated as  to  materials  and  facilities  generally. 

Providence  early  engaged  in  the  East  India  trade,  for  which  a  ship  of 
nine  hundred  and  fifty  tons  was  constructed  in  the  town  a  few  years  after 
the  peace.  The  number  of  vessels  built  in  Rhode  Island,  in  1709,  was 
•hirty-nine,  whose  tonnage  was  1428  tons,  carpenter's  measurement.  Tho 
business  increased  considerably  under  the  revenue  laws  of  the  Federal 
Government. 
C.  New  IIampphire. — In  New  Hampshire,  tho  building  of  ships  has 


56 


sinr-BviLBiNa  in  new  enoi.and 


l,.en  a  icon,iuc,;t  l.rarch  of  business,  from  the  first  settlement  of  iho 
Provinee.     Tl.o  first  employments  of  the  people  were  like  those  of  .Alame. 
But  the  wenllh  of  the  Colony,  for  more  than  a  century,  was  fou.ul,  to  u 
frreater  extent  than  that  of  any  other,  in  the  vast  resources  of  its  pnmev,,l 
forests      Its  first  settlements,  however,  were  made  upon  the  Piseataqu;., 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  fisheries,  which  at  once  gave  employment  to 
hoat  and  ship-builders.     Sawing-mills  were  erected  upon  its  rivers  almost 
as  early  as  in  anv  part  of  the  country,  and  the  export  of  lumber,  staves, 
and  the  usual  staples  of  our  infant  commerce,  soon  became  a  Irading 
interest.     After  the  value  of  colonial  timber  began  to  be  known  in  hi,- 
gland  this  Province,  which  abounded  in  white  and  red  oak,  pine,  chestnut, 
and  other  valuable  forest  trees,  the  export  of  masts,  spars,  and  slnp- 
timber,  became  a  profitable  industry.     The  preparation  of  these  employ.,1 
multitudes  upon  its  large  rivers  and  their  branches,  while  the  bud.l.ng 
of  ships  for  the  fisheries,  for  the  merchant  service,  and  for  the  Royal  x\  avy, 
was  vigorously  pursued,  at  all  convenient  places.     The  excellence  ol  ^e^v 
Hampshire  ship-timber,  was  generally  admitted.     Though  possessed  of 
but  about  eighteen  miles  of  sea-board,  and  a  single  avenue  to  the  ocean, 
the  activity  of  the  lumbering  and  ship-building  branches  on  the  I'lscataqna 
and  its  tributaries,  rendered  Portsmouth,  advantageously  situated  at  its 
mouth,  a  principal  seat  of  colonial  commerce.     The  building  of  v.-sscls 
f„r  home  and  foreign  markets,  was  carried  on   at  that  place,  and  the 
neighboring  towns,  with  no  less  enterprise  than  at  Kittery  Point,  ami 
other  places  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  i 

Of  the  value  of  the  timber,  and  the  ship-building  interest  of  New  | 
Hampshire,  a  writer(l)  on  its  commerce  and  resources,  thus  speaks." 

"  The  timlxT  us.Ml  in  tlie  construotion  of  the  Constitution  Frigate,  the  famous 
•  01(1  Ironsiae.,'  was  taken  from  the  woo.ls  of  AUenstown,  on  the  border  of  the 
Merrimac,  lifty  miles  from  the  ship-.var.l.  So  of  the  Indei.en.leiice  74;  the 
Cimress,  and  several  other  vessels  of  war.  Ships  of  war  were  also  Im.lt  at 
Portsmouth  in  earl v  times,  viz.  :  the  Faulklan.l  of  54  guns,  in  l(5i)0  ;  the  Hertfora 
Uilley  32  guns,  in  l(li)«;  the  America,  of  40  guns,  in  1749  ;  the  Raleigh,  3- 
guns,  in  177li ;  the  Ranger,  18  guns,  in  1777  ;  and  a  ship  of  74  guns,  called  the 
America,  was  launched  at  Portsmouth,  November  5,  17b2,  and  presented  to  the 
King  of  France  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

"  Sl.ip-building  has  always  been  a  considerable  branch  of  business  at  Ports- 
mouth. Prior  to  the  Revolution,  Kuropean  traders  came  thither  to  build  ships, 
which  thoy  could  do  much  cheaper  than  at  home,  by  reason  of  the  large  prot.t 
on  the  goods  which  they  brought  out  with  them.  The  merchants  of  Ports- 
,„„uth  also  built  numerous  ships  of  200  and  WO  tons,  for  the  West  Indl,-  trade. 
Most  of  these  were  freighted  witli  lumber  and  fish,  live  stock  &c.  ;  an.l  l.avn.^ 
procced,.d  to  the  Islands,  the  cargoes  were  exchanged  for  sugars,  wbub  were 
taken  to  Fngland  in  the  same  ships,  and  there  sold  for  merchandise  for  tli. 
(Ij  J.  1!.  Mc.oro,  iinolc.l  in  Margrcgnr^  C^muRToiiil  StatUtlos  of  AtiRviciu 


NEW  iiAMi'i«innK— i:aiii,y  ships  ov  \x.\n. 


Icmcnt  of  tlio 
lose  of  Maiiii'. 
as  fouiul,  to  u 
of  its  primeviil 
lie  riseataqiKi. 
jmployiiu'iit  to 
;s  rivers  almost 
luinljcr,  staves, 
amc  a  leadini; 
known  in  En- 
,  pine,  chestnut, 
)ars,  and  sliiii- 
these  eniphiyuil 
le  tlie  biiihlitig 
iiellojul  Navy, 
eellence  of  New 
;h  possessed  of 
nc  to  the  ocean, 
I  the  IMsrataqniv 
■  situated  at  its 
ildiiif!:  of  v»'ssels 
phice,  and  tlie 
tery  Point,  ami 

interest  of  New 
hus  spealvs." 

ni<!ite,  tlio  famous 
the  l)oi(lor  of  the 
luMuleiico  74 ;  the 
vere  also  liuilt  at 
llJDO  ;  the  Hertfonl 
I  ;  the  Riilfiyh,  3.i 
'4  guns,  called  the 
d  jnosented  to  the 

Imsincss  at  I'nrts- 
her  to  build  sliijis 
1  of  tlit<  liu'i?i«  lirofit 
lerchiints  of  I'orts- 
)  Wfst  Indi,-  triidf. 
k  &c.  ;  nnd  liaviiiu 
ugars,  which  wimd 
erchaiidisu  for  the 

8  of  Aiiiuriciu 


<\iloni('S.  Other  vessi-ls  laden  with  spars  and  tinihor,  iirnciTdrd  ilin-rtly  for 
the  Hritish  ports,  and  wore  sold  with  their  cargoes  for  the  same  purpose.  The 
coasting  trade  to  the  Koutheru  ports,  was  an  exchange  of  West  India  i>n)dii(> 
tions  for  corn,  rice,  fiour  and  naval  stores,  portions  of  which  «eie  re-exiiorted 
to  Newfoundland  and  Nova  Scotia.  As  early  ns  1GG8,  the  GoveriUMent  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, (which  then  included  New  Hampshire),  passed  an  order,  reserV  ■>; 
for  puhlic  use,  all  white-pine  trees,  measuring  twenty-four  inches  in  diameter, 
at  three  feet  from  the  grouu'l.  In  the  reign  of  William  HI.,  a  Surveyor  of  the 
Woods  was  appointed  by  the  Crown;  and  an  order  was  sent  to  the  Karl  of  Hella- 
iiiont,  to  cause  Acts  to  he  passed  for  the  preservation  of  wliite-pii  "  tr.'es  in 
New  Hampshire,  Massaehuset  s,  and  New  York.  Under  Queen  Anne,  the 
people  were  forbiildeu  to  cut  (.ny  trees  without  leave  of  the  Surveyor,  who 
was  ordered  to  mark  all  such  trees  as  were  fit  for  the  use  of  the  Navy,  and 
keep  a  register  of  them.  A  jierpetual  struggle  was  kept  up  between  the  people 
and  the  Surveyors  ;  fines  were  exacted,  and  trees  were  purjiosely  destroyed  ; 
and  the  subject  was  perpetually  dwelt  upon  by  the  Royal  Governors,  in  their 
dispatches  home."(l) 

• 
In  answer  to  tlie  queries  of  the  Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantations,  in 
1130,  the  Governor  reported  tlic  trade  of  the  Province  to  consist  in  lumber 
and  fi.sh.  "Tlie  number  of  shipping  belonging  to  the  Province  are  five, 
consisting  of  about  five  iiundred  tons ;  and  there  arc  about  three  or  four 
hundred  tons  of  other  shipping  that  trade  here  (annually)  not  belonging 
to  the  Province." 


(1)  The  first  of  the  i-hip?,  nniiied  America, 
nl.iivc  niontiuneil,  was  built  under  tlie  coii- 
tnil  nml  supcrvisicm  of  Sir  W.  I'cpperell,  of 
Kittery,  and  was  launched  Mny  4,  1749  j  the 
fecund  of  the  pnino  niiiuo  was  tlic  heaviest 
ihip  oon.struoted  in  America,  up  to  that  time, 
and  was  the  only  one  of  the  throe  seven ly- 
t  fuur's  ordered  at  the  snnio  time  that  was 
Imilt.  Shu  win  taken  by  the  Hritisli  from 
the  French,  in  an  engngoment  on  Ist  of 
I  June. 

The  following  outline  of  a  descriplinn  of 
tlio  Aiiieriia,  by  Paul  June?,  is  given  in 
I  Conj  .'s  History  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  and 
may  not  ho  uninteresting,  as  a  epecinicn  of 
corly  naval  architecture,  in  its  highest  dis, 
liliiy  nt  that  tinio,  ond  as  exhibiting  what 
were  deemed  peculiiiritioB  In  the  construction 
I  uf  ships  of  that  day. 

"  Tlie  upper  deck  bulwarks  were  particu- 
larly described  as  '  brenst-works,  pierced  for 
f»w  ;'  i.nd   be  atldo,  that  all  the  (luiirlor- 
I  iloik  nnd  forecastle  guns,  could  bo  fuuglit 
•t  need  on  one  side ;  from  which  it  is  to  be 


inferred,  that  fho  ship  had  ports  in  her  waist. 
The  poop  had  a  '  folding  breasl-wurk,'  grape- 
shot  proof,  or  bulwarks  tliat  were  lomreil 
and  hoisted  in  a  minute.  The  i|Uiirtcr-deck 
ran  four  feet  forward  from  the  niainninst, 
and  the  forecastle  came  well  aft.  The  gang- 
ways W'  .0  wide  and  vn  Ihv  Itnl  nf  the  quar- 
tcr-tlcck  and  /orecaslle.  The  ship  htt''  only 
single  ipiartergallerie.', and  uostorn-gnllery. 
She  had  fifty  feet  six  inches  beam  over  all, 
and  her  inboard  length  on  the  upper  gun- 
deck  was  one  hundred  and  eiglity-two  feet 
six  inches.  '  Yet  this  sliip,  Ihimiih  Ihc  hinjnt 
o/  ttretily-fiiurt  in  the  unrltl,  bad  when  the 
lower  battery  was  sunk,  the  air  of  a  delicate 
frigate;  and  no  jierson  at  the  distance  of  a 
mile  could  have  iiiiiigined  she  had  a  second 
buttery.'  Unfortuimtuly  her  intended  arma- 
ment is  not  given." 

Of  the  others  mentioned,  the  FnulkUiml  is 
»aid  to  have  been  the  first  line  of  battleship 
built  in  America,  and  the  linkiijh  to  huvo 
been  built  in  sixty  days. 


58 


SHIP-BVILDINO   IN    NEW   ENGLAND. 


From  December,  1147,  to  December.  1748,  the  clearances  from  Ports- 
mouth,  were  121,  of  thefollovvingclasH,  viz.  :  lai^hips;  3 snows;  20  brigs; 
57  sloops ;  28  schooners.     The  number  entered  at  the  port  durng  the 
same  time,  was  73.     There  was  besides  about  200  coasting  sloops  and 
schooners  trading  to  Boston,  Salem,  Rhode  Island,  &c.     Ti>e  port  hud 
little  foreign  trade.     The  number  of  vessels  built  in  New  Hampshire  in 
1769,  according  to  the  Colonial  Custom  House  books  at  Boston,  was 
forty-five  sail,  which  was  about  equal  to  the  excess  of  the  number  cleared 
above  the  number  entered  at  the  port  in  the  years  above  mentioned.     This 
excess  of  clearances,  was,  in  most  of  the  ports  of  the  country,  made  up,  in 
some  measure,  of  vessels  disposed  of  in  foreign  or  domestic  ports.     The 
total  tonnage  of  the  vessels  built  in  17G9,  is  given  as  two  thousand  four 
hundred  and  fifty-two  tons,  registered  measrrement,  wh'.ch  is  allowed  to 
liave  been  from  one-fifth  to  one-third  below  the  real  burden.     The  aver- 
age  tonnage  of  each  vessel  on  the  former  supposition,  was  65  tons.     In 
amount,  the  P.'ovince  rhnkcd  next   to   Massachusetts.     Of  sixty-four 
thousand   six   hundred   and   seventy-nine  tons   of  new  shipping,   built 
in  the  colonies  in  the  three  years,  1769,  1770,  and  1771,  rather  more  thou 
one  half  was  built  in  Mas  sachusetts  and  New  Hampshire.     Tl-ere  were 
entered  for  that  Province,  for  the  year  ending  January  5,  1771,  fifteen 
thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-two  tons,  and  cleared  twenty  thousand 
one  hundred  and  ninety-two  tons  of  shipping.     The  excess  of  outward 
tonnage,  amounting  to  nearly  five  thousand  tons,  consisted  in  a  groat 
measure,  as  before  remarked,  of  vessels  built  for  sale. 

Under  the  revenue  system  adopted  by  the  New  Government  in  1790, 
the  ship-manufacture  of  New  Hampshire,  in  common  with  that  of  other 
ouilding  States,  made  rai)id  advances.  The  number  of  ships  built  in  the 
State  in  that  year,  was  only  eight;  in  the  following  year,  twenty  sail  of 
vessels  were  built  at  Piscataqua,  which  then  owned  33  vessels  of  100  tons 
and  upward,  and  50  under  100  tons  burden,  in  all  83  sail.  Of  277  vessels 
which  cleared  from  the  port  in  that  year,  the  total  tonnage  was  31,097 
tons,  of  which  26,560,  was  American. 

The  extensive  business  in  lumber,  masting,  yards,  and  other  naval 
itores,  carried  on  at  Piscataqua,  employed,  during  the  colonial  period,  a 
eery  heavy  description  of  vessels,  culled  mast  nhips,  built  expressly  for 
ihat  use,  which  were  usually  about  four  hundred  tons  burden,  and  carried 
twenty-five  men,  and  from  forty  to  fifty  good  masts  each  trip.  Exeter  and 
Portsmouth  were  also  largely  engaged  in  the  business.  The  employment 
for  this  class  of  transports,  it  may  be  concluded,  was  large,  from  the  de- 
pendcjice  placed  by  the  Commissioner's  of  the  Royal  Navy  on  the  timber 
jf  these  Provinces. 


es  from  Ports- 
)\vs ;  20  brigs ; 
ort  (lur'ng  the 
ng  sloops  and 

Tlie  port  hud 

Hampshire  in 
it  Boston,  was 
lumber  cleared 
ntioned.  This 
ry,  made  up,  in 
ic  ports.     The 

thousand  four 
I  is  allowed  to 
en.  The  aver- 
8  65  tons.     In 

Of  sixty-four 
shipping,  built 
ither  more  th.in 
e.  Tl'ere  were 
5,  1171,  fifteen 
wenty  thousand 
:;ess  of  outward 
ted  in  a  great 

nment  in  1790, 
h  that  of  other 
liips  built  in  the 
,  twenty  sail  of 
sscls  of  100  tons 
Of  277  vessels 
age  was  31,097 

nd  other  naval 
ilonial  period,  a 
ilt  expressly  for 
den,  and  carried 
ip.  Exeter  and 
riie  employment 
ge,  from  the  de- 
ry  on  the  timber 


CHAPTER    IV. 

SIIIP-BUltDINQ   IN   THK   MIDDLE   AND   SOUTHERN   COLONIES. 

It  has  been  incidentally  mentioned  on  a  previous  page,  that  "  TLc  Rest- 
less,"  built  at  Manhattan,  in  1614,  by  the  Dutch  svhirpn',A.ln.u  1  lock 
and  called,  by  an  early  chronicler,  a  yacht,  was  the  hrst  decked  vx-ssel  . 
believed,  ever  constructed  by  Europeans  u.  th.s  country.     T  ns     t 
pioneer  craft,  whose  name  so  aptly  preindicated  the  commercial  a  tm  y 
of  the  future  city,  after  passing  through  Ilellgate  and  the  bound,  o  cr 
which  had  glided  for  ages  o.,ly  the  bark  canoe  of  the  savage,  proceeded 
on  a  voyage  of  discovery,  and  perpetuated  the  name  of  her  owner,  by 
the  discovery  of  Block  Island,  off  Newport  harbor 

SHiP-BriLDiNG  IN  New  York.-Au  early  and  successful  prosecnt.oH 
of  the  business  of  Ship-building  could  have  been  more  reasonab  y  ex- 
pected of  none  of  the  first  Colonists  of  America,  than  of  the  settlers  a 
Manhattan.    Holland  was  at  that  period,  and  long  after,  .n  the  enjoyment 
of  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world.     Though  not  possessed  of  a  fno.  of 
timber,  she  built  and  armed  more  ships  than  all  the  rest  of  Europe 
..  The  Low  Countries,"  says  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  addressing  the  king  on 
the  subject  of  English  commerce,  about  ten  years  before,  "  have  as  many 
,V  .  and  vessels  as  eleven  kingdoms  of  Christendom  have,  le   Englan 
b   one      They  build  every  year  near  one  thousand  slnps,  although  oil 
their  native  commodities  do  not  require  one  hundred  ships  to  carry   l.em 
away  at  once."     Planted  by  this  con.mercial  people,  and  by  mercha.its 
and  capitalists  of  Amsterdam,  then  the  mercantile  metropolis  of  Europe 
exclusively  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  it  appears  somewhat  surprising  that 
the  facilities  afforded  by  the  new  territory  for  ship-building  were  not  made 
available  to  a  greater  extent,  by  the  p.rent  nation.     But  t\-  «;'-■-  2 
tion  of  a  privileged  Tiercantile  association,  such  as  the      A\  est  lud  a 
Company,"  which,  in  1621,  was  invested  with  a  monopoly  o    its  trmlo 
was  nnfavoi-able  to  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the  Colony     The 
Knickerbockers,  who  succeeded  the  first  adventurers,  bu.lt,  never  h-.ss. 
as  we  are  told,  many  small  vessels,  sloops  and  pirogues,  in  which  they 


60 


SIIIP-BVILTONU    IX    TIIK    MIUDLE    STATES. 


prosecuted  an  active  Indian  trmlc,  in  tlie  bays,  sounds  and  rivers  of  tlic 
Colony.     It  was  a  complaint  against  the  Company,  by  dulcgalos  sent  to 
the  Hague,  in  1G49,  to  procnre  a  reform  of  tl«e  government,  tliat,  among 
other  unnecessary  expenditures,  it  had  built  "the  ship  >Jew  Netherlands 
at  a  -reat  expense."     She  was  said  to  have  been  of  the  burden  of  eight 
hundred  tons,  and  was  built  about  the  year  1630.     The  carrying  trade 
between  Holland  and  America,  and  the  trade  with  Brazil,  where  the  Com- 
pany had  sustained  losses  equivalent  to  "one  hundred  tons  of  gold,"  were, 
about  this  time,  thrown  open  to  the  Colonists,  and  private  ships  were,  for 
the  lirst  time,  entered  at  Amsterdam,  and  publicly  advertised  for  New 
Netherlands.     Other  restrictions,  which  had  fettered  commerce,  were  soon 
after  removed,  and  the  trade  of  the  world,  with  the  exception  of  that  to 
the  East  Indies,  and  the  t-ade  in  Furs,  were  open  to  the  Colonists.     The 
duties  which,  in  1638,  had  been  fixed  at  ten  per  cent,  on  imported,  and 
fifteen  *on  exported  goods,  had  left  some  difference  in  favor  of  PZnghsh 
colonial  bottoms,  by  which  goods  were  imported  first  to  New  England,  and 
thence,  at  a  low  rate,  into  New  Netherlands.     It  was  in  1651  modified, 
by  laying  sixteen  per  cent,  upon  all  such  goods,  except  Tobacco ;  thus 
discriminating  in  favor  of  the  navigation  of  the  Province. 

Up  to  this  time  (1652),  when  the  first  city  magistracy  was  appointed, 
there  was  but  one  small  wharf,  for  the  landing  of  goods  from  scows  and 
small  boats,  which  was  now  extended  to  fifty  feet,  to  accommodate  a  larger 

trada 

Grants  of  land  were  first  made  in  1642,  and,  at  the  date  of  its  capitula- 
tion to  the  English,  in  1664,  a  number  of  property  holders  of  the  ship- 
building profession  resided  in  the  part  of  the  city  then  known  as  "  De 
Srail's  Valey,"  and  afterward  as  the  "  Vly,"  or  "  Fly,"  along  the  shore 
road,  between  Wall  street  and  the  present  Franklin  Square.     Among 
these'  were  two  brothers,  Lambert  Huybertson  and  Abraham  Laraberzen 
Mol,  Stoffel  Elsworth,  Joost  Carelzen,  John  Adriance,  Pieter  Harmenzen, 
and  Pietcr  Jansen,  whose  residences  were  all  outside  the  water  gate  or 
city  palisades,  at  Wall  street,  within  which  lived  Dirck  Jansen  Vande- 
venter,  of  the  same  business,  and  a  number  of  prominent  traders  and  ship- 
ping merchants.     Govert  Loockermans,  one  of  the  most  extensive  and 
wealthy  of  these,  was  the  father-in-law  of  the  insurrectionist,  Jacob  Leia- 
ler,  and  the  partner  of  the  pilgrim  trader,  Isaac  AUcrton,  of  Plymouth. 

In  1672,  the  trade  of  New  York  employed  ten  or  fifteen  vessels,  of 
about  one  hundred  tons  each,  of  which  six  small  o-.-es  only  belonged  to 
the  city.  In  1678  the  shipping  owned  in  the  port  consisted  of  three 
ships  and  fifteen  sloops,  and  other  small  sailing  vessels.  In  that  year  a 
measure  designed  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  city  was  adopted  by 

Governor  Andros,  who  conferred  upon  its  inhabitants  a  monopoly  of  the 


Imsiness  of 

Province. 

and  naviga 

portions  of 

on  the  peti 

ships  and  < 

from  inipoi 

sand  poun( 

great  com] 

especially  1 

their  shipi 

of  employi 

many  to  e 

to  the  exi 

possibly  tr 

probably. 

Province. 

missioned, 

currency  t 

entered  in 

Guinea,  ai 

lawful  tra 

owners,  tl 

open  boat 

An  olfi 

helonging 

or  one  hi 

tons,  and 

all  of  wh 

the  West 

So  con 

that  Eng 

(t)  Gove 
that  the  III 
numerous : 
£500  is  no 
mercliant  i 
ables  is  oci 
I'O  vftluoJ 
houses  in  1 
f'lund  to  c( 
tlio  popiil 
iuuren:-ed 
aiit-t. 


NEW  YOUK.      EARI.V   Sini'-UVn-WNO   IN. 


61 


sra  of  the 
is  sent  to 
at,  among 
jtlierlaiuls 
u  of  eight 
yiiig  traile 
the  Coiu- 
)kl,"  were, 
s  were,  fur 
I  for  New 
were  soon 
of  that  to 
lists.  Tiie 
lorted,  ami 
of  Eiiglisli 
igland,  and 

I  modilied, 
aceo ;  thus 

appointed, 

seows  and 

ate  a  larger 

ts  capitula- 
if  the  ship- 
wn  as  "  De 
g  the  shore 
e.     Among 
Laraberzeu 
Ilarmenzen, 
ter  gate  or 
isen  Vande- 
!rs  and  ship- 
itensive  and 
Jacob  Leia- 
Plymouth, 
n  vessels,  of 
belonged  to 
ted  of  three 

II  that  year  a 
adopted  by 
opoly  of  the 


business  of  bolting  flour,  and  of  exporting  flour  and  biscuits  fn.m  the 
rrovince.     The  privilege  appeani  to  luive  been  benelicial  to  llie  trade 
and  navigation  of  the  port,  though  doubtless  at  ti>e  exi-ense  uf  ..tber 
portions  of  the  I  ovince.     When  the  ]5olting  Act  was  repealed  m  1004, 
on  the  petition  of  other  communities,  the  shipping  had  increased  to  sixty 
ships  and  .one  h.indred  and  two  sloops,  and  other  vessels.     The  revenue 
from  imports  and  exports  had  increased  from  two  thousand  to  six  thou- 
sand pounds   per  annum.'      The  withdrawal   of   the    privilege    caused 
trreat  complaint,  and  appt.-.sto  have  seriously  damage.l  the  trade  and 
especially  the  shipping  interests  of  the  i.ort.     Some  merchants  suspended 
their  shipping  business  altogether,  and   many  mariners  were  thrown  out 
of  employment.     The  occurrence  of  war  with  France,  soon  after,  induced 
many  to  engage  in  I'rivateering,  which  they  are  reputed  to  have  carried 
to  the  extent  of  preying  on  friendly  vessels;   a  chaiye  which,  though 
possibly  true  in  some  individual  oases,  was  nevertheless,  with  little  truth 
probably   laid  at  the  door  of  some  of  the  highest  functionaries  of  the 
Province'     The  depredations  of  Captain  Kid,  who  was  regularly  com- 
.lissioned,  and  commenced  his  career  in  th  s  business,  probably  gave 
currency  to  the  charge.     Others  of  the  c,istrci..d  ship-owners  afterward 
entered  into  the  Slave  Trade  with  the  Dutch  possessions  on  the  coast  of 
Guinea  and  found  great  profit  in  the  iniquitous,  but  at  that  time  perfectly 
lawful  *rafric.     In  1G83,  the  city  had  enrolled,  by  their  names  and  .neir 
owners,  three  barks,  three  brigantines,  twenty-six  sloops,  and  forty-six 

open  boats.''  , 

An  official  lleport  of  Gov.  Dongan,  in  1C86,  states  there  were  then 
helongin-  to  the  Province  nine  or  ten  three-mast  vessels  of  about  eighty 
or  one  hundred  tons  burden,  two  or  three  ketches,  a  bark  of  about  forty 
tons  and  about  twenty  smaller  vessels  of  twenty  to  twenty-five  tons  each 
flU  of  which,  excepting  the  sloops,  traded  with  England,  Holland,  and 

the  West  Indies.'  .      ,     ^  ,     .      u 

So  considerable  had  the  increase  of  shipping  in  the  Colonies  become, 
that  England  was  supplied  with  numerous  transports ;  and  a  large  propor- 

(t)  Governor  Andros.  in  167S,  reported  (2)  Watson'a  Annals  of  New  York,  pnge 

.h    \he  niereh.nts  in  New  York  were  not  150.     ^ho  na.ne,  of  .o„,e  .,   the.e  U  .^^^^^^^^ 

.,  A            i,>„f  =„.,ih  £1  nOO  or  were  peculiar  indeed.     Tlio  Dutch  ntteilou 

numerous:  "A  merchant  wortn  ii,uuu  or  ">■■"  i                             „     .,    .             i.     ti,« 

uumciuus.                             ,        ,       u.   „»„i  h.irli  siiundinL' names  for  tlieir  vcsfelf.    Ine 

funn  ia  necountcd  a  good  and  substantial  n.Kn-sounaiiife 

1500  18  «''"""'\\    f  followinK  are  from  an  old  record  of  vessels 

merchant;  a  pliinter  worth  nan  tnai  in  mov  h                                  t' „  a  „„■..!  (!n 

able,  is  accounted  rich.   All  the  estates  may  at  one  ti.no  ,n  New  York  :-T.e  Angel  Ca- 

valie,    at  £.50,000."     The  number  of  bricl,   King    Bavid,    Queen    Esther,   lung 

hou  e     n  New  York  was  then  34:1.  and  were  Solomon,  Arms  of  Rensellaerwyck.  Arms  of 

:  n    tl  contain  ten  persons  to  each,  making  Stu.vvesant.   The    Great    *^  -•".'-.      '>" 

,„o  popu,...io,.  a,i:.0.      In  1696.  they  had  Crowne,!  i<ea  Hears.  ,   e  .potted  tow      c. 

iuerled  to  bU  houses  and  6,000  inhabit-  (3)  Documentary  Il.st.  of  New  \ork,  .., 


62  smr-BUiLDiNO  in  the  mipdlk  colonies. 

tion  of  the  carrying  trade  between  the  two  countries  was  already  con- 
ducted  in  colonial  bottoms. 

„  lC.96,the  shipping  of  New  York  had  increased  to  the  nnn..er  o 
forj  squae-rigged  vessels,  sixty-two  sloops,  and  sixty  boa  p.  a  though 
^e  4,ulation'did  not  exceed  six  thousand.     There  were  ^rea  y  qn.te 
a  nLber  of  enterprising  merchants.  Dutch,  French,  and  Enghsh      A 
prominent  merchant  and  citizen  of  New  York,  toward  the  do  e  of 
seventeenth  century,  was  Kip  Van  Dam.  who  built  many  vesse  s  wh 
.-ere  launched  from  the  rear  of  the  present  Trnn ty  Chnrch-yard.     I 
dispute  and  lawsuits  with  Governor  Cosby.  respecUng  the  saUuy  of  the 
executive  office  which  the  former  had  filled  er.  officio  for  one  year  pre- 
vions  to  the  arrival  of  Cosby,  produced  serious  commotions  m  the  Trov- 
and  was  an  incipient  stage  of  the  future  conflict  between  unpena 
prerogative   and   favoritism   and   the   assertion   of  colon.al   r.ghts  and 

'"^I'lftalent  for  invention  was  less  conspicuous  in  the  early  settlers  of 
New  York  than  their  thrift.    In  1693.  however,  an  application  was  made 
to  Governor  Fletcher  "for  aid  to  perfect  an  invention  to  increase  the 
.peed  of  vessels,"  by  one  John  Marsh,  a  carpenter,  who.  on  another  occa- 
Jon.  was  an  applicant  to  the  governor  respecting  an  engine  he  had  in- 
vented      His  petition  states  that  he  was  "  about  making  A  small  weasel 
that  shall  saile  faster  than  all  others  by  abonndanee^^that  tins  exso  en 
„rt  that  I  have  found  out  will  be  mightyly  for  the  Honour  and  profite 
of  the  King  and   Kingdome  of  England,   and  Likewise  it  will  be  A 
iL      est  idvance  n'v  York."     He  asks  for  a  grant  of  sail-cloth  an 
rigging  to  the  amount  of  seven  pounds,  which  he  we  dd  repay  to  dou 
the  amount  if  he  did  not  perform  what  he  promised.     It  does  not  appear 
in  what  his  invention  consisted.'  . 

In  1707  the  Assembly  of  New  York  passed  an  act  imposing  a  tax  or 
tonnage  d^ty  of  two  shillings  a  ton  on  every  vessel,  the  one  half  of  which 
d  d  not  belong  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Colony.     According  to  Ly 
Plan  of  the  city,  made  from  actual  surveys  in  1728.  the  river  fron    from 
Skman  streel'to  the  northern  limits  of  the  city  near  the  P-nt  ^^  '- 
rine  street,  was  principally  occupied  by  the  ^^'P-y^^^s  and  docks 
hip-builders.     There  were  others  at  different  points  on  the  North  an 
E-ist  rivers.     The  names  of  the  proprietors  indicate  that  the  business  at 
t   Id       was  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  English  constructors.    In  the  locd.y 
J,  ntioned.  we  meet  with  the  names  of  Daily's.  Walton's,  French's,  We. 
Te  "s  ;  n  se's,  and  Bennet's  ship-yards.     At  a  later  date  t  e  business 
was  carried  on  between  Beeknmn  and  Burling's  slip;   also  Hunt's  ship- 

(1)  Moore's  Patent  Office,  Arpendix,  p.  31«. 


yard  on  L 

the  neighb 

The  ani 

queries  of 

York  to  h 

thousand  I 

nuinbcrinf 

chiefly  ho 

consideral 

port  was 

tercd  at  t 

;hia  215, 

In  the 

whole  nui 

fifty-sevei 

seamen,  ] 

Goveri 

states,  "  ' 

age.  is  £ 

nierchanl 

annually. 

sels  bail 

1775,  at 

ons  as  tl 

at  this  p 

some  pn 

ordered 

Gongn'i 


NEW   YORK.      FTB8T   SIIIPS   OF   WAR. 


63 


ilvcady  con- 

!  num'ier  of 
itF,  althouffh 
ilready  quite 
English.  A 
close  of  the 
essels,  which 
i-yard.  His 
salary  of  the 
(lie  year  pre- 
ill  the  Trov- 
^een  imperial 
1  rights  and 

rly  settlers  of 
ion  was  made 
)  increase  the 
another  occa- 
lie  he  had  in- 
.  small  wessell 
,  this  px&olent 
ur  and  profite 
it  will  be  A 
sail-cloth  and 
jpay  to  double 
oes  not  appear 

osing  a  tax  or 
e  half  of  which 
ling  to  Lyne'd 
ver  front,  from 
present  Catha- 

and  docks  of 
the  North  and 
the  business  at 

In  the  locality 
French's,  Wes- 
te  the  business 
so  Hunt's  ship- 


yard on  Lyne's  Chart  is  placed  opposite  the  foot  of  Whitehall  street,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  present  Ferry.  „    .  .     ., 

The  answers  returned  in  1747  by  the  Collector  of  the  Por  to  th« 
queries  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  state  the  number  of  vessels  owned  in  ^ew 
York  to  have  been  ninety-nine,  and  their  tonnage  per  register  was  four 
thousand  five  hundred  and  thirteen  tons,  the  seamen  at  the  same  time 
numbering  seven  hundred  and  fifty-five.  This  tonnage  was  doubtless 
ehielly  home-built,  as  New  York  at  that  period  was  buddmg  sh.ps  in 
considerable  number  for  the  London  merchants.  The  commerce  of  the 
port  was  then  about  the  same  with  that  of  Philadelphia,  the  number  en- 
tered at  each  port  in  1743  being  211,  and  the  clearances  from  Philadel- 
hia  215,  and  from  New  Y'ork  222.  ,    .^     ,      .      ♦, 

'  In  the  following  year,  1749,  the  returns  to  the  Board  of  Trade  give  the 
whole  number  of  ve'ssels  belonging  to  the  Province  as  one  hundred  and 
fifty-seven,  whose  tonnage  amounted  to  6406  tons,  and  the  number  of 

seamen,  1223.  -.r    i    •     i.,»t» 

Cxovernor  Tryon's  Report  on  the  Province  of  ^ew  York,  in  1774, 
states  "  The  annual  amount  of  the  exports  to  Great  Britain,  on  an  aver- 
age is  £130,000  sterling,  exclusive  of  the  cost  of  ships  built  here  for  the 
nierehants  in  England,  to  the  amount  of  thirty  thousand  pounds  sterl.ng, 
annually."     Lord  Sheffield,  in  Table  No.  12,  gives  the  value  of  new  ves- 
sels  bunt  in  New  York  and  Connecticut,  iu   1774,  as  £30,000,  and  ,n 
1775  at  £22  000      The  vessels  built  at  this  port,  though  not  so  numer- 
ous a's  those  constructed  at  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  were  many  of  them 
at  this  period,  of  large  size.  Poughkcepsie  and  Albany  had  also  acquired 
some  prominence  in  the  art.     Of  thirteen  vessels,  of  the  class  of  frigates, 
ordered  by  Congress  in  December,  1775,  to  be  constructed    two,  the 
Go.gn's^,  of  twenty-eight,  and  the  Montoomeri,,   of  twentyfoiir  guns, 
were  assigned  to  New  York;  both  of  which  were  built  at  Poughkeepsie. 
in  consequence  of  the  occupation  of  the  river  by  the  British,  from 
August  1770,  to  November,  1783..  neither  of  these  ves.sels,  however,  ever 
potato  sea,  and  were  burned  in  1777,  to  prevent  thcirfalling  into  the  enemy  s 
hnnds  •  which  was  also  the  fate  of  some  others  ordered  at  the  same  time. 
Of  the  six  frigates  first  ordered  for  the  Federal  Navy  in  1794,  wh.eh  were 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  best  builders,  the  President,  of  forty-tour 
cnns,  was  built  in  New  York.  ,  . 

N^w  York  did  its  share,  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  in  equipping 
privateers,  as  a  substitute  for  a  national  naval  force  upon  the  seas,  having, 
in  common  with  all  seaport  towns,  suiTered  an  almost  total  ru.n  of  its 
commerce.  After  the  peace,  her  Commercial  Marine  was  qmekly  resusci- 
latcd.andan  enlarged  commercial  spirit  became  apparent^  ^^^  IT^o 
of  China,  Captain  Oreen,  which  sailed  from   New  York,   February  22, 


C4 


SniP-BUILDIXG   IN   THE   MIDDLE   COLONIES. 


1784  was  the  first  sl.ip  that  disphiyed  the  American  flag  iu  the  port 
of  China.  And  the  Enterprm;  Captain  Dean,  a  sloop  of  eighty  tons, 
l.uiltat  Albany,  which  macle  the  voyage  onl  and  back  in  ITSD  was  th« 
first  it  is  said,  that  made  a  direct  voyage  to  that  country,  the  former 
havi'ng  touched  at  Europe.     She  was  navigated  by  seven  men  mid  two 

boVS.  ,  „  •       ri    1       •    I 

Ship-building  was  carried  on  to  some  extent  at  Albany  in  Colonial 
times  Vessels  were  built  there  some  years  after  the  Revolution,  priuci- 
pally  of  fir  limber,  at  a  cost  of  about  twenty-seven  and  a  lialf  dollars  per 
ton.     If  the  timber  were  dry  and  well  seasoned,  it  was  said  they  would 

last  thirty  years  and  upward.  . 

The  unexampled  progress  of  the  industrial  and  commercial 
i"n'J''on'ti',c      .,,^t,,  of  this  countrN-,  id  uowherc  exhibited  more  forcil)Iy  than 
uvke:."       i„  t,,e  vast  increase  of  the  trade  and  navigation  of  the  \yesteni 
Ivikes      As  the  great  feeder  of  the  foreign  commerce  of  New  York,  in 
particular,  and  a  means  uf  develoi.ing  the  infinite  resources  of  the  great 
valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Upper  Lakes,  the  increase  of  the 
steam  and  sail  marine  of  those  great  reservoirs  is  a  subject  of  much  inter- 
est and  importance.     At  the  time  when  these  Slates  became  an  indc- 
pendent  nation,  those  vast  inland  seas,  covering  an  area  of  over  ninety 
thousand  Kcpiare  miles,  and  draining  nearly  four  times  that  extent  of  ter- 
ritory, abounding  iu  every  element  of  wealth,  were  almo.t  nnvracked,  save 
by  the  abori.m.al  canoe,  and  devolved  their  waters  to  the  ocean  through 
nearly  unbroken  solitudes.     Now  the  internal  and  foreign  commerce  car- 
ried upon  those  same  majestic  highways,  supports  a  t.Mmage  of  steam  and 
«ailin.r  vessels  equal  to  about  four  hundred  ihon^anu    ons,  and  a  lake  and 
nver  commerce  equal,  at  least,  to  thr.  e  hundred  and  fifty  millions  annu- 
ally     To  re.  .  this  great  traffic,  New  York  has  constructed  her  public 
works  upon  rscale  im^uaTed  by  any  oilier  State,  and  through  this  enter- 
pri.e  and  the  wealth  of  the  treasury  she  has  opened,  she  has  become  the 
maritime  capital  of  the  whole  Union.     Upon  her  lake-shore  the  trade  of 
this  region  has  built  up  a  city  of  over  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitanls, 
and  the  whole  lake  border  is  skirted  with  opulent  marts  of  trade,  whieli 
are  duplicating,  at  len^t  in  every  ten  years,  a  commerce  and  tonnage 
already  equal  to  the  entire  European  trade  of  the  whole  Union.     Aeon- 
siderable  part  of  the  large  amount  of  tonnasre  built  annually  by  New 
York  in  which  she  is  the  third  State  in  the  Union,  is  consirnctea  upon 
her  lakes,     linffalo,  whicli  is  a  principal  seat  of  this  industry,  has  grown 
up  within  the  last  half  century  ;  yet  its  advantages  for  trade,  at  the  outlet 
of  the  Upper  Lakes,  was  not  overlooked  by  France,  which,  at  an  early  day 
i„  our  Colonial  hi>lorv,  aimed  at  extensive  dominion  upon  this  Continent, 
and  took  pos.es^ion  of  these  regions.     In  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 


Nl.W  YORK.      THE  FIUST   LAKE  CRAKT. 


G5 


ill  the  port 
eiglity  tons, 
S5,  was  tlie 
,  the  formur 
icn  iiiiil  two 

ill  Colonial 
ition,  princi- 
If  dollars  pur 
1  thuy  would 

3  coraraercial 
forcil)ly  than 
'  the  Western 
s\>w  York,  in 
of  the  jrrcat 
crease  of  the 
if  much  inter- 
anie  an  indc- 
f  over  ninety 
extent  of  ter- 
nvracked,  save 
)eean  through 
jonnncree  car- 
3  of  steam  and 
md  a  lake  and 
millions  annu- 
ted  her  public 
ugh  this  enter- 
as  become  the 
•e,  the  trade  of 
nd  inhabitants, 
A  trade,  which 
e  and  tonnag'o 
Inion.     A  cou- 
inially  by  New 
Dsiructeu  upon 
stry,  has  grown 
le,  at  the  outlet 
at  an  early  day 
this  Continent, 
the  seventeenth 


contnrv  she  had  begu.  to  belt  tue  American  settlements  wdh  a  line  of  fo  t- 
es'for  the  support  of  her  claims,  and  the  extension  of  her  r.val  interest  . 
flw  years  after  Father  Marquette  and  Sieur  Joliet  had  penetrate  . 
tith  bark  canoes,  to  the  Mississippi,  and  explored  that  "v- to  the^^nou^^^^ 
of  the  Arkansas.    Sieur  de  la  Salle,  under  a  commission  from  the  King  o 
Fr  nee,  set  out  from  Fort  Frontcnac  (now  Kingston),  ui  Novembe  . 
078.  ii.  a  small  vessel,  the  first  ever  seen  on  Lake  Ontario,  and.  aecon. 
„,ni ed  by  Fathers  Tonti  and  Hennepin,  and  a  number  ot  mechanics  and 
S        withlilitary  and  naval  stores  and  goods  for  the  Indian  trach, 
established  a  trading  post  upon  the  present  site  of  Fort  ^■«g--  J^" 
the  2Gth  of  January.  1679.  at  the  ^outli  of  Cayuga  ^-ck  on  th   Am.  - 
can  side  of  the  Niagara,  about  six  miles  above  the  S;eat  falls,  they  la  d 
1  e  keel  of  a  small  vo.-sel  of  sixty  tons  burden.     At  this  place,  long  afte 
::    it  is  said."  as  a  shipyard,  by  Americans  and  sf  1     nown  as 
"Old  Shipyard."  under  the  suspicious  eyes  and  exposed  to  the  hostde 
attempts  o    the  Iroquois,  who  endeavored  to  burn  the  vesse  .  and  com- 
Id  the  blacksmith  even  to  defend  his  life  with  a  red-hot  bar  of  iron 
venturers  finished  and  equipped  with  seven  small  eannon  and  the  usi.d 
laLnts  of  a  man-of-war,  the  first  vessel  th.t  ever  set  sail  mion  L     e 
Fde      She  was  named  the  "  Griffin^     On  in.  7th  of  August,  of  the 
;Z  yea     after  several  inelTectual  attempts  to  ascend  the  m,  I,  favored 
V  a  Jood  wind,  the  little  bark,  with  a  griffin  f.ying  at  her  jib-boom  and 
Lgrabove.  entered,  amid  the  discharge  of  her  diminutive  artillery 
d  U.    ehatiti  g  of  the  Te  Deum.  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie   an  objec   of 
n  r      amo  g  all  the  savages  who  lived  on  the  great  lakes  and  nvers  w.th.n 
teiroramon^  ^  cautiously  sounded  her  way  through 

STf  ;:t^J      :  ^J^^^  of  August,  reached  the  mouth  of  De- 
tl  K    «;     nd  then  e  passed  into  a  lake,  which  they  named  St.  Uair. 
„    0     l"'23d  of  the  same  month,  entered  Lake  Huron,  the  Te  Deum 
i  1     sing  i;  thankfulness  for  their  preservation  thus  far.     Crossing  11.  s 
still  riMUK  leagues  to  Green  I3ay.  in  Wis- 

lake  amid  -"7;^'  ;;^^^^^^^  a%ieh  cargo  of  firs,  valued  at 

consul,  whence  La  Sa  le  having  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^ 

GO.OOO  livres,  dispatched  the  vessel,  lu  tuaij,  i 

quite  confldont  it  tooli  place  upon  tlio  oppo- 
site or  Canadian  side  of  the  river.  His  local 
knowledge  is  greater  than  mine,  and  his 
opinion  merits  the  most  respectful  consider- 
ation.' Hennepin,  who  was  present,  says  it 
took  place  '  more  than  two  leagues  above  the 
Falls.'"- r"'-"er'«  Ilixtory  of  iht  Holland 
Purchase. 


(1)  Documentary  History  of  New  York, 
3  1190.  '  This  locality  has  been  question- 
ed. Governor  Cnss  locates  La  Salle's  Ship- 
yard at  Erie.  Mr.  Bancroft,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Tonawanda,  or  rather  did  so  in  his 
History  of  the  United  States.  In  a  letter 
to  tlie  author,  dated  L-.ndon,  May  17,  1S48, 
he  says,  'As  to  the  Ship-buildinR  of  La 
Salle  above   Niagara  Fulls,  Mr.  Catlin  is 


66 


SniP-Bt'ILDINO  IN  THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES. 


on  her  return  to  Niagara.  The  vessel  was  never  after  neard  of,  and  is 
supposed  to  have  foundered  in  ^-ake  Huron,  with  all  on  board. 

IJut  the  French  wore  not  destined  to  open  tlie  treasury  of  these  fruilfiil 
regions,  or  to  build  up  a  naval  or  coinnieroial  power  upon  the  laives  ami 
and  rivers  of  the  West,  Although  La  Salle  afterward  la:;!  a  keel  uf 
forty  feet,  for  the  construction  of  a  vessel  at  Fort  Crcveeoeur,  on  the  Ilii- 
<iois,  and  with  in  kfatigable  zeal,  established  a  cordon  of  forts  from  the  .St. 
Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  supremacy  which  he  with  others  souf;ht 
to  establish  for  his  most  Cliristian  Majesty,  was  ultimately  e-xtinguisliLd 
with  .i  suddenness  not  inaptly  prefigured  by  the  disastrous  issue  of  his  first 
maritime  eflort.  While  a  spirit  of  territorial  aggrandizement,  tliat  sought 
to  limit  the  English  Colonies  to  a  narrow  mar;;in  upon  the  seaboard,  un- 
doubtedly governed  the  councils  of  France,  her  Colonksts  were  ciiiofly 
intent  in  tlie  |irosceution  of  the  trade  in  peltry  with  the  Indians.  In  tliat 
business,  her  Couriers  du  haia,  and  traders,  called  to  their  aid,  it  is  pro- 
bable, no  marine  of  any  consequence,  beyond  the  bark  or  log  canoe  of 
the  savage,  the  batteau  or  scow  for  greater  burdens,  and  occasionally  a 
decked  boat  for  defen.sc  or  dispatch.  It  remained  for  the  Colonies  of  lior 
successful  j'ivui  to  check  the  lust  of  empire,  which  had  led  her  governors 
thus  early  into  the  heart  of  the  Continent,  and  to  people  either  shore  of 
ii.ose  interior  seas  with  nations,  whose  countless  ships  and  floating-palaces 
testify  to  the  opulence  of  their  commerce. 

At  a  later  jjcriod,  when  the  Lake  regions  became  the  field  of  contest 
between  the  French  and  English,  some  small  naval  ])reparntions  wcro 
made  on  c.-'oh  side,  but  it  was  some  years  after  the  Revolution,  before 
mercantile  vessels  began  to  be  constructed,  to  any  extent,  upon  thuse 
watei.H.  During  th**  Uevolution,  the  frontiers  became  the  centre  uf 
intere.it  at  times,  and  some  of  the  greatest  achievements  of  American 
valor  were  efTected,  wiiii  naval  arnianient.s,' constructed  with  magic  siJccti 
upon  the  borders  of  the  lake  . 

The  first  English  vessel  built  on  Lake  Ontario,  was  a  schooiiPr  of  forty 
feet  keel,  with  fourteen  sweeps  or  oars,  and  twelve  swivels,  launched  June 
28,  1755.' 

During  the  same  year,  Governor  Shirley,  of  Massaclmrjetts,  led  an 
expedition  through  the  wilderness,  from  Albany  to  Oswego,  where  In; 
tnailc  preparations  for  an  attack  on  Forts  Nia'jara  and  Fronlenac,  similar 
to  that  in  which  Braddock  had  been  defeated  at  Fort  Ducpiesne.  He  built 
Rt  OsTgo,  a  sloop  and  sehooner.  of  CO  tons  each,  two  row-galleys,  of  -'0 
tens  each,  and  eight  whale  boats,  each  capable  of  carrying  Ki  men.  lii< 
designs  were  seconded  by  the  Assembly  of  New  York,  who  directed  him 


(1)  Documsntnry  Iliitory  of  Now  York,  i.,  472. 


ONIES. 


NEW  YORK.      ?IRST   YKSs^ELS   ON   THE   I.-MvF.S. 


61 


iftcr  iieard  of,  and  is 
11  on  board. 
;asury  of  these  fruitful 
rr  upon  the  lakes  and 
M'ward  laid  a  keel  of 
;!rcvceoeur,  on  the  llii- 
)n  of  forts  from  the  St. 
li  he  with  others  sousiit 
lliniateiy  extiiiguislicd 
istrous  issue  of  his  first 
ndizement,  that  sought 
ipon  the  seaboard,  uu- 
Colonists  were  chiody 
I  the  Indhms.     In  that 
.  to  their  aid,  it  is  pro- 
bark  or  log  canoe  of 
ons,  and  occasionally  a 
for  the  Colonies  of  her 
I  had  led  her  frovernors 
»  people  either  shore  of 
ps  and  lloating-paiaccj 

xme  the  field  of  contr?t 
ival  i)rei)arntions  wcro 
the  llevolution,  before 
any  extent,  npou  those 
became  the  centre  of 
ievements  of  Amerieun 
ucted  with  magic  speed 

was  a  schooner  nf  forty 
c  swivels,  launched  June 

■  Massacliu;'.etts,  loil  an 
y  to  Oswego,  wliere  lie 
a  and  Frontenac,  similar 
ort  Duquesne.  llelmilt 
1,  two  row-galleys,  of  iO 
:'  carrying  1(1  men.  Hi'* 
York,  who  directed  him 

t,  1.,  472. 


to  prepare  for  the  construction  of  one  or  more  vessels  of  a  larger  class  to 
mount  ten  six-pounders,  besides  swivels,  two  more  row  galley.s,  and  a 

hundred  whale  boats. 

The  first  Amn-ivan  vessel  built  on  Lake  Ontario,  was  "at  ITanford  s 
Landing  "  three  miles  below  Ilochcster,  in  1798.  She  was  of  thirty  tons 
only  and  called  the  "Jemima."  The  first  national  vessel  budt  on  Lake 
Krip  was  launched  the  year  previous,  at  Four  Mile  Creek,  near  Kne, 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  named  the  "Washington."  She^was  lost  soou 
after,  which  ju-oved  a  discouragement  to  dmilar  attempts.' 

Early  in   the  war,   Lakes   George  and  Champlain,  ns   the  highway 
hetween  Canada  and  the  revolted  colonics,  became  the  scene  of  naval 
operations,  in  which  both  powers  sought  to  gain  the  control  of  thcr 
commanding  position,  a.ul   their  fortifications.     To  construct  a  naval 
armament  was  a  work  of  no  small  enterpnse,  as  materials  were  unpro- 
vided and  skilled  labor  only  to  be  obtained  from  the  seap.n-ls.     Congress, 
on  3d  Julv    mr,,  empowered  the  Marine  Committee  to  engage  ship- 
wrights to  go  to  Lake  Champlain  for  the  purpose,  at  the  rate  of  thirty- 
scve"n  and  two-thirds  dollars  per  month,  with  a  ration  and  a  half,  and  a 
half  pint  of  rum  per  day,  for  each  man.     I'.y  the  22d  of  August,  a  small 
.nuadron  was  built  at  Skenesborough,  (WhitehalO,  consislir.g  of  one 
sloop,  three  schooners,  and  five  gondolas,  carrying  58  guns,  86  swivels, 
and  440  men,  which  were  set  afloat  in  the  short  spa.-e  of  seven  weeks  from 
the  date  of   the  resolution.      Six  other  vessels  were  nearly  ready  for 
l,„,„ehing  at  the  same  time,  by  which  the  flotilla  was  afterward  ^<^^^^' 
and  the  whole  placed  under  the  command  of  General  Arnold.     ^\  uh  these 
and  a  number  of  gun-boats,  Arnold,  on  11th  October,  fought  the  first 
naval  battle  of  the  Revolution,  near  Valcour's  Island,  against  a  fleet  much 
superior  in  number  and  strength,  constructed  by  the  I  r.fsh  wnth  the 
.ame  marvelous  dispatch-a  portion  from  nmterials  brought  from  Lngland 
for  the  purpose,  and  under  the  command  of  Captain  Fringle. 

A  considerable  amount  cf  shipping  has  been  yearly  built  on  this  Lake 
since  that  time,  and  the  steam-vessels  of  Champlain  are  among  the  finest 
hailt  in  the  Union.  Burlington,  on  the  eastern  shore,  is  the  only  place 
ill  Vermont  where  vessels  are  built  to  any  extent. 

The  talents  of  Henry  Eekford  and  others,  at  a  hUer  period,  raised  the 
reputation  of  New  York  in  Ship-building,  deservedly  high.     '•''''^  •^J^rv'ces 
of  John  Stevens,  of  Chancellor  Livingston.  Mid  espe.iallv  of  Rob  r 
rulton,  in  giving  the  first  practical  demonstrat.o,.  of  the  vuluo  of  steam 

,„  IIon.lcW  Annual  Statements  of  Trade  nnd  CuvMrnTce  of  BufTulo,  1?16.    AndrcW 
KiHurt,  p.  •19. 


,8  SUIPBCILmNO  IN   THE   MIBDIE  COLONIC. 

,„  „„i,»t,o„,u.„crad  in  a  „e.  era  i«  naval  arcUlectar.,  bat  t1,cj  do  not 

'"'!.;:"';.:>:" -T:r«r^rs.p.buna.n.  co„.c„ccd  ,„  n„ 

'" -^^'-^f  s!  pno  V  0  bad  visite/u.  Province  on  his  rctu.  fro.n  a 
niarMier  of  Stepney^  wlo  ,,,,^     „ied   Deputy-Governor 

voyage  to  the  West  Indies,  "^  ;"'".;,,,,  ^rietaries.  He 
Rudyard,  to  East  Jersey  as  on  o  t  -'-Jf  ^^J  ^^^^^,  ,,,,  ,, 
died  in  1683,  leaving  unfinished,  • '  ju  the  stocus, 

""Tt  fs'probable  that  vessels  were  previously  built  on  the  Delaware,  and 

n    tl  e  ^^rovinee   and  of  little  advantage  to  the  particular  object  it  .a, 
■  It^deir  ;:;ote.     It  was  enacted,  ^^^^^1^:^:7::^ 

"2  ex  or  a  ion  of  any  timber,  planks,  boards,  oak-bolts.  stave, 
seymen,")  the  '^^''I'^Z^lcs  las  expressly  forbidden,  except  to  some 
heading,  hoops  or  ^  OP-P^^' ^  \  into  Great  Britain,  the  West 
parts  'over  the  broad  sc^.'  th  t       to  -y-  ^  ^<>  ^  ^^  ^„^^,  ,,, 

Indies,  the  Summer  or  W  ine  Inlands,  Uireciiy,  anu 

"The  obicet  of  this  law  appears  to  have  been  the  promotion  of  a  direct 
itiui^v"      J  r„-  4i,n  siinrpmacv.     Wo  find,  indeeu,  tnai 

iT^r     !        n,:  twru,.  Jcc,.  .- .a  no«  n,.Ui,.«  war  apoa  u,  .« 
same  )c«r,  i.  mcutioiitd,  "  l)j  »liicli,"  lie 

tho  Province." 


v-wnflf      voto.1  It  momlipr  of  the  commnnity,  I'l"'" 

.ettlrd  ).y  C.,n....f.i.'u.  po.plo  i"  1«««.  "I"        '"'     ,,„,„i„in„  hi,   present,  or  ottior  .uf- 
p.„,..,.K... ....  in  ...e  "•-/■•;""  «7,  ;::;;;':  ,         .^^^  1  u,,'  of  ...o  t,.wn."-B,.r. 


In  Dcceml 

of  Proprietc 

the  first  sloo 

Salem  am 

time,  the  lai 

was  carried 

of  Pennsyh 

docks  and  1 

bliips  and  v 

Ijuilt,"  at  1 

as  consislin 

numbers  wt 

many  boat! 

The  slo( 

Townsend, 

delphia  an 

Ibul  quart 

A  lettei 

tliat  "  the 

lirigantiiic 

West  Iiid 

fwm   Ne' 

liinl)er;  v 

even  a  to 

York,  als 

Sliip-b 

Ev'g  Hi 

lirofitabi 

There 

of  about 

it  is  pre 

I'lovinc 

being  s' 

seaboavf 

out  at  ] 

"TheO 

with  a 

was  no' 

PV.N 

of  buil 
writes ; 
West  I 


NEW   JERSEY   AND   I-ENNSYLYANIA. 


69 


,ljey  do  not 

B(i  in  New 
Groome,  a 
Lui'n  fi'oni  a 
y-Govenior 
taries.  He 
ssel  built  ill 

jlaware,  and 
r,  as  vessels 
ja  trade  was 

Is  branch  of 
cral  interests 
object  it  was 
icouragement 
("us  if,"  says 
3skillof  Jcr- 
-bolts,  staves, 
cept  to  SOUK' 
ain,  the  West 
,0  unload  tlie 

OP  of  a  direct 
sire  to  render 
it  then  strove, 
1,  indeed,  that 
;  of  Trade  llie 
far  upon  us  iii 
'  by  which,"  lio 
a  free  port  to 
y  ;  they  pay  no 
1  that  of  I'enii- 
lils  beinf?  niucli 
the  revenue  uf 


community,  x'V"^ 
ng  liore  fnrlliwilli, 
•MPiit,  or  ottior  i>uf- 
r  llic  town."— Bi>r' 
II.  of  N.  J. 


of  Proprietors  a  grant  ot  a  town  loi, 

the  first  sloop  launched  at  that  place.  ^^  ^^^^ 

Salem  and  Burlington  were  the  pruic  pal  t    -  «      A  [^.jj^^ 

uu.e,the  last-iuentioned  being  the  ^^^^'':Z^,^ii,L..co.ui 
,as  carried  on  at  these  place.,  at  ^-^^'^^^^^^^u.  tl  c  commodious 
of  rennsylvania  and  West  Jersey  -;«'";' ,,,  ..  ,,,,ral  fine 
docks  and  large  timber  yards  of  ^^JT^^^  ^,^  ,uip),  have  been 
,,,.,  and  vessels,  (besides^.- C^--^^^  Cape' May  County, 

built,"  at  Burlington      He  ^P^"  «  '^      J  .vhale-fisheries,  in  which  great 
as  consisting  of  whalebone  and  oil  ho.n   lu.  whaR 
„„n.bers  were  taken  yearly  :  a  business,  which,  on 

many  boats  and  small  vessels.  ^^^^  j.i^.,,^,.^ 

The  sloop  A^-nturer  of  s.tee     ton    owne  1^^  y        ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^,,^^,^_ 

nr;:Lm  Oovemor  Morris,  to  Uie  ^^^^^j^r^le  mm.  states 
„at  "  the  foreign  trade  is  not  ^o^^^^^;^  / J  '  i.J,;,,  „.,  the 
.,,.tines  and  .bout  lour  - '- ^^  ^^^  l^l^^aities,  are  supplied 
West  Indies.     Most,  if  not  all  their  i.  ^      ^^.,,,,,t,  flour,  au.l 

,om  New  York  and  l'«''"^^ -"\'^' ;  ^^  "^^^^^ 
tUnber;  without  which  last,  it  is  said.  1  ^^^;^.„,,  ,  „,.a  New 
even  a  tolerable  house,  nor  ship  oft  a  "^^  ''cad  «    a  1  1  ^^ 

York,  also,  has  a  great  supply  of  t""^-  -"J  ";  ,,s  of  LiUle 

Ship-building  was  a  principal  occup     on        1  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^.^^^^  ^^^^  ^ 
E.g  Harbor,  in  Burlington  County,  «ho  also 

protitable  lumber  trade.  _  ^  ,  f,,,,^  p,mn,ii  vessels, 

There  were  built  in  the  T-vnico  in  th      -r  1 .  ^^^.^  ^^_^^  ..i^,  ,,,,ee 

of  about  twenty-five  tons  each.     In  ^    '^' ^  .^..^^  ,.,,ent  there.     The 

it  is  probable  the  business  never  ^'^'^^^'^  J  \^     ,^,,,„  ti.e  Delaware 
Province  suirerednnichdurn.g  the  ivoh.^      ^^^.^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^,^^ 

heing  shut  by  the  ^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^  ^^  A  .ine    H.ooner  was  fitted 
seaboard,  were  exposed  to  ^'^  --avate  ^    ^^^  ,„a  was  named 

out  at  Bridgton.  in  177    and  ^      ';;;,,,!  .„>  Uer  second  voyage, 
■•TheGovernorLivingston/'  Bn^  Icw-^  ^^^^^  ^,^  „,,„,^, 

,vith  a  valuable  cargo,  neat  the  t.ipcs 

was  not  renewed.  ,        ,pre.l  upon  the  business 

,n,uiiaing  vesselB.  William  ^'^^  •  ",  J^';,  ' '....y  ..ats,"  WlHiani 
,Htes  :  •■  Some  vessels  have  been  ^'"'^  ^^  '  ^^^  \^  ,,,  ,f  Vi„e  street. 
West  about  this  time  commenced  u  sh.p-jaid  at 


70 


sniP-BUILPINa   IN   THE   MIDDLE   COLONIES. 


tobacco  were  exported  i»  one  year,  ^^^^  ^>       "    '^^  ^J  ^^,1     ,,a  resided 

Tn  ifiq^  accordin"  to  the  account  of  an  Enfrhsh  author  w no  ni 

In  169S,  accormn  ^^^^.^.^.^^  ^.^^  receiving,  db- 

stately  ou^s  i  stra  ght  and  well  framed, 

sivtv  feet  lonsr,  and  clear  01  Knots,  utiHo  vi-ij    ^     o  ,      i   ,., 

irrllu";  city  or  «,„a.e,„.,la  are  -'«»'  "''IT.TS"     sl 
Urm  and  curious  poi,c-»«lt»  csiwcially  Mr.  Jo.q.U  W  ikox.        SWf 

1,7   for  ports  in  the  West  Indies,  where  they  were  often  sold  vmU  t  hu 
clrioe       Tl  s  i.rolltable  channel  of  tr.de,  and  the  inantifueture  o    sin, 
"'a    :  CO  tinned  throughout  its  provincial  history,  to    e  a  fonn  aiu 
profit  t;  Philadelphia,  and  speedily  raised  her  to  the  position  of  the  mo. 

'^Sf  inli;:':^ -Id-  hed  ,.  the  founder  and  the  Free  S.iet, 
of  i  a  ersattheinonthof  the  I.elaware,  where  for  some  years  it  . 
aetilely  pursued  near  the  shore,  and  employed  many  boats  and  small 

''The  ship-vards  of  Philadelphia  in  curly  provincial  times  occupied  the 
riv  r^'nl  >roni  the  present  Market  street  to  Vino  or  C.  low^-  i^a-^ 
were  gradually  driven  north  by  the  improvements  m  the  nty.  In  Juh, 
n  8  Jonathan  Dickinson  wrote  to  a  correspondent :"  ere  is  a  grea 
n  :,y  ship-work  for  Knghmd.  It  increases  and  will  uicrease  an 
Zl  expectations  from  the  iron-works,  forty  miles  up  the  Schuylkill,  m 

(1)  HUtory  of  Ponneylvunla  aiul  W«.t  Now  Jc  .y  by  Uubrid  TLoma. :  London,  1693. 


very  great.' 

coming  froi 

A  duty  \ 

was  this  ye 


Among 
givlley,  and 
the  Atlanl 
1722-24,  ' 

1 

1 
1 

The  cli 

hundred  ! 

elearancef 

it  was  sai 

stocks  at 

that  time 

merchant 

krtor  of 

liiid  the  1 

The  n 

cording  * 

2354;  a 

Adding 

tonnnge 

of  any  c 

howcvei 

hunleu 

iucrcme 

iu  Pein 

49,054 

(lilTeren 

About 

tives,  a 

oceasic 

eight  \ 

llourisi 

vessels 

20, 54.1 

Alt 

not  c( 

llio  ti 


PENNSYLVANIA.      SUIP-BUILBINO   IN  rillLADELrUIA.  U 

,  •  ,  ■  f  "   Tn  noi   he  incidenMilly  mentions  that  tlic  sails  and  rigging 

Dhaarcsi.lcdl  U2-2-'24,  VIZ.:  ..42s  t.ms. 

,.     ■  i-„,  10  vessels 

eceiving,  ilis- ■  i^-- _  ,.;     .,     •'»< 

ling,  buiWiiig  I  i72i'Z"""""""'.'."'3.ii)     "     "^^ 

jng  t'licsc  are  ■  itio  +r>  K^.'i   avcroired  ono 

Dock  »UU  .  I  The  clc.r,nec»  in  .1,0  «vc„  ,ca,»  fro     i:iO  »  '  -^    -^«^,  _^„j 

1„,  have  vcv  I  ck.aru„ec,  »cro  about  Ihrcc  t,«»,lrc.l  .nnuall     ^Zo        IJ  «■ 

,eu,ont.     Slnp  I  had  the  l.iglH.st  salavies  of  any  In  North  A">ene^  ^^_ 

:aavaswugeJ      The  return  of  new  shipping  bu.tm  J    '-      ^^^^^^        ,„,  ;;,,, 
Turlington,  a..!  I  cording  to  the  san.  a..U,on|..  -^'^^^^^JZ,^  ,,  H.;.  was  22. 

"^^^^  ""'•  ti  ?fnL:l;a.  U;    :    '^S^-r^^^^^  tm.  yea.  tongue  it  real 

vcs,  v.rov.s,un>,  ■   Adding  «  "  ■'''^";«  ; "^   J  80  tons,  whieh  exceeds  the  average 

sold  with  their  I   tonnage,  the  average  of  each  becomes  au  ^^^^^^ 

,c.ture  of  Shi,.  I  of  any  other  except  that  of  Maryland.  ^^  ^  ^  .^^  ,^,,,  ,,,  li 
e  a  Ibuntain  of  I  however,  given  to  the  Register  ^:^''^.^^,^^  „  „„t  the  proper 
,on  of  the  mo.  |  harden  of  the  vessels,  and  «-  ^^  ^/^^^  ^^^  ^  '  ,„,.,.„,e  enteU 
iucrenK-nt  ..y  whiedao  K.ach  t  0^^^^^^^^^  ^__  ^,^^  ^^,^^^  ^,^^,. 

.i,,.     I„  J«lv,  I   cipht  vc,«ci,.     A.  tl,i,  '""»  ;''V'":':    r    ,  L  °  ■      veur  .milt  l/s 
fill  increase,  uml  ■    visscls  and   IS<,14.»  ions  ui  mmi  i     m 

"-"*"■'"  ■    :i;:;i::l,;;h?U.vol».ioa,l'r,i.n.i.n.l.iaW.l  l»on,«un,ong.l.c  U,.t,u 


72 


siiiP-ni:iLi)iN«  IN  THE  middle  colonies. 


naval  architecture  ;  her  vessels  being  no  less  noted  for  beauty  of  form  and 
finish  than  for  their  swiftness.  In  none  of  the  Colonies,  however,  were 
the  vessels  built  for  sale  equal  in  quality  to  those  contracted  for  o.i  pr.- 
vate  account.  A  species  of  ship,  constructed  at  Philadelphia  m  early 
times,  but  scarcely  belonging  to  naval  architecture  perhaps,  weiH)  huge 
raft  ships,  simiUir  to  those  constructed  at  a  later  period  m  Canada. 
These  colossal  structures  were  built  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  a  great 
quantity  of  timber,  and  were  designed  to  be  broken  up  on  arriving  a 
their  destination.  The  last  of  this  class  from  Philadelphia  was  conuructed 
at  Kensington  a  few  years  before  the  llevolulion.  The  "Baron  lien  re  w 
built  at  an  earlier  period,  of  upward  of  five  thousand  tons,  or  double  he 
measurement  of  an  ordinary  seventy-four,  mad.  a  safe  passage  into  the 

Downs.  ,  ,  .  1        1  ,1,, 

The  reputation  of  her  naval  architects  had  now  become  high,  and  the 
position  of  the  city  as  the  largest  in  the  Provinces  with  an  extensive 
commerce,  witli  numerous  productive  Iron-works  in  the  vicinity,  and  he 
greatest  facilities  for  procuring  the  best  of  timber  and  naval  stores  rom  the 
Southern  Colonies,  gave  her  superior  advantages.  Ti.ese  were  brough 
into  requisition  during  the  war,  for  the  naval  defense  ot  the  port,  and  of 
the  country  generally.  Of  thirteen  frigates  ordered  by  Congress,  under 
the  prize  law  of  December,  1775,  the  keels  of  four,  the  }\a,lnn<,lon  and 
Jlavdolph,  of  32  guns,  each  ;  the  Effmyhn.n,  of  28,  and  the  Iklaicare, 
of  24  guns,  were  laid  at  Philade]i)hia. 

One  of  the  three  seventy-four's  ordered  in  the  following  year,  a  br.g 
of  18  guns,  and  a  packet-boat,  were  also  assigned  to  the  Ship-yards  ot 
Philadelphir.;  and  many  smaller  vessels  were  built  and  equipped  there  on 
private  and  public  account. 

Despite  the  strongest  efforts  by  means  of  galleys,  batteries,  rafts,  fire- 
Bhips,  and  torpedoes,  to  defend  this  important  port,  the  harbor  was  suc- 
cessfully blockaded  by  tlie  enemies,  and  the  Delatcare  and  EJfinuham, 
were  burned,  to  prevent  thcin  falling  into  the  enemy's  hands.  The  Ban- 
dolph  was  one  of  the  first  cruisers  that  got  to  sea  in  1777. 

The  flourishing  commerce  of  Philadelphia  was  nearly  destroyed,  and 
her  shipping  swept  from  the  sea.  But  it  is  doubtful  if  any  other  place  in 
the  country  saw  both  resuscitated  with  more  remarkable  success  after  the 

^''During  the  existence  of  the  State  Impost  Laws,  which  were  all  rendered 
void  by  the  new  Constitution  and  the  Federal  Laws,  Pennsylvania  hud 
ft  duty  of  two  shillings  per  ton  on  foreign  shipping,  and  on  American 
vessels  four-pence  per  ton.  She  actively  advocated  the  ratification  ot 
the  Constitution  of  1780,  and  experienced  the  full  benefit  of  the  national 
system,  adopted  iu  1700,  which  gave  protection  to  the  industry  of  tho 


PENNSYLVANIA.      OODFUKY'S   QUADRANT— FRANKLIN. 


73 


of  form  and 
wever,  weru 

for  oil  pri- 
lia  ill  early 
,  were  huge 
in  Can  ail  a. 
f\ng:  a.  great 

arriving  at 
cons-iructed 
11  lleiifrew," 
r  double  the 
igo  into  tliu 

igh,  and  tlie 
an  extensive 
[lity,  and  the 
ores  from  the 
k'cre  brought 
jiort,  and  of 
igress,  under 
ihinijlon  and 
le  Lklawarc, 

year,  a  brig 
Ship-yards  of 
iped  there  on 

es,  rafts,  fire- 
bor  was  suc- 
l  Effiwihom, 
.     The  Han- 

estroycd,  and 
other  jilaee  in 
icesa  after  the 

c  all  rendered 
isylvaiiia  laid 
on  American 
ratification  of 
if  the  national 
[idustry  of  tho 


Iwge  body  of  her  manufacturers.     During  the  year  ending  March,  1 .  91, 
Pennsylvania  and  Delaware,  which,  as  the  "  Lower  Counties,"  have  been 
i  included  in  the  foregoing  statements  with  Pennsylvania,  bn.lt  an  amount 
tonnage  exceeding  the  average  of  the  years  nCO   '1^.-^^^''^ 
'  3  900  tons,  or  over  5,000  tons.     In  1793,  the  amount  built  >»J;"->  " 
i  .a«ia,was  8,145  tons,  notwithstanding  a  desolating  ep.dein,.aftlicU.l  the 
city ;  an  amount  double  that  of  any  other  port  in   the  United  States. 
These  were  of  Sorthern  live-oak  and  cedar,  and  were  of  the  most  sub. 
'.antial  character,  and  their  excellence  was  acknowledged  everywhere 
Tiie  astonishing  increase  of  trade  is  evidenced  in  the  fact   hat  the  ex  o^ 
of  the  State,  or  its  seaport,  I'hiladelphia,  for  the  year  ending  Septembe, 
9    exceeded  all  the  exports  of  New  England,  oy  $1,717,572  ;  and  tha 
,„c  mere  increase  of  its  exports  over  those  of  the  P-evious  ye-  are  stated 
,0  have  exceeded  the  total  exports  of  New  York  in  1793,  l^y  $2  «34,370 
The  ag-re-rate  value  of  goods  shipped  to  foreign  countries,  m  17J2,  >  as 
3,82?,G46;  in  1793,  it  was  $0,958,730;  and  for  the  half  year  endnig 
March  31    1794,  $3,533,397.     The  exports  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1,93. 
were  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  exports  of  the  whole  Union. 
'     For  her  success  in  this  branch  of  industry,  as  well  as  for  a  due  share  of 
the  reputation  in  Ship-building  enjoyed  by  the  Colonies,  riHladelphia  i 
™uch  indebted  to  the  genius  of  several  who  were  I'^™'"?"^;";  "j; 
departments.     Foremost  among  those  we  would  mention  the  name  of 
TiioMAS  GODFREY,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  whose  ;-Provemen   of  th. 
Quadrant  which  bears  tlie  name  of  lladley,  renders  his  name  d  ai  to  al 
1    ho  are  concerned  in  trade  and  navigation.    His  l;f -^ing  Qnadrai.  was 
first  brought  into  use  in  West  India  vessels,  about  tlm  yea    1731,-32  and 
!:  tLc'e  carried  to  England,  where  lladley  ac,uired  tlie  ere. h    o    th 
improvement.     It  was  introduced  into  French  ships  ..    1730,  by  M  De 
ni     illette,  the  Maritime  Geographer,  who  published  an  account  of  Us 
;         ages.    br.  Franklin  also  deserves  honorable  mention  for  the  sug- 
mtion  thicb  he  made  for  the  improvement  of  models  and  sailing  qnah- 
E^of  ships,  an  account  of  which  may  be  found,  accompanied  wit    Ulus- 
lio  .  i.    he  collection  of  his  published  works.     He  was  probably  the 
?sttt\m  country  to  call  attention  to  the  advantages  of  u-afer.U<jfd 
:  Jw        /    in  vessels,  which  of  late  years  has  been  so  advantageously 
Z^Z\.  the  vast  naval  structures  of  the  age.     He  was  led  to  approve 
r  :::;mend  the  superior  sa^ty  of  this  method  of  oo-tnictuin    ^m 
the  studv  of  the  arts,  customs,  government,  and  V^^^^y^i ^-^^^ 
Their  prudence  in  this  respect  he  especially  commend-d  ;  the  bottom  of 
iieir  slips  being  constructed  of  a  number  of  separate  chambers,  or  com- 

(1)  Cuxe'a  "  View  of  Unltoa  SUilcs." 


74 


Bnil'-BTJILDING  IN   THE   MIDDLE   COLONIES. 


parlmcnts,  a  leak  could  only  fill  the  chamber  with  which  it  communicated, 
whereby  he  conceived  they  were  rendered  obviously  more  safe  than  those 
of  European  construction.  Some  other  of  his  suggestions  were  afterward 
adopted  by  the  navul  architects  of  the  country. 

The  rei.utation  and  abilities  of  Joshua  UuMniuEYS  as  a  naval  archi- 
tect, contributed  to  the  pre-eminence  enjoyed  by  Philadelphia  in  Siiip- 
building.     His  professional  talents  had  rendered  him  long  widely  known, 
and  after  the  organization  of  the  Federal  Government,  when  the  defense- 
less state  of  American  commerce  forced  upon  Congress  the  necessity  of 
providing  a  Naval  Armament,  he  suggested  some  important  improvements 
in  the  construction  of  the  vessels  ordered  by  that  body,  and  was  called  upon 
to  furnish  drafts  and  models  for  the  six  frigates  which  formed  the  germ 
of  the  American  Navy.   Their  efficiency  in  the  service  is  believed  to  have 
satislicd  the  country  of  the  value  of  his  innovations,  and  to  have  led  to  a 
modilication  in  the  system  of  naval  construction  in  European  dockyards. 
The  frigate  United  Stales,  constructed  under  his  immediate  superintend- 
ence, at  Philadelphia,  proved  to  be  one  of-  the  fastest  ships  of  her  time. 
Tempting  offers  are  said  to  have  been  made  to  him,  while  abroad,  to  give 
the  benelit  of  his  talents  to  a  foreign  service. 

As  a  Ship-carver  and  Sculptor,  William  Rush,  probably,  had  few 
superiors  in  his  day.     The  figure-heads  executed  by  him  excited  no  little 
admiration  in  foreign  countries,  and  orders,  it  is  said,  were  sent  to  him 
from  England.      He  particularly  excelled  in  the  execution  of  figure- 
heads representing  the  Indian  character,  in  which  his  graceful  and  spirited 
designs  were  perhaps  unequaled.     Walking  attitudes,  little  in  use  before 
his  time,  were  immediately  improved  by  him,  with  a  degree  of  taste  and 
skill  in  design  and  execution  previously  unequaled.    The  figure-head  of  the 
"  Indian  Trader,"  upon  the  ship  William  Penn,  in  Indian  costume,  excited 
great  observation  in  London,  it  is  said,  and  attracted  numbers  of  artists 
daily,  in  boats,  to  observe  and  sketch  designs  from  it.     Orders  were  sent 
from  England  for  several  figures  for  ships  building  there,  although  the 
duties  cost  more  than  the  first  cost  of  the  images.     This  circumstance  is 
supposed  alone  to  have  stood  in  the  way  of  a  profitable  employment  of 
the  artist  upon  foreign  orders.     Hush  executed  a  full-length  statue  of 
Washington,  for  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  Philadelphia,  and  theic 
are  several  other  of  his  works  still  preserved  in  his  native  city.     He  was 
the  son  of  a  Ship-carpenter  of  Philadelphia,  and  learned  the  business 
with  Edward  Cutbush,  from  Loudon,  one  of  the  best  Ship-carvers  of  his 
day.' 

(1;  The  intense  nnxiety  with  wliich  tlie  Constitution  is  well  linown.  To  the  mcrcan- 
•ountry  awaited  tlio  action  of  tho  several  tile  and  manufacturing  classes  generally,  H 
States  relative  to  tho  adoptiuu  of  the  uow    was  fraught  with  benefits  in  prospect,  but  to 


PENNSYLVANIA.      A  REMARKABLE  PROCESSION. 


70 


t  connnunicated, 
i3  safe  thau  those 
s  were  afterward 

IS  a  naval  arclii- 
ielphia  in  Sliip- 
ig  widely  known, 
fhea  the  defense- 

the  necessity  of 
int  improTcmeuts 
I  was  called  upon 
formed  the  germ 
1  believed  to  have 

to  have  led  to  a 
opean  dockyards, 
liute  superiiiteiul- 
ihips  of  her  time, 
le  abroad,  to  give 

)robably,  had  few 
u  excited  no  little 

were  scut  to  him 
jcution  of  figure- 
aceful  and  si»iriteJ 
itlle  in  use  before 
!gree  of  taste  and 

figure-head  of  the 
n  costume,  excited 
numbers  of  artists 
Orders  were  sent 
here,  although  the 
lis  circumstance  is 
)le  employment  of 
U-length  statue  of 
idelphia,  and  there 
Live  city.  lie  was 
ixrued  the  business 
Ship-carvers  of  his 


tnown.  To  the  mcrcftn- 
ng  classes  generiilly,  il 
leflts  in  prospect,  buttu 


Lnr.ntion  of  SU:amboats.-lt  is  proper,  before  dismissing  the  su..joct 
of  Marine  construction  in  Pennsylvania,  brieQy  to  notice  the  part  taken 
y    ts  citizens  in  introducing  the  splendid   era  of  Steam  Navigation 
ll  first  experiments  were  made   on  her  waters.     The  limits  of  tin 
rt  cl    do  not  permit  us  to  enter  upon  any  discussion  of  the  q.n.stion  of 
"X  which'has  been  so  warmly  contested  by  J-l  claimaiits  ni      . 
„„try      Nor  is  it  our  province  to  arbitrate  the  claims  of  dille.cnt 
to  the  first  conception  of  the  idea  of  employing  steam  mnav.- 
Ta  ino-  vessels.     Should  we  yield  the  originality  of  the  attempt  to  In- 
Sand  she  to  France  or  Italy;  and  should  all  ^^^^^^^^^ 
heir    bligations  for  the  discovery  of  the  potent  agency  of  steam  to  II     o 
nf  Alexandria    there  still  remains  to  England  and  America,  at  least. 
It  "t  h     or   u  the  improvements  of  Watt.  Savory,  Hulls,  Miller  and 
Tay  0,  or  Symington,  in  the  former,  and  of  Evans,  Fitch,  llumsey    <  ulton 
!,  rSt'e'^ns  in  this,  to  compensate  for  the  surrender.     Especially  may 
c  unly       con  ent  with  \he  credit  of  having,  through  the  genius  o 
ton     0  combined  the  conceptions  of  previous  experimenters  as  to 
i     riuee  a  practical,  working  Steamioat ;  and  iu  having,  in  a  shoit  t.me 
'         "d  tl  e  vast  rcLch  of  its  navigable  rivers  and  the  great  expanse  of 


none  more   Eo   Ihan  to   the    ehip-buUdori-. 
whidi  were  a  numerous  class  in  PhiUulelphia 

anil  vicinity. 

Tlio  Federal  procession  held  in  I'hiladcl- 
phh.,  on  tho  4ih  of  July,  USS,  when  ten 
fitotus,  including  Pennsylvania,  had  rat.Ded 
the  new  compact,  was  one  of  unusual  cclut, 
and  evinced  the  joy  of  all  classes. 

Tho  participation  of  the  ship-builders  in 
this  fCte,  is  thus  described  in  the  fourth  vol- 
ume of  tho  American  Museum,  and  displays 
Bomo  of   the    sUill   of  Philadelphia   Ship- 
Wrights  :— "  The  Federal  ship  Union,  mount- 
ing'two  guns,  with  a  crew,  including  officers, 
of  twenty-five  men,  thirty   foot  long,  and 
proportionally  deep  and  wide.     Her  bottom 
was  the  bargo  of  tho  ship  Alliance,  and  tho 
one  which  formerly  belonged  to  tho  Serap.s, 
taUen  by  Paul  Jones,  in  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard.    The   Union   was    a  masterpiece 
uf  elegant  workmanship,  perfectly  propor- 
tioned  and  complete  throughout,  and  deco- 
rated   with    emblematical    carving.      And 
what  was  truly  astonishing,  she  was  begun 
and  completed  in  less  than  four  days.     Tho 
workmanship  and  appearance  of  this  beau- 
tiful object  commanded  universal  admira- 
tion and  applause,  and  did  bigU  honor  to  the 


artists  01-  Philadelphia,  who  were  concerned 
in  her  construction.  She  was  mounted  on  a 
carriage,  and  drawn  by  ten  horses.  She 
was  followed  by  tho  Pilots  of  tho  port,  and 

SlIlP-CAIirKNTKUS, 

headed  by  Francis  Urico  and  John  Korris, 
with  the  draft  of  a  ship  on  tho  stocks,  cases 
of  instruments,  etc.,  and  a  flag  bearing  a 
ship  supported  by  Messrs.  Harrison,   Rice, 
Brewster,  and  Humphreys,  followed  by  Mast- 
makers,  Caulkers,   and    Workmen,   to   the 
amount  of  three   hundred   and   thirty,  all 
wearing  a  badgo  in  their  hats  representing 
a  ship  on  the  stocks,  and  a  green  sprig  of 
white  oak. 

DOAT-DUILDERS 

in  a  shop  18  feet  long,  8  foot  wide,  and  13 
high,  who  set  up  and  nearly  completed  a 
boat  thirteen  feet  long  during  tho  procession. 
These  were  followed  by  Sailmakers,  Ship- 
joincrs  (twenty-fivo  in  number),  Ropemak- 
crs,  and  Ship-chandlers,  about  sixty  in  num- 

ticr."  „   , 

The  procession,  representing  all  the  van- 
0U9  trades,  with  similar  displays,  numbered 
about  live  thousand  persons,  and  attracted 
some  seventoon  thousand  spectators  to  Union 
Green.  . 


16 


SIIIP-UUILDINO   IN   TIIK   MIDDLK   COI.ONIKS. 


its  lake  surface,  and  to  a  less  extent  tlio  ocean,  with  a  Steam  Marine  of 
uncqnalcd  magnitude. 

To  Oliver  Evaus,  whose  mind  was  occnpied  as  early  as  1173  with  the 
sul.jeet  of  steam  propulsion,  boUi  by  land  and  water,  belon-s  tlic  n^ierit 
of  the  first  effective  application  of  the  high-pressure  steam-engine.  This 
is  almost  the  only  one  now  used  on  the  Western  river  boats,  or  adapted 
for  locomotives  for  railroads,  of  which  he  may  be  regarded  as  the  inventor. 
The  cylinder  flue  boiler  for  high-pressure  engines  is  also  his  invention. 
AUhou-rh  the  fame  of  that  ingenious  mechanic  mai.dy  rests  upon  his 
valuable  improvements  in  Mill  Machinery,  his  successful  attempt  to  move 
a  Locomotive  carriage  in  the  streets  of  Philadelphia  and  a  boat  on  the 
Schuylkill,  with  the  same  apparatus,  by  means  of  paddle-wheels,  fully 
establishes,  in  the  opinion  of  the  British  engineer,  Mr.  Galloway,  "  Ins 
claim  to  the  first  contrivance  of  a  practical  steamboat."  The  predR- 
tions  of  Evans,  as  to  the  ultimate  triumphs  of  Steam,  and  of  his  own 
apparatus,  have  been  remarkably  fulfilled. 

The  subject  appears  to  have  engaged  the  attention  ol  veral  about 
the  same  time,  and  among  others,  as  mentioned  by  Fitch,  it  was  the  subject 
of  conversation  between  Mr.  llcnry,  of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  and  Mr.  Anbrkw 
Ellicott,  in  the  year  177(5.  The  former  had  even  made  drawings  of  a 
steamboat  to  lay  before  the  Philosophical  Society.  Li  1778,  Thomas 
Paine  recommended  Congress  to  adopt  measures  for  encouraging  the 
building  of  steamboats  on  the  plan  of  Jonathan  Hulls,  "  to  go  against 
wind  and  tide,"  patented  in  England  in  173G. 

In  1784,  James  Rumsey,  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  exhibited  to 
General  Washington  the  model  of  a  boat  for  stemming  the  current  of 
rivers  by  the  force  of  the  stream  acting  on  setting  poles,  which  lie 
patented  in  several  States ;  and,  among  others,  he  obtained  the  cxclusiT. 
right  for  ten  years  "to  navigate  and  build  boats  calculated  to  work  with 
greater  ease  and  rapidity  against  rapid  rivers,"  from  the  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania  in  March,  1785.  The  same  thing  had  been  unsuccessfully 
attempted  by  a  farmer  of  Reading,  Pa.,  in  1750. 

In  1785  John  Fitch  had  completed  a  model  of  a  steamboat,  and 
in  that,  or  early  in  the  following  year,  moved  a  small  shallop  on  the 
Schuylkill,  by  the  agency  of  steam  acting  on  paddles  at  the  stern.  The 
knowledge  of  this  attempt  appears  to  have  reached  Europe  ;  for  on  the 
22d  of  April,  1786,  Mr.  Jefferson  wrote  from  London  to  Mr.  Charles 
Thompson,  of  Philadelphia:  "I  hear  you  are  applying  the  same  agent 
(steam)  in  America  to  navigate  boats."  Fitch  immediately  set  about 
the  construction  of  a  new  steamboat,  of  which  a  description  was  inserted 
bv  the  inventor  in  the  1st  volume  of  the  Columbinn  3Iarjazine  for  Pec, 
1786.     On  the  (irst  of  the  following  May,  he  made  an  experiment  willi 


inis  fird  Ai 
iiecurate  inea 
Ellicott,  and 
afterward  we 
The  Legif 
sole  right  ai 
him  lately  in 
similar  privi 
Virgiiua, 

In  Dec.,  ] 

on  the  Potc 

precedence  i 

scy,  on  the  f 

the  use  of  st 

of  Philadeli 

ing  his  clai 

jrinia;  but  1 

New  Jersey, 

Ramsey  \ 

and  both  pi 

patents  for  1 

There  is  1 

and  imperfe 

who  came  i 

practically  i 

of  Fulton  w 

Delawai 

the  Svvedisl 

of  the  prese 

to  Henry  " 

Minuit),  in 

tares  and  i 

with  the  c 

|,  powers — bi 

promise  of 

CampaniuF 

Minuit,  an 

l)iiilding,  1 

Island." 

hrig  callef 

Ferris,  an( 

bread— th' 


DELAWARE.      SIIIP-BUILDING   AT   VILMINOTON. 


n 


Marine  of 
3  with  llie 

tllC    llUM'it 

I.e.  This 
r  adaptcil 
3  inventor, 
invention. 
!  upon  bis 
)t  to  move 
oat  on  tiie 
icols,  fully 
jway,  "  Ills 
'lie  predic- 
A  liis  own 

eral  about 
llie  suliject 
r.  Anbrkw 
iwinjrs  of  a 
8,  Tliomas 
iraging  the 
go  against 

diibited  to 
current  of 
;,  which  lie 
le  exchisiT' 
)  work  with 
Assembly  of 
isuccessfiilly 

vmboat,  and 
Hop  on  the 
stern.  The 
;  for  on  the 
Mr.  Charles 
same  agent 
ly  set  abont 
was  in.sertcd 
ne  for  Dec., 
erimcnt  witli 


mis  fird  American  Steamboat  upon  the  Delaware.  She  attained  by 
accurate  measurement,  in  the  presence  of  Messrs.  llittenhouse,  Ewing, 
Ellicott,  and  others,  the  rate  of  eight  miles  an  hour  at  dead  water,  and 
afterward  went  eighty  miles  in  a  day. 

The  Lcirislaturo  of  the  State,  on  March  28th,  1781,  gave  Fitch  "the 
sole  riMit  and  advantage  (.f  making  and  employing  the  steamboat  by 
him  latelv  invented,  for  a  limited  time,"  viz.,  14  years.  Titch  obtained 
similar  privileges  horn  the  Legislatures  of  Delaware,  N'-w  York,  and 

Virginia, 

In  Dec,  1187,  Rumsey  made  his  first  experiment  with  a  Steamboat 
on  the  Potomac,  at  Shepherdstown.  Although  Fitch  had  clearly  the 
precedence  in  point  of  time,  his  claims  were  strongly  contested  by  Rum- 
sey on  the  ground  that,  in  his  early  marine  experiments,  he  contemplated 
the' use  of  steam  as  a  motive  power  ;  and,  by  aid  of  the  Rumseian  Society 
of  riiiladelphia,  and  other  influential  friends,  was  successful  in  maintain- 
ing his  claims  in  the  Legislatures  of  New  York,  Maryland,  and  Vir- 
iri'nia;  but  Fitch  was  sustained  by  those  of  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and 

New  Jersey.  . 

Rumsey  patented  in  England,  in  1788,  some  improvements  in  boders ; 
and  both  parties,  on  the  establishment  of  the  Patent  Office,  took  out 
patents  for  their  marine  inventions. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  defects  in  the  size  of  the  wheels,  the  weight 
and  imperfection  of  the  engine,  and  other  minor  faults,  avoided  by  those 
who  came  after  him,  alone  prevented  Fitch  from  giving  to  the  world  a 
practically  "seful  Steamboat  many  years  before  the  successful  eoterprise 
of  Fulton  with  one  of  Watt's  improved  engines. 

DELAWAiiE._Sliip-b«ilding  was  also  carried  on  at  a  very  early  day,  at 
the  Swedish  settlements  upon  the  Delaware,  particularly  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  present  city  of  Wilminrjton,  in  Delaware.  In  the  grant  of  privileges 
to  Henry  Uockhararaer,  to  establish  a  Colony  at  New  Sweden,  (after 
Minuit),  in  1G40,  they  were  permitted  to  establish  all  sorts  of  manufac- 
tures and  industry,  engage  in  all  commerce,  in  and  out  of  the  country, 
with  the  coast  of  the  West  Indies  and  Africa,  belonging  to  friendly 
,powers— but  onI>j  in  vessels  and  yachts  built  in  New  Sweden— under 
promise  of  the  Government's  assistance.  It  is  stated  on  the  authority  of 
Campanius,  that  when  he  arrived  there  in  1642,  four  years  after  Governor 
Minuit,  and  about  forty  years  before  the  landing  of  Penn,  he  found  Ship- 
building, boat-building,  and  cooper  work,  carried  on  upon  "  Cooper'.s 
Island  "  The  first  vessel  for  foreign  trade  belonging  to  that  port  was  a 
hri^  called  "The  Wilmington,"  built  in  1740,  by  William  Shipley,  D. 
Ferris,  and  others.  She  sailed  the  following  year,  laden  with  flour,  ship- 
bread— the  staple  production  of  the  place,  pipe  staves,  and  the  usual 


t8 


SIIIP-BUILDINQ   IN   THE   MIDDLE   OOLONIKS. 


assortment  of  produce,  for  the  West  Indies,  and  was  the  first  in  that 
trade,  wliicli  was  afterward  prosecuted  witli  enterprise. 

New  CasUe  was  also  engaged  in  Sliip-l)uilding,  to  some  extent,  as 
early  as  the  days  of  Wlllium  Pcnn.  Until  the  relinquishment  ot  the 
proprietary  jurisdiction  in  1775,  Delaware  constituted  "  the  three  lower 
counties"  of  Pennsylvania,  and  its  shipping  returns  are  embraced  in  thof^c 
of  the  adjoining  State.  Hence,  in  the  tables  of  new  shipping,  in  nC',*, 
Delaware  is  not  named,  its  new  vessels  forming  a  part  of  the  twenty-two 
registered  for  that  province.  The  medium  of  the  registered  tonnage  of 
the  two  districts  in  that  and  the  two  following  years,  was  1770,  and  of 
the  actual  tonnage,  2300. 

In  1790,  the  two  returned  an  increase  over  the  average  of  those  years, 

of  3000  tons.  ,.  .  ,    , 

The  reputation  of  Wilmington  Ship-builders  was  early  established. 
The  General  Waxhinolon,  a  fine  ship  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons, 
was  launched  from  the  ship-yard  of  William  Woodcock,  in  Wilmington,  in 
1790.  Few  places  have  better  sustained  their  ancient  industry,  or 
acquired  a  worthier  fame  in  this  branch,  than  the  flourishing  metropolia 

of  Delaware. 

Maryland.— We  have  been  able  to  collect  few  particulars  of  the  pro- 
gress  or  extent  of  this  industry  in  Jlaryland,  during  the  Colonial  period. 
Her  staple  products,  and  the  pursuits  of  her  people,  were  similar  to  those 
of  Virginia.     Agricultural  products,  and  especially  Tobacco,  were  her 
principd  exports,  but  the  transportation  of  these  was  left,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  British  ships,  or  to  those  of  Kew  England,  and  the  middle 
provinces.     Her  facilities  for  Ship-building  wore  unsurpassed  by  those 
of  any  other  Province.     There  was  no  county  in  the  Colony,  that  did 
not  possess  a  highway  to  the  ocean,  by  some  navigable  river,  or  the  noble 
bay  which  divides  it.     Its  proximity  to  the  live-oak  and  yellow  pine  of 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  besides  a  good  supply  of  native  oak  and  other 
timber  wituln  its  borders;  the  early  possession  of  productive  iron  works, 
of  manufactories  of  cordage  and  linseed  oil,  and  of  naval  supplies,  such 
as  rosin,  tar,  turpentine,  etc.,  from  the  neighboring  provinces,  gave  Mary- 
land many  advantages  for  the  production  of  shipping,  which  in  later  times 
have  been  well  improved. 

As  early  as  1CG2,  for  the  promotion  of  trade,  a  Mint  was  established 
for  the  coinage  of  sixpences ;  ana  about  the  same  time  a  curious  tonnage 
duty  was  established  for  the  support  of  Government.  Every  vessel  having 
a  flush-deck  fore  and  aft,  coming  to  trade  in  the  Province,  was  compelled 
to  pay  one-half  pound  of  powder,  and  three  pounds  of  shot  for  every  ton 

of  burden. 

Annapolis  was,  in  1695,  made  a  port  town,  with  a  resident  Collector, 


and  Naval  0 

London.     A 

now  is  the  f( 

interests,  wa 

dred  years  i 

built  previo 

Chesapeake, 

early  occupi 

The  toba 

this  time,  wi 

In  1752, 

abrigcallcc 

and  a  sloop 

who  as  ear 

timore  had  i 

In  October 

of  flax-seed 

and  its  inci 

Wright  befc 

land,  "  The 

building  of 

years  sine« 

burden  one 

giuia  trade 

In  1753 

eight  to  bi 

Sliip-build 

for  the  bu! 

it  would  b 

the  presei 

over  12,0 

single  yei 

years. 

The  Pi 
built  in  tl' 
according 
tons  for  e 
of  Penns 
upon  a  t( 
lu  177 

a)  GrifiB 


MARYLAND.      FIIISX   VESSELS  AT  BALTIMORE. 


19 


rsl  in  tlmt 

extent.  n3 
lent  01  tlie 
Lliree  lower 
ed  in  tliof^c 
!?,  in  nC't, 
twenty-two 
tonnage  of 
70,  and  of 

hose  years, 

established. 
[  fifty  tons, 
Imington,  in 
ndustry,  or 
metropolis 

of  the  pro- 
)nial  period, 
ilar  to  those 
!0,  were  her 
in  a  great 
the  middle 
ied  by  those 
ny,  that  did 
or  the  noble 
How  pine  of 
k  and  other 
■  iron  works, 
applies,  such 
,  gave  Mary- 
n  later  times 

is  established 
'ious  tonnage 
vessel  having 
as  compelled 
for  every  ton 

jnt  Collector, 


and  Naval  Officer,  In  1723,  there  were  five  ships  in  the  Patapsco  up  for 
London.  Although  its  site  was  mueh  earlier  occupied,  Balun.ore,  winch 
now  is  the  fourth  town  in  the  Union  in  the  extent  of  its  bh.p-bu,i>bng 
interests,  was  not  laid  out  as  a  town  until  the  year  1 7 -i!)  nearly  o..e  hun- 
dred year,  after  the  settlement  of  the  province.  Vesseh.  were  probab  y 
built  previous  to  that,  upon  the  Tntopsco,  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
Chesapeake.  Fell's  Point,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  rising  town,  was 
early  occupied  as  a  Ship-building  station.  ,  ^.     .  .       . 

The  tobacco  annually  sent  to  England  by  Maryland  and  Y.rgmia,  at 
this  time,  was  estimated  to  employ  24,000  tons  of  shipping 

In  1752,  however,  the  only  sea-going  vessels  owned  m  the  town   were 
abri-  called  the  "  Philip  and  Charles,"  evidently  named  after  the  Calvens. 
a.,d  a  sloop  named  the  "Baltimore,"  the  latter  owned  by  Captain  Lu.x, 
who  as  early  as  1733  commanded  a  ship  in  the  London  trade.      Bal- 
timore had  already  commenced  its  rapid  growth  in  commercial  prosperity. 
In  October  of  the  preceding  year,  (1754),  no  less  than  sixty  wagon  loads 
of  flax-seed  came  into  Baltimore  for  shipment  from  the  back  sett  ements, 
and  its  incipient  commerce  must  have  called  to  its  aid  the  art  of  the  ship- 
wright before  that  time.   .  Douglass,  who  died  in  1752,  remarks  of  Mary- 
land  "Their  oak  is  of  a  straight  grain,  and  easily  rives  into  staves;  in 
building  of  vessels  it  is  not  durable  ;  they  build  only  small  era  t ;  some 
years  since  they  built  a  very  large  ship,  called  the  British  3Iejrl>^t, 
burden  one  thousand  hogsheads-with  many  repairs,  she  kept  m  the  V.i- 
giuia  trade  thirty-six  years."*  _ 

In  1753  a  lottery  was  appointed  in  Baltimore  to  raise  450  picces-of- 
ei.dit  to  build  a  public  wharf.  The  facilities  afforded  by  Fell's  Point  for 
Ship-building,  and  the  number  of  artisans,  with  all  the  materials  requisite 
for  the  business  collected  there,  rendered  the  prospect  fair,  ,n  1.C5,  that 
it  would  become  the  site  of  the  future  city.  At  that  place,  where,  within 
the  present  century,  a  large  proportion  out  of  sixty-three  vessels,  and 
over  12,000  tons  of  shipping,  have  been  constructed  by  Baltimore  in  a 
single  year,   the  business  Las   been  conducted  for  about  one  hundred 

"The  Province  of  Maryland,  according  to  the  tables  of  Lord  Sheffield 
built  in  the  year  1769.  twenty  vessels  of  1344  tons.  One-fiflh  being  added 
according  to  the  directions  for  the  real  tonnage,  gives  an  average  of  eighty 
tons  for  each  vessel,  which  is  higher  than  that  of  any  other  Colony.  1  l.ose 
of  Pennsylvania  being  the  next,  of  which  the  average  was  seventy-nine, 
npon  a  total  of  twenty-two  vessels  built,  and  1469  tonnage. 
In  1772,  the  number  of  vessels  built  in  Maryland  was  only  eight,  and 

a)  Griffith'e  Annals  of  Baltimore,  p.  33.  (2)  British  Settlement,  in  America,  vol.  ii.,  376. 


80 


SIIIP-BUILDINQ  IN   THE   MiDDLE   COI.ONIKS. 


those  of  Pennsylvania,  tlio  same  number.  Of  tlie  tonnage  enijiloyed  in 
the  Colonial  Trade  at  this  time,  the  propcrtion  belonging  to  British  nior- 
ehants  resident  in  Europe,  engc^ed  in  tne  trade  of  Maryland  and  \  i- 
ginia,  was  greater  than  that  of  any  of  the  other  rrovinees.  The  Qmouiit 
thus  owned  was  six-eighths  of  the  whole,  while  of  the  remaining  two- 
eighths,  one  belonged  to  British  merchants,  oecasionally  resident  in  tlir 
Colonies,  and  one-eighth  only  to  the  native  inhabitants  of  these  Colonics. 

The  total  tonnage  entend  in  Maryland,  from  January  5,  1770,  to 
January  5,  1771,  was  30, 477,  and  the  amount  cleared  in  the  same  time, 
was  S.1,474  tons.'  Uiuil  the  year  17S0,  all  vessels  entered  and  cleared 
at  Annapolis. 

During  the  Revolution,  Maryland  was  active  in  fitting  out  Cruisers, 
to  annoy  the  enemy  and  supply  the  wint  of  a  regular  navy.  A  sloop 
and  a  schooner,  equipped  at  Baltimore  by  the  Marine  Coi  )mittce,  is  said 
to  have  been  the  first  that  got  to  sea  under  the  new  (Jovemment.  Top- 
sail schooners,  sailing  best  upon  a  wind,  and  aduitted  to  the  use  of  sweeps 
for  chasing,  and  for  escaping  the  heavy  rJiips  of  the  lloyal  Navy,  were 
particularly  serviceable;  one  of  the  first  of  this  class  fitted  out  was  the 
Antelope,  built  for  merchants  of  Baltimore,  by  Mr.  J.  Pcarcc,  carryiii-r 
14  guns.  The  cinzens  of  Maryland  bore  oil'  many  tropliies  from  the 
scenes  of  conflict  during  the  war. 

The  building  of  ilie  frigate  Virginia,  of  2S  guns,  one  of  the  first  Con- 
tinental war  c!;ips  ordered  by  Congress,  in  1775,  was  entrusted  to  the 
Maryland  feiiip-builders.  Two  others,  of  3G  guns  each,  were  orderrd  lo 
be  built  there  in  1776.  The  Constellation,  of  38  guns,  was  subsequently 
constructed  there  for  the  Federal  Qoverumcnt,  upon  the  improved  systcia 
then  adopted.' 

As  already  mentioned,  a  tonnage  duty  was  established  by  the  Propri 
tary  Government  at  an  early  day  in  this  Province.     About  the  year  1771 
a  ta.\  of  fourpence  a  ton  was  laid  on  vessels  entering  at  Ballimore  for  the 
erection  of  a  Light-House  on  Cape  Henry.     After  the  peace  with  Kn 
gland,  in  1783,  the  dilTerent  States  resorted  to  discrimiiniting  duties,  i 
favor  of  American  shipping,  for  the  i)rnmotion  of  the  shipping  inter 
of  the  country.    Maryland  laid  a  duty  of  eight-pence  on  domcst'c  vessel 
on  foreign  ships  belonging  to  nations,  with  which  the  United  States  lin 
treaties,  one  shilling;  on  foreign  ships  not  belonging  to  a  power  in  treat\ 
one  fihiiling  and  seven-pence  ;  and  on  British  ships,  three  shillings  ai 
Bix-pence.     A  want  of  uniformity  rendered  this  plan,  in  a  great  measiin 
unavailing,  and  often  ii\jured  tlie  trade  of  those  adopting  the  higher 
prohibitive  rate.     In  1786,  CouimissioMcrs  met  at  Annapolis,  from  sever 


I'St 


(1)  Pitkin'a  Stntiotiog. 


(2)  Cui'pur'i  Uhtory  of  U.  8.  Navj. 


COI.ONIKS. 

;lie  tonnngc  emi)loycd  in 
jfloiigiug  to  Brilisli  nior- 
le  of  Marylund  and  Y  i-- 
rroviiices.  The  amount 
le  of  the  remaining  two- 
casionaliy  resident  in  the 
.bitants  of  these  Colonics, 
om  January  5,  1110,  to 
;leared  in  the  same  tinio, 
sssels  entered  and  cleared 

e  in  fitting  out  Cruisers, 
regular  navy.  A  sloop 
Marine  Conniittee,  is  said 

new  Ooverntnent.  Top- 
ai)ted  to  the  use  of  sweeps 
of  tl;e  Royal  Navy,  wcfe 
s  Class  fitted  out  was  tlie 
y  Mr.  J.  Pearce,  carryiiif.' 

many  tropliiea  from  tliu 

runs,  one  of  the  first  Con- 
i75,  was  entrusted  to  tl\e 
runs  each,  were  orderrd  lo 
38  guns,  was  subsequently 
upon  the  improved  systtiu 

istablishcd  by  the  Proprio- 
ce.  About  the  year  17T1, 
tering  at  Baltimore  for  the 
After  the  peace  with  Kn- 
0  discriminating  duties,  in 
m  of  the  shipping  interest 
pence  on  domest'c  vessels; 
ach  the  United  States  lind 
>iiging  to  a  power  in  treaty, 
h  ships,  three  shillings  and 
is  plan,  in  a  great  measure, 
hose  adopting  tlio  highest 
,  at  Annapolis,  from  several 


MARYLAND.       PETITION   FOR   A   NAVIOATION   LAW. 


81 


of  tlic  Colonies  to  take  into  consideration  the  deranged  stateof  trade,  and 
commerce.  And  in  the  following  year,  a  more  general  Convention  met 
l,y  their  recommendation  in  Philadelphia,  and  formed  the  present  Consti- 
tution, which  on  March  4,  1789,  went  into  operation,  with  power  to  regu- 
late all  matters  relating  to  Foreign  Commerce. 

On  the  4th  Mav,  1789,  just  two  months  after  the  organization  of  the 
New  Government,'  the  Shipwrights  of  Baltimore,  following  the  example 
of  those  of  South  Carolina,  sent  up  a  petition  to  the  first  Congress,  pray- 
ing for  the  passage  of  a  Navigation  Act,  similar  to  the  British  Navigation 
Law  of  1C>00.  They  represent  that  the  Commerce  and  Shipping  ot  Oic 
United  States  was  falling  into  decay,  and  had  involved  thousands  in 
distress ;  and  that,  in  their  opinion,  the  country  was  as  well  prepared 
f,ir  such  a  law  as  England  was,  at  the  date  of  its  enactment.  In  support 
of  their  viewa,  they  quote  the  opiiuons  of  Sir  Josiah   Child,  as  to  its 

effects:  ,-     n   ^ 

"It  is  worthy  of  notice,  moreover,"  they  remark,  "that  when  this  Act 
passed,  the  English  could  neither  dress  nor  dye  their  while  woolen  cloths. 
Their  linens  were  chiefiy  imported  from  foreign  kingdoms.  T'-y  were 
unacquainted  with  the  weaver's  loom-engine.  They  had  neither  white 
writing  paper  nor  printing  paper.  They  had  no  manufacturers  of  fn.e 
class  ;  calico  printing  was  unknown.  There  was  not  a  single  wire-null 
in  the  whole  kingdom,  nor  could  they,  as  yet,  tin  iron  plates.  About 
this  time,  also,  the  legal  interest  of  money  was  eight  per  cent. 

"  With  respect  to  our  Manufactories,  we  have  several  valuable  ones 
-ih-eadv  established,  and  others  which,  it  is  well  known,  only  want  en- 
couragement to  prove  of  the  greatest  .lational  advantage.     With  respect 
to  our  Shipping,  we  cannot  pretend  to  oHer  any  accurate  estimate  of  the 
tonna.-e      It  appears,  however,  from  an  authentic  return,  signed  1  homas 
Irwiirinspector-tJeneral  of  the  Imports  and  Exports  of  North  America, 
and  Pvepister  of  Shipping,  that  the  eleven  States  which  f..rm  the  linited 
States  of  America,  employed  in  the  year  1770  three  hundred  and  nine 
thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-four  tons  ot  Shipi-ing,  Irom  which  we 
think  it  reasonable  to  infer,  that  the  present  tonnage  belonging  to  the 
United  States  of  America,  exceeds  the  Commercial  Tonnage  of  England 
when  she  passed  the  Navigation  Act.'" 

So  rapid  had  been  the  recent  growth  of  IJaltiraore,  that  although  it  was 
not  laid  out  until  1729,  and  fifty  years  after  contained  but  fifty  houses, 
and  scarcely  any  Shipping,  the  value  of  its  imports  six  years  after  the 
date  of  this  petition,  amounted  to  over  five  millions  of  dollars,  ll.e 
arrivals  during  the  same  yar,  1795,  numbered  no  le>s  than  109  ships. 


Mtory  of  U.  S.  N»vjr. 


(I)  American  Stntc  Pupors,  Vol.  10,  p.  ,"). 


82 


siiir-iiuiLWNa  IN  THE  poutiieun  coloniks. 


162  brigs  and  snows,  and  the  iirodigioiis  number  of  5404  bay  craft.  This 
almost  uuiu-ccedcnted  increase  of  tl.e  Commerce  ofher  principol  port,  the 
greater  efficiency  of  the  new  Government,  and  especially  tlie  benJils  Mu 
uniform  Revenue  System,  had  rendered  the  Ship-building  interest  hij:lily 
prosperous  in  Maryland.  In  ITJO,  she  built  as  many  vessels  as  any  two 
of  the  States,  of  New  York,  Connecticut  and  llhode  Island  ;  and  execeikd 
the  ship-manufacturing  State  of  New  Hampshire.  In  the  year  ,)receai..;; 
the  4th  of  March,  1701,  the  Ship-buildinj^of  the  Tort  of  Baltimore  alone, 
exceeded  the  highest  amount  of  new  toniWge  built  in  the  State  during  ihe 
three  years  nCD,  '70,  and  '71,  by  one  hundred  per  cent.'  Her  nnimi- 
facture  of  cordage,  uon,  and  other  contributory  branches,  had  propor- 
tionally  increased. 

Sini'-miEDTNO   IN  VlROINIA,  THE  CAROUNAS,  AND  GEORGIA.— Tu  tllC 

States  south  of  Maryla;u],  the  building  of  vessels  has  never  become  an 
important  branch  of  indn.stry,  notwithstanding  an  abundance  of  the  very 
best  materials  for  the  pi'rpose.    In  Virginia,  it  is  said,  that  a  few  biirkL^ 
pinnaces,  and  other  decked  bouli  or  small  craft,  were  built  there  previous 
the  reorganization  of  the  Government,  in  1021 ',  and,  certain.y,  shipwrigits 
were  sent  to  that  Colony,  as  mentioned  in  our  Sketch  of  Virginia,  dniiug 
the  seventeenth  century,  as  early  as  1022.     It  does  not  appear,  however, 
that  the  business  of   constructing   vessels  made  much  progress,  for  in 
Governor  Berkeley's  Account  of  the  TroviLL",  s,il)mitted  to  the  Lonl,' 
Committee  on  Colonies,  he  states,  that  "  For  shipping,  we  have  admimlile 
masts  and  very  good  oaks,  but,  of  our  own,  we  never  yet  had  more  thin 
two  at  a  time,  and  these  not  more  than  twenty  tons  burden."     He  attri- 
butes the  slow  progress  of  improvements  to  the  Act  of  Parliament  of 
1003,  which  was  a  re-eimctment  and  extension  of  the  Oidinauce  of  lGr)l, 
in  prohibition  of  commerce. 

"  Mighty  and  destructive  have  been  tlio  obstructions  to  our  trade  ami 
navigation  by  that  severe  Act  of  I'arliament,  which  excludes  us  from  ■.,iiv- 
ing  any  commerce  with  any  luitiou  of  K.iropc  but  our  own ;  so  that  wc 
cannot  add  to  our  Plantation  any  commodity  that  grows  out  of  it,  as 
olive  trees,  cotton,  or  wines.  Besides  this,  we  cannot  procure  any  skillful 
men  for  our  now  hopeful  eommodity  ol"  silk  ;  and  it  is  not  lawful  for  as  to 
carry  a  pipe-stave,  or  a  bushel  of  corn  to  any  place  in  Europe  out  of  the 
King's  dominions,"  The  Act  pnxlnced  remonstrances  and  petiti(m> 
from  Virginia,  but,  nevertheless,  continued  to  be  enforced  by  strict  injiuie- 
tions  to  the  Governor,  and  by  cruh^ers  on  the  coast.  But  the  l)ur(k'ns 
imposed  thereby  on  trade,  ultliough  generally  evoded,  were  felt  to  ho  to 


(1)  Coxe'i  View  of  U.  S. 


K8. 


VIRGLNIA.       Ill-  1    NAVY    YAUDS. 


83 


:  bay  craft.  This 
irincipi"!  port,  iliu 
f  tlie  beiivlils  .il'ii 
ig  interest  liij;lily 
csscls  as  any  twu 
nd ;  and  excccikd 
lie  year  ))reccilin2: 
■  Baltimore  alont', 
!  State  during  the 
•nt.'  Her  nninu- 
:;1ies,  had  propor- 

dEOUGiA. — In  tlie 
never  become  an 
idance  of  the  very 
,  tliat  a  few  barlii;, 
L'ilt  there  previous 
tnin.y,  shipwriji'its 
if  Virginia,  during 
t  appear,  however, 
h  progress,  for  in 
led  to  the  LonlO 
wchavc  adniinilile 
yet  had  more  tliau 
irdon."  lie  attri- 
;  of  Parliament  of 
Didinauee  of  IC)!, 

IS  to  onr  trade  ami 
eludes  US  from  i.iiv- 
ir  own  ;  so  that  we 
grows  out  of  it,  iv> 
procure  any  skillful 
not  lawful  for  us  to 
1  Europe  out  of  tlie 
nce3  and  petitioiis 
ced  by  strict  injiini'- 
,  But  the  l)ui'(ii'ns 
1,  were  felt  to  he  sn 


grievous,  that  they  had  no  small  iufluence  in  producing,  in  lGt6,  the  iu- 
surrection  headed  bv  Nathaniel  Bacon. 

A  paper  bearing  the  date  of  UVi.  was  published  in  the  eighth  volume 
of  the  rhilusopliical  Transactions  of  England,  pointing  out  the  great  ad- 
vantages  afforded  by  Virginia  for  the  business  of  Ship-ljuilding,  on  account 
of  the  abundance  of  oak,  pine,  cypress,  and  other  timber,  of  materials  fur 
rosin,  pitch  and  tar  ;  and  the  adaptation  for  raising  hemp  for  cordage 
and  sail-cloth,  and  for  the  manufacture  of  iron,  on  account  of  the  abun- 
dance of  its  ore,  and  of  fuel  and  of  lime  for  working  it.     But  it  does 
not  appear  that  any  extension  of  the  business  arose  from  this  public 
rncommendation  in  an  influential  quarter.     The  Virginians  were  n..t  a 
mercantile  people,  and  Tobacco  occupied  the  principal  care  of  the  plant- 
ers.    Although  this  article,  in  1729,  employed  nearly  three  hundred  sail 
of  ships  in  its  transportation  frori  Virginia  and  Maryland,  which  pro- 
duced, .tointlv,  over  six  hundred  thousand  pounds  worth,  yielding  a  reve- 
mie  of  about  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  annually,  the  producers  were 
little  concerned  in  the  transportation  themselves. 

Oldmixon,  remarking  on  their  neglect  of  a  profitable  industry  in  the  pro- 
di.ctiouof  naval  stores,  observes,  that  "The  Virginians  arc  so  far  from 
improving  their  manufactures  that,  though  they  sec  others  send  thitlu- 
to  build  shii>s,  they  seldom  or  never  do  it  themselves." 

Virginia  produced,  in  the  year  1709,  twenty-seven  sail  of  new  vessels, 
^vl,ose  average  burden,  actual  measurement,  was  lifty-six  tons  each.  Ot 
the  amount  of  tonnage  entered  in  colonial  i.orts  for  the  year  ending  Jan- 
miryf)  1771  the  proportion  owned  by  native  iidialntants  of  Maryland 
n.ui  Virginia,  was  only  one-eighth  of  the  whole  quantity  engaged  in  the 
<radp  of  these  Provinces.  A  larger  proportion  of  the  shipiuiig  then  em- 
ploved  bv  those  two  Colonies,  than  of  any  others,  was  the  property  ol 
British  merchants  residing  in  Europe,  ai'd  constituted  slx-eighths  ot  the 

whole.  -  -r.-  1  1 

During  the  Revolution,  the  excellent  portnl  facililies  of  Richmond, 
Norfolk,  and  Portsmouth  attracted  attention,  and  the  last-mentioned 
place  whidi  had  been  a  navnl  station  for  the  King's  ships  before  the  war, 
«  ns  chosen  by  the  General  Government  as  a  site  lor  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant of  its  Navy.yards.  The  Marine  rommittee  of  the  Contuiental  (^.n- 
press  in  1770.  ordered  t.vo  frigates  of  thirty-six  guns  each,  to  be  bmit  in 
Virginia;  and  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  one  of  the  first  vessels  of  war 
hailt  under  the  Central  Government,  in  1794,  was  laid  down  nt  Ports- 
mouth. At  that  date  the  business  of  ship-building  had  much  increaMd 
in  the  Southern  Colonies,  and  each  of  the  three  States  of  .Maryland.  \  -r- 
iriiiin.  and  N..rth  Carolina,  exceeded  New  Hampshire  in  that  branch. 
The  first  two  had  also  more  manufactories  of  covdage  and  cables  thuu 


84  Bnir-BOLDING   IN   THE   SOVTHEllN   COLONIES. 

cvidonce  is  m  favor  of  John  1-  itcH,  jci,  a.        j  new-constructed 

Plan  wherein  the  power  of  Stcani  is  ^if^;^^^  ^^^,  ,,,  ,,ost 
Machine  for  propeilins  Boats  <>^J'^^^'^l  ""^.^r^  granted  him, 
..phi  streams  or  rivers  with  great  -^^  ^^  ^  J  '  ;,^  ,„^,  .reeks,  by 
iJuSi,  a  monopoly  of  the  "^f  ^^id  of  s  S  P^^  I"  ^^^^  ^"^ 
a  method  he  had  then  dev.sed.  by  \^  '^jJ/l/J^^'  ,^/  j^ct  of  Fitch  to 
,.0  encouraged,  by  a  ™  ^^^^^ l^^iLLL.  of  l^umsey. 
navigate  l>y  ^'^^^^^^^^^^  elaims  of  this  ingenious,  and,  equally 
As  an  evidence  of  the  st.tn^tu      u.t  j^        .  be  raentioned 

with  his  rival,  unfortunate  inventor  to  ^^^^^^^^  ,^  ,^..  ,      ,,,,,, 
that  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky,  .n      o9  VJ^^^'^^  ..^^^  ,,,, 

^i,,, ,  ..  R,,olved  by  the  Senate  and  '^^l^^^l^,,,,  ^o  Jan.. 

That  the  President  be.  ^^^^^-^JJ^^^^Z  Alloy,  deceascl, 
llumsey,  Jr.,  the  son  and  only  sum    n^  ci  ^^  ^^^  ^^ 

on  the  Potomac,  and  died  there. 

Pa.,n.  to  the  more  Southern  Colonies,  the  ^--^^'^l^^^^'Z- 

..s.  which  th^  have  ^n.ibu  e    ^  -^^^^^  |,^  ,„,,,^^  ,,;,, 

Northern  -<\^\"^'^';  ^     ^^     ^   J^,   South  Carolina,  remarks  : 

Dr.  Ramsey,  in  his  excellent  history  oio  ^ 


war 


Shi 

the 
ves 
am 
] 
ac'C 
bui 


am 


l^mM 


SIE9. 

c\v  York,  and  Xe-;\- 
of  two-lbirds  of  a 

adopted  citizen  of 
rginia,  in  applying 
u  may  not  be  irrele- 
bat  tlie  weight  of 
(8,  lie  publislied  "  A 

a  new-constructed 
len  against  the  niost 
irjriM.ia  granted  liiin, 
bay;.,  and  creeks,  by 
-po'.es.     In  '1"I87  siie 
;  project  of  Fitch  to 
(iistrance  of  llumsey. 
genious,  and,  equally 
,  it  may  be  mentioned 
Llie  follo'-"'      resolu- 
esontat.      .  '^c.,  etc., 

lo  pi-escnt  to  Jamc-: 
les  llumsey,  deceased, 
[•r's  services  and  high 
iteamboat."  Rumsey 
;erbis  first  experiment 


lOLiNAS  and  Gf.owita. 
ies  of  excellent  mine- 
e  Ship-builders  of  the 
ccess  in  building  ships, 
olina,  remarks : 
■  a  country,  and  at  nil 
r  on  this  noble  art,  the 
their  cedars  und  pine>, 
serviceable  and  lantin^ 
,  for  the  timber  of  shi)f. 
>st  other  wood,  it  sinks 
ago  of  the  coraparnliv' 
.  few  cubic  inches  of  tlie 
iiantity  of  the  former,  no 
been  known  lo  lust  un- 


THE   CAROM  NAS   AND   GEORGIA. 


86 


ward  of  (brty  vear.tl.ou.h  en.ploycd  in  the  West  Ind.  ,  and  tn  cauymg 
,u,.u-s,  than  which  nothing  is  n.orc  trying  on  the.r  tunbors. 

"About  the  year  1740,  the  Carolinas  began  senously  to  att  nd  to 
Ship  bu  di,  !  ve  ship-yards  were  erected,  one  in  Charleston,  three  nj 
t  e' ic  it  a  d  one  in  Beaufort.  In  these,  twenty-four  s,uare-r,gged 
tUiri-ides  sloops  and  schooners,  were  built  between  the  yea-s  1740 

Wc    :  no.  i..fonM.a  where  ...e  »•«»  WiU.     To  ">»'«'«"«;  ^  "j™^'  ^^ 

c.„„i,»  »d  ae«r,:a  ™.;;;/;t:';i;r::-;:;  :,«„':  r,:::: 
:;:u':an"i ;':;:  .a.mu>..,  »>-»,.,  ...>•  to,»  for  ..,0  ...,>,«, ».. 

.evenlv-ei"ht  tons  for  the  latter,  per  vessel. 
Georgia,  during  the  same  year,  built  two  vessels  averaging  each  thu.y 

On  Uip  commencement  01  iiimcuiuth  "11"  v« 

U„.  Province  like  many  others,  not  having  a  single  nrme.l  vesti         i  r 

V  .       Pd^ate  merclLt  vessels  were  armed  in  the  emergency;  a,     m 

" :;:i.ort^Ume  the  schooner.  Defence,  of  sixteen  guns,  a  merchant  ship, 


Smr-BIILUINO    IN   THE   SOUTHERN   C0L0NIE3. 


86 

tW  Prosncr  of  twenty  guns,  and  the  Comet,  a  coaster,  with  sixteen  gum, 
t re  Se  1  A  gllly  e'alled  the  Beaufort,  was  built,  and  three  other. 
Tot^ened  into  gallej'.  for  the  protection  of  the  coast,  and  a  schooner  of 
ten  "•uns  to  guard  Georgetown. 

After  Co>fgress  authorised  reprisals,  the  first  three  above-named  w.. 
eofverted  into  brigs,  to  cruise  on  the  high  seas,  and  captured  sever. 

^'ixavy  Board  was  created  by  the  Legislature,  .-ith"  authority  t, 

superintend  and  direct  the  building,  buying,  or  hiring  of  al   vessels  ,nh 

ub      service,  and  to  direct  the  outfit  of  the  same,  etc.,"  fm-  whu-h  tl.j 

we     au  hori.  d  to  draw  warrants  on  the  Public  Treasury,  f.r  t l.e  nee.- 

lary  Lds.     The  Board  had  the  control  of  the  above-ment.oned  ves>elj, 

Td  built  a  brig  of  fourteen  guns,  nan.ed  the  Hornet      These  ves.l, 

e  nstituted  the  Navy  of  the  Province,  during  the  lirst  lour  years  of  th 

Z      m  int,  the /^r.</o/i./N  C. -vain  Bidd-.  ,  built  and  comm.sMone.l 

Tphiladelphi;,  put  into  Charleston,  to  retit.     She  saded  on  a  cru.e, 

cU  tur    d  in  efght  days  with  four  rich  prizes  ;  but  on  a  later  cru,se  n> 

n  ompauy  with  several  smaller  Carolina   vessels,  tempted  by  her 

™  the  Randolph  blew  up  in  an  engageuK.nt.     Ti,e  expense  of  ho. 

a"mam;nts  cost  the   Province  over   $2U0,0U0,  wiueh  far  exceeded  tl,e 

iirofits  of  the  enterprise.  , 

'  Ship-bnilJin^S  -^l--^^<i  --^^^   ^-.  l^'""'''^''  ^"^»""^'  "*'  "'""' 
afipr  the  Peace,  imd  prosecuted  with  spirit. 

On  I3lh  April,  1780,  some  five  or  six  weeks  after  the  commencemen, 
of  the  Federal  Government,  the  Shipwrights  of  Chnrleston  petUK.ned 
Congress  for  the  enaetn>ent  of  a  Navigation  Law  "on  uccoun  o  the 
.lia.ini.hed  state  of  Ship-building  in  An.erica,  and  the  ruinous  restnctio,. 
to  which  our  vessels  are  subject  in  foreign  ports,  etc." 

In  this  they  were  followed,  in  May,  by  a  sin.iiar  memonal  from    k 
Ship-builders  of  Baltin.ore ;  which  is  an  evidence,  in  some  degree,  of  tho 
value  of  the  interest  involved  in  the  business  in  those  cU.es,  wh.ch  hn 
now  both  become  important  commercial  towns.     It  .s  also  .nd.cat.ve  ot 
he  extent  to  which  the  b.dustrial  b.terests  of  the  co.n.fy,  and  pa.  .on- 
dy  its  commcvce,  sulVered  in   the  absence  of   an  effic.ent  ce,.tral  an- 
thority  to  regulate  the  foreign  relations  of  the  country-wh.ch  .n  th,- 
mr  tcu'lar  were  early  attended  to  by  the  Const.tutional  L.  g.slature  the,.  . 
Isln      The  b..siness  of  Ship-buildi..g  made  considcable  progress  .,!,.: 
ibis  time  in  North  Crolina ;  and  in  1794  she  was  in  advance  ot  >ew 
r  Lpshire  in  that  brat.ch.     In  1701  three  districts  out  of  five  .-eturnnl 
new  shipping,  exceedi.,g  by  nearly  one  thousand  tons  the  med.um  ot  tl,e 
three  vears,  1700  to  1771. 


.0NIE3. 

:r,  with  sixteen  guns, 
)uilt,  ami  three  otbors 
st,  aiiii  a  schoouer  uf 

■ce  above-named  wore 
and  captured  several 

),  with  "  authority  to 
ig  of  all  vessels  in  the 
,  etc.,"  for  which  they 
reasury,  for  the  neces- 
ove-nieiitioiieil  ves>elN 
[ornet.     These  vessels 
lirst  four  years  of  llie 
lilt  and  commissioned 
he  sailed  on  a  cruise, 
)ut  on  a  later  cruise,  in 
•essels,  tempted  by  her 
The  expense  of  these 
\mh  far  exceeded   tlie 


purposes,  was  renewed 

ifter  the  commencement 
'  Charleston  petitioned 
\\v,  "  on  account  of  tlie 

I  the  ruinous  restrictions 
etc." 

lilar  memorial  from  tlie 
c,  in  some  degree,  of  the 

those  cities,  which  hud 

It  is  also  indicative  of 
he  country,  and  parlion- 

an  efficient  central  nii- 
>  country — which  in  tlii- 
tional  Legislature  then  in 
)nsiderable  progress  afnr 

was  in  advance  of  Ni'^v 
rids  out  of  five  rctnnml 

II  tons  the  medium  of  llie 


GENERAL    OBSEUVATIONS.       NAVIGATION    ACTS. 


8t 


n  nin-  traced  the  origin  and  subsequent  progress,  so  far  as  we  have 

,„  .,i,u?  of  this  important  industry  in  each  of  the  Colonies  which  origin- 

„llv  formed  this  Confederacy,  a  few  general  statements  must  close  this 

'^'h  is  apparent  that  the  American  Colonies  had,  within  a  very  short 
,,o,i..d  unml.st  all  the  privations  incident  to  new  settlements,  constructed 
,  fl,...t  of  coaaing  and  ocean-traversing  ves.sels  of  no  inconsiderable  extent. 
Thrvluul  already  entered  upon  cnimercial  enterprises,  which  had  begun 
to  .unict  attention.  Within  iifteen  years  Mas>achusetts  alone  had  built 
„„  ni.  infant  marine,  not  destitute,  it  appears,  in  some  cases,  of  arcliitec- 
,',,,1  embellishments  and  respectable  warlike  equipment,  considerably 
oxceedin-  it  is  probable,  the  entire  tonnage  of  the  Port  of  Liverpool,  in 
Em-hmd;' which  Macaulay  informs  us  was,  at  that  period,  about  iouileen 
hundred  tons,  or  less  than  that  of  a  sin  .\'  modern  Indiaman  of  the  hrst 
class.     The  number  of  seamen  belonging  to  the  Port  was  not  over  two 

hundred.  ,      .  ,    ^i      n  •.•  i         i 

The  commerce  in  which  the  Colonies  engaged  with  the  bntish  and 
forei<ni  West  L.dia  Lslands,  and  different  parts  of  Europe,  and  ot  which 
thdr^ctivity  in  Ship-huilding  was  at  once  a  cause  and  a  consequence, 
earlv  attracted  the  attention  of  the  parent  State.     With...  little  more  than 
twenty-live  years  after  the  settlement  of  .New  England,  a  series  .«  trade 
regulations  were  established  with  a  view  to  a  monopoly  of  its  advanta^-s,, 
the  most  important  of  which  was  the  celebrated  Statute,  (2  Cur.  II..  | 
entitled  "An  Act  for  the  Encouraging  and  Increasing  of  bh.ppmg  and 
Navigation."     It  was  enacted,  (Cap.  18),  "  That  fi-om  and  after  t  ,e  hrs 
dav  of  April,  ICGI,  no  Sugars,  Tobacco,  Cotton,  Wool,  Iiabgo,  (.inge.. 
Fnstie,  or  other  dyeing  woods,  of  the  growth,  produce,  or  tnann  acture 
of  any  En-lish  Plantations  in  America,  Asia,  or  Alnca,  shall  be  sh.pped, 
carried,  ccmveycd.  or  transported  from  any  of  the  said  E.,glish  Plantations 
to  any  land,  island,  territory,  domi.uon,  port,  or  place  whats..ever,  other 
than  to  such  other  E.igHsh  plantations  as  do  belong  to  Ins  Majesty,  etc., 
e„.  "     This  A. a  was  designed,  virtually,  to  secure  to  the  Lngbsh  markets 
,lie  produce  of  the  Colonies,  and  was  but  an  extension  of  an  Act  passed 
i„  1G50  by  the  Parliament  of  Cromwell,  restricting  the  import  and  expo.t 
t;ade  of'  the  Colonies  to  English,  or  Colony-built  ships.     The  l.st  of  artt- 
eles  named  in  it,  and  which  was  extended  from  time  to  tune,  eml.raced 
.hut  were  known  as  emmcraWd  articles.     Two  years  alter,  in  1.....5,  a 
wus  enacted  that,  "No  commodity  of  the  growth,  product.on,  or  ma.ui- 
,.,,,„.c  of  Europe,  shall  be  imported   into  the  Untish   p  antat.ons,  but 
s„eh  as  are  laden  and  put  on  board  in  England.  Wales,  or  l^'-"v.^   -.M-'- 
Tweed,  atid  in   English-built  shipping,  whereof  the  mas  er  and  1 1- 
fourlhs  of  the  crew  are  Engli,^.."     The  cQect  of  this  would  be  to  compel 


88 


SlllP-BVlLDINO   IN   T[I£   COLONIES. 


the  Colonics  to  Innj  as  the  former  did  to  .ell  in  the  English  nmrkets 
exrlusivcly.  But  these  laws  were  very  little  regarded  by  ihe  Colonies 
with  the  exception  of  Virginia,  where  they  excited  romonstraiices  and 
almost  rebellion,  and  were  not  nntil  a  later  period  enforced  upon  then, 
The  primary  object  of  the  monopoly,  was  to  prevent  the  commercuil 
rivals  of  England  from  supplanting  her  in  tiic  colonial  Trade. 

Amon-  the  chief  benefits  believed  to  have  been  derived  from  these 
regulations  was  "the  bringing  our  people  to  build  ships  for  carrying  on 
such  an  extensive  commerce  as  they  had  not  before,  and  the  exclusion  o 
all  other  nations  from  the  direct  carrying  trade,  or  correspondence  with 
the  American  plantations." 

English  writers  are  divided  in  opinion  as  to  their  effect  upon  tlie  ex- 
tnordinary  subsequent  growth  of  English  commerce  and  shipping,  and 
the  decline  of  those  of  her  rivals.  AUhongh,  upon  the  whole,  there  cm 
be  little  doubt  that  Engli.'i  navigation  was  promoted  by  a  law  which 
Adam  Smith  considered  as  "perhaps  the  wisest  of  all  the  commercial 
ro.-ul.itbHH  of  England;"  and  although  the  Colonies  were  pcrmilled  a 
full  participation  in  the  carrying  trade  between  them  and  the  mother 
country  it  is  probable  that  the  increased  demand  for  shipping,  consetpient 
on  the  auo-menud  trade,  was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  restric- 
tions lui<l  on  their  foreign  Commerce.  Navigation  and  naval  power,  it 
has  been  naid,  are  the  children  not  the  parents-the  etlect,  not  thecause- 

of  Commerce.  ^  ,    , 

Indeed   the  IncrffUfi  of  shipping  in  the  Plantations  was  not  regarded 
with  faviir  in   England  among  the  ndhcrer>ts  of  the  exclusive  policy. 
Stran-e  as  it  may  seem,  the  prosperity  of  the  Colonies,  which  at  Ui,s 
time  was  very  great,  and  every  incipient  attempt  ut  manufacture  e.xc.ted 
the  jealousy  of  the  commercial  and  manufucluring  interests,       i  he  Colo- 
nics "  it  was  said,"are  beginning  to  carry  on  trade  ;  they  will  600  nN 
our 'formidable  rivals:  th..y  «fo  already  setting  up  mnnnfaelnres ;  tln^y 
will  soon  set  up  for  independence."     TI.e  Discourse  on  'In.lo,  by  Hir 
Josiah  Child,  before  q.ioted,  thus  expresses  the  prevailing  opinion  of  this 
class  in  relation  to  the  subject  before  us  :   "  New  England  is  the  mo.st 
V,reiu.licial  plantation  to  this  kingdom.     Of  all  the  American  plantations, 
his  Maje^y  has  none  so  apt  for  the  building  of  shipping  as  New  En- 
..land  •  nor  none  comparably  so  qnalilied  for  the  breeding  of  seamen,  not 
only  by  reason  of  the  natural  industry  of  that  people,  but,  principally,  by 
reason  of  their  Cod  and  Mackerel  fisheries  ;  and,  in  my  ptx.r  opinion,  there 
is  nothing  more  prejudicial,  and,  in  prospect,  more  dangerous  to  any 
mother  Kingdom,  than  the  increase  of  shipping  in  her  Colonies.  Planta- 
tions, or  Provinces."  p  m     ,        ,  ■  - 
It  was  only  by  an  evasion  or  relaxation  of  the  Laws  of  Trade,  whitu 


w 

■    ei 
E 

:  b( 

tt 

>  ti 

i    E 

i    in 
1    tl 


T 


THE   NAVIGATION   ACTS.      COLONIAL  TRADE. 


89 


e  English  markets 
d  by  ihe  Coloiiifs, 
roinonstrances  ami 
forced  upon  them, 
ent  the  commercitil 
1  Trade. 

derived  from  these 
lips  for  carrying  on 
nd  the  exclusion  of 
;orrespondence  with 

effect  upon  the  ex- 
I  and  shii)ping,  ami 
,he  whole,  there  can 
ted  by  a  law  which 

all  the  coniniorcial 
;s  were  parniilled  a 
cm  and  the  mother 
shipping,  cunsecpient 
meed  by  the  restric- 
and  naval  power,  it 
fleet,  not  the  cause — 

ns  was  not  regarded 
he  exclusive  policy, 
lonies,  which  at  this 

manufacture  excited 
itercst.--,  "The  Colo- 
• ;  they  wlll  eoon  he 

mnriufiiclnres ;  tiiey 
•sc  on  Tiudu,  by  Bir 
ailing  opinion  of  thl;* 
England  is  the  most 
American  plantation?, 
;hipi>ing  as  New  En- 
?eding  of  seamen,  not 
le,  but,  principally,  by 
ny  poor  opiidon,  there 
re  dangerous  to  any 
her  Colonies,  Planta- 


Laws  of  Trade,  which 


was  connived  at  by  the  Revenue  officials,  that  the  Colonies  were  ever 
enabled  to  pay  for  the  enormous  amount  of  British  Manufactures  and 
European  Merchandise  annually  received  from  England  ;   which  at  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  amounted  to  nearly  four  hundred 
thousand  pounds  sterling,  and,  toward  the  close  of  the  provincial  period, 
three  millions  and  a  half  sterling,  or  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  English 
Export  Trade  at  those  periods.     None  of  the  Colonies  north  of  Mary- 
land ever  had  balances  in  their  favor,  but  were,  on  the  contrary,  much  in 
the  arrear.     Their  obligations  could  only  be  met  by  the  circuitous  trade 
carried  on,  in  contravention  of  the  Trade  Acts,  with  foreign  countries, 
whence  they  derived  most  of  their  specie  and  remittances  suitable  for 
returns  to  their  English  creditors.     By  this  illicit  traffic,  English  Com- 
merce was  as  much  benefited  probably  as  that  of  the  Colonies.     Lord 
Siieffield  admits  that,  between  the  years  1100  and  1713,  the  Colonies 
must  by  this  circuitous  trade  have  remitted  to  Great  Britain  upward  of 
thirty  millions  sterling  in  payment  of  goods  taken  from  her,  over  and 
above  their  direct  remittances  in  produce  and  fish.     Ships  built  for  sale 
constituted  an  important  element  in  this  foreign  Colonial  Trade,  the 
value  of  which  was  usually  twitted  iu  s_i)ecie  or  bills  of  exchange  on 

London.  ■  /j 

The  nature  of  this  traffic,  and  the  wa/ in  which  it  fostered  the  Ship- 
building interests  of  the  Colonies,  is  indicated  in  the  following  passage 
from  the  work  by  Joshua  Gee  on  the  Trade  and  Kavigati(jn  of  Great 
Britain,  A.  D.  1129,  in  which  he  attributes  a  vast  increase  of  English 
Commerce  and  Navigation  to  the  Colonial  Trade,  and  s^)eaks  of  the  pro- 
ceeds of  Colony-built  ship.«,  sold  in  Spain  and  J^^/^^  J^^W  'WV*"  ■ -""^ 
part  of  the  remittances  of  the  Colonics. 

"Wo  Lave  a  great  many  young  men  who  are  brod  to  the  sea,  aivl  tiavo 
fricn.ls  to  support  them  ;  If  they  cannot  get  ..inploymeut  at  home,  they  go  to 
New  Kngland  and  tho  N^irthorn  ColoiiJes  with  a  cargo  of  goods,  which  they 
(her.)  Bell  at  a  great  profit,  and  with  the  produce  huild  a  ship  and  purcliase  a 
loiiding  of  lumher,  nn<l  sail  for  Portugal  or  the  Straits,  etc.,  and,  after  disposing 
of  their  oargofls  there,  finriuently  ply  from  port  to  port  in  the  Mediterranean 
till  they  llftVe  nUmi  so  mmh  W"))oy  ns  will  in  a  good  part  pay  for  the  first 
ooHt  of  the  cargd  tUifjUui  mil,  hy  ijmin,  and  thoii  JH-rhiip  sell  their  ships,  come 
home,  (/(In,  (((/  (tilDlIier  cargo  from  lliejc  Hii|il(/|l»l#f  rt(i1  So  go  1«ick  and  build 
another  fihlji ;  h.V  lIlN  (nenns,  mnititudcs  of  sonniHi  (in.  h|oi(//|,l  up,  nnd,  upon 
a  war,  the  nation  liottnr  prnvided  with  a  greater  numher  of  siiliorH  timii  Imlh 
been  heretofore  known.  Hero  tho  master  henoHiun  Jimrohnnt  alHo,  and  many 
of  tliem  gain  l.y  this  lumher  tr.ide  great  estate.s  ;  and  a  va^t  (reiiFuro  Is  thereby 
yearly  hrouu'ht  into  the  Kingdom  in  away  new  and  unknown  In  tiuf  foro- 
fatheW,  for  Indeed  It  la  gaining  the  timber  trade  Imretolore  carried  on  by  the 
Dutch  and  Swedes,  our  Plantations  being  nearer  tho  markets  of  Portugal  iH}4 
Spain  th.iu  theirs  are." 


90 


SIIir-BL'ILDlNO   IX    TlIK   CuLONlKS. 


In  n2t,  the  enterprise  of  tlie  Now  En-liuid  people  in  tlii.s  l.raiicli, 
again  bcoiune  the  subject  of  compUiint  in  En-land.  The  siiip-cari>entors 
ou  the  Thames,  probably  from  the  loss  of  contracts  in  the  way  ju.t 
mentioned,  complained  that  their  trade  was  hurt,  and  that  their  workmen 
emigrated,  since  so  many  vessels  were  built  in  New  K^i-hmd.  But  the 
Board  of  Trade  could  not  venture  to  recommend  so  extreme  a  measure 
as  the  prohibition  of  Ship-building  in  the  Colonies,  and  were  unable  to 

provide  a  remedy. 

In  1145,  the  New  England  Colonies  owned,  exclusive  of  Oshing  craft, 

about  one  thousand  fail  of  vessels. 

Tiie  peace  of  Ai.x-la-Chapello,  which  took  place  two  years  after,  found 
the  Navigation  of  the  Colonies  in  a  prosperous  condition  ;  and  the  mer- 
cantile tonnage  of  the  American  Provinces  was  thought  to  have  been 
equal  to  that  of  the  mother  country,  considered  in  reference  to  the  popu- 
lation, which  in  1749  amounted  in  the  former  to  1,04G,000. 

Colonial  Ship-building,  near  the  same  time,  received  a  new  impulse, 
by  the  employment  of  the  invaluable  live-oak  of  the  Southern  Provinces, 
■which  came  into  use  about  the  year  1750.  This  was  found  to  be  much 
superior  to  the  common  white  oak  and  chestnut  previously  employed, 
and  added  to  the  reputation  of  American-built  ships. 

The  tonnage  of  vessels  built  in  the  American  Colonies  in  the  years 
1109,  1770  and  1771,  was  as  follows:— 

In  1769  20,001  tons. 

"    1770  20,610     " 

'<    1771  24,068     " 

It  was  customary  at  that  time,  in  order  to  evade  the  duties,  light  money, 
and  other  expenses,  to  enter  with  the  Register  an  amount  consideial.ly 
short  of  the  real  tonnage.  The  Custom-house  books  kept  at  Boston, 
from  which  the  statistics  of  tomiage  were  derived,  direct  one-fifth  to  be 
added,  but  an  addition  of  one-third  is  considered  nearer  the  proper  pro- 
portion. .  f  T  1 
The  following  table,  given  by  Mr.  Champion  in  his  review  of  Lord 
Sheffield's  "  Observations  on  American  Commerce,"  shows  the  amount 
and  relative  proportions  of  tonnage  built  in  each  of  the  Colonies  in  1709, 
to  which  he  has  added  the  average  of  each  vessel,  as  directed  by  the 
Custom-House. 


Vessels  buUt.  TonoBga. 


New  Hampshire 45 2,452. 

Mass!icliU8etts 137 8,013. 

Khode  Island 39 1,428. 

Connecticut 50 1,542. 


Averaee  ton ti use  ol 

piich  vessel  : 

oue-Urth  added. 

65 


,.70 
.43 
.36 


EXTENT  OF   COLONTAL   SIIIP-BUILDIXGI. 


f\ 


jile  ill  tliis  liniiifli, 
lIiu  sliip-carpLMitfrs 
i  ill  tlie  way  ju.t 
that  tiieir  woi'liiiiiii 
Kiii^laiid.  But  Iho 
extreme  a  measure 
lud  were  unable  to 

live  of  fisliing  craft, 

0  years  after,  found 
ition  ;  and  the  mer- 
)ught  to  have  been 
'erence  to  the  popu- 
G,000. 

ved  a  new  iminilse. 
Southern  rrovinces, 
s  found  to  be  much 
reviously  employed, 

!olonies  iu  the  years 


.13., 
...4. 

O') 


e  duties,  light  money, 
amount  cousidenil>ly 
loks  kept  at  Boston, 
iirect  one-fifth  to  be 
larer  the  proper  pro- 

1  his  review  of  Lord 
1,"  shows  the  amount 
the  Colonies  in  1769, 
cl,  as  directed  by  the 

Averaee  tonn«se  ol 
^e.  piieh  vessol : 

oue-Urth  added. 

2 65 

3 70 

8 43 

2 36 


New  York 

Jorsoys 

rt'inisylviuiia 

JIaiyland -f 

Viiizinia -7 

^■(irDi  Carolina 12 

Houtli  Carolina 12 

Ciforgia 2 


...  '.>">.. 

83.. 

.1,41)9.. 
.1.:'.14.. 

.1, ■:.:!>., 

...  t;o7. 
...  7f-9. 
,M1. 


.(10 
.  'I'i 
.7') 

.M) 

,.7S 

..uO 


Total. 


,3S9 2li,0Ul 


The  entire  amount  of  tonnage  cntored  in  the  several  Colonies  during 
the  year  ending  January  5,  1771,  was  331,G42,  and  the  amount  cleared 
was  351, G8G  tons.  The  difl'erence  between  the  outward  and  inward  ton- 
luio-e  was  occasioned,  in  part,  by  the  sale  of  Ctdonial  sliii.s  in  Great 
Britain,  and  amounts  to  about  20,000  tons.  About  lifty  Colony-bmU 
vessels  were  then  annually  sold  in  the  parent  country. 

Tiic  number  of  vessels  built  in  the  Colonies  in  1772  was  one  hundred 
find  eighty-two,  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  2G,.')44  ;  and,  of  this  nnm- 
her,  one  hundred  and  twenty-three,  containing  18,149  tons,  were  built  in 
Xi'iv  England,  fifteep  in  New  York,  one  in  New  Jersey,  eight  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, eight  in  Maryland,  seven  iu  Virginia,  three  in  North  Carolina,  two 
iu  South  Carolina,  and  live  in  Georgia. 

Mr.  Champion  estimated  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  308,000  tons  of  Colonial-built  shipping  was  emidoyed  in  the  general 
commerce' of  Great  Britain,  or  nearly  one-third,  and  if  the  West  India 
trade  were  included,  about  two-thirds  of  the  whole. 

Massachusetts  was  then  estimated  to  own  nearly  one  vessel  for  every 
one  hundred  inhabitants.  She  built  many  on  contract  and  for  sale,  as  did 
also  Pennsylvania,  to  the  amount  of  about  six  tiionsand  tons  annually. 
i<hip-building  and  Commerce  were  nearly  ruined  by  the  war,  and  the 
lormer  was  only  sustained  by  the  building  of  a  few  privateers,  or  small 
frigates  for  Congress. 

The  skill  with  which  American  ship-builders  adapted  these  to  the  une- 
qusrl  contest  with  the  heavy  ships  of  Great  Britain,  and  rendered  them 
trnly  formidable,  is  thus  spoken  of  iu  Charnock's   History  of   Marine 

Architecture  : — 

"  The  American  Marine,  however,  soared  not,  but  with  very  few  exceptions 
in  its  private  capacity,  beyond  the  classes  of  brigs  or  schooners.  Those  of 
the  former  denomination  proved  .  -rticnlarly  destructive.  Their  dimensions 
were  far  enlarged  beyond  those  limits  which  it  bad  been  customary  to 
(live  vessels  in  that  class;  and  tl  ir  force,  on  many  occasions,  exceeded 
the  greater  part  of  the  British  sloops-of-war,  nearly  equaling  some  of  the 
minor  frigates.     In  defiance  of  the  common  prejudice  then  entertained 


9a 


SniP-BUILmNQ   IN    TIIK   CUUIMV.S. 


against  long  and  narrow  vessels,  tlic  American  Lnildci-s  vontnred  tlieiropJ 
position,  and  the  success  wl>ich  attended  the  prineii-les  Ihey  intmducdj 
materially  diEfering  from  the  practice  of  any  country  at  that  time,  provedl 
their  superior  skill  in  the  construction  of  corsairs."  I 

The  new  relations  between  Great  Britain  and  her  former  Colonies,! 
established  by  the  Peace,  called  for  some  regulation  of  the  commereiall 
intercourse  between  the  two.  But  the  bill  of  Mr.  Pitt,  for  a  temporaryl 
adjustment  of  the  matter,  was  defeated  by  the  violent  opposition  of  tliel 
British  navigation  interests.  Tiie  Orders  in  Council  soon  after  havingi 
excluded  American  ships  altogether  from  the  West  India  trade,  and  thel 
original  Confederation  having  no  power  to  remedy  the  matter,  the  several! 
States  sought  to  protect  themselves  by  discriminating  duties  in  favor  of! 
American  vessels,  and,  in  some  cases,  of  those  countries  with  which  the! 
United  States  had  treaties.  The  want  of  uniformity,  and  the  conaicf.ngi 
character  of  these  State  imposts,  were  a  principal  cause  of  the  adoptionl 
of  the  present  Constitution,  which  repealed  all  the  State  laws  on  the 
subject,  and  vested  the  power  in  Congress.  r 

The  recommendation  of  Mr.  Adams,  and  petitions  from  various  quar- 
ters induced  Congress,  in  July,  1790,  to  impose  tonnage  duties  of  six 
cents  per  ton  on  all  vessels  of  the  United  States  entering  from  foreign 
ports;  on  vessels  built  in  the  United  States,  but  partly  owned  abroad,  thirty 
cents ;  and  on  other  ships  or  vessels,  fifty  cents,— which  last  was  after- 
ward much  increased. 

Under  this  system  of  protection,  and  the  exclusion  of  foreign  vessels  I 
from  the  coasting  trade,  and  the  American  trade  with  China,  Americanj 
Ship-building,  in  succeeding  years,  experienced  an  unparalleled  increase, 
and  became  a  cause  of  alarm  to  British  merchants.     A  system  of  llegis-^ 
tration  and  Enrolment  or  license  was  also  adopted,  the  returns  of  which, 
are  annually  transmitted  from  each  District  to  the  Treasury  Department, 
In  1789  the  registered  tonnage  of  the  Union  amounted  to  123,893  tons, 
and  in  1790,  to  340,254  tons.    The  total  tonnage  of  the  Union,  includiag| 
enrolled  and  licensed,  was,  in  1789,  201,562,  and  in  1790,  478,377  tons.. 
'The  registered  ioimasQ  (consisting  of  American-built  vessels  only)  had| 
increased  in  the  year  1800  to  609,921  tons. 


I 


voiituruil  tliuir  opJ 
;s  lliey  iutroihict'dJ 
t  that  time,  iirovedl 

r  former  ColoiiiesJ 
of  the  coramerciall 
tt,  for  11  temporaryl 

opposition  of  tliel 

soon  after  having! 
idia  trade,  and  the! 
I  matter,  the  severall 

duties  in  favor  of  I 
ries  with  which  tliel 

and  the  conflictlngl 
ise  of  the  adoptionl 

State  laws  on  thel 

I  from  various  q\iar- 
inngc  duties  of  six! 
itering  from  foreignl 
)wned  abroad,  thirty| 
liah  last  was  after- 

)n  of  foreign  vessels  I 
th  China,  American j 
iparalleled  increase, 
A  system  of  llegis- 
he  returns  of  which] 
reasury  Department, 
ited  to  123,893  tons,! 
the  Union,  includiag 
1790,  478,3V7  tons.b 
ilt  vessels  only)  bad] 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


33  WIST  MAIN  STillT 

WIBSTIR.N.Y.  MStO 

(716)  •7r4i03 


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Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIN/I/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadisn  Institute  for  Hl.torlc»l  Mlcroreproductioni  /  InMltut  c«nadi«n  de  microreproduction.  historlques 


5^ 


""^_,  : 


„,  ...,-  J.llJI."lW.JLUj-W-MJ-^i-.>-*J^MW_,: 


■•(■••^■■••••^•■••■i'" 


CHAPTER   V. 


INTIIODUCTION   OF   SAW-MILLS   AND   MANLFACTURE   OF   LUMBER. 

ALTnouou  the  Saw  is  a  very  ancient  implement,  being  mentioned  by 
Isaiah  at  a  period  contemporaneous  with  the  building  of  Rome,  and  was 
in  use  among  the  Egyptians  a  thousand  years  before  the  days  of  the 
prophet,  yet  the  Satv-Mill,  as  a  mechanism  for  cutting  timber,  had  not 
been  in  use  in  some  countries  very  long  before  the  settlement  of  America. 

Saw-mills  were  erected  in  Germany,  in  the  fourth  century;  in  the 
Island  of  Madeira,  in  1420 ;  and  in  1530,  the  first  one  in  Norway  was 
built. 

Prior  to  the  invention  and  use  of  Saw-mills,  boards  and  plank  were 
either  sawed  by  hand,  or  split  and  hewn  with  tlie  axe,  and  consequently 
such  products  were  exceedingly  dear.  The  latter  mode  was  practiced  in 
the  first  few  years  by  the  American  Colonists.  The  first  Saw-Mill  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, it  is  said,  was  built  about  the  year  1633,  which  was  some  years 
before  it  was  employed  in  England.  The  day  floors  and  generally  un- 
comfortable dwellings  of  the  English  peasantry,  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  the  floors  of  timber  mentioned  iu  the  seventcjnth,  indicate  the  gen- 
eral absence  of  Saw-mills. 

In  1555,  Bishop  Ely,  the  British  Embassador  at  Rome,  describes  as  a 
curiosity,  that  "he  saw  .at  Lyons,  a  Saw-mill  driven  with  an  upright 
wheel,  and  the  water  that  makes  it  go  is  gathered  into  a  narrow  trough, 
which  delivercth  the  same  water  to  the  v.l  eel.  This  wheel  hath  a  piece 
of  timber  put  to  the  axletree  end,  like  the  handle  of  a  brock  (a  hand- 
organ),  and  fastened  to  the  end  of  the  saw,  which  being  turned  with  the 
force  of  water,  hoistcth  up  and  down  the  saw,  that  it  continually  eateih  in, 
and  the  handle  of  the  same  is  kept  in  a  ringall  of  wood  from  severing. 
Also  the  timber  lieth  as  if  it  were  upon  a  ladder,  which  is  brought  by 
little  and  little  to  the  saw  by  another  vice."  More  than  a  century  after, 
the  first  Saw-mill  in  England  was  put  up  by  a  Dutchman,  neiir  London, 
and  had  to  be  removed  on  account  of  the  jealousy  of  the  working-classes, 
who  feared  it  would  deprive  the  sawyers  of  their  labor :  npprehei'.Mon  of 
(he  same  fate  prevented  a  renewed  attempt  when  proposed  in  1700  ;  and 
the  populace  actually  destroyed  one  as  late  aj  1707. 

(93) 


94 


SAW-MIIXS  IN   THE  COLOXIES. 


The  scarcity  of  labor,  and  its  better  remuneration  in  this  country,  as 
well  as  the  varied  resources  of  iudnstry,  and  perhaps  a  more  genei'ul  ap- 
preciation of  the  value  of  labor-saving  appliunces,  have  for  the  most  part 
prevented  any  cxliibition  of  hostility  to  such  improvements.  anU  has 
facilitated  tlieir  speedy  adoption  among  us. 

In  the  first  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  instituted  at 
London,  in  1751,  for  the  encouragement  of  Arts,  J\Ianvfadure>f,  and 
Commerce,  it  is  staled  that  the  prejudice  against  Saw-mills  had  so  far 
given  way  before  a  spirit  of  improvement,  and  the  rewards  offered  by  the 
Society,  that  Saw-mills  were  then  (1783)  firmly  established  in  England. 

A  pretended  prohibitory  Act  of  Parliament,  it  is  intimated,  had  beea 
made  the  pretext  for  submitting,  for  many  yuirs,  to  have  timber  cut  into 
boards  by  the  Saw-mills  of  Holland,  and  other  foreign  countries.  It  is 
an  evidence  of  the  enterprise  of  Holland  that,  equally  destitute  of  timber 
and  of  water-power,  it  should  thus  perform  for  England,  which  abounded 
in  both,  one  of  the  simplest  of  mechanical  operations,  and  first  introduce 
the  labor-saving  contrivance  into  the  island.  This  is  said  to  liave  been 
done  in  the  year  1GG3. 

As  will  appear  from  the  following  pages,  the  increase  of  Saw-mills, 
although  hindered  by  the  exclusive  and  restrictive  conditions  of  laws 
intended  for  their  encouragement,  in  individual  cases,  has  from  the  first 
settlement  of  tlie  country  been  deemed  worthy  of  the  patronage  of  local 
and  general  authorities. 

Saw  Mills  ix  Massaciivsetts. — The  Court  of  Assistants  in  London 
made  provision  for  <iie  introduction  of  both  Grist  and  Saw-mills,  with  the 
first  emigrants  to  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  the  government  of 
wl.c.e  affairs  was  entrusted  to  its  care. 

Among  the  persons  sent  to  the  Colony  in  10*28,  '29,  were  men  skillful 
in  making  Pitch  and  Salt,  Tine  Planters,  etc.  The  Court  was  also 
desired  by  Mr.  "White,  the  Minister  who  fir«t  planned  the  Colony,  and  in 
the  Company's  second  letter  of  instructions  to  Governor  Endicott,  he  is 
directed,  "  To  give  approbation  and  furtherance  to  Francis  Webb,  in 
setting  up  his  Saw-mill,"  to  be  sent  over  in  the  " 'Lyon's  Whclpe,'  with 
other  stores  from  Dorsett  and  Somersett,  England.'" 

Whether  the  proposition  of  Webb,  to  erect  a  Saw-mill  in  Massaehn- 
sctts,  was  carried  into  effect  or  not,  we  are  unable  to  say.  No  auxiliary 
more  valuable  to  the  infant  Colonics  could  have  been  introduced ;  and 


(1)  Cdlony  Rororils,  1,  401.  Mr.  Wtlil),  otio  of  the  mlvcnturprs,  n  mciiilier  of  the 
It  is  ftiitcil  in  Young's  Clironiclofl  of  Jlnssa-  Coinimny,  anil  subscribur  to  lliu  uinuunt  uf 
cbuBcttt,  page  179,  wn«  not  a  colonist,  but     £50. 


f 


NEW   KNOLAND.      lIliST   SAW-MILLS   IS. 


95 


II  this  country,  as 
more  geuei'al  ap- 
for  tlie  most  part 

vemeiitfi.  and   has 

;icty  instituted  at 
'aniifaet ureii,  and 
v-milis  had  so  far 
irds  offered  by  the 
ishcd  iu  England, 
tiraated,  had  beea 
ve  timber  cut  into 
countries.  It  ia 
iestilutc  of  timber 
d,  wliieh  abounded 
and  first  introduce 
said  to  iiave  been 

'case  of  Saw-mills, 

conditions  of  laws 

has  from  the  first 

patronage  of  local 


sistants  in  London 
Saw-milla,  with  the 
the  government  of 

I,  were  men  sliillful 
lie  Court  was  also 
the  Colony,  and  in 
nor  Endicott,  he  is 
Francis  Webb,  in 
'on's  Whelpe,'  with 

-mill  in  Massaehn- 
say.  No  auxiliary 
!U  introduced  ;  and 

irors,  ft  meiiilier  of  the 
icribur  to  tliu  uiuuunt  uf 


we  have  seen  that  some  years  previous  to  this,  their  future  importance 
had  been  understood,  and  steps  had  been  taken  for  the  erection  of  such 
mills  in  Virginia. 

It  is  not  quite  clear  when  the  first  Saw-miil  was  erected  in  Massachu- 
setts. It  has  been  stated  that  the  first  was  buiit  about  the  year  1G33, 
but  we  have  seen  no  evidence  to  corroborate  it.  Mills  were  erected  even 
previous  to  that,  but  it  does  not  always  appear  for  what  uses  they  were 
designed. 

The  first  erection  of  the  kind  in  New  England,  of  which  we  have  seen 
any  distinct  notice,  was  in  New  Hampshire,  near  the  present  city  of 
Portsmouth,  where  a  Saw-mill  was  built  previous  to  the  year  1035.  It 
was  put  up  at  the  Falls  of  the  Newiclicwannock,  or  Salmon  Falls  River, 
a  part  of  the  Piscataqua,  between  Berwick  and  the  Cocheco  branch  of 
the  river,  and  was  situated  in  that  part  of  the  grant,  called  the  Patent 
of  Laconia,  made  to  Mason  and  Gorges  in  1631,  by  the  Council  of  Ply- 
mouth, in  England.  The  first  settlement  of  New  Ilampshire,  was  made 
ut  this  place  and  near  Dover,  in  1623,  by  the  erection  of  a  fishing  station, 
salt-works,  and  other  improvements.  The  Saw-mill,  at  the  Falls,  was  in 
charge  of  Ambrose  Gibbons,  as  the  language  of  the  historian  seems  to 
imply,  as  early  as  1631 ;  and,  became  in  1634,  or  1635,  the  property  of 
Mason,  by  purchase  of  a  tract  of  land,  extending  three  miles  in  breadth 
along  the  river,  on  the  north-east  side,  from  its  mouth  to  its  head, 
"including,"  he  says,  "the  Saw-mill  which  had  been  built  at  the  Falls 
of  Newiclicwannock."  A  letter  from  Captain  Mason  to  Gibbons,  dated 
May  5, 1634,  states  that  he  had  sent  men  and  provisions  with  Mr.  .Tocelyn, 
to  set  up  two  mills.  Gibbons,  in  acknowledging  tV,-^  receipt  of  the  letter, 
informs  tie  proprietor,  that  on  the  22d  day  of  July,  "the  carpenters 
began  about  the  mill."  This  appears  to  have  been  a  Saw-mill,  us  he 
advises  him  in  the  same  letter  to  send  "a  stock  of  iron-work  to  be  jiut 
away  with  his  boards  from  the  mill,"  and  was  probably  the  first  and  only 
mill  of  the  kind  at  that  place,  if  not  in  all  New  England.' 

This  prompt  attempt,  through  the  enterprise  of  Captain  Mason,  to  turn 
to  account  the  woodland  wealth  of  New  Hampshire,  from  which  for  over 
two  hundred  years  so  considerable  a  share  of  her  native  resources  have 
been  drawn,  appears  to  have  been  made  at  a  time  when  "  bread  was  either 

(1)  It  i«  stated,  In  Young's  Chronicles  of  nnit  eighty  tons  wns  froightcd  in  tho  Colony. 

Plymouth,   that    ill   Popteniber,    lfi2.3,   tho  The  cliip-lioiinls  were  prolmlily  nil  sawed  or 

"Ann,"  of  ono   hundroil   and   forty   tons,  cK-ft,  iind  pn|iiired  by  liiind.    The  first  waler- 

whiih  brought  over,  among  othor.«,  sevcrnl  mill,  ho  tolls  us,  wii.'!  or'nted  in  lt'i:i.'i.    liook- 

nrtifleoii  to  tho  Colony,  returned  to  London  man   eta'.os,  tlint  '/>  Jirtt  Haiii-mill  in   t!n 

laden  with  clap-boards,  bouver  and  other  furs,  glnnd  tcai  erctjted  in  1U03. 
Tho  ycur  following,  a  ebip  of  one  humlrcd 


ZiIm 


d6 


SAW-MILLS   IN   THE   COLONIES. 


brought  from  England  in  meal,  or  from  Virginia  in  grain,  and  sent  to 
the  wiiul-miil  at  15oston,  there  being  none  erected  here.'" 

The  other  mill,  although  there  is  no  further  reference  to  it,  was  prob- 
ably intended  to  be  a  grist  mill.  The  ship  which  brought  the  men  and 
supplies  for  the  mills,  after  taking  in  part  of  a  cargo  of  "iron  stoane," 
sailed  for  Saco  "  to  load  cloave  boards  and  pipe  staves,"  showing  how 
boards  were  then  manufactured  in  the  great  lumbering  State  of  Maine. 
Gibbons,  who  lived  in  a  palisaded  house,  was  succeeded  in  the  charge 
by  Humphrey  Chadbourne,  the  ancestor  of  several  generations  of  promi- 
nent citizens  of  the  Slate. 

Ship-building  was  soon  after  commenced  in  Maine  and  Isew  Hamp- 
shire and  ships  and  lumber  long  constituted  the  chief  manufactures  of  the 
people  of  both  Provinces,  Saw-mills  were  speedily  multiplied  on  all 
the  principal  streams,  many  of  which  afforded  excellent  water-power,  now 
appropriated  to  other  manufacturing  purposes. 

The  system  of  granting  patents,  or  exclusive  personal  interest  in  the 
use  of  new  inventions,  which  is  the  great  stimulus  to  improvement,  had 
its  rise  in  England  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  has  been  since 
adopted  by  most  civilized  nations.  In  the  system  of  laws  called  the 
"  Body  of  Liberties,"  adopted  by  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  m 
1641  was  a  law  on  this  subject.  It  declared  that  there  "  should  be  no 
monopolies  but  of  such  new  inventions  as  were  profitable  to  the  country, 
and  that  for  a  short  time  only." 

One  of  the  first  applicants  for  exclusive  priviloge«  under  this  first  Xew 
England  Code,  was  Joseph  Jenks,  of  Lynn,  who  came  to  the  rrovince 
in  1645  and  in  the  following  year  presented  a  petition  for  a  patent  for  a 
new  application  of  water-power  to  mills  for  various  uses,  including  a 
Saw-mill.     On  the  sixth  of  May,  1646,  the  Court  resolved  that,  "In 
answer  to  the  peticon  of  Joseph  Jenckes,  for  liberty  to  make  experience 
of  his  abilityes  and  Inventions  for  ye  making  of  Engines  for  mills  to  goe 
with  water  for  ye  more  speedy  dispatch  of  worke      en  formerly,  and 
mills  for  ye  making  of  Sithes  and  other  Edged  tooles,  with  a  new  In- 
vented  Sawe-Mill,  that  things  may  be  afforded  cheaper  then  formerly,  and 
that  for  fowerteen  yeeres  without  disturbance  by  any  others  setting  up 
the  like  inventions,  that  so  his  study  and  cost  may  not  be  in  vayne  or 
lost;  this  peticon  is  granted  so  as  power  is  still  left  to  restrain  ye  ex- 
portation of  such  nmiuifactures,  and  to  moderate  ye  prizes  thereof  if 
occasion  so  require.'" 

(1)  Bclkn«r'»  Now  Ilampsl-ire,  1,  17,  25;  organi.ation  of  the  Patent  Office,  for  inven- 

..  ,^  tions  and  impi-ovements  in  Saws  and  baw- 

72rRo'"r.i-.'v''l.  H-  H9;  vol.  iii.,  275.  mill.,  U  between  three  and  four  hundred. 
The  number  of  Putunts  granted  iinoe  the 


lin,  and  sent  to 

,0  it,  was  prob- 
ht  the  men  and 
"iron  stoane," 
i,"  showing  how 
state  of  Maine. 
1  in  the  charge 
itions  of  proiiii- 

id  New  Hamp- 
iiufactures  of  the 
lultiplied  on  all 
ater-power,  now 

1  interest  in  the 
nprovement,  had 
i  has  been  since 
laws  called  the 
Massachusetts  in 
3  "should  be  no 
e  to  the  country, 

er  this  first  N'ew 
•  to  the  Province 
for  a  patent  for  a 
ises,  including  a 
solved  that,  "  In 
make  experience 
s  for  mills  to  goe 
m  formerly,  and 
;,  with  a  new  In- 
hen  formerly,  and 
thers  setting  up 
t  be  in  vayne  or 
3  restrain  ye  ex- 
prizea  thereof  if 


tent  Office,  for  inven- 
ts in  Saws  and  Saw- 
and  four  hundred. 


MASSACIIt SETTS  AND  DISTRICT  OF  MAINE. 


97 


The  ingenious  patentee  in  this  case,  whose  son,  Joseph  Jenks,  built 
the  Qrst  house  in  Pawtueket,  Rhode  Island,  and  whose  grandson  of  the 
same  name  was  Governor  of  that  Colony  after  Cranston,  receives  honor- 
able mention  in  the  Records  after  this  time  for  several  inventions,  which  will 
be  elsewhere  mentioned.  His  improvement  in  the  manufacture  of  Scythes, 
included  in  the  above  patent,  has  not  been  materially  modified  to  this 
day.  Of  the  specific  character  of  his  improvement  in  Mills  we  are 
unable  to  speak.  He  was  connected  with  the  first  iron- works  in  the 
Colony  at  Lyirn,  but  it  docs  not  appear  that  he  erected  Mills  him- 
self. 

It  is  mentioned  in  "The  Description  of  Scituate,"  in  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Collections,'  that  Robert  Stndson,  Mr.  Hatherly,  the 
founder  of  the  town,  and  Joseph  Tilden,  built  a  Saw-mill  at  that  place 
in  1656,  which  the  writer  observes  "  may  be  the  first  in  the  Colony."^ 

The  permission  to  erect  this  mill  was  to  be  void  unless  it  was  built  in 
three  months  from  the  date  of  the  grant,  which  was  on  November  10th. 
It  was  further  stipulated  by  the  authorities,  "  that  in  case  any  of  the 
townsmen  do  bring  any  timber  into  the  mill  to  be  sawed,  the  owners  of 
the  mill  shall  saw  it,  whether  it  be  for  boards  or  plank,  before  they  saw 
any  of  their  own  timber;  and  they  are  to  have  the  one  half  for  sawing 
the  other  half.  And  in  case  any  man  of  the  Town  that  doth  bring  any 
timber  to  the  mill  to  be  sawed  shall  want  any  boards  for  his  particular 
use,  the  owners  of  the  mill  shall  sell  him  boards  for  his  own  use  so  many 
as  he  shall  need,  for  the  country  pay  at  Ss.  6(/.  an  hundred  inch  sawn ; 
but  in  ease  the  men  of  the  town  do  not  supply  the  mill  with  timber  to 
keep  it  at  work,  the  owners  of  the  mill  shall  have  liberty  to  make  use  of 
any  timber  upon  the  Common  to  saw  for  their  benefit.'"  The  mill, 
which  stood  on  "  the  third  Herring  Brook,"  was  destroyed  by  the  Indians 

in  1676. 

Such  regulations  will  seem  curious  to  the  proprietor  of  a  modern 
steam-power  Saw-mill,  producing  thirty  to  forty  thousand  feet  of  lumher 
daily,  and  who  would  not  hesitate,  it  is  presumed,  to  accept  the  condition 
of  sawing  at  the  halves. 

The  King's  Commissioners,  who  visited  New  England  in  1664,  reported 
the  old  Colony  of  Plymouth  to  contain  "  about  twelve  small  towns,  one 
Saw-mill  for  boards,  etc."  The  Saw-mill  is  believed  to  have  been  in 
Pembroke,  then  a  part  of  Du.xborough, 

2.  Maink  and  New  IlAMrsiimE.— We  have  seen  that  one  of  the 
first  Saw-mills  in  New  England,  if  not  the  very  first,  was  that  built  on 


(1)  Sooond  Scries,  vol.  iv.,  224. 


(2)  Ibiti,  p.  240. 


n 


BAW-MILLS  IN   THE   COLONIES. 


the  Salmon  Palls  River,  as  early  at  least  as  1634  or  '35.     In  the  divir-on 
of  their  grant  the  same  year  by  Mason  and   Gorges,  the  north  s.do  of 
the  Piscataqua,  now  a  part  of  the  Slate  of  Maine,  fell  to  the  latter        n 
this  territo-y,  which  submitted  to  Massachusetts  in  1652,  mills  began  to 
be  erected  soon  after  its  first  settlement.     At  Piscataqua,  or  K.ttery,  >he 
oldest  town  in  the  State,  which  included  Elliott  and  North  a.^Sorth 
Berwick,  and  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from  Mason's  Mills  the 
lumbering  business  was  in  early  times  carried  on  to  a  greater  extent  tfmn 
at  any  other  place.     It  employed  in  1682  six  Saw-mills      Pi.vu)us  to 
1G43,  the  town  granted  a  tract  of  land  between  Spencer's  and  Sain, on 
Fulls  to  Wincall  and  Broughton,  on  condition  that  they  should  erect  a 
Saw-mill  thereon.     Kittery  was  also  one  of  the  principal  Ship-buildinff 
stations  of  the  District,  and  had  several  enterprising  traders,  who,  in 
their  European,  West  Indian,  and  coasting  adventures,  furnished  a  steady 
outlet  for  the  lumber  manufactured  on  the  neighboring  rivers.    The  most 
conspicuous  of  these  were  the  Pepperells,  who,  toward  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  were  the  owners  of  a  great  portion  of  the  country 
between  the  Piscataqua  and  the  Saco,  including  the  magnificent  water- 
power  on  both  sides  of  the  Saco,  now  the  seat  of  so  much  industry. 
They  erected  mills  on  both  these  rivers  for  different  purposes,  and  by 
their  enterprise  in  Lumbering,  Ship-building,  and  Commerce,  acquired 
great  wealth.     In   1655,  however,  probably  before  William  Pepperell 
acquired  the  right,  the  freemen  of  Saco  claimed  to  have  control  of  the 
mill  privileges,  and  agreed  with  Roger  Spencer  to  set  up  a  Saw-m.l 
there,  for  which  he  contracted  to  pay  twelve  thousand  feet  of  boards  and 
to  employ  townsmen  in  preference  to  others.     The  Indians,  >niC.5,  at- 
tacked the  settlement,  erected  a  battery  on  the  mill-wheels,  which  they 
removed,  burned  the  mills  and  all  the  dwellings  in  the  place.* 

Thomas  Clark  and  Sir  Bilby  Lake  built  mills  at  Woolwich,  on  the 
Kennebec,  about  the  year  1660,  but  were  driven  away  in  16t5.  William 
Hutchinson,  an  early  settler  of  Boston,  in  1673  purchased  lands  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Saco,  and  had  mills  at  Newichewannock,  or  Berwick.  This 
place  was  also,  in  1690,  assaulted  by  the  Indians,  led  by  a  Frenchmau 
and  an  Indian  sachem,  who  killed  30  men,  took  54  captives,  and  burned 
all  the  houses  and  mills.  There  were  few  towns  in  Maine  that  did  not 
at  one  time  or  another  experience  these  savage  forays,  in  which  the 
French  who  claimed  the  country  from  Kittery  eastward,  were  the  in^ti- 
gators  '  They  offered  premiums  for  scalps  of  the  English.  So  intolerable 
were  these  assaults,  that  it  was  at  length  determined  to  reduce  the  strong- 

(1)  Sullivan's  History  of  Maine,  p.  215. 


MAINE   AND    NEW    IIAMrsiUilE.      PltlCKS — BOUNTIES. 


99 


.     In  the  divir'on 
he  north  sido  of 
to  the  latter      In 
i2,  mills  began  to 
la,  or  Kittery,  >he 
North  and  Sorth 
Mason's  Mills,  the 
rcater  extent  tfmn 
lills.     rrevious  to 
cer's  and  Saln-.on 
licy  should  erect  a 
ipal  Ship-buildfng 
5  traders,  who,  in 
furnished  a  steady 
rivers.    The  most 
d  the  close  of  the 
on  of  the  country 
magnificent  water- 
so  much  industry. 
;  purposes,  and  by 
ommerce,  acquired 
William  Pepperell 
lave  control  of  the 
set  up  a  Saw-mill 
feet  of  boards,  and 
ndians,  in  1015,  at- 
whcels,  which  they 
!  place.* 

Woolwich,  on  the 
r  in  1615.  William 
hased  lands  on  the 
k,  or  Berwick.  This 
d  by  a  Frenchman 
:aptives,  and  burned 
Maine  that  did  not 
jrays,  in  which  the 
rard,  were  the  ineti- 
lish.  So  intolerable 
1,0  reduce  the  strong- 


hold of  the  enemy,  and  the  younger  repperell  of  Kittery  was  selected  to 
lead  the  expedition  against  Louisburg. 

The  number  of  Saw-mills  in  Maine,  in  April,  1682,  was  twenty-four, 
of  which  six  were  at  Kittery.  Wells  was  the  second  town  in  the  extui.t 
of  its  lumber  business,  and  Falmouth  (now  Portland)  was  the  third. 
White  pine  merchantable  boards  in  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  were 
tlien  worth  30s.  the  thousand  feet;  white  oak  pipe  slaves,  £3;  red  oak 
pipe  staves,  30.s'.;  red  oak  hogshead  staves,  25s.]  wheat,  5.s. ;  malt,  4>>'. ; 
Indian  Corn,  3.s.  per  bushel ;  and  silver,  6.s.  per  oz.  At  these  stated 
prices,  which  were  fixed  from  year  to  year,  taxes  were  paid  in  lumber 
and  provisions.  One-third  ot  the  amount  was  abated  for  payment  in 
monej'.'  In  1664,  according  to  Mr.  Williamson,  boards  were  worth  in 
Maine  lOs.  and  staves  17s.  per  thousand.* 

In  1668,  the  Government  of  Massachusetts,  whose  jurisdiction  included. 
New  Hampshire  and  a  part  of  Maine,  enacted  a  law  reserving  for  public 
nse  all  white  pine  trees  measuring  twenty-four  inches  at  three  feet  from 
the  ground.  This  order,  and  those  of  the  British  Parliament  in  the 
reign  of  William  III.  and  Queen  Anne  for  the  preservation  of  white  pine 
timber  for  masting  for  the  Royal  Navy  in  these  and  other  Provinces, 
probably  to  some  extent  interfered  with  the  manufacture  of  lumber  from 
that  valuable  species  of  timber.  A  compensation,  however,  was  found 
in  the  encouragement  given  at  the  same  time  for  the  exportation  and 
manufacture  of  masts  and  naval  stores  by  bounties,  some  of  which  were 
continued  until  after  the  Revolution.  Parliament  also  appropriated 
£10,000  for  utensils  and  other  aids  to  the  manufacture.  The  making 
of  pine,  spruce,  red  and  white  oak  lumber,  of  house  and  ship  timber,  of 
red  and  white  oak  staves,  heading,  hoops,  shingles,  and  clapboards, 
\.hich  were  made  by  the  farmers  during  the  winter,  and  exchanged  for 
merchandise  ;  the  contracts  frr  mast  timber  for  the  Navy ;  and  the  manu- 
facture of  Pitch,  Tar,  Turpentine  and  Rosin  (at  a  bounty  originally  of 
£3  to  £4  per  ton)  ;  and  of  Potashes  from  the  refuse  of  their  pine  forests, 
were  to  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  a  prolific  source  of  wealth,  and  at- 
tracted a  large  proportion  of  the  working  population.  The  extent  to 
which  these  branches  were  made  the  medium  of  foreign  and  domestic 
exchanges,  justified  the  remark  of  Lord  Caernarvon,  who  defined  timber 
to  be  "an  excrescence  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  placed  there  by  Provi- 
dence for  the  payment  of  debts." 

In  1693,  two  years  after  the  final  incorporation  of  the  whole  District 

(1)  Miiino   Ilbt    Coll.      Bclknnp's   New  creased  to  over  ? 300,  and  the  vnluc  of  U\in- 
niiinpfliirc.  '"fir  soUl,  to  two  and   a  quarter  millions  au- 

(2)  Williiimson's  niatory  of  Maine.    la  nually,  the  price  was  $10  per  M. 
1S40,  when  the  Saw-mills  in  Maine  had  in- 


'm\ 


100 


SAW-MILLS  IN  THE  COLONIES. 


of  Maine  with  Massachusetts,  the  Government  rehixed  its  order  respect- 
ing the  culling  of  pine  timber  in  favor  of  John  Whcelvvriglit,  who  was 
all^owed  to  take  board  logs  from  tlie  public  lands,  in  consideration  of  his 
erectin?  a  Saw-mil!  at  Cape  Porpoise  River. 

TLc  Trespass  Act  of  1711  (9  Q.  Anne,  Cap.  17),  which,  for  the 
preservation  of  Mast  Timber  ia  New  England,  New  York,  and  New 
Jersey,  attached  a  penalty  of  £100  for  cutting  white  or  other  pine  trees 
(not  private  property),  or  such  as  were  marked  and  registered  by  the 
Surveyor,  caused  much  dissatisfaction,  and  was  deemed  a  grievance,  inas- 
much as  the  fines  were  recoverable  in  a  Court  of  Admiralty,  where  the 
cases  were  tried  without  a  jury. 

It  would  be  unnecessary,  if  it  were  possible,  to  trace  the  erection  of 
Saw-mills  upon  all  the  numerous  streams  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  or 
Massachusetts  tlironghout  their  colonial  history.  Nor  is  it  possible  to 
arrive  at  any  satisfactory  estimate  of  their  increase  by  means  of  the  ex- 
port of  sawed  lumber.  Much  of  the  lumber  from  the  ports  of  those  Dis- 
tricts went  to  Boston  or  Salem,  whence  it  was  exported  to  foreign  coun- 
tries. The  statistics  are  few  and  imperfect,  and  do  not  well  distinguish 
the  species  of  lumber  which  were  the  products  of  Saw-mills  from  such 
articles  as  staves,  hoops,  and  other  kmds,  wrought  by  hand  or  sold  in  a 

crn''.'^r  state. 

The  Saco  River  has  within  the  State  of  Maine  four  principal  falls,  of 

70,  20,  30,  and  42  feet  respectively,  affording  immense  water-power, 

which  was  early  occupied.     The  Saw-mills  at  the  lower  falls,  at  the  head 

of  ship  navigation,  six  miles  from  the  sea,  to  which  timber  was  floated 

down  the  distance  of  forty  and  fifty  miles,  sawed  annually  before  the  war 

about  four  million  feet  of  boards.     About  the  same  quantity  was  made 

at  Topsham  in  1793.     Warren,  on  St.  George's  River,  exported  large 

quantities  of  lumber.     To  improve  the  navigation  of  that  stream,  Major- 

General  Knox,  a  resident  of  the  town,  proposed  the  construction  of  a 

canal  around  the  IJapids  at  that  place,  leaving  excellet.o  sites  for  Saw-mills. 

Mr.  Joseph  Pope,  whom  the  French  traveler,  De  Lianeourt,  pronounced 

the  ablest  Civil  Engineer  in  all  America,  the  inventor  of  an  ingenious 

Orrery,  and  the   patentee   of  several   improvements  in  the  mechanism 

of    mills   and    other  branches  of    the  Arts,   was    employed    to  con- 

struct  them  on  the  most  improved  principles.     He  died  at  Hallowell  in 

1826. 

At  Damariscotta,  on  one  stream,  there  were  before  the  close  of  tlie 
century,  six  Saw-mills  within  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  These 
are  but  a  few  instances  of  the  activity  and  enterprise  employed  in  this 
branch  of  the  business  in  last  century. 


vn  F" 


MASSACIItSKTTS.      \VOUCESTER — OROTCN. 


101 


its  order  respect- 
elvvriglit,  who  was 
jnsideration  of  bis 

I),  which,  for  the 
V  York,  and  Jfew 
ir  other  pine  trees 
registered  by  the 
1  a  grievance,  iiias- 
miralty,  where  the 


ice  the  erection  of 
Tew  Hampshire,  or 
ir  is  it  possible  to 
y  means  of  the  ex- 
ports of  those  Dis- 
2d  to  foreign  coun- 
lot  well  distinguish 
iw-mills  from  such 
band  or  sold  in  a 

r  principal  falls,  of 
nense  water-power, 
■er  fulls,  at  the  head 
timber  was  floated 
ually  before  the  war 
quantity  was  made 
iver,  exported  large 
that  stream,  Major- 
9  construction  of  a 
o  sites  for  Saw-mills, 
mcourt,  pronounced 
itor  of  an  ingenious 
i  in  the  mechanism 
employed  to  con- 
lied  at  Hallowell  in 

>re  the  close  of  the 
;r  of  a  mile.  These 
se  employed  in  this 


From  October,  1789,  to  October,  1791,  there  were  exported  from  tlie 
port  of  Piscataqtia  18,034,000  ftft  of  pine  boards,  of  which  11,G'22,000 
went  to  the  West  Indies,  and  0,247,000  to  Europe.  Of  oak  plank,  clap- 
boards, staves,  and  heading,  there  were  exported  in  the  same  time  in  the 
aggregate  3,394,000  feet,  in  addition  to  considerable  quantities  of  shin- 
gles, hoops,  rafters,  pine  and  oak  timber,  frames  of  houses,  masts  and 
spars,  shooks,  and  otiier  products  of  the  forest. 

In  Massachusetts  proper,  where  timber  was  less  abundant,  and  the 
pursuits  more  varied,  Saw-mill.s  were  nevertheless  numerous  in  ear'y 
times. 

In  the  central  county  of  Worcester,  for  example,  which  is  now  about 
the  largest  manufacturer  of  lumber  in  the  State,  though  it  has  few  largo 
streams  and  no  navigable  rivers,  not  less  than  ninety  Saw-mills,  of  which 
eleven  were  in  Ilubbardston,  are  enumerated  in  Wliitney'.i  History  of  the 
County,  published  in  1793.  This  was  more  than  one-half  the  entire  num- 
ber returned  by  the  Marshalls  for  the  whole  State,  when,  in  1810,  seven- 
teen years  after,  the  first  census  of  Manufactures  was  taken.  The  number 
in  Massachusetts  was  then  stated  at  150,  which  was  far  below  the  real 
number,  as  the  returns  were  very  imperfect,  embracing  in  fact  only  the 
two  couniies  of  Berkshire  and  Hampshire.  Many  of  the  mill-streams  in 
the  county  were  mere  brooks,  often  quite  dry,  or  insutlicient  to  carry  a 
mill  during  the  dry  season.  A  Mr.  Wetherbce,  who  built  Corn  and 
Saw-mills  on  the  Nashua,  one  of  the  largest  of  these,  at  Lunenburg,  in 
order  to  gain  a  constant  supply  of  water,  dug  a  canal  a  mile  in  length, 
which  was  deemed  an  enterprise  of  no  common  occurrence  in  that  day. 
The  first  white  settlement  was  nmde  in  that  county  at  Worcester  in 
1673-4,  but  had  to  be  abandoned  on  account  of  Indian  hostility  during 
the  war  with  King  Philip.  A  second  attempt  was  made  in  1684,  when 
Captain  John  Wing  erected  the  first  Corn  and  Sawing-mills  at  the  north 
end  of  Main  street,  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Worcester,  where 
remains  of  the  dam  are  still  visible.  The  third  and  permanent  settlement 
was  made  in  1713.  A  Mr.  Sawyer,  of  Lancaster,  in  thai  county,  who 
had  been  carried  lo  Canada  as  a  captive  by  the  Indiai:^,  built  for  the 
French,  on  the  river  Charablce,  near  Montreal,  in  1706,  their  first  Saw- 
mill, as  the  price  of  redemption  of  himself  and  son.  There  was,  previous 
to  that,  no  Saw-mill  in  all  Canada,  and  no  artificer  capable  of  building 
or  working  one. 

John  Prescott,  a  native  of  the  same  place,  built,  about  the  time  that 
Worcester  was  settled,  the  first  grist  mill  in  the  old  town  of  Groton,  in 
Middlesex,  and  his  son  Jonas,  an  honored  name  in  that  place,  set  up  a 
Saw-mill  there  in  1686.  For  that  purpose,  he  was  granted  leave  and  the 
use  of  Stony  Brook,  on  condition  that  "he  should  accommodate  the  towa 


102 


SAW-MILLS   I.N   THE   COLONIES. 


witl.  morchiiiitivljlc  boards  at  six-poiicc  a  hun.lrca  foot  cheaper  than  they 
were  sold  at  any  other  Saw-mills,  and  for  town  pay,  and  that  town  be  sup- 
plied before  any  ot'ier  persons,  provided,  always,  the  Saw-mill  do  not  hin- 
der the  corn  mill."  This  county  now  manui'actures  lumber  to  a  greater 
annual  value  than  any  other  in  the  State. 

In  the  old  and  well-wooded  counties  of  Hampshire  and  Berksliirc,  some 
Saw-mills  were  built  at  quite  an  early  period.  At  North  Adnras,  Becket, 
Mount  Washington,  Pittsficld,  in  the  last-mentioned,  and  at  Greenwich,  En- 
field, Iladley,  Ware,  and  other  places  on  Mill,  Fort,  Stony  and  otlier  rivers, 
in  the  former.  Saw-mills  were  erected  before  or  soon  after  the  middle  of  the 
last  century. '  The  proprietors,  in  some  cases,  were  enjoined  to  saw  other 
people's  logs  at  the  halves,  which  would  be  considered  no  hard  condition 
at  Ihe  present  day.  Much  fine  lumber  was  formerly  made  at  Clarksburg, 
settled  in  1769.  Florida,  in  Berkshire,  which  now  has  fourteen  Saw- 
mills, making  each  twenty  to  one  hundred  thousand  feet  of  lumber,  was  not 
settled  until  1783,  and  Savoy,  which  supports  no  less  than  twenty-five 
Saw-mills,  though  it  has  only  about  two  hundred  dwellings,  was  first 
occupied  by  residents  in  1777. 

3.  Vermont.— Few  States  of  the  Union  afford  better  mill-sites  than 
Vermont.  The  multitude  of  short  and  rapid  streams  liowiiig  from  the 
Green  mountain  range  of  the  interior,  eastward  to  the  Connecticut,  north- 
ward to  the  St.  Lawrence,  toward  the  west  to  Lake  Cl'amplain  and  the 
Hudson,  or  interiorly  to  Lake  Memi)hremagog,  all  invite  the  erection  of 
mills.  The  navigation  to  the  foot  of  the  rapids  on  most  of  these  s^ro^'.'is 
furnish  an  outlet  in  either  direction  for  the  lumber  and  other  products  of 
the  well-wooded  hills.  These  rivers  have  been  long  since  appropriated  to 
the  uses  of  a  varied  manufacturing  industry.  Windsor  County  is  particu- 
larly rich  in  the  water-power  of  Queechy,  White,  Mill  and  other  rivers,  the 
last  of  which  has  a  fall  of  sixty  feet  in  one-third  of  a  mile. 

The  Clyde,  in  Orleans  County,  falls  one  hundred  feet  in  forty  rods. 
Charleston,  on  this  river,  was  one  of  the  first  settlements  in  the  State,  but 
could  only  be  maintained  against  French  and  Indian  hostility  by  the  set- 
tlers who  built  and  labored  with  then  weapons  at  their  sid(  As  the 
State  had  not  an  independent  existence  until  after  the  Revolution,  and 
its  settlement  and  improvements  were  inconsiderable  until  a  late  period, 
on  account  of  the  contests  about  jurisdiction  between  the  States  of  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  and  New  York,  to  which  it  successively  be- 
longed, we  have  nothing  special  to  record  in  this  connection, 

4.  RnoDR  Island.— 7J/?of/6  Mnnd,  whose  first  exports  were  lumber, 
pipe-staves,  etc.,  as  early  as  1639-40,  enacted  a  law  to  regulate  the  prices 


CONNKCTICLT,  NEW   LONDON,  NOKWICU,  HARTFORD,  ETC. 


103 


cheaper  than  they 
that  town  be  siip- 
w-mill  do  not  hin- 
mber  to  a  greater 

!k1  Berksli  ire,  some 
■Ih  Adams,  Beeket, 
I  at  Greenwich,  En- 
ny  and  other  rivers, 
;r  the  middle  of  the 
oined  to  saw  other 
no  hard  condition 
lade  at  Clarksburg, 
has  fourteen  Saw- 
t  of  lumber,  was  not 
!S  than  twenty-five 
iwellings,  was  first 


itter  mill-sites  than 
i  llowiiig  from  the 
Connecticut,  north- 
Cl'amplain  and  the 
vite  the  erection  of 
ost  of  these  s^roi-'ia 
3  other  products  of 
nee  appropriated  to 
r  County  is  particu- 
and  other  rivers,  the 
mile. 

feet  in  forty  rods, 
nts  in  the  State,  but 

hostility  by  the  set- 
their  side  As  the 
the  Revolution,  and 

until  a  late  period, 
n  the  States  of  New 
li  it  successively  bc- 
nection. 

ixports  were  lumber, 
0  regulate  the  prices 


of  boards  and  clap-boards  at  the  mill,  indicating  that  the  Colony  already 
possessed  those  useful  appurleiiaiiccs  to  new  sellleinents.  The  prices  wero 
fixed  at  eight  shillings  the  hundred  for  sound  boards  delivered  at  the  mill, 
and  one  shilling  a  foot  for  clap-boards  and  fencing,  to  be  sound  mer- 
cliantable  stutf.'  A  Saw-mill  appears,  however,  not  to  have  been  built 
on  the  Falls  of  the  Tawtucket,  now  so  jirolitably  ai)plied  to  other  uses, 
until  after  the  llevolution.  In  1810  the  Sutc  conluiued  twenty-eight 
Saw-iuills. 

5.  CoNNECTifUT.— In  Connecticut,  the  younger  Winthrop,  afterward 
Governor  of  Connecticut,  had  :\  Saw-mill  at  New  London,  previous  to 
1654,  in  wh'jh  year  the  General  Court  granted  Mr.  Will.  Goodwin  lib- 
erty to  make  use  of  the  timber  of  waste  hinds,  to  keep  his  Saw-mill  in 
employment.     In  the  year  1G61,  a  Record  of  the  Court  states  that,  "  Lib- 
erty is  granted  Mr.  Winthrope  to  find  a  place  to  set  up  a  Saw-mill  where 
it  may  not  prejudice  the  farms  or  plantations  already  give  out."^     His 
son,   Fitz-John  Winthrop,  built  another  on  the  Nahanticl:,  near  Long 
Cove,  in  1691,  and  two  years  after  another  was  erected  upon  the  same 
river 'by  John  Trentis.     Others  were  built  apou  that  river  and  adjacent 
streams,  by  leave  of  the  Colony,  in  1713  and  U2l,  the  former  by  Colonel 
John  Li  ingston,  the  other  by  Samuel  Weller  &  Sen.     One  of  the  ear- 
liest millwrights  in  Eastern  Connecticut  was  John  Eiderkin,  me  of  the 
grantees  of  New  London,  in  1650-1.     He  was  invited  thither  by  Mr. 
Winilirop,  from  Massachusetts,  where  he  had  previously  carried  on  that 
busi.iess,  as  well  as  that  of  h-ise-carpenter  and  shipwright,  in  which  latfv 
capacity  he  has  been  already  mentioned.     For  a  period  of  thirty-five 
years  he  was  a  general  contractor  for  buikilng  mills,  bridges,  meeting- 
houses, etc.,  in  New  London,  Norwich,  a.  -    the  adjoining  settlements 
He  built  the  first  meeting-house  there,  and  was  probably  the  builder  of 
Winthrop's  mills.' 

In  1667  the  Court  granted  Thomas  Harris  liberty  to  build  a  Saw-mill 
on  the  brook  between  Hartford  and  Wethcrsfield,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
"  Great  River,"  provided  it  be  accomplished  within  two  years,  and  he  is 
allowed  forty  acres  for  his  encouragement  therein.  In  1671,  John  Allyn 
received  a  grant  of  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  with  the  use  of  timber  on 
the  Commons,  and  the  stream,  for  a  like  purpose. 

In  July,  1680,  the  town  of  Norwich,  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the 
Thames,  granted  Captain  Fitch  two  hundred  acres  of  land  "for  his  en- 
couragement to  set  up  a  Saw-mill,  and  to  have  the  benefit  of  the  stream 


(1)  Arnold's  Rhodo  Ttilaiul. 

(2)  Colony  Records,  vol.  i,  p.  246. 


(3)  Caulkin's  History  of  >'ew  London. 


104 


SAW-MIIJ.S   IN   THE   COLONIES. 


and  timber  at  the  I'lacc,  and  no  others  to  set  up  a  Saw-mill  upon  the  acM 
stream  to  his  diMiiage.'" 

The  Saw  and  Grist-mill  is  so  necessary  an  appendage  to  new  towns, 
and  the  employment  for  them  so  limited  in  sparse  populations,  that  it  was 
customary  for  the  towns  to  make  grants  of  peculiar  or  exclusive  privi- 
leges, and  donations  of  land,  to  persons  willing  t.  risk  the  expense  of  their 
erection.  It  is  in  the  infancy  of  the  Arts  that  bounties  of  this  kind  find 
their  appropriate  place.  Many  of  tliese  early  monopolies,  granted  by 
towns  and  larger  municipalities,  contain  curious  stipulations. 

We  may  add  to  the  foregoing  enterprises  of  ths  New  England  people 
in  this  business,  that  the  first  mill  in  the  present  State  of  Ohio  was  built 
in  n89,  the  year  following  the  settlement  ia  the  Northwest  Territory,  by 
the  "  New  England  Ohio  Company''  at  Mariottn.  A  Saw-mill  was  that 
year  completed  on  Wolf  Creek,  about  a  mile  above  its  junction  with  the 
Muskingum,  and  sixteen  miles  from  Marietta.  Colonel  Robert  Oliver, 
Major  Hat  Held,  and  Captain  John  Dodge,  received  an  allotment  of  land 
for  the  purpose  from  tht  Company.  The  crank,  weighing  one  hundred 
and  eighty  pounds,  was  made  in  New  Haven,  and  taken  on  a  pack-horse 
over  the  mountains  to  Simrel's  Ferry,  on  the  Y  -i^iiogheny  lliver,  and 
thenco,  by  water,  to  Marietta.  A  Grist-mil!  wus  built  the  following 
year." 

Dr.  Douglass,  writing  about  1750,' says,  "New  England  abounds  in 
Saw-mills  of  cheap  and  slight  work ;  generally  carry  only  one  saw  ;  one 
man  and  a  boy  attending,  a  Ddll  may,  in  twenty-four  hours,  saw  four 
thousand  feet  of  white  pine  boards ;  these  boards  are  generally  one  inch 
tliick  and  of  various  lenglhs,  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet,  and  of  various 
widths,  one  foot  to  two  feet  at  ^  medium ;  it  is  reckoned  that  forty  boards 
make  one  thousand  feet.  These  mills  stand  upon  small  streams,  because 
cheap  htted,  but  with  the  following  inconveniences.  1.  As  the  country 
is  clearel  of  wood  and  brush,  small  streams  dry  up.  2.  n  living  small 
streams,  tlioy  do  not  afford  water  sudicient  to  drive  the  whet's  in  summer. 
3.  In  winter  th(>y  arc  frozen  Ui..''  A  considerable  source  of  j)rofit  for  the 
Saw-mills  at  this  period,  were  the  contracts  with  the  Commissioners  of 
the  Royal  Navy,  ns  well  as  in  preparing  lumber  for  the  West  India  and 
other  markets.  There  was  a  surveyor  of  ids  Majesty's  woods,  whose 
deputies  surveyed  and  marked  tho  loga  at  the  mills,  for  which  they 
received  a  ])er(pii,siie  from  the  lumbermen.  "  A  timbermau's  estate,"  says 
the  writer  just  quoted,  "consists  in  mills  and  oxen.'" 


(1)  Barber's  Hist.  Coll.  of  Connecticut, 
p.  IBS. 

(2)  Auierlcan  Pioneer,  vol.  'i.  p.  09. 


(.I)  Ilritifh  Scltlomcntd  In  Amoricft,  !i.,  S4. 

(4)  Hy    the   term   liiinlicr,  wiis   goiiurully 

luciint,  iu  America,  rainji'Ht  Timber,  iSiJiirs, 


lill  upon  the  acAd 

e  to  new  towns, 
tioriS;  that  it  was 

exclusive  privi- 
j  expense  of  their 
of  this  kind  find 
)lies,  granted  by 
ions. 

England  people 
f  Ohio  was  'ouilt 
fest  Territory,  liy 
law-mill  was  that 
junction  with  the 
;!  Robert  Oliver, 
allotment  of  hind 
liing  one  hundred 
1  on  a  pack-horse 
gheny  Kiver,  and 
ilt  the  following 

^lanu  abounds  in 
nly  one  saw  ;  one 
'  hours,  saw  four 
[enerally  one  inch 
„'et,  and  of  various 
1  that  forty  boards 
I  streams,  because 
.  As  the  country 
!.  .  n  living  small 
tvhet's  in  summer. 
CO  of  ,)ro(it  for  the 
Commissioners  of 
3  West  India  and 
y's  woods,  whose 
i,  for  which  thoy 
uan'd  estate,"  says 


ntn  In  Amorica,  U.,  54. 
umlier,  Hiis  (joiiiTully 
iii(ji»S  Timber,  iSiJiiri, 


NEW   YORK.      WIND   SAW-MILI.S. 


106 


Mill-saws  were  manufactured  at  Canton,  Massachusetts,  in  1190,  to  the 
Lumber  of  150  to  200,  annually. 

6.  New  York. — The  Dutch  and  Swedish  settlements  on  the  Delaware 
and  North  River,  were  early  in  possession  of  Saw-mills,  driven  both  by 
wind  and  water.  Wind  Saw-mills  were  erected  on  Manhattan  Island,  by 
the  Dutch,  as  early  as  lCo3.  An  account  of  New  York,  imblishcd  in 
1708:  says  the  Dutch  built  mills  to  saw  timber,  "  one  of  which  would  do 
more  work  in  an  hour  than  fifty  men  in  two  days." 

During  the  administration  of  the  first  Director  General  Peter  Minuit, 
who  in  lG-26  negotiated  the  i)urchaso  from  the  Indians  of  the  Island  of 
Manhattan,  containing  about  22,000  acres,  for  the  sum  of  sixty  Gilders, 
or  twenty-four  dollars,  the  Directors  of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company, 
whose  property  it  now  became,  caused  the  erection  of  Wind-mills  on  ilio 
Island  for  sawing  lumber  and  grinding  corn.'  During  his  time  and  that 
of  his  successor,  Woutcr  Van  Twiller,  who  succeeded  in  1C33,  the  Com- 
j,  my,  as  the  Provincial  documents  state,  "erected  at  considerable expenso 
three  Saw-mills,  which  have  never  produced  any  profit  of  consequence." 
This;  was  afterward  urged  against  the  Company  in  proof  of  its  mal-adiuin- 
istration. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  in  the  employment  of  this  useful  class 
of  machine:-,  the  Dutch  settlers,  whose  native  country  aft'orded  no  indig- 
enous tirabt.  for  their  use,  was  in  advance  of  theii  contemporaries  of  Ply- 
mouth and  Massachusetts  Bay,  as  a  Hollander  is  suid  to  have  been  the 
first  to  erect,  some  years  after,  the  first  Saw-mill  in  London.  One  of  the 
first  Saw-mills  built  in  New  Netherlands,  was  situated  on  Nut,  or  Gover- 
nor's Island,  which  was  leased  iu  1639,  for  five  hundred  merchantable 


Onlt  and  Pino  Plnnk,  Onk  and  Pine  n»nr(ls, 
Plaves,  lleuiiiiig,  IIuoiis,  Clii|i-l)oiir(lii,  Sliin- 
glcs,  and  t^atlm.  In  tlio  Acr  of  I'arliiinient 
of  172i,  extending  the  uiieralion  of  the  pio- 
vious  laws  for  cncourHKing  tlio  iinporlation 
of  Naviil  Ptorca,  tbe  different  Itinds  of  lumber 
were  ppcciflod,  vii.,  Peals  of  poveral  dorts, 
Tiiubor  Ilalks of  several  sizes,  Uarril-boards, 
Clap-lioards,  Pipe-boards,  or  Pipe-bolt, 
Wbito-boards  for  Sboeninltors,  T'o'iii  uiid 
Cant-fpars,  Bow. stoves,  Caprev.iiis  Clap- 
holt,  EI)cny-wood.  Ilea<linL'B  for  Pipes,  llogi- 
beadu  and  Parrels,  Hoops  fi.i  Coopers,  Oars, 
Pipe  Biiil  IIo(;sbead-»tuvc.s,  Parrel-staves, 
I'irltin-staves,  TrurnelH,  .'^pecliled  wood, 
Pwcet  wood,  luail  spars,  Uuk,  Plai.'k,  and 
Waiusrot. 


The  Commissioners  of  the  Navy  in  making 
their  contracts,  which  vicro  u.'^ually  givop 
to  Plseataqini,  N.  II.,  and  Casco  Pay,  Maine, 
specified  the  kind  and  number  required,  and 
gave  a  license  for  cutting  the  trees,  and  none 
could  be  cut  without.  Masts  were  usually 
required  to  be  thirty-eight  inches  at  the  butt, 
and  as  many  yards  long.  They  sometimes 
reached  forty-two  inches  at  tbe  1  .1.  Tlio 
premium  was  (pno  pound  per  tor.  of  forty 
feet  gilt  measure.  Timber  nmb'r  tnelvu 
inches,  was  called  Jiimrjlng  timber ;  that 
above  twelve  inches,  Tun  timber;  standards 
and  knees,  were  culled  ('i,ui}Mtt  timber.— 
Duutjlan'  Uritiih  SttlUmeiit*. 


106 


SAW-M1I,LS  IN  THE  COLONIES. 


boards  yearly,  half  oak  and  half  pine.  There  was  a  small  stream  on  tho 
cast  side  of  the  Manhattan  Island,  flowing  into  the  East  River,  which 
furnished  an  ample  supply  of  water  for  several  grain  and  Saw-mills,  and 
was  thence  called  in  early  times  Saw-mill  Creek. 

About  the  same  time  several  Saw-mills  were  built  on  the  creeks  and 
rivers  in  the  neighorbliood  of  the  present  city  of  Albany,  settled  in 
1()30,  by  the  first  Van  Rensselaer,  under  a  system  of  colonization,  granting, 
by  tiie  Charter  of  "  Freedoms  and  Exemptions,"  certain  feudal  privileges, 
'vith  the  title  of  Patroon,  to  any  person  who  should,  at  liis  own  expense, 
within  four  years,  plant  a  Colony  of  fifty  persons  outside  of  Manhattan 
Island.  Amoiig  the  Colonists,  embracing  a  judicious  admixture  of 
mechanics,  sent  thither  in  1G30,  was  Andries  Carstensen,  a  master  mill- 
wright, and  two  sawyers  ;  and  in  163C,  Tieter  Cornelissen,  of  the  same 
calling,  a'ld  Barent  Pieterse  Koeymans.  Tlie  latter,  who  was  surnamed 
"the  Miller,"  in  which  capacity  he  came  to  the  Colony,  having  been 
several  years  in  the  Patroon 's  grist-mill,  in  1G45,  took  charge  with  Jiui 
Gerritsen,  his  partner,  who  came  out  with  him,  of  the  Patroon's  Saw-mills, 
on  one  of  the  creeks,  for  which  they  were  allowed  150  Gilders  each  a 
year  for  board,  and  three  Stivers  a  cut  for  every  plank  they  sawed.' 

In  1G47,  when  he  quit  the  service,  he  had  sawed  between  three  and  four 
thousand  boards;  whence  it  may  be  inferred,  that  the  early  Saw-mills  of 
the  Province  were  not  very  eHicient  establishments.  After  having  for 
several  years  rented  other  mills  in  the  Colony,  he  pnreiiased  of  the  Katskill 
Indians,  in  1G73,  by  consent  of  the  Commissioners  at  Albany,  a  large  tract 
of  lard,  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  south  of  that  city,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river.  The  advantages  of  this  place  for  the  erection  of  Saw-mills,  had 
been  known  for  several  years.  Cryn  Cornelissen,  and  Hans  Jansen  Van 
Rotterdam,  early  emigrants,  had  by  license  erected  Saw-mills  there  in 
1G51,  on  tl  e  creek  immediately  west  of  Reere,  (now  Rearen  Island),  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  Seigniory  of  Renssalaerwyck.  This  purchase, 
twelve  miles  deep  and  eight  or  ten  front,  now  constitutes  the  ancient  town 
of  Coeymans,  in  Albany  County,  and  the  descendants  of  the  proprietor 
are  numerons  in  that  State  and  New  Jersey,  where  they  have  been  the 
owners  of  several  mills.* 

Dirck  Jansen  had  mills  within  the  boundary  of  Renssalaerwyck,  in 
1043. 

The  West  India  Company  also  caused  Sow-iiills  to  be  erected  on  the 

(1)  The  wngoa  iif  ilny-lftborors  nro  I'linrgcU  6nrin  sixteen  Jtivcrs  encli  ;  nnJ  pnlijadcs, 

in  lliu  I'ropriotor'it  iiccountu  at  this  timo,  nt  tlit'n   niucli    in  domnnJ,  IH'tvcn   florins  per 

one  florin  to  one  florin  ten  Btiveri",  (40  to  50  lliousaml. 

centu),  iier  diiy  ;  onrpcnter.",  two  florins,  (SO  (2)  O'CiilInglmr's  New  Nutberlandl. 
oouts);  plauk,  onu  florin  ten  itivors,  to  one 


1  stream  on  tho 

ist  River,  which 

Saw-mills,  and 

1  the  creeks  and 
bany,  settled   in 
zation,  granting, 
eudal  privileges, 
lis  own  expense, 
le  of  Manhattan 
s  admixture  of 
n,  a  master  mill- 
isen,  of  the  same 
10  was  Hurnamed 
)ny,  having  been 
charge  with  .T;ui 
roon's  Saw-mills, 
I  Gilders  each  a 
liey  sawed.' 
en  three  and  four 
irly  Saw-mills  of 
iVfter  having  for 
ed  of  the  Katskill 
any,  a  large  tract 
west  side  of  tho 
if  Saw-mills,  had 
lans  Jnnsen  Van 
iw-mills  there  in 
aren  Island),  the 
This  pnrehase, 
the  ancient  town 
af  tho  proprietor 
■y  have  been  the 

mssalaerwyck,  iu 

be  erected  on  tho 

endi  ;  nnJ  pHliyadci;, 
1,  fli'lvcn   ilurioa  (lur 

w  Nctberlandii 


NEW   YORK.      AVESTEllN   COUNTIES. 


lOT 


South  River,  or  Delaware,  while  they  held  possession  there.  There  wero 
Saw-mills,  in  1712,  in  the  Manor  of  Livingston,  situated  en  Ancram,  or 
Roolofl"  Junscn's  Creek,  eight  miles  below  Hudson,  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  river.  The  Katskill  furnished  superior  water-power,  having  a 
de.«cent  of  1000  feet  in  thirty-five  miles,  and  was  early  occupied  by  mills. 
The  French  had  Saw-mills  at  Ticonderoga  during  their  jjosscssion  of 
that  part  of  the  country.  At  the  falls  of  the  Roquet  River,  some  distauco 
above,  William  Galliland,  an  enterprising  Irish  merchant  of  New 
York,  aspiring  to  the  possession  of  a  manorial  estate,  like  those  on  the 
North  River,  settled  iu  1765,  and  the  same  year  built  a  Saw-mill  and 
afterward  Grist-mills.  The  manufacture  of  lumber  of  Norway  pine  and 
oak,  rafted  over  the  lake  and  thence  down  the  Sorel  and  St.  Lawrence 
to  Quebec,  wlit-re  it  was  sold  at  large  profit,  chiefly  employed  the  early 
settlers.  The  Cliauiplain  Canal  afterward  opened  a  market  for  white 
pine  sawed  lumber  in  Albany  and  New  York,  and  Saw-mills  became  ex- 
ceedingly numerous  in  the  county.  During  the  Revolution,  Mr.  Galli- 
land w-iis  compelled  to  bury  his  Saw-mill  and  Grist-mill  irons  to  save 
them,  and  was  nearly  ruined  in  estate,  and  his  Saw-mill  destroyed. 

Much  pains  was  taken  to  induce  the  settlers  of  the  Western  counties 
to  erect  mills,  and  every  facility  was  afforded  them.     Toward  the  close 
of  the  last  century,  they  were  consequently  said  to  be  better  supplied  in 
thege  respects  than  most  settlements  twenty  years  older,  as  was  eviuved 
by  the  number  and  appearance  of  the  frame-houses  and  barns,  and  of 
their  surroundings.     A  small  Grist  and  Saw-mill  could  be  built,  if  the 
dam  were  not  difficult,  for  one  thousand  dollars.     Upon  the  many  excel- 
lent mill-streams  of  the  Genesee  Valley,  wiiich  still  sends  down  by  its 
canals  vast  quantities  of  lumber.  Saw-mills  sprang  into  existence  with 
incredible  rapidity.     The  imi)roved  mechanism  of  Saw-mills  and  grist- 
mills, and  the  increasing  value  of  lumber,  caused  gre.tt  quantities  to  be 
rafted  down  the  Susquehanna  to  Raltimore,  and  the  Delaware  to  I'hila- 
delphia.     The  invention  about  the  same  time  of  Arks,  a  species  of  huge 
bout  or  barge  constructed  of  sawn  planks,  capable  of  carrying  five  hundred 
barrels  of  (lour,  or  great  quantities  of  lumber  and  otner  produce,  and 
which  were  afterward  broken  up  and  sold  for  lumber,  gave  an  impulse  to 
the  business.     The  town  of  Rath,  in   Steuben  County,  laid  out  in   tho 
Spring  of  1793,  ImJ  two  Saw-mills  t    ■  a  grist-mill  erected  i)efore  winter. 
Three  years  after,  it  had,  within  a  circuit  of  eight  nules,  five  Saw-mills. 
The  county  in  1707  contained  twenty  Saw-mills;  Ontario  County, a  little 
earlier  settled,  had  at  tho  same  time  twenty-eight  Saw-mills.      Other 
portions  of  the  S'ate  multiplied  them  in  nearly  equal  ratio.' 

(1)  Ni'W  Ymk   Slate,  in   1S21,  oontnin.Ml     in  1S40,  fi.'iftft  Siiw-mill!".   It  utill  outnuniberi 
2261  lirist-mills,  and  6195  SBW-millsi  and    all  other  Statot  In  tbis  class  uf  macliinoi. 


108 


SAW-MILLS  IN   THE   COLONIES. 


The  exports  from  New  York  of  boards  and  lumber,  according  to  Lord 
Sheffield's  Tables  from  the  Custom- llonse  books,  was  in  1174  ten  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  feet.  In  1775,  owing  probably  to  the  comLieneement 
of  iiostiiilies  with  Great  Britain,  it  only  amounted  to  five  thon:;and  two 
hundred  and  eight  feet.  The  value  for  the  two  years,  at  forty  shillings 
the  foot,  was  £31,410. 

Albany,  having  in  former  times  a  very  flourishing  commerce  with  the 
West  Indies  and  other  foreign  ports,  and  extensive  connections  with  the 
Western  settlements,  not  only  employed  numerous  Saw-mills,  but  was  the 
centre  of  a  prosperous  lumber  trade.  It  is  still  among  the  largest  lum- 
ber markets  in  the  world  ;  and  in  1851  the  receipts  at  tide-water  of  boards 
and  scantlings  were  427,038,600  feet,  valued  at  nearly  seven  and  a  quarter 
millions  of  dollars. 

7.  New  Jersey.— New  Jersey  received  a  portion  of  its  first  settlers 
from  the  original  stock  of  New  Netherlands,  and  other  industrious  Colo- 
nists from  New  and  Old  England.  They  were  not  slow  to  improve  the 
numerous  mill-seats  in  which  the  Trovince  abounds,  and  contributed  to 
render  the  Province,  though  small  in  extent,  among  the  foremost  in  Manu- 
factures. Tiie  Dutch,  who  settled  on  some  of  the  eastern  rivers,  probably 
erected  Saw-mills. 

The  earliest  accounts  we  have  met  of  Saw-mills  was  about  the  year 
1682,  wiieu  West  Jersey  was  assigned  to  William  Penn  and  others,  and 
renewed  efforts  were  made  to  invite  settlers  into  the  Eastern  Province, 
The  erection  of  Saw-mills  and  corn-mills  now  became  general.  Mills 
existed  at  that  time  at  Iloboken,  opposite  New  York,  which  were  owned 
in  that  city.  Some  eiglit  or  ten  towns  existed  in  New  Jersey,  containing 
from  300  to  500  inhabitants,  of  which  Newark  was  the  most  compact, 
containing  500  people,  and  Shrewsbury,  of  about  400,  the  most  southern 
one.'  It  is  probable  that  some  of  them  previously  possessed  Saw-mills, 
as  they  did  corn-mills.  During  that  year,  however,  the  first  Saw-mill 
in  Woodbridgc  was  erected  by  Jonathan  Bishop,  on  the  llahawack  Ptivor. 
A  Saw-mill  was  at  the  same  time  built  in  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
State,  at  Salem,  in  AVest  Jersey,  by  William  Hampton,  which  was  the 
first  in  that  town.  In  M»y,  1G83,  Thomas  Rudyard,  the  Deputy-Gov- 
crnor  of  the  Prov:  -co,  writes  from  AmI)oy  :  "  There  is  five  or  six  mills 
going  up  hero  this  Spring,  two  at  work  already,  which  abates  the  price 
of  boards  half  in  half  and  all  otl-.er  timber  for  building,  for  although  tim- 
ber costs  nothing,  yet  workmanship  by  hand  was  Loudon  price  or  near 


(1)  Whitclieaa's  East  Jtrscy, 


NEW  JERSEY.      SAW-MILLS  IX    IfiOS. 


109 


ording  to  Lord 
1774  ten  tliou- 
coini.ieiieeiueiit 
c  tlion:;anJ  two 
b  forty  shillings 

amerce  with  the 
ections  with  the 
lills,  but  was  the 
he  largest  lum- 
-water  of  boards 
in  and  a  quarter 


its  first  settlors 
idustrious  Colo- 

to  improve  the 
I  contributed  to 
remost  in  Manu- 

rivers,  probably 

about  the  year 

and  others,  and 
astern  Province. 

general.  Mills 
hieh  were  owned 
erscy,  containing 
!  most  compact, 
le  most  southern 
esscJ  Saw-mills, 
10  first  Saw-mill 
Llahawnck  River, 
extremity  of  the 
II,  which  was  the 
:he  Deputy-Oov- 

fivc  or  si.v  mills 
1  abates  the  price 
for  although  tim- 
oa  price  or  near 


upon,  or  sometimes  more,  which   those  mills  abate.     Wc  bny  oak  and 
chestnut  boards  no  cheaper  than  last  year.'" 

Saw-inills  and  the  manufacture  of  lumber  had  so  far  increased  in  1008, 
that  the  latter  formed  an  important  article  of  export.  To  encourage  "  the 
building  of  ships  and  other  vessels,"  and  increase  the  trade  of  Perth 
Amboy,  which  then  endeavored  to  rival  its  neighbor.  New  York,  in  com- 
merce,' the  Assembly  prohibited  the  exportation  of  any  timber,  planks, 
boards,  oak  bolts,  staves,  heading,   hoops,  and  even  hop-polos,  except 
directly  to  England,  the  West  India,  Summer,  and  Wine  Islands,  and  re- 
quireu'in  the  last  case  bonds  to  be  given,  and  a  vigilant  scrutiny  on  the 
part  of  inspectors.     This  attempt  to  monopolize  the  carriage  of  its  onlj 
export,  while  it  is  believed   to  have  little  benefited   the  Sliip-building 
interests,  proved  injurious  to  the  trade  of  New  Jersey,  and  was  com- 
plained  of  as  severely  hurtful  to  that  of  New  York.     The  system  was 
continnod  under  the  Royal  Government,  and  in  1714  duties  and  other 
burdensome  regulations  were  imposed  on  the  exportation  of  some  of  the 
same  articles  when  going  to  neighboring  Provinces.     Those  were  re- 
pealed in   1717,  because  "prejudicial  to  the  inhabitants" ;  but  in  1743 
were  re-enacted,   and  continued  in  force  I'ntil  the  Revolution.*     The 
operation  of  such  laws,  by  throwing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  free  ex- 
port of  lumber  and  manufactures  of  wood,  was  calculated  to  discourage 
<he  multiplication  of  Saw-mills. 

Ship-building  and  the  manufacture  of  lumber  were  principal  branches 
of  business  at  Little  Egg  Harbor,  where,  about  the  year  1704,  Edward 
Andrews  erected  Saw  and  grist-mills  on  Tuckerton's  or  Andrew's  Mill 
Creek.  Saw  and  corn  mills  were  built  about  the  year  1758  on  the  north 
branch  of  the  Rancocas,  at  Pemberton,  by  a  company  who  purchased 
land  of  David  Budd. 

In  1798  there  were  said  to  be  1100  improved  mill-seats  in  New  Jer- 
sey, of  which  about  GOO  were  occupied  with  Saw-mills,  fulling-mills, 
forges,  furnaces,  slitting  and  rolling-mills,  paper,  powder,  ond  oil-mills, 
a  large  proportion  of  them  being  Saw-mills. 

already  mentioned,  that  the  Dutch 
settlement  on  the  Delaware,  before 

riiilftilelphin  and  Burlington  8».  to  7«.  per 
hundreil  for  pnwing  pino  boards.  The  houses 
building  nt  Anilioy  in  IfiSS  are  do«crihed  at 
usually  HO  foot  long.  IB  fuel  wide,  10  fe«t  be- 
tween joints,  with  double  chininoy  of  timber 
and  clay,  "as  the  manner  of  this  country  is 
to  bnlld,"  and  eost  abrut  £50  enc\\.—  l-)lUi-$ 
III  Sml'f  Miflrl  11/ the  (liivernment. 
(2)  Whitehead's  East  Jersey,  288. 


8.  Pennsylvania. — It  has  been 
and  Swedes  erected  Saw-mills  at  the 
the  arrival  of  Penn. 

(1)  Whilohond'sKast Jersey, 273.  InlfiSO, 
nierehantttlde  white  pine  boards  were  in  New 
England  ;iO«.  current  money  per  thou,»and. 
Day  wages  in  East  Jersey  were  at  this  time 
al>out  2«.  per  day  ;  and  at  Amboy,  where  build- 
in  g  was  aciively  going  on,  2».  6(1.,  tlie  cur- 
rency being  Dne-firth  more  than  sterling.  In 
li;9S,  hundsiwyers,  which  were  much  de- 
pended ou  iu  new  settlements,  received  at 


no 


BAW-MILLS  IN   THE   COLONIES, 


Joost  Andrianscn  &  Co.,  in  1658,  proposed  to  build  a  Saw-mili  and 
gri.st-raill  below  the  Turtle  Falls,  near  New  Auisiel,  (Newcastle),  iu  the 
presetit  State  of  Delaware. 

In  1).  list  of  articles  to  be  sent  to  the  Colony  on  the  South  llivcr,  or 
Delaware,  in  November,  1662,  was  iron-work  for  a  Saw-uiill,  for  which 
was  paid  four  hundred  and  fifty  florins,  ($180). 

In  reference  to  a  mill  existing  a  few  years  later  on  "  Carcoon  Creek," 
it  was  represented  to  the  Upland  Court,  in  March,  1678,  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  land  being  daily  taken  up  around  it,  it  would  soon  be  left 
destitute  of  timber,  and  the  Court  therefore  ordered  onb  hundred  acres 
of  land  to  be  appropriated  for  its  use.'  The  Swedes  also  had  a  mill, 
supposed  to  have  been  a  Saw-.mill,  in  Frankford,  before  the  landing  of 
Penn.     It  stood  near  the  house  of  William  Kinsey,  the  first  erected  iu 

that  place.' 

A  Saw-mill  appears  to  have  been  built  for  the  use  of  the  Colony,  by  the 
first  settlers  under  the  Proprietary,  soon  after  their  landing.  In  a  letter 
to  the  Free  Society  of  Traders  in  1683,  giving  an  account  of  Pennsylvania, 
AViiliam  Penn  alludes  to  their  Saw-mill  for  timber,  and  the  Glass  House, 
as  being  "conveniently  posted  for  water  carriage." 

Richard  Townsend,  who  came  from  England  with  Penn,  and  built  the 
first  grist-mill  within  the  present  limits  of  the  city,  also  erected  a  corn 
and  Saw-mill  on  Chester  Creek,  in  Delaware  County. 

"Tliis  mill,"  he  says,  "I  brought  ready  framed  from  London,  which 
served  for  grinding  of  corn  and  sawing  of  boards,  and  was  of  great  use  to 
U8."»  Tlie  mill  referred  to  by  Penn,  appears  to  have  been  the  joint 
property  of  himself,  Caleb  Pusey,  Samuel  Carpenter,  and  others,  pro- 
bably including  Townsend,  by  whom  it  was  erected  and  superin- 
tended.    The  iron  vane,  with  their  initials,  which  surmounted  it,  is  still 

preserved. 

Although  corn-mills  were  built  in  considerable  number  by  the  first 
German  and  English  settlers.  Saw-mills  do  not  appear  to  have  been 
numerous  in  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia.  They  were  said,  a  few 
years  after  the  landing,  to  have  a  sufficiency  of  mills,  and  in  different 


(1)  ITiiiard's  Annnla  of  Pennsylvania. 

(2)  Mcin.  of  ]Iisl.  Snc.  of  I'ennsjUania, 
yo\.  2,  p.  16:!.  Ferris,  in  liis  History  of  tho 
Original  Settlements  of  tlie  Swedes  on  tlio 
Delawiiro,  etntcs  that  lio  had  aecn,  in  his 
youth,  tho  house  at  Newcastle,  in  wliich 
Governor  Lovelace  entertained  George  Fox 
in  l(i72,  tho  timber  of  which  appeared  to 
bav«  b«ttD  hewed,  iudicatiug  ita  erection  be- 


fore tlie  introduction  of  Saw-mills  ;  and  tho 
mortar  and  cement  had  been  made  of  liino 
that  was  burnt  from  oyster  shells,  beforo 
any  limestone  had  been  discovered.  The 
house  was  built  of  bricls,  and  was  standing 
a  few  years  before  he  wrote,  in  1845. 

(.1)  Clarkson'g  Life  of  William  Penn,  toL 
1. 


PENNSYLVANIA  AND  DELAWARE. 


Ill 


a  Saw-niili  and 
>\veastlu),  iu  the 

South  ivivcr,  or 
v-mill,  for  which 

Cnrcoon  Creek," 
8,  that  in  conse- 
ould  soon  be  left 
b  hundred  acres 
also  had  a  mill, 
e  the  landing  of 
le  first  erected  iu 

he  Colony,  by  the 
ling.  In  a  letter 
;of  Pennsylvania, 
the  Glass  House^ 

jnn,  and  built  the 
50  erected  a  corn 

tn  London,  which 
as  of  great  use  to 
e  been  the  joint 
and  others,  pro- 
ed  and  superin- 
lounted  it,  is  still 

mber  by  the  first 
ear  to  have  been 
J  were  said,  a  few 
1,  and  in  different 


if  Saw-mills  ;  nnd  the 
ad  been  made  of  limo 
1  oyster  shells,  bcforo 
een  dis^'ovored.  Tha 
Ick,  and  was  standing 
wrote,  in  1845. 
of  William  Penn,  toU 


places ;  but  Saw-mills  are  not  particularized.     Iland-sawycrs  are  men- 
tioned as  in  demand  iu  1698,  and  received,  for  sawing  pine-boards,  six  to 
seven  shillings  per  hundred.     The  price  for  the  same  labor  in  \Wo,  was 
ten  shillings,  which  would  indicate  an  increased  demand  for  lumber  with- 
out a  proportionate  decrease  in  the  cost  of  production.     Boards  were 
then  ten  shillings  per  hundred ;   shingles,  ten  shillings  per  thousand ; 
timber,  six  shillings  the  tun;  and  wheat,  four  shillings  a  bushel.     In  the 
neighboring  county  of  Bucks,  settled  by  English  Quakers  about  this  time, 
there  appear  to  have  been  no  Saw-mills  as  late  as  1731,  when  the  framed 
houses  were  covered  with  "nice  shaved  clap-boards,"  and  "the  boards 
for  floors  and  partitions  were  all  sawed  by  hand.'"   At  least  eleven  mills 
were  erected  near  Wissahickon,  within  the  late  township  of  Roxborough, 
in  the  northwest  part  of  the  City,  previous  to  1179,  but  did  not  include 
a  Saw-mill,  according  to  a  recent  historical  sketch  of  the  place."     The 
"  Chester  Mills,"  including  a  Saw-mill,  in  part  belonging  to  the  estate 
of  Jonathan  Dickinson,  on  Chester  Creek,  were  advertised  for  sale  iu 
1723.     In  1760,  the  Assessors  reported  within  the  county  of  Philadel- 
phia, forty  Saw-mills.     Oak,  hickory,  walnut,  and  other  lumber,  either 
sawed  near  the  city,  or  rafted  down  the  Delaware,  Schuylkill  and  other 
streams,  was  always  abundant  in  the  market  of  Philadelphia,  and  was 
exported   in  considerable  quantities.     Mills  for  its  manufacture  were 
speedily  multiplied  in  the  rivers  on  the  interior,  where  timber  abounded. 
The  industrious  Germans  of  those  counties  had  many  mills.     In   1786, 
within    thirty-nine    miles    of    the    Borough    of     Lancaster,    one-third 
of    whose    population  were  manufacturers,   there  were   sixteen    Saw- 

mills. 

In  Delaware,  which  constituted  the  three  lower  counties  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Saw-mills  existed  on  the  Brandywinc,  Christina,  and  ether  streams. 
Some  of  the  first  erections  iu  this  part  of  the  country,  as  we  have  seen, 
were  within  its  present  limits.  Vincent  Gilpin,  in  1772,  owned  floiiring 
and  Saw-mills  on  the  Brandywinc,  two  miles  from  Wilmington.  There 
was  also  a  Saw-mill  within  the  borough,  nearly  opposite  the  site  of  IIol- 
lingsworth  and  Harney's  machine  shop,  which  was  demolished  toward 
the  close  of  the  last  century. 

The  export  of  boards  and  scantlings  from  the  port  of  Philadelphia 
in  1765,  was  783,000  feet;  the  value  of  which  at  i'3  10s.  per  M.,  was 
£2470.  Staves,  heading,  and  shingles,  were  exported  in  the  same  time 
lO  the  value  of  £28,450.     The  exports  of  planks  and  boards  in  the  years 

(1)  Dr  John  Watson,  in  Mem.  Hist,  of  (2)  Genealogical  Account  of  the  Lpvering 
Pennsylvania,  vol.  1,  278.  Family,  by  H.  Q.  Jones,  Esq.  App.  Note  A. 


112 


SAW-MILLS  IN  THE  COLONIES. 


1712,  '73,  and  '74,  were,  respectively,  1,724,  4,075,  and  3,309  thousand 
feet' 

9.  Maryland.— Respecting  the  introdnction  of  Siuv-mills  in  Maryland, 
we  have  no  information.  The  fir.st  water-mill  for  corn  in  the  Colony, 
was  erected  by  public  subscription  in  1639.  A  century  after,  the  Assem- 
bly encouraged  the  erection  of  the  same  class  of  mills  by  a  public  statute. 

The  mill-sites  on  the  Tatapsco  were  occnitied  for  corn-mills  about  the 
year  1763,  by  Joseph  Ellicolt  and  J.  &,  11.  Burgess,  from  Bucks  County, 
Pcnnsvlvauia. 

10.  Ytrginia.— Making  boards  and  clap-boards  by  hand-labor  was 
one  of  the  Orst  employments  of  the  Virginians  in  1609;  and  the  later 
emigrants,  in  1020,  were  directed  to  give  their  attention  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  timber,  masts,  planks,  boards,  etc. 

Artisans  were  sent  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  to  set  up  Saw-mills;  and 
others,  from  Hamburgh,  were  engaged  later  in  the  year  for  the  same 
purpose. 

Of  clap-boards  or  pipe-staves,  it  was  said  in  1650,  a  man  could  easily 
make  (by  manual  process)  15,000  in  a  year,  worth  in  the  Colony  £4  per 
thousand ;  and  in  the  Canaries  £20 ;  which  v/ou'.d  yield,  in  the  lowest 
market,  £60.  Walnut,  cedar,  and  cypress  planks,  were  always  saleable  in 
England.  A  Saw-miil  at  this  date  was  said  to  be  a  great  desideratum, 
whence  it  may  be  inferred  that  none  previously  existed.  A  Saw-mill, 
driven  by  water,  would  do  the  work  of  twenty  sawyers. 

The  following  "Explication  of  the  Saw-mill,  an  engine  wherewith,  by 
the  force  of  a  wheel  in  the  water,  to  cut  timber  with  great  speed,"  illus- 
trated by  a  rude  engraving,  is  contained  in  a  tract  published  in  London, 
by  E.  Williams,  in  1650,"  who  proposed  to  introduce  it  into  Virginia, 
where  a  Saw-mill  did  not  exist  at  the  time. 

"  This  engine  is  vory  common  in  Norway,  and  mountains  of  Sweden,  where- 
with tlieycut  great  quantities  of  Deal-boards  ;  which  engine  is  very  necessary 
to  be  in  a  great  Towne,  or  Forrest,  to  cut  Timber,  whether  into  planks  or 
otherwise.  This  heer  is  not  altogether  like  those  of  Norway,  for  they  make 
the  piece  of  Timber  approach  the  sawes  on  certaine  wheels  with  teeth ;  but 


(1)  Lord  Sheffield's  Tiiblcs  from  Custom- 
IIuuso  Books,  Nos.  9  i»nd  10. 

The  census  of  1810,  from  eluven  out  of 
twenty-six  Stntcs  and  Territories,  returned 
2.526  common  Saw-mills,  and  twenty-one 
Muhogiiny  mills,  of  which  1,995  common 
Saw-inill.«,  and  all  thi<  Bliihognny  mills  bc- 
longad  to  Penusylviua.i.  Tae  nuiiutily  suwcJ 


wns  ninety-four  million  feet,  of  which 
seventy-four  millions  was  in  Pennsylva- 
nia. From  Now  York,  and  several  lumber 
States,  there  wns  no  return.  Chester,  Lan- 
caster, Northumberland,  and  Cumberland, 
had  the  greatest  number  of  mills  in  Ponn- 
sylvnnia. 

(2)  See  rote,  page  32. 


3,309  thousand 


lills  in  Maryland, 
1  in  the  Colony, 
after,  the  Assrm- 
a  public  statute, 
i-niilis  about  the 
n  Bucks  County, 


hand-labor  was 
3 ;  and  the  later 
u  to  the  prepara- 

p  Saw-mills ;  and 
ear  for  the  same 

man  could  easily 
le  Colony  £4  per 
sld,  in  the  lowest 
ilvvays  saleable  in 
reat  desideratum, 
;d.     A  Saw-mill, 

ine  wherewith,  by 

'eat  speed,"  illus- 

lished  in  London, 

it  into  Virginia, 


I  of  Sweden,  wliere- 
e  is  very  necessary 
her  into  planks  or 
way,  for  they  make 
ils  with  teeth  ;  but 

lion  feet,  of  which 
was  in  Pennsylva- 
:,  and  eoveral  lumber 
Dturn.  Chester,  Lan- 
nil,  and  Cumberland, 
iber  uf  mills  in  Pcnn- 

12. 


VIRGINIA.      CURIOUS   INVENTIONS. 


113 


because  of  reparations  which  these  tooth'd  wlieels  are  often  subject  unto,  I 
will  omit  that  use,  and  in  stead  thereof  put  two  waits  (weights)  about  two 
or  three  hundred  pounds  weight  apiece,  whereof  one  is  marked  A,  the  other 
B.  The  chords  wherewith  the  said  weights  doe  hange,  to  be  fastened  at  the 
end  of  the  2  peeces  of  moving  wood,  which  slide  on  two  other  peeces  of  fixed 
wood,  by  the  uieanes  of  certaine  small  pulleys,  which  should  always  draw  the 
8!iyd  peeces  of  moving  wood,  which  advancing  always  toward  the  sawes  rising 
and  falling,  shall  quickly  be  cut  into  4,  5  or  6  peeces,  as  you  sh.iU  please  to 
put  on  sawf  s,  and  placed  at  what  distance  you  will  have  for  the  thicknesse 
of  the  plank  or  boards  ye  will  cut,  and  whenn  a  peece  is  cut,  then  let  one  with 
a  lever  turn  a  Rowler  whereto  shall  be  fastened  a  strong  cord,  which  sliall 
bringe  backe  the  sayd  peece  of  wood,  and  loft  againe  the  weights:  and  after 
put  aside  the  peece  already  cut  to  take  again  the  sawes  against  another  peece 
of  wood.  Which  once  done,  the  ingenious  Artlst,  may  easily  convert  the  same 
to  an  instrument  of  threshing  wheat,  breaking  of  hemp  or  flax,  and  other  at 
jirojitabU  uses," 

This  primitive  instrument  appears  to  have  admitted  the  employment 
of  a  gang  of  saws,  and  by  comparing  the  description  with  that  given  a 
century  earlier  by  the  Kishop  of  Ely,  the  reader  who  is  conversant  with 
the  mechanism  of  Saw-mills,  as  they  existed  in  remote  rural  districts,  not 
many  years  ago,  will  discover  fewer  changes,  we  apprehend,  in  their 
essential  features  than  he  would  be  led  to  expect  in  the  course  of  three 
centuries.  A  Saw-mill,  down  to  the  close  of  the  last  century,  was  quite  a 
simple  affair;  and  a  mill  which  cost  £100,  and  cut  one  thousand  feet  of 
boards,  per  diem,  was  considered  belter  than  the  average.  The  benefits 
confe.red  by  steam  in  cutting  timber,  and  in  prompting  invention  in  the 
machinery,  applied  to  manufactures  of  wood,  are  among  the  most  signal 

of  its  triumphs. 

In  a  work  published  in  1731,  quoted  by  Anderson,  which  set  the  value 
of  the  British  Colonies  to  the  parent  country  in  a  clearer  light  than  be- 
fore, the  author  enumerates  among  the  valuable  imports  from  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  fifteen  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  lumber  annually  sent  in 
the  tobacco  ships,  two-thirds  of  which  were  gain,  as  it  would  not  cost 
above  four  thousand  pounds  in  the  plantations.  James  Rumsey,  a  native 
of  one  of  these  States,  and  an  adopted  citizen  of  the  other,  toward  the 
close  of  this  period  made  some  improvements  in  the  mechanism  of  mills, 
which  he  patented  in  several  of  the  States,  and  afterward  under  the 
Federal  laws.  "  With  regard  to  a  Saw-mill,"  he  says,  in  his  Treatise  on 
the  Application  of  Steam,  etc.,  published  in  1788,  "or  any  other  ma- 
chines that  have  retrograde  movements,  I  have  contrived  a  method  of 
supplying  them  with  water  in  such  a  manner  that  one  twentieth  part  of 
what  is  generally  expended  will  answer  every  intent  and  purpose  gener- 
ally requisite.  My  new  invented  machine  for  raising  water  is  simple,  the 
coat  will  not  be  more  than  twenty  guineas  to  complete  the  mechaniBua 
8 


JJ4  6AW-MILL8  IN   THE  COLONIES. 

Of  one  sufficiently  large  to  raise  water  to  work  six  saws  or  a  Grist- 
mill." 

11    THE  Carounas  and  GEORC.TA.-The  extensive  pine  K.rcsts  and 
other  timber  lands  of  the  two  Carolinas  and  Georgia  mvUed  the  Crs 
"   t   r    to  a  luerative  manufacture  of  lumber  and- naval  stores      Bu 
a  ho  g^^^  Carolina,  ns  early  as  1C91.  passed  an  Act  "for  the  be  te 

encouragement  of  the  making  of  engines  for  the  propaga  >ng  of  the  aples 
of  the  Province,"  and.  in  1707,  another  for  "eneouragu.g  the  makn.g  of 
;lta:h  and  sau'potre."  followed,  in  1712.  by  an  ^^y;^^:^^^^ 
[he  building  Saw-mills  and  other  mechanic  engines,"  the  Saw-mil  does 
lot  appear  to  have  come  into  extensive  requisition  in  Carolina  during 
colonial  times. 

..The  resources  of  Carolina  in  luml.or,"  says  Dr.  Ramsay  "maybe  esti- 
matrfvomre  following  statement.  There  are  withiu  Us  Inn.ts  two  hunar  d 
..o«sa„aacres.ea.h.w^cl.o.a  .^ 

trees,  and  every  one  of  the  o  on  an  ave    g  ^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^ 

than  what  U  derived  from  the  fertilising  quality  of  their  ashes.     This    n  a^l 

sources  of  wealth,  to  an  immense  amount,  are  annually  sacrificed. 

South  Carolina  had  at  this  date  only  sixty-five  Saw-mills  and  Georgia 
one.     The  last-named  manufactured  about  one  and   a  quarter  million 
?eet  of  lumber.     As  Rice.  and.  to  a  less  extent,  Indigo  and  Tobacco 
had  previously  engaged  the  industry  now  bestowed  on  Cotton,  there  was 
combatively  littfe  attention  paid  to  the  erection  of  either  Saw  or  grain 
Zl  until  after  the  Revolution.     ^Ye  have  no  recoi-d  of  their  progress 
auring  that  time.     It  was  not  until  the  middle  of  the  last  cent,  y  t 
those  Provinces  began  to  flourish  in  any  good  degree.     I"  /  ^4,  t  e 
Legislature  once  more  enacted  a  law  for  the  encouragement  of  the  Ar  s 
.„d  Sciences,  giving  inventors  the  exclusive  benefit  of    --  U'--  - 
fourteen  years.     A  Society  which  was  instituted  soon  a  ter  for  the  en- 
couragement and  aid  of  emigrants,  stated,  in  their  Circular,  that  capi  u 
might  be  profitably  employed,  among  other  ways,  in  erecting  mills  for 


EARtY   STEAM    SAW-MILtS. 


115 


aws  or  a 


Grist- 


piiie  forests  and 
L  invited  the  Crst 
aval  stores.  But 
ct  "  for  the  better 
ting  of  the  staples 
iiig  the  making  of 
"for  encouraging 
the  Saw-mill  does 
I  Carolina  during 


isay,  "may  be  esti- 
liraits  two  hundred 
ing  on  it  fifty  pine 
;lit  in  a  marketable 
hese  are  added  the 
beeches,  magnolias, 
B  used  in  furniture, 
it  artists,  the  sylvan 
sn.     So  great  is  the 
immense  quantities 
any  other  advantatie 
r  ashes.     This  small 
valuable,  is  not  im- 
emptations  resulting 
end  its  culture,  other 
acrificed." 

v-mills  and  Georgia 
1   a  quarter  million 
idigo  and  Tobacco, 
n  Cotton,  there  was 
cither  Saw  or  grain 
rd  of  their  progress 
[he  last  century  that 
gree.     In  1784,  the 
agement  of  the  Arts 
t  of  their  labors  for 
)on  after  for  the  en- 
Circular,  that  capital 
in  erecting  mills  for 


making  paper,  sav/ing  lumber,  and  especially  for  manufacturing  flour. 
There  were  huudi'uds  of  valuable  mill-scats,  and  the  woods  abounded 
with  pines. 

The  oflicial  value  of  the  difforent  kinds  of  lumber  exported  from  all 
the  Colonies  in  the  year  1770  was.  £154,637,  or  $080,588.  This  em- 
braced boards,  plank,  scantling,  timber  for  masts,  si)Brs,  and  buildings, 
staves,  heading,  hoops,  and  poles.  In  1792,  the  exports  of  lumber  were 
05,840,024  feet ;  of  shingles,  80,813,357  ;  of  hoops,  staves,  and  headings, 
32,039,707  ;  of  timber,  21,838  tuns  and  12,272  pieces  ;  1080  cedar  and 
oak  ship  knees  ;  191  frames  of  houses  ;  and  48,860  shooks,  etc. 

It  was  just  previous  to  the  period  when  our  Federal  history  com- 
mences, and  the  close  of  the  period  embraced  in  these  reminiscences,  that 
the  application  of  steam  to  mill  machinery  began  to  be  introduced  into 
Europe  and  America.  The  Steam-engine  had  for  some  time  been  used 
in  England  and  elsewhere,  for  raising  water  for  the  use  of  mills ;  and  as 
early  as  1745,  a  Steam-engine  was  constructed  and  in  use  in  the  copper- 
mine  of  Mr,  Schuyler,  in  New  Jersey.  Its  improvement,  had  also  for 
several  years  engaged  the  attention  of  Oliver  Evans,  Ilumsey,  Fitch, 
Stevens,  and  others.  But  it  now  began  to  be  lised  as  a  direct  power  for 
the  movement  of  mill-work  for  both  Saw  and  Flour-mills.  These  inven- 
tions, of  which  we  shall  speak  elsewhere,  and  particularly  the  high- 
pressure  Steam-engine,  and  other  contrivances  of  Evans,  so  admirably 
adapted  to  the  use  of  all  kinds  of  factories,  opened  a  new  era  in  the  his- 
tory of  Flour-mills  and  of  wood-working  machinery.  So  great  has  been 
the  influence  of  the  last-mentioned  improvements,  as  to  justify  the  eulo- 
gium  of  a  talented  writer,  who  says,  respecting  their  inventor  :  "Wherever 
the  Steam-mill  resounds  with  the  hum  of  Industry,  whether  grinding 
flour  on  his  native  Schuylkill,  or  cutting  logs  in  Oregon,  there  do  you 
find  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Oliver  Evans.'" 

(1)  Address  before  the  American  Institute,  New  York,  1850,  by  S.  G.  Arnold, 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  0R18T  AND  FLOUR-MILLS  INTO  THE  COLONIES. 

The  earliest  instrument  for  grinding  or  braising  corn  or  manna  con- 
sisted Of  two  portable  and  nicely-wrought  stones,  one  of  which  was  made 
to  revolve,  by  means  of  a  handle,  upon  the  other.     Grinding  with  those 
mills  was  always  a  servile  and  laborious  operation,  and  fell  to  the  lot  of 
the  maid-servants,  or  captives  taken  in  war,  as  Samson  was  made  to  grind 
in  the  prison-house  of  the  Philistines,  and  the  captive  Israelites  in  Baby- 
lon    By  the  laws  of  Moses,  the  mill-stones  were  not  allowed  to  be  dis- 
trained for  debt.     The  sound  of  the  mill-stones  and  the  song  of  the 
grinders,  who  plied  their  task  in  concert  at  the  early  morning  hour,  fur- 
nished the  Hebrew  writers  with  images  of  cheerfulness  and  prosperity,  and 
their  suspension,  "  when  the  sound  of  the  grinding  is  low,"  conveyed  tlu,  idea 
of  desolation.     As  suggestive  of  the  same  ideas  of  plenty  and  enjoyment 
and  as  an  element  of  the  picturesque,  the  old-fashioned  water  Gnst-mill 
of  our  fathers  was,  both  to  the  eye  and  the  ear,  an  object  of  much  interest. 
In  many  a  frontier  settlement,  its  pleasant  sounds  were  unheard  for  years 
by  the  'first  lonely  dwellers,  who  were  forced  to  prepare  their  corn  for 
daily  use  by  a  modification  of  the  primitive  mill  above  described,  or  by 
the  scarcely  less  operose  contrivance  of  the  quern. 

The  pestle  and  mortar,  used  by  the  aborigines  of  this  country,  was 
frequently  employed  by  Europeans,  and  performed  the  grinding  rather  by 
pounding  than  by  rubbing,  as  in  the  Eastern  mill.  Beside  these,  horse 
or  cattle  mills  (the  moloB  jumeMaHos  of  the  Romans)  were  quite  common 
for  grinding  corn,  where  pecuniary  inability,  the  sparseness  of  popular 
tion,  or  absence  of  water-power,  rendered  other  mechanism  impractica- 
ble.' Wind-mills  were  also  very  early,  and  in  some  places  quite  exten- 
sively  employed  both  for  Grist  and  Saw-mills. 

1.  Wind-mills.— As  a  motive  power,  water  was  employed  much  ear- 
lier than  wind.     The  first  saw-mills  in  this  country  were  mostly  driven 
by  water,  which  the  abundant  streams  and  ample  fall  of  the  Atlantic  slope 
(116) 


I  THE  COLONIES. 

rn  or  manna  con- 
if  which  was  made 
rinding  with  these 
i  fell  to  the  lot  of 
was  made  to  grind 
Israelites  in  Baby- 
allowed  to  be  dis- 
1  the  song  of  the 
morning  hour,  fur- 
and  prosperity,  and 
."conveyed  tlu.  idea 
nty  ana  enjoyment, 
ed  water  Grist-mill 
ct  of  much  interest. 
3  unheard  for  years 
)are  their  corn  for 
ve  described,  or  by 

f  this  country,  was 
!  grinding  rather  by 
Beside  these,  horse 
were  quite  common 
arseness  of  popula- 
;hanism  impractica- 
places  quite  exten- 


jmployed  much  ear- 
■  were  mostly  driven 
of  the  Atlantic  slope 


WIND-MILI-8  IN   MASSACHUSETTS. 


117 


rendered  everywhere  accessible.  Some  of  the  early  Saw-mills  in  America 
were,  however,  propelled  by  wind,  particularly  among  the  Dutch  settlers. 
With  those  they  were  fumiiiur  in  tlieir  native  land,  where,  on  account  of 
the  level  character  of  the  country,  and  the  absence  of  falling  streams, 
Wind-mills  were  extensively  employed  long  before  they  were  uswl  in  En- 
gland. Mr.  Hume  considered  the  man  who  first  introduced  Wind-mills 
a  great  public  benefactor.  We  are  not  aware  who  first  conferred  that 
boon  upon  America  j  but  it  was  probably  the  Dutch  Colonists  at  Man- 
hattan. 

In  the  Records  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
March  17,  :C28,  (0.  S.,)  it  is  entered  that  eleven  pounds  were  paid  for  a 
pair  of  mill-stones  to  go  to  New  England  in  the  ship,  consisting  of  one 
landred  and  ten  burrs,  at  two  shillings  each.     How  early  these  were 
brought  into  use   we  find  nowhere  stated.     It  is  said,  however,  that  the 
first  mill  in  New  England  was  a  Wind-mill,  near  Watcrtown,  in  Massa- 
chusetts, which  was  taken  down  in  1632,  and  rebuilt  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston.'     This  first  Corn-mill  was  removed  from  its  original  site,  in  Au- 
gust of  that  year,  "  because  it  would  not  grind  but  with  a  westerly  wind." 
It  was  set  up  at  the  north  end  of  the  City  of  Boston,  on  the  hill  previ- 
ously called   Snow  Hill,   and  afterward  Copy's   Hill,  and  "Wind-mill 
Hill,"  by  which  name  it  is  mentioned  in  the  Records,  in  1C35.     This 
Wind-mill  is  mentioned  by  Wood  in  1633,  and  was,  doubtless,  a  conspic- 
uous object  throughout  the  settlements,  as  being  the   first  attempt   to 
supersede  the  mortars  and  hand-mills,   previously  used  by  the  people. 
They  that  year  gathered  their  first  harvest  of  English  grain  from  the  ad- 
jacent fields,  now  covered  by  the  solid  masonry  of  the  tri-montane  city. 
The  principal  supplies  of  food  were  at  first  derived  from  England,  in  flour 
or  meal,  or  from  Virginia,  in  grain,  which  was  sent  to  this  mill  from  all 
the  scattered  plantations  as  far  east  as  the  Kennebec. 

Watermills  were  soon  after  erected,  and,  in  1636,  two  more  Wind-mills 
were  built,  one  at  Boston  and  one  at  Charlestown.     The  last  was  liown 

down  in  1648. 

A  Wind-mill  was  erected  at  Scituate,  by  William  Gilson,  in  1637, 
and  land  was  the  same  year  granted  John  Horn,  for  one  at  Salem.  It 
was  removed  by  him,  in  1639,  to  Wind-mill  Boint,  on  the  south  side  of 
North  River,  where  a  Corn-mill  of  the  same  kind  stood  in  1771.     An- 

(1)  In  Bond'f  Hlatory  of  Watertcten,  we  near  which,  it  is  said  in  Drak-e'i  Ant,<]uiiic-< 

do  not  find  any  mention  of  the  erection  of  o/  UoeloH,  to  have  been  originally  placed, 

this  Wind-mill,  and  the  laborious  author  The  mill  on  Copp's  Hill  was  chatterfd  and 

was  unable  to  determine  who  built  the  first  sot  on  fire  by  lightning,  in  1642,  and   the 

water-mill  there.    The  Wind-mill  may  have  miller  rendered  insensible  for  twenty-four 

ftood  within  the  adjoining  limits  of  Newton,  hours. 


jH^-ii 


118 


COI.iXlAl.  GUIST  AND   rLOlR- MILLS. 


otber  one  stood  on  On.e's  Point,  wliioli  gave  place  to  the  bridge.     A 
AVind-mill  was  bnilt  at  Newberry,  in  1703. 

Edward  Hoiyoke,  who  took  the  Freeman's  Oath  in  1630,  owned  a 
Wind-mill  on  Purchase  street,  in  Boston,  near  Port  Hill,  whicli  he  after- 
ward sold  to  Richard  Woodward. 

In  nOl,  John  Arnold  requested  liberty  to  place  a  Wind-mill  on  Fort 
Hill,  and  was  allowed  to  build  one  there  "  on  the  Town's  lan.l,"  l)uying 
such  quit-rent  as  the  Select-men  should  order.  A  Wind-mill  was,  m 
1740,  removed  from  lloxbury  and  placed  on  the  same  hill. 

In'  ICGl,  the  Select-men  of  Portsmouth  granted  Captain  Pendleton 
liberty  "  to  set  up  his  Windmill  upon  Fort  Point,  toward  the  beach,  be- 
cause the  mill  is  of  such  use  to  the  public.'" 

Wind-mills,  which  had  thus  become  numerous  in  the  older  settlements 
of  Massachusetts,  und  were  much  employed  in  other  parts  of  the  Pro- 
vince, were  early  introduced  into  Rhode  Island,  where,  as  late  as  1803, 
they  were  common  on  every  eminence  in  some  parts  of  the  State,  pre- 
senting a  rugged  and  grotesque  appearance,  and  much  diversity  of 
mecluuiism."     They  wore  most  numerous  in  tiie  County  of  Newport. 

The  first  Wind-mill  in  Rhode  Island  was  built  in  1G63,  at  Newport, 
by  Gove.-nor  Easton  and  his  sons,  who,  in  1G39,  had  erec'ed  the  first 
European  dwelling  at  that  place.     This  mill  was  blown  down  in  1675.' 


(1)  Annnls  of  I'ortsmouth. 

(2)  Notes  on  Compton,  in  1   Mass.  Hist. 
Coll.,  X.  202. 

(»)  History  of  Khodo  Islrtinl,  by  S.  G.  Ar- 
nold, viil.  i.  p.  370.    A  curious  stono  ftruoluro 
at  Newport,  supposed  to  havu  been  built  for  a 
Wind-mill  about  tbia  time,  gnve  rise,  not 
many  years  since,  to  considtirablo  specula- 
tion aud  antiquarian  di.^oussion.     It  is  de- 
scribed as  uniuue  in  its  style,  being  a  ciitu- 
lor  and  massive  stono  buildinj;,  twenty-flvo 
feet  in  diameter,  ond  the  same  in  helRbt,  sup- 
ported  on  eigbt  arcbos  resting  on  tbiclt  col- 
umns about  ton  feet  high,  on  a  foundation 
five  feet   deep.    The  cuutre  arch  is  about 
twelve  feet  high.     I  ■  erection  was  by  some 
attributed  to  the  Northmen  ;  and  this  theory 
was  used  to  prove  that  Rhode  Island  was 
tho"Vinland"ofthcScnr  '■navimvoyngors. 
The  Royal  Antiquariiir  society,  at  Copen- 
hagen, wore  incautiously  betrayed  into  this 
opinion.      A    Danish   writer    iittenipted    to 
prove   that  it  was  the  work  of  Northmen  ; 
and  a  gentleman  of  Alluiny  met,  at  the  rcsi- 
(lauco  of  the  Duke  of  Tuscany,  a  Swedish 


count,  who  -poko  of  it  ns  tho  work  of  that 
people.     But  these  opinions  were  all  of  re- 
cent origin.     Tho  mention  of  tho  building, 
in   tho  will  of  Governor  Benedict   Arnold, 
who  died  in  167S,  us  "tny  stime-huilt  Wind- 
mill," as  well  0'-  the  traditions  of  thi  fimily 
in  whoso  possession  it  long  remained,  leave 
no  doubt  that  it  was  built  by  him.     In  the 
'•  Penny    Mi.gaiino"   for    ^'overaber,    1.S36, 
page  480,  it  an  engraving  of  a  Wind-mill  at 
Chesterton,     in    Warwickshire,     England, 
creeteii    after    a    design    by   Inigo   Jones, 
which,  without  the  roof  and  vanos,  is  an  ex- 
act fao-similo  of  the   old  mil)  or  tower  at 
Newport.     With  this,  wbicli  must  have  been 
ono  of  the  first  in  England,  Arnold  is  sup- 
posed  tv)  have  been  acquainted  in  liis  youth, 
nnil  to  iiavo  built  in  imitation  of  it  after  tka 
first  mill  was  destr  lyed  in  1075. 

Or.  Tnlfrcy,  who  has  ably  discussed  lh« 
bi«torio  character  of  'bis  siructuro  in  tha 
first  viduino  of  his  History,  visited  tho  War- 
wickshire mill  in  ISaO,  ami  is  satiflled  thul 
it  was  the  original  of  the  Newport  Tnwcr. 
It  has  boon  mudu  the  subject  uf  an  iuilutta 


)  the  bridge.     A 

I   163?,  owned  a 
1,  wbioli  he  afler- 

nnd-mill  on  Fort 

•n's  laml,"  imjiiig 

(Viud-niill  wns,  in 

lill. 

aptuin  reudleton 

ird  the  beach,  be- 

oldcr  settle  moil  ts 
parts  of  the  Pro- 
,  as  late  as  1803, 
of  the  State,  pre- 
auch  diversity  of 
jr  of  Newport. 
IG63,  at  Newport, 
1  erec'ed  the  first 
ffu  down  in  IGtS.' 

it  ns  tho  work  of  that 
)p!i\ions  were  nil  of  re- 
ention  of  tho  buililing, 
rnor  Benedict   ArnoUl, 

"my  stone-liuilt  Wind- 
trndilions  of  thi  f:iinily 
it  long  rcmnincd,  loiive 

built  by  him.  In  the 
'  for  ^'overabor,  1836, 
nving  of  a  Wind-mill  at 
nrwickshiro,  En^lnnd, 
Bsign  by  In-go  Jones, 
■oof  nnd  Ynnof,  is  nn  ox- 
le  old  mil)  or  tower  at 
s,  which  must  hnvo  been 
England,  Arnidd  is  pup- 
iicquftintcd  in  his  youth, 
1  imiliition  of  it  after  tho 
lycd  in  1075. 

bus  nbly  discussed  tho 
of  'his  siructuro  in  tho 
History,  visited  tho  War- 
HS6,  ami  is  satifdod  that 
)f  the  N(W|iorl  Tow^r. 

tho  auliject  uf  aD  iuiluite 


A  CELEBRATED   WIND-MILL. 


119 


Half  an  acre  of  ground  was  set  apart  on  Tower  llill,  in  New  London, 
Cuiinecticut,  in  1719,  for  a  Wind-null,  which  was  erccled  ui  1720. 

Wind-mills  were  numurous  in  New  York  under  the  Dutch  dynasty,  anU 
were  employed  both  for  grinding  corn  and  sawing  lumber,  as  before  men- 
tioned They  were  a  scarcely  less  peculiar  feature  of  Manhattan  scenery, 
than  that  of  the  fatherland,  where  the  were  a  principal  dependence  be- 
iure  the  days  of  steam.  The  Urst  mill  on  the  Island  was  a  llors.-mill,bu.ll  in 
102li  by  Fran9ois  Molemacker,  under  the  eye  of  the  en-ineer  Kryn  Ired- 
eiick'  who  iu  that  year  slaked  out  a  fort  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Island, 
aitd  erected  a  stone  warehouse  for  the  Company,  whence  the  goodly  city 
has  since  expande.l  to  its  present  dimeuMuiis.  The  second  story  ot  the 
miU-building  was  the  Urst  humble  place  of  worship  ol  the  early  setUers, 
and  its  site  was  almost  within  the  shadow  of  the  i.resont  Trinity  steei-lc. 

A  horse-mill,  one  of  the  earliest  in  the  city,  also  stood  for  many  years 
before  the  English  possession,  on  the  North  side  of  the  present  feonth 
William  Street,  ne.xt  the  corner  of  Broad,  and  gave  tlie  name  ot  "Mill 
Sir.'et  Lane"  to  that  part  of  South  W-illiam. 

Minimit,  the  fir.st  Dutch  governor,  built,  according  to  Moulton,  "  two  or 
three  Wind-mills  at  Manhattan,  by  which  corn  was  ground  and  buurd. 
sawed  "  One  of  these,  a  Flour-mill,  stood  on  a  hill  winch  occupied  a 
part  of  the  present  Daltery,  so  near  the  Fort  that  the  latter,  which  was 
rebuilt  by  Van  Twiller,  hi  1033,  intercepted  the  south-east  wind,  and 
rendered  the  mill  nearly  useless.  13ut  one  of  three  Wind-mills  previously 
erected,  was  in  operation  in  1038,  when  Keift  came  to  'he  government. 

On  one  of  their  farms,  of  which  they  reserved  several  in  dilferent  parts 
of  the  Island,  the  West  India  Company  erected  a  "  Wint-molen,'  (W  Mid- 
mill)  for  the  use  of  the  town.  It  stood  .car  Broadway,  between  tne  pre- 
sent Liberty  nnd  Courtland  streets.  After  having  gone  to  decay,  k  was 
ordered,  in  1002,  that  there  be  another  erec-ted  on  te  same  ground 
.'  outside  of  the  city  landport  (gate)  on  the  Company  s  farm.  Old 

Wind-mill  lane,"  running  from  Broadway  to  Greenwich  street,  a..d  be- 
tween Courtland  and  Liberty  street,  upon  which  it  probably  stood,  was 
in  Lyne's  survey  of  New  York,  in  1729,  the  most  northern  street  west  ot 
Broadway,  idl  beyond  being  the  King's  farm.  _  ,      m      • 

Mills  of  this  class  were  also  built  by  private  enterprise.     Jan  Tennizen 

amount  of  vor.e.  traditionary,  senliu.en.al,  poetic  genius  has  been   aMe  ''■<;;;'->;.- 

.    1  e„mmon.,,lace.     ^onu,  .n.ceful  lines  by  i.  a  u.ore  rou,n„.u,.  chora..,..     .h,  y 

heConneeti'-utpoe.,    l.rainard,  cmboMy  an  ntili.„rian  one  abov- »ss,«.,ed.     l.«asu,...l 

i   l^Xnd  ,  L  the  muse  of  Long,.llow  as  a  ..rist-.nill  in  the    as    cen,„ry   and  af. 

ha,   r-ooed   it   from    ^orgo.fulness    in   the  t"«''-' "»>•-'''•■•  *'''\ ''";'• 
lautiO.!   Hunic  myth  of  ••  tl.e  HUele.on  in         "  l^----- -  ^   -;;:^:;;:: 

Armor."     But  neither  lodrnod  research  nor  it  '"  uoiuing 


120 


COLONIAL  GRIST  AND  FLOUB-MILLB. 


had  a  "Winil-inill  in  1665,  which  was  standing  sixty  years  after,  ntur  the 
corner  of  Cliaiiiam  and  Duane  streets.  This  mill  was  then  some  distance 
beyond  l!'e  limits  of  the  city,  on  th?  pnblic  road. 

The  boiling  of  Qour,  in  those  days,  was  usually  carried  on  as  a  sepa- 
rate business,  and  in  establishments  constructed  for  that  purpose,  somo- 
times  at  a  distance  from  the  grindiiig-raill,  and  often  as  an  append- 
age to  the  bakery.  During  the  operation  of  an  Act  of  the  Assembly,  made 
in  1684,  giving  to  New  York  the  exc'usive  right  of  bolting  flour 
within  the  Province,  mills  sprang  rapidly  into  existence  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  town,  and  the  manufacture  of  flour  became  a  principal  source  of 
emolument  to  the  city.  Two  years  after,  under  Governor  Dungan,  tl  o 
city  received  a  new  charier,  giving  addilional  municipil  privileges,  and 
confirming  the  ancient  Dutch  franchises.  A  new  seal,  more  ricii  and 
elaborate  than  the  old  one,  was  now  granted  the  city,  which,  as  indicative 
of  the  principal  sources  oi  its  prosperity,  retained  the  beaver  to  rei)resent 
its  ancient  commercial  interests,  and  added  a  wind-mill  and  a  flonr-barrel 
as  emblems  of  iis  present  industry. 

A  Wind-mill  once  stood  on  the  hill  in  the  rear  of  the  old  jail,  or  the 
present  Hall  of  Records,  and  an  emincnca  near  the  Chatham  Theatre 
was  called  "  Wind-mill  Hill."  In  1760,  John  Burling  advertised  I'or  sale 
u  Wind-mill  near  liowery  lane,  having  two  pair  of  stones. 

Wind-mills  were  also  built  at  an  early  period  in  different  places  in  the 
estates  of  the  Patroons  ou  the  Hudson,  and  elsewhere  as  population  ex- 
teiidc'l,  and  were  an  infinite  mystery  to  the  simple  mind  of  the  native,  who 
bruised  his  maize  between  two  stones  as  he  sat  uuder  the  shadow  of  their 
revolving  vanes. 

It  is  related  that  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Western  New  York,  at  a  com- 
paratively recent  ])eriod,  when  mechmiical  contrivances  were  more  easily 
obtainable,  had  no  mills,  and  prepared  their  grain  by  an  improvement 
upon  the  Indian  method.  They  used  wooden  mortars,  formed  of  a  hollow 
log  set  ou  end,  to  which  they  ajiplied  a  pestle,  attached  to  a  sweep  like 
the  pole  of  a  well  It  i.,  related  thai  some  of  the  first  settlers  of  Onon- 
daga had  to  go  forty  miles  to  a  mill,  and  carry  their  grist  on  their  backs  I 
The  Indians  were  accustomed  to  prepare  their  maize  much  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  ancients,  by  poni.ding  it  with  stone  pestles  a  foot  long  au'l  live 
inches  thick.  Professor  Kalm,  the  Swcd'sh  botanist,  who  traveled  among 
them  about  the  year  1748,  says  they  were  astonished  beyond  measure 
when  they  saw  the  first  Wind-mills  to  grind  grain.  They  would  come 
from  a  great  distance,  and  sit  down  for  days  near  them,  to  wonder  at  and 
admire  them  I  They  at  first  regarded  them  as  endowed  with  life,  or  as 
deriving  their  momentum  from  the  agency  of  spirits  resident  within  them. 
As  .amiliarity  abated  their  reverence,  they  were  often  accustomed  to  assail 


NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  JERSEY.      A>;B0Y,  BURLINGTON,  ETC.         121 


•s  after,  ntiir  the 
en  some  distauco 

d  on  as  a  sepa- 
;  purpose",  suiiio- 
1  as  an  append- 
!  Assembly,  made 
of  bolting  flour 
in  the  vieiuity  of 
incipal  souree  of 
■nor  Dungan,  tl  o 
i\  privileges,  and 
,  more  rieii  and 
deh,  as  indicative 
iaver  to  represent 
and  a  flour-barrel 

16  old  jail,  or  the 
Zlhatham  Tiieatre 
idverlised  fur  sale 
es. 

rent  places  in  the 
as  population  ex- 
of  the  native,  who 
le  shadow  of  their 

V  York,  at  a  com- 
i  were  more  easily 

an  improvement 
orraed  of  a  hollow 
;d  to  a  sweep  like 

settlers  of  Onon- 
ist  on  their  backs  1 
nch  after  the  man- 
foot  long  aii'l  live 
ho  traveled  among 
I  beyond  measure 
They  would  como 
,  to  wonder  at  and 
k-ed  with  life,  or  as 
idcnt  within  them, 
leustomed  to  assail 


them,  not  like  the  adventurous  Knight  of  La  Mancha,  in  unequal  combat 
with  lance  or  club,  but  with  the  more  effective  instrument  of  fire. 

This  class  of  machines  was  not  limited  among  the  people  of  the  several 
Colonies  to  the  manufacture  of  flour  and  lumber.  They  were  employed 
also  in  grindu.g  cocoa-nut  for  chocolate,  in  making  linseed  and  other 
oils  grindir.g  sugar-cane,  beating  rice,  raising  water,  and  in  many  other 
uses  An  aged  inuabitant  of  New  York  remembered  a  linseed  od  factory, 
existing  about  the  year  1790,  a  little  over  one-fourth  of  a  mile  north-east 
of  the  present  City  OiBces. 

As  in  New  York,  so  in  New  Jersey,  Horse-mills  were  first  used  to 
supercede  the  primitive  and  exceedingly  laborious  performance  on  the 
Hand-mill,  with  which  many  of  the  English  and  especially  the  Scotch 
settlers,  in  whose  native  highlands  the  instrument  was  common  late  in 
the  last  century,  if  it  has  yet  wholly  disappeared,  came  provided  to  the 

country.  ,      i     t» 

Each  of  the  three  principal  towns  of  the  Province  under  the  Troprie- 
taries,  Perth  Amboy,  Burlington  and  Salem,  and  others  doubtless  were 
forced  to  content  themselves  with  horse-power  in  the  manufacture  of  flour 
and  meal.  A  letter  from  a  resident  of  Amboy  to  a  friend  in  Scotland, 
dated  New  Perth,  March  9th,  1685,  speaks  of  a  house  and  mill  of  this 
kind  which  he  was  then  erecting,  in  a  manner  which  indicates  the  wants 
of  the  community  in  that  respect.  "I  am  told  that  the  mill  w.i  be 
worth  £100  a  year,  but  I  am  sure  she  will  be  better  than  fifty  of  dear 
money,  for  every  Scot's  boll  of  wheat  or  Indian  corn  payes  here  fur  grind- 
ing of  it  2s.  sterling.  This  house  and  mill  stands  me  a  great  deal  of 
money,  but  there  is  none  such  iu  this  country,  nor  ever  was."  The  great 
wheel,  he  adds,  is  30  feet  diameter.  .      ^    ,.     . 

An  autograph  letter  of  one  of  the  primitive  emigrants  to  Burlington, 
says  thoywere  first  compelled  to  "pound  Indian  corn  one  day  for  the 
next,  for  there  was  no  mill  except  some  few  steed  mills."  In  Salem  a 
Horse-mill  was  erected  near  what  has  in  recent  times  been  called  Kents 
Corner,  to  grind  the  gram  for  the  town.  ,  .      „        , 

These  were  succeeded  in  i.-any  places  by  Wind-mills,  and  ,n  others  by 
Tide-mills  or  other  water-mills.  Three  Wind-mills  were  built  by  the 
first  settlers  of  Salem.  Wind-mill  or  Smith's  Island,  between  Camden 
and  Philadelphia,  was,  as  its  namo  indicates,  the  site  of  an  early  structure 

of  this  kind.  .,      t^  i       -„  .,..« 

The  Swedes  had  a  Wind-mill  at  New  Sweden,  on  the  Delaware  pre- 
vions  to  the  year  1643,  which  Gov.  Printz-who  built  their  first  Water- 
„,i,l  ti.at  year-says  "  would  never  work,  and  .vns  good  for  nothmg 
These  machines  appear  toho.ebcen  comparatively  hllle  used  in  the 


122 


COLONIAL   GUIS!   AND  FLOUB-MILLS. 


vicinity  of  Pliiladulpliia.  The  county  coiitaiucd  in  1760  but  one  of  that 
class  and  one  llorse-uiill. 

Virginia,  ia  1C49,  liad  in  operation  lour  Wind-milis,  and  Cve  Water- 
mills. 

Notwithstanding  the  general  use  of  Steam-power  in  our  day,  Wind- 
n'lls  are  still  much  employed  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  where  fuel  is 
scarce  and  water  inaccessible.  In  1855,  the  llochester  ilill-crecting 
Company  proposed  to  erect  fifty  wind  flouring-mills  on  the  Western 
prairies.  Tiie  improvements  in  their  mechanism  of  late  years  are  exceed- 
ingly numerous,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  records  of  the  Patent  Oilice 
and  mechanical  journals. 

2.  Water-mills. — But  Wind  and  Steed-mills  were  insufBcicnt  for  the 
manufacture  of  flour  or  meal  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  the  require- 
ments of  an  iiicreased  population  or  suf^cient  for  exportation,  whicli  the 
fertility  of  a  virgin  soil  and  the  general  attention  to  agriculture  rendered, 
in  a  few  years,  a  great  resource  of  the  country.    Tiie  available  water  privi- 
leges in  the  neighborhood  of  new  settlements,  and  the  afflux  of  the  tide 
in  maritime  towns,  were  speedily  made  to  furnish  a  superior  motive  power, 
natural  or  artificial,  for  the  use  of  grist  and  Flour-mills  of  greater  or 
less  capacity.     We  shall  notice  the  attempts  on  the  part  of  iuJividuals 
and  municipalities  to  introduce,  extend,  and  improve  the  use  of  this  most 
valuable  class  of  machinery  in  the  different  sections  of  the  country.     Tiie 
individual  enterprises  in  connection  therewith,  md  the  regulations  made 
from  time  to  time,  curiously  illustrate  the  struggles  of  an  infant  people 
in  arts  and  mechanism,  and  the  progress  of  ideas  in  relation  to  legisla- 
tive policy.     In  the  extended  use  of  mills  of  various  kinds,  and  in  the 
improvement  of  their  machinery,  Amevica  is  believed  to  have  been  for  a 
long  time  past  in  advance  of  most  other  countries. 

1.  Water-mills  in  New  E.noland. — The  locality  of  the  first  Water- 
mill  in  New  England  it  is  perhaps  not  easy  now  to  determine.  A  writer 
in  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections' says,  "  The  first  mill  built 
in  Dorchester,  and  the  first  in  the  Colony,  was  erected  by  Mr.  Stoughton, 
by  leave  of  the  Plantation  on  the  Neponsit  River,  in  the  year  1633 
(Hlake)" ;  from  which  we  may  infer  that  it  was  a  Watei  mill.  13ut  from 
a  Record  of  the  Court  made  in  16-28,  in  which  "Ilo.\bury  is  enjoyned  to 
repair  the  other  way  toward  the  Dorvhet^li'r  Mill  upon  paine  of  £20 
forfett,'"  it  appears  that  a  Mill  existed  still  earlier  at  Dorchester.     The 


(1)  I  Masi.  Ilitt.  Coll.,  tz.  164. 


(2)  Rocnrds  of  Qm.  and  Comp.  of  Maai. 
Buy,  i.  310. 


but  one  of  thai 


aud  Qve  Water- 


our  day,  Wind- 
ry,  where  fuel  is 
ter  Mill-crecliug 
oil  the  Western 
f'ears  are  exceed- 
he  Tateut  Ollice 


iibufficieiit  for  the 
rt'ilh  the  require- 
•tation,  whicli  tlie 
culture  rendered, 
liable  water  privi- 
aftlux  of  the  tide 
■lor  motive  power, 
ills  of  greater  or 
art  of  irJividuals 
e  use  of  this  most 
he  country.  The 
regulations  made 
'  an  infant  people 
elation  to  legisla- 
kinds,  and  in  the 
,0  have  been  for  a 


of  the  first  Water- 
urmino.  A  writer 
he  first  mill  built 
by  Mr.  Stoughton, 
in  the  year  1633 
ei-mill.  13ut  from 
lury  is  enjoyned  to 
)on  paine  of  £20 
Dorchester.    The 

r,  and  Comp.  of  Mats. 


MASSACIIUSKTTS.      FIRST   WATEH-MHJ.S  IX. 


123 


earliest  mention  we  find  in  the  Record.,  of  Sloughton's  mdl.  is  m  Apnl 
1st  1G34,  when  an  entry  was  made,  to  the  elTcct  that  "  Mr.  Israel  Stough- 
ton' hath  liberty  granted  him  to  build  a  n.yll,  a  ware,  and  a  bndg'c  o|  er 
Neponsett  llyver,  aud  to  sell  the  alewives  lie  takes  there  at  o.-    Hit 

thousand.'"  ^        t    e 

A  canal  called  Mill  Creek,  which  originally  divided  the  central  part  ot 
Boston  fmm  the  North  end,  was  formed  in  ICSl,  and  furnished  afterward 
a  Thlc-mill.  A  causeway  across  the  neck  which  separated  the  t.de-water 
at  Dock  Square  on  the  east  from  a  cove  running  up  on  the  north  almost 
to  Hanover  Square,  converted  the  cove  into  a  capacious  null-pond, 
covering  the  space  between  Charlestown,  Merrimac,  and  Hanover  streets, 
aud  the  Mill  Creek  through  the  neck  admitted  the  tide  to  the  milh 

The  same  year  in  which  the  first  Water-mill  was  erected,  the  General 
Court  was  presented  with  a  specin>en  of  rye.     The  only  grain  ^h.ch  the 
people  of  New  England  had  as  yet  cultivated  was  Indian  corn.     Before 
the  introduction  of  mills,  it  was  coarsely  pounded,  and  cooked  .n    he 
Indian  mode,  and  for  persons  accustomed  to  a  differct  diet,  made,  a   the 
best    but  an  unpalatable  bread.     "The  want  of  English  grain,  wheat, 
ba.-k.y,  a..d  rye,"  says  Johnson,  "  proved  a  sore  affliction  to  some  stomachs 
who  could  not  live  upon  Indian  bread  and  water,  yet  they  were  compelled 
to  it  "     In  reference  to  the  first  sample  of  rye  produced,  he  observes  : 
"  This  poor  people  greatly  rejoiced  to  see  the  land  would  bear  U."   W  lU.in 
ten  years,  wheat  became  un  article  of  export  for  Massachusetts,  and  as  the 
saiae  writer  says,  "I'ovtugal  hath  had  many  a  mouthful  of  bread  and  fish 

The  second  mill  is  said  to  have  been  built  the  same  year  at  Lynn,  where 
Mr  Edward  Tomllns  was  granted,  in  town  meeting,  the  privilege  of  setting 
u„  a  Corn-mill  "at  the  mouth  of  the  stream  which  flows  from  the  1- lax 
Pond  "  u  site  occupied  two  hundred  years  after  by  Chase's  mill.  It  was 
removed  into  the  town  about  teu  years  after,  and  the  privilege  of  water 
and  water-courses  was  granted  it  anew  by  the  town.' 

About  the  time  of  its  erection,  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  who  for  twelve  years 
or  more  had  been  without  other  appliances  for  grinding  than  the  primi- 
tive ones  before  spoken  of_were  supplied  with  a  Grist-mill,  which  must 
have  been  nearly  as  early  as  cither  of  the  foregoing. 

The  first  Water-mill  erected  in  the  Plymouth  Colony,  was  put  np  by 
Stephen  Dean,  near  BiUington  Sea,  in  January,  1633,  which  he  engaged 
should  be  sufficient  to  beat  corn  for  the  whole  Colony.  But  it  is  supposed 
to  have  been  merely  a  pounding  mill,  by  which  the  corn  was  cleared  from 


(I)  Bocordi  of  Gw.  »nd  Comp.  of  Mass. 
Bay,  i.  lU. 


(2)  Lowii'"  Ilistory  of  Lynn,  p.  81. 


124 


COLONIAL  GUIST   AND   F'-Otll-MILLS. 


the  hull  and  propared  for  samp  (iiaiisanip)  and  succotasli,  the  use  of 
which  had  been  learned  from  the  Indians.  The  next  year  it  was  agreed 
that  Dean  should  surrender  his  privilege,  so  soon  as  a  grinding  rail!  sliould 
be  set  up.'  Soon  after,  in  1636,  John  Jenupy,  a  brewer  by  trade,  who 
came  from  England  in  1623,  was  granted  liberty  by  the  Court  at  Ply- 
mouth, to  erect"  a  mill  for  grinding  and  beating  of  corn  upon  the  brook 
of  Plymouth."* 

Two  years  afterward,  it  appears  by  the  Town  Records,  Jenney  was 
presented  for  not  grinding  corn  well  and  seasonably.  Charles  Stock- 
bridge  was  cmploj-ed,  in  1681,  to  build  another  Gri.st-mili,  which  was  the 
second  upon  that  stream,  and  was  called  the  Upper  Mill. 

A  Grist-mill  was  also  built  at  lloxbury  in  1033,  by  Mr.  Dummer, 
and  during  the  following  year  a  Water-mill  is  believed  to  have  been 
erected  at  Watertown,  where  a  portion  of  the  large  emigration  of  1630 
had  settled.  The  late  elaborate  genealogist  and  historian  of  that  town, 
was  unable  to  ascertain  the  name  of  the  builder,  or  the  precise  date  of  its 
erection.  He  supposes  it  to  have  been  built  at  the  joint  expense  of 
Edward  How  and  Matthew  Cradock,  in  the  year  1634,  certainly  before 
August,  1635.  It  stood  on  Mill  Creek,  an  artificial  canal,  at  the  head  of 
tide-water,  on  Charles'  River,  at  tl  ?  first  fall,  whence  the  water  was  con- 
ducted from  a  stone  dam  across  tn^  river,  into  what  is  believed  to  be  the 
oldest  artificial  mill-race  or  canal  in  the  country,  and  which  has  been  ever 


(1)  Thaoher's  History  of  Plymouth,  p.  74. 
In  Duvia'  edition  of  Murton,  (nuto,  p.  loO), 
1G32  19  given  a^i  the  date  uf  eructiuu  wbicU 
was  probably  Old  Stylo. 

(2)  Young's  Chronicles  of  Plymouth,  p. 
112. 

It  appears  that  about  this  period,  there 
was  sometimes  but  little  use  fur  mills  of  any 
kind.  Tho  Colony,  in  1622,  consisted  of 
100  persons.  They  planted  sixty  acres  of 
oorn,  and  their  gardens  afforded  ample  sup- 
plies of  vegetables;  but  the  next  year  a 
Bovere  drouth  destroyed  all  their  corn  and 
vegetables,  and  they  wore  reduced  to  the 
severest  want.  On  this,  as  on  other  occa- 
Bions,  they  were  forced  to  subsist  upon.clnms, 
chell-fisb,  with  occaeionally  wild  fowls  or 
deer.  In  winter  much  use  wag  made  of 
ground  nuts,  vhich  were  the  tubers  of  a 
ipecies  of  wild  artichoke,  instead  of  bread, 
which  they  often  did  not  ta?te  for  three 
months  together.  It  is  said  they  wore  at 
one  lime  reduced  to  a  pintof  corn,  which,  as 
was  their  custom  with  other  things,  being 


equally  divided  among  them,  gave  to  each 
person  Jive  kernels,  which  were  parched  and 
eaten.  When  Jenney  arrived,  in  1623,  with 
Timothy  Hiitherly  and  others,  Gov.  Brad- 
ford says,  "the  best  dish  we  could  present 
them  with  is  a  lobster  ( '  piece  offish,  with- 
out bread  or  any  thing  else  but  a  cup  of 
fair  spring  water,  etc.  The  devout  Kldcr 
Brewster  lived  for  many  months  together 
without  breau,  and  chiefly  on  fish  and  clams, 
wTiich  were  a  constant  resource  in  times  of 
scarcity.  On  one  occasion,  it  is  said,  a 
worthy  person  from  a  distance,  whose  stock 
of  provisions  was  exhausted,  in  despair  re- 
sorted to  Mr.  Brewster  for  consolation,  and 
was  surprised  to  find  him  even  more  desti- 
tute than  himself.  But  his  discontent  was 
effectually  removed  when,  being  invited  to 
partake  with  him  and  his  family,  the  good 
man  fervently  returned  thanks  over  a  dish 
of  clnms,  that  they  were  so  highly  favored, 
ns  to  be  permitted  "to  suck  of  the  nliund- 
ance  of  the  sea,  and  of  treasures  bid  iu  the 
sand." 


M 


ASSACIIUSETTS.       WATEUTOWN,    NEAYBVRY,   ETC. 


125 


sli,  tlie  use  of 
•  it  was  agreed 
ing  luiil  should 
■  by  trade,  who 
Court  at  Ply- 
upou  the  brook 

is,  Jenney  was 
Cliarles  Stock- 
,  which  was  the 

Air.  Dummer, 
I  to  have  been 
;ratiou  of  1630 
u  of  that  town, 
ceise  date  of  its 
•iut  expense  of 
certainly  before 
,  at  the  head  of 
water  was  coii- 
lieved  to  be  the 
li  has  beeu  ever 

Ihcm,  gave  to  cnch 
1  were  parched  and 
-ivod,  in  1623,  with 
)thors,  Gov.  Brad- 
1  wo  could  present 
piece  offish,  with- 
else  but  a  cup  of 
The  devout  Elder 
7  months  together 
Y  on  iiEh  and  clams, 
isource  in  times  of 
ion,  it  is  said,  a 
itance,  whose  stock 
ited,  in  despair  re- 
or  consolation,  and 
n  even  more  destl- 
his  discontent  was 
i,  being  invited  to 
is  family,  the  good 
thonks  over  a  dil^h 
so  highly  frtviired, 
uck  of  the  nliund- 
reasurcs  hid  iu  the 


,^.ce  in  uninterrupted  use.  A  grant  of  land  was  n,ade  o  ,t  u.  Jam  ry. 
1G34  '35  and  iu  August,  How  sold  one  half  of  .t  to  Thomas  Majhew 
or  i200  ou  a  bond  and  mortgage,  having  also  purchased  the  oU>er  half 
If  Mr  Cradoek's  agent.  Mayhew  sold  the  whole  to  Deputy-Governo 
Thomas  Dudley,  for  £400.  The  mortgage  to  How  not  having  beeu 
redeemed  he  afterward  claimed  the  title  to  it.  .  ,       -  * 

Ad    is  on  of  the  Court,  in  1641,  declared  that  the  right  of  present 
potest;;.,  to  the  mill  at  Watertown  belongs  to  Mr.  Dudley,  and  not  Mr. 

""^l^'rirtlr^Ld  at  XUO  ^r  the  support  of  the  n.inistry.    More 
than  fifiy  ;ears  after,  it  belonged  to  the  heirs  of  the  Honorable  Thomas 

"^ "[rtxt  Corn-mill  in  that  place,  wa,  on  Stony  Brook,  and  was  iu 
1679  '80  exempted  from  "rates"  for  twenty  years.     Th.s  was  sold  fo 
2nt  £240  and  was  afterward  long  known  as  "the  Bigelow  M.Us." 
Tholf  Ride    was   in  1690.  the  proprietor  of  a  Corn-miU  on  Beaver 
Brook  near  the  sit    now  occupied  by  Kendall's  Mills,  on  wh.ch  several 
X-  ns  were  also  previously  erected.     These  were  t  e  o.^  ones  ju 
hat  ancient  town  during  the  first  seventy,  or  one  hundred  J'^^^^s.^  ."« 
were  a  ft    -rd  built  on  those  and  other  streams  i..  Waltham  a,.d  Westo.. 
Ttc!  within  the  original  limits  of  Wt^tertown.  which  are  now  appropriated 
to  extensive  manufacturing  operations.'  „„,,  xwhnrv 

In  1636    Water-mills  were  built  at  Salem.  Ipswich,  and  ^evs  bury. 
That  at  N;w bury  was  the  first  in  the  place,  and  was  built  by  Messrs 
Duler  and  Spencer,  on  the  river  Parker,  in  -ordance^.it    a  gra^ 
of  the  Court,  and  agreement  with  the  town,  in  1635.     I..  1638,  Mr. 
Dummer  wh     built  the  Roxbnry  mill  in  1633.  was  granted  te  exclu- 
^ve     ght  of  having  such  a  mill  within  the  town,  provided  he  mad 
and  k  Pt  it  in  a  condition  to  gri..d  corn,  and  the  town  agreed  to  send  all 
their  cm  to  it.     In  1645.  another  Grist-mill  was  erectc.1  there ;  a   om- 
miUe  having  been  appointed  to  procure  a  mill  to  "  grynde  the  come."  for 
wMcl  an  apl^ropriation  of  £20.  in  merchantable  pay.  ten  acres  of  upland 
In^  six  acre    o  meadow,  with  freedom  from  all  rates  for  seven  years,  wa 
™eV      n  1679.  the  town  granted  John  Emery.  J r    twelve  acre 
of  and   provided  he  build  and  maintain  a  Corn-mill,  w.th.n  a  year  and 
I  half      In  1086,  the  Records  state,  that  "the  towne  be.ng  sens.b  e 
of  the  groat  want  of  another  come  mill,"  a  committee  was  appo.uted  to 
Xw  s.'ch  place  or  places  as  may  be  most  convenient,  "for  ye  setting 


up  of  a  mill." 


(1)  Bond's  History  of  Watertown.     Appendix,  p.  1073,  etc. 


126 


COLONIAL   GRIST  AND   FLOUR-MILLS. 


The  General  Court  of  Mas:mchusetts,  in  1638,  made  repulutions  respect- 
ing Corn-mills,  prescribing  the  weights  and  measures  to  be  used  in  them, 
and  providing  that  corn  should  be  weighed  both  to  and  from  the  mill,  if 
required. 

Although  the  husbandry  of  the  Colonists,  could  at  that  date  have  made 
no  very  great  progress,  yet  their  prospects  were  becoming  brigliter.  Kmi- 
grating  multitudes  of  English  farmers  were  coming  in  ;  new  towns  were 
being  settled,  and  larger  quantities  of  land  were  put  under  cultivation, 
and  yielded  ample  returns.  A  pamphlet,  published  in  London  that  year, 
says,  "They  that  arrived  this  year,  (1637),  out  of  divers  parts  of  old 
England,  say,  that  they  never  saw  such  a  field  of  four  hundred  acres  of  all 
Borts  of  English  graine  as  they  saw  at  Winter-Towne  there.  Yet,  that 
ground  is  not  comparable  to  other  parts  of  New  England,  as  Salem, 
Ipswich,  Newbury,  etc."  Some  years  later,  about  the  year  1604,  when 
the  Colonies  were  in  a  highly  prosperous  condition,  a  blight  first  made 
its  appearance  in  the  wheat,  to  the  no  small  alarm  of  the  grain  growers. 
Every  theory  as  to  the  cause  and  cure,  seemed  to  fail,  and  at  last,  for  the 
want  of  a  better  cause,  it  was  laid  to  the  Berberry  bushes,  which,  brought 
from  Europe,  were  beginning  to  grow  along  every  fence  and  hedge-row. 
"Unsparing  war,"  says  Eliot,  "was  made  upon  the  beautiful  shrub  for 
nigh  two  centuries,  and  the  belief  in  its  malignity  yet  prevails." 

Trade,  which  had  already  become  considerable  with  the  Dutch  and 
English  Colonies,  continental  and  insular,  and  with  Europe,  also,  by  fur- 
nishing outlets  for  every  surplus  product,  stimulated  the  agriculture  of 
the  country,  and  increased  the  demand  for  Flour-mills,  Bolting-mills,  and 
bakeries.  The  older  towns  had  often  no  small  amount  of  trouble  to  pro- 
vide themselves  with  the  indispensable  Grist-mill. 

It  was  customary  for  towns  to  grant  small  tracts  of  land,  as  well  as 
certain  exclusive  privileges,  as  a  bonus  for  the  erection  of  mills.  The 
town  of  Groton,  on  the  Nashua,  voted  to  several  persons,  in  1665,  twenty 
acres  of  land,  within  its  limits,  whereon  they  might  erect  a  mill.  They, 
at  the  same  time,  declared  such  mill  free  from  taxes  for  twenty  years,  and 
prohibited,  for  that  period,  the  erection  of  a  mill  by  any  other  person, 
except  on  his  own  land,  and  for  his  own  use  merely.  A  contract  was 
accordingly  made  and  recorded,  for  the  building  of  a  mill  by  the  grantees, 
who  covenanted  to  build  a  Corn-mill  before  the  1st  of  11  mo.,  1666,  to 
keep  it  in  repair  twenty  years,  "to  grind  the  town's  corn  sufficiently," 
taking  common  toll  only.  Before  the  time  expired  in  which  they  were 
to  complete  it,  the  parties  were  relieved  from  their  contract,  and  a  new 
one  voted  to  be  made  with  a  Captain  Clark,  of  Boston,  who  agreed  to 
build  a  mill.  Tliere  is  no  further  mention  of  th's  attempt.  It  appears 
to  have  become  necessary  to  increase  the  premium,  and,  afterward,  fivo 


MASSACHUSETTS.       WORCESTER,  RUTLANH,  ETC. 


m 


Illations  rospcct- 
be  used  in  tliem, 
from  tho  mill,  if 

dote  have  made 
brighter.  Enii- 
new  towns  were 
nder  cultivation, 
ondon  that  year, 
jrs  parts  of  old 
idred  acres  of  all 
here.  Yet,  that 
;land,  as  Salem, 
year  1604,  when 
)light  first  made 
le  grain  growers, 
id  at  last,  for  the 
5,  which,  brought 
!  and  hedge-row. 
lutiful  shrub  for 
evails." 

the  Dutch  and 
ope,  also,  by  fur- 
e  agriculture  of 
Jolting-mills,  and 
if  trouble  to  pro- 
land,  as  well  as 
n  of  mills.     The 
s,  in  1665,  twenty 
3t  a  mill.     They, 
twenty  years,  and 
iny  other  person, 
A  contract  was 
1  by  the  grantees, 
11  mo.,  1666,  to 
;orn  sufficiently," 
which  they  were 
itract,  and  a  new 
11,  who  agreed  to 
mpt.     It  appears 
id,  afterward,  fivo 


hundred  acres  of  upland  and  twenty  acres  of  meadow  were  granted  to 
John  Prescott,  of  Lancaster,  for  a  mill,  which,  with  the  land,  were  to  be 
free  from  charges  for  twenty  years.  The  mill  was  built  by  h.m  or  his  son 
Jonas  Prescott,  afterward  a  distinguished  inhabitant  of  the  town  in  a  dis- 
trict  still  called  the  "  Old  Mill,"  now  in  the  northern  part  of  Harvard 
By  an  agreement  with  the  Town,  in  1673,  Jonas  Prescott  was  to  grind 
the  Town's  corn  every  secoml  and  every  sixth  day  in  every  week.  S.mi- 
lar  novel  arrangements  were  made  with  him  a  few  years  later  for  the  erec 

tion  of  a  Saw-mill.  »    •„„ 

Few  adequately  appreciate  the  difficulties  encountered  two  ccnturie 
ago,  in  securing  even  an  ordinary  Grist-mill  in  pioneer  settlements.       t 
was  an  enterprise,  in  most  cases,  greater  than  one  of  ten  old  the  cost  with 
our  more  abundant  means.     The  county  of  Worcester,  of  which  the  Pres- 
cotts  were  natives,  was  well  furnished  with  Grain-mills  at  an  early  day     1  he 
first  occupation  of  the  site  of  the  present  flourishing  City  of  Worcester  was 
made  by  white  inhabitants,  in  1673.    The  second  attempt  to  found  a  town 
was  in  1684,  when  Captain  John  Wing,  under  Captain  Il.nchman,  erected 
corn  and  saw-mills,  above  the  bridge  on  the  north  end  of  Main  street 
where,  not  long  since,  traces  of  the  dam  were  visible  on  the  small  island 
which  divides  the  stream.     The  town  took  its  present  name  the  same 
vear,  and  provision  was  made  for  the  encouragement  of  useful  arts  and 
'trades,  which  have  since  become  so  varied  „nd  extensive  in  that  city    The 
Indian  wars  prevented  the  permanent  settlement  of  the  town  until  the 

^' Rutland,  settled  the  same  year,  had  nine  hundred  acres  of  land  on  Mill 
Brook,  a  branch  of  the  Ware,  laid  off  for  Benjamin  Willard,  to  promote  a 
mill,  which  lands  were  to  be  free  from  taxation,  "  any  law  or  usage  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding.""     Several  good,  permanent  ["^"f  «■;'"«  ^^ 
through  this  fine  county,  as  the  Nashua.  Blackstone,  and  Millers'  River , 
but  it  has  numerous  small  rivulets,  in  which  water-power  was  by  no  means 
constant.     Many  of  these  were,  nevertheless,  occupied  by  mills.     Lunen- 
berg  was  thus  deficient  in  water-power,  and  its  inhabitants  were  obliged 
to  resort  to  neighboring  towns,  a  part  of  the  year.     The  enterprise  of  a 
Mr.  Wetherbee  supplied  the  deficiency,  by  constructing  an  artificial  mill- 
race,  a  mile  in  length,  which  drew  water  from  two  sma    branches  of  the 
Nashua  to  his  corn  and  saw-mills  in  the  town.     His  mills,  after  the  Rev- 
olution,  were  thought  to  make  the  best  flour  in  New  England,  and  gram 
was  brought  to  them  from  very  distant  places.     Hubbardston,  situated 
a  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  was  not  exceeded  in  water- 

(1)  Whitney's     Hist    Worcostcr.-Such    »holo  Town.lup  .as  purotased  of  tl:e  la- 
grants  mny  seom  like  evidences  of  plenary     diei:?  in  1686,  tor  £..i. 
libernlity  on  the  part  of  the  town,  but  the 


128 


COLONIAL   GUIST   AXD   I'LOUR-MILLS. 


power  by  any  pliiec  in  New  England  of  equal  elevation,  and  had,  in  1193, 
no  less  than  eleven  saw-railU  and  five  Oiist-mills.  Tiie  entire  county, 
at  that  date,  had  upward  of  eighty  Grist  and  Flour-mills.' 

On  the  west  side  of  the  Connecticut,  at  Hatfield,  a  Grist-mill  was  built 
in  1G61,  by  Goodman  Meakins,  by  agreement  with  the  Town  of  Iladley, 
which  engaged  to  have  all  its  grinding  done  there,  provided  he  fulfilled 
his  part  of  the  contract,  and  "made  good  meale."  Finding  it  inconve- 
nient to  cross  the  river  with  their  grain,  the  townspeople,  the  following 
year,  agreed  with  two  j)erson3  to  carry  their  grain  over,  and  return  the 
meal  when  ground.  T'ley  were  to  cell  on  Tuesdays  and  Saturdays  for 
the  bags,  which  were  co  be  ready  filled  and  marked.  The  compensation 
was  3'/.  per  bushel ;  payable  in  wheat,  at  3s.  Gd.,  or  Indian  corn,  at 
2s.  Sd.  per  bushel.  Tired  of  this  tax,  however,  the  Town,  in  1667,  voted 
to  luive  a  mill  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river,  and,  about  that  time,  Wil- 
liam Goodwin  erected  a  second  one  on  Mill  River,  at  North  Hadley. 
Nearly  a  century  after,  in  1150,  the  third  mill  was  built  on  Fort  River, 
by  Edward  Hubbard.  The  last  two  are  now  the  only  Grist-mills  in  the 
town.  Samuel  Bartlet  had  leave  to  build  a  Corn-mill  at  Easthamp'  )n 
in  1686-1.  At  Ware,  mills  were  built  in  1130,  by  Jabez  Olmstead,  and 
at  Greenwich,  in  1145.  Enfield,  Goshen,  North  and  South  Adams, 
Dalton,  Pittsfield,  Lee,  Mount  Washington,  and  other  towns  in  Berk- 
shire were  provided  with  mills  within  the  ne.\t  forty  or  fifty  years. 

These  examples  may  suffice  as  illustrations  of  the  manner  in  which 
water  Grist-mills  were  introduced  and  multiplied  throughout  the  Prov- 
ince generally  in  colonial  times. 

In  that  part  of  Massachusetts,  which  is  now  the  western  part 
eariTMiiu  of  tiic  State  of  Maine,  and  in  the  settlements  on  the  opposite 
Jttjaine.  ^.^^  ^^  ^j^^  Piscataqua  there  were  no  Corn-mills  in  1633,  when 
they  first  began  to  be  erected  near  Boston.  In  1632,  a  pinnace  belong- 
ing to  Captain  Neal,  of  Boston,  was  sent  from  Piscataqua,  with  sixteen 
hogsheads  of  corn  to  be  ground  at  the  Wind  mill  recently  erected  on 
Copp's  Hill,  there  being  no  mill  nearer,' 


(1)  Whitney's  IlUt.  Worcester.— The  cen- 
eug  of  1810  returned  the  mills  from  two 
counties  only  of  the  State,  viz. :  Berkshire, 
which  had  fifty-eight,  and  Hampshire, 
twenty-six,  in  all,  eighty-four,  about  equal 
to  the  nunibei  in  Worcester  County  at  the 
previous  date.  The  last-named  county  was 
not  reprefcnted  in  the  returns  of  the  Mar- 
shals. By  the  last  official  returns  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  1855, 
Massachusetts  is  stated  to  have  thirty-two 
Flour-nillls,  of  which  twelve,  or  double  the 
number  of  any  other  county,  many  of  them 


small,  were  in  Berks.  Six  counties  made  no 
return.  Although  the  number  of  milU  has 
so  much  diminished,  their  capacity,  of 
course,  has  been  vastly  augmented,  by  the 
aid  of  steam-power  and  improved  mcohan- 
ism.  Two  mills,  in  Boston,  manufacture 
more  than  double  the  value  of  flour  made 
by  tlie  whole  eighty-four  in  1810.  The  re- 
cent returns,  probably  only  include  mer- 
chnnt-mills,  end  not  grist  or  cuitomer- 
mills. 

(2;  Williamson's,  ii.  244. 


MAINE   AND   NEW   UAMrSlIIRE.      EAULY    MK.L-   IX. 


139 


id  had,  in  1193, 

I  entire  county, 
1 

t-mill  was  built 
)wn  of  Iladley, 
led  he  fulfilled 
ling  it  inconve- 
!,  the  following 
and  return  the 
Saturdays  for 
e  compensation 
Indian  corn,  at 
,  in  1667,  voted 
that  time,  Wil- 
North  Hadley. 
on  Fort  River, 
ist-mills  in  the 
t  Easthamp'  )n 
;  Olmstead,  and 
South  Adams, 
towns  iu  Berk- 
;y  years, 
lanner  in  which 
liout  the  Prov- 

he  western  part 
»n  the  opposite 
5  in  1633,  when 
pinnace  belong- 
la,  with  sixteen 
ntly  erected  on 


X  counties  made  no 
lumber  of  milU  haa 
heir  cnpneity,  of 
augmented,  by  the 
iroprured  mcohan* 
}8ton,  manufacture 
alue  of  flour  made 
r  in  1810.  The  re- 
only  include  mer- 
griat   or  cuitomer- 

44. 


In  1634  theenterprisingpatentceoflargetractsofluua.southof ihcTis- 
caJl  a  ma^^p^  iln  f!r\he  erection  of  two  mills  witlu.  Ins  grant,  one 
0   S     at  a  saw-mill,  the  other,  probably,  a  Grijt-miU.     The  to...  of 
Ki  terv  gave  lands  near  Berwick  to  George  Broughton  and  a  Mr.  W  n- 
^aU      or'    .     erection  of  mills  iu   1G43,  which  was  twenty  years  afte 
th    settlement  of  the  former  town.     These  appear  to  have  been  about  he 
t  n   he  d   trict.     William  Uutchinson,  of  Boston,  had  n.lls  near  the 
::«  about  the  year  1675.     Carl.  &  Lake  built  -."-^^  ^^'^ 
on  th    Kennebec,  which  they  settled  in  1660,  and  occupied  fll  1C75.    A 
Cintmm,  at  Block  Boint.  and  one  or  two  ^t/a  month,  on  Casco  La  . 
(now  Bonland.)  are  mentioned  by  Joscelyn,  in  1674.     Ihese  last  wtro 
probably  Lrni  by  the  Indians  who  destroyed  the  settlement  the  foUow- 

'"'sotn-ible  a  scourge  were  these  Yandals  of  the  forest,  that  York,  the 
a  '  „  "Agamenticus'one  of  the  oldest  towns  in  the  District  after  havig 
been  ravaged  by  the  French  and  Indians,  in  1G92  was  obliged,  aw 
V  ars  after  in  its  enfeebled  condition,  to  contract  with  a  person  >n  I'orts- 
Lortl:;ectamillforgrindingtheircorn.     ^-/f  ^  ^^  ^^^^  , 

Ziralways  aftefward  carry  their  grain  to  that  mill  so  long  as  tt  was 

"'ll'ies't'iax  was  laid  on  mills  for  the  support  of  Fort  Loyal  as  a 
In  1««-'.^   ^^^,7'   ,.  „^       .   French.     This  continued  to  be  levied 

r  W  1  an  PcppercM  a„d  1»  sou  Willian.,  U,o  ...root  Lo«,»b„rg,  o,  <^. 
vLub  miil.s  le.  or  the  Saco,  now  oecnpicd  h,  ll,o  cKl.nsi.c  "..nufaoto. 
He  of  1.!  town  ;  and  also  on  the  Fisc»tn<,na.     It  i.  prolm  -k,  .  .at  »«- 

::r:;;  i;?/tr  ::i:L"::^  :C  -..opon.'on  or  „.»..«...... 

ta  *„"    Bnt  the  i.,te,r„„.ion  of  the  roreign  trade  and  its  peeuhar  bra..che, 

.     ..  ^,  up  to  his  eightieth  year,  be  was  accustomed 

(1)  Williamson  s,  ...  -5.  ^^^  travel  on  foot  to  Boston-then  sixty  .n.les 

(2)  Maine  Ilist.  Coll.                                    .  ':„   „   .inMe  day  to   purchase    flmir,  and 
la,  Among  the  m,.ny  '-;-;-;;,  /^^  ^,^      ^     ofboar/a  coaster,  he  wt.u.d 

longevity  in  the  early  .nbnb.tants  of  New     h .m .  g  P  ^  ^,^„.j^^^  „«  aied  at 

Hampshire,  it  is  related  of  Robert  Metl.n,  a    ^  .Ik   ''""«;''«:  ^  ,,\  ,.,„,.     ThiH 

«eot^ ."..;  "->  "t"":;': ::  ::S:t::a;:Sc:f m  the  l..  ^.... 

many  yours  at  Portsmouth,  as  a  btiUer,  tnut,     rouv  , 

9 


1 


180 


COLONIAL  OIUST   AND   FLOUR-MILLS. 


of  iiulnstry,  by  \lie  war,  turned  attention  to  agriculture  with  sncli  effect 
tliat  in  1770  the  rrovincc  exportcil  corn  in  consiilerahle  quantity.  Wo 
find  no  specific  mention  of  its  early  progress  in  Grist-mills,  or  tiic  mnnu- 
facturc  of  flour.  Its  ample  endowment  with  water-power  afforded  the 
greatest  facilities  for  every  description  of  mills,  and  these  were  well  im- 
jiroved  for  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  as  they  now  are  for  a  great  variety 
of  manufacturing  purposes. 

Exeter,  a  flourishing  centre  of  industry,  had,  some  years  before  the  close 
of  the  lost  century,  ten  Corn-mills  within  its  limits. 

This  State,  in  1780,  granted  Oliver  Evans  'he  monopoly  of  the  sale  of 
his  improved  mill-machinery  for  fourteen  years. 

In  Ehode  Inland,  as  we  have  seen,  the  first  dependence  was  upon  Wind- 
mills.    During  the  first  century  and  a  half  after  its  settlement,  while 
Newport  was  the  second  city  in  New  England,  and  at  least  the 
iiHsiillde'    equal  of  New  York  in  Commerce,  it  is  probable  many  mills 
were  built  for  the  manufacture  of  flour  and  meal.     It  imported 

provisions  for  the  neighboring  Colonies. 

Some  years  previous  to  1734,  an  Act  of  the  Assembly  was  made 
"  for  regulating  mills  within  the  Colony,"  to  which  a  supplementary  one 
was  made  that  year.'  In  1746,  John  Smith,  called  "the  miller,"  to 
distinguish  him  from  others  of  the  name,  received  a  grant  of  the  valley, 
in  which  he  resided,  along  the  line  of  the  present  Chnrles  street,  Provi- 
dence, in  case  he  set  up  a  mill.  He  afterward  built  the  mill  "where  the 
first  stone  lock  of  the  Blackstone  Canal  now  is,"  which  he  kept  in  use 
until  that  improvement  displaced  him.  A  suit  was  afterward  brought 
ajjainst  the  family  who  recently  owned, — if  they  do  not  still, — the  water 
privilege,  on  the  ground  that  the  original  grant  of  the  town,  and  the 
subsequent  acts  of  "  the  miller,"  obliged  them  not  only  to  set  up,  but 
to  keep  in  repair,  a  Grist-mill  throughout  all  time." 

The  quantity  of  flour  brought  to  market  in  Providence,  from  the  sur- 
rounding country,  in  1774,  was  so  much  greater  than  at  any  time  previous, 
as  to  be  subject  of  newspaper  comment,  and  excited  the  expectation  that 
it  would  in  time  become  "  a  very  considerable  article  of  exportation." 
That  time  has  not  yet  arrived,  and  becomes  more  and  more  distant,  as 
the  manufacturers  of  the  city  increase,  to  furnish  a  home  market  for  its 
agriculture,  of  which  wheat  was  never  a  staple  product." 


ing  Post,  in  April,  1761,  would  be  accom- 
plished by  a  "  Btage-chnisy,  with  two  good 
horses,  well  equipped,"  once  a  week,  occu- 
pying two  days  each  way  in  travel !  It  is 
now  performed  in  «  forenoon,  allowing 
abundant  time  for  purchaser. 


(1)  R.  I.— Col.  Record?,  vol.  4. 

C2)  Annals  of  Providence,  p.  612. 

(3)  The  county  of  Providence  had,  In  1810, 
22  Grist  and  28  Saw-mills.  There  wero 
no  returns  for  the  other  counties. 


ivith  sncli  elTt'ct 
quantity.  Wo 
Is,  or  tlie  mntiu- 
er  nffortled  tlio 
le  were  well  im- 
■  a  great  variety 

before  the  close 

ly  of  the  sale  of 

ivas  upon  Wind- 
ettlement,  while 
and  at  least  the 
iible  many  mills 
il.     It  imported 

Tibly  was  made 
ipleraentary  one 
'  the  miller,"  to 
nt  of  the  valley, 
es  street,  Provi- 
mill  "where  the 
he  kept  in  use 
erward  brought 
still, — the  water 
e  town,  and  the 
r  to  set  up,  but 

;e,  from  the  sur- 
ly  time  previous, 
expectation  that 
of  exportation." 
more  distant,  as 
le  market  for  its 


U,  vol.  4. 
nco,  p.  612. 
vidence  haJ,  in  1810, 
-milla.    There  wero 
couDtica. 


CONNECTICI'T.       NEW   H.VVKN— NEW    I.ONnnX. 


131 


In  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  the  Court,  Soptombor  2d,  1011  grantrd 
R  S  Abbingt.m  an  attachment  against  Edwanl  Hoi.kins,_probnbly  the 
■  ■  (Jovcrnor-upon  one-half  "the  myll  standing  on  the  now 
?^u,;%c«c.  i5,.i^]gc  "  indicating  the  existence  of  a  mill  at  New  Haven.  An 
old  mill  in  the  environs  of  that  city,  furnished  concealment  to  GofTe  and 
Wlmllcv,  the  King's  Judges,  in  1G61,  while  officers  were  in  pursuit. 

In  all  new  settlements,  a  Grist-mill  is  an  object  '^f  so  much  .mportance 
that  it  has  been  deemed  a  matter  deserving  not  only  of  excl.)sivc  privilege 
b     oc'ol  authorities,  but  one  of  general  public  interest.     There  are  few 
p  rsons  in  any  community,  in  aid  of  whose  enterprises  grat.utous  labor  . 
more  cheerfully  and  promptly  rendered  than  those  of  the  "  miller."    It  i 
not  uncommoi,  in  some  parts  of  America,  at  the  preseit  dnv,  when  capital 
and  enterprise  are  more  self-reliant  than  formerly,  for  u..  .neighbors  to 
"1   in  a'body  in  the  erection  of  the  dam  and  heavy  work,  or  la  restoring 
Tin  demolfshed  by  freshets,  as  frequently  happens      The  precari 
Ips    from  an   imperfect  agriculture  and  frequent  drouth,  and  other 
c  rln^tances.  formerly  rendered  it,  moreover,  a  business  of  uncertain 
Ifits,  and  the  miller  not  unfrequently  pursued  another  occupation  at  th 
ilme  lime,  which  often  conflicted  with  his  duty  as  the  servant  ot  the 

'"SrNovember  10th,  1650,  a  town  meeting  was  held  at  New  London^ 
to  co-operate  with  Mr.  Winthrop  in  establishing  a  mill  to  grind  corn  the 
,  luvbit  nts  to  be  at  the  charge  of  "  making  the  dam  and  heavy  work  to 
th  m  ine  ;"  for  which  labor,  six  men  were  to  be  paid  two  shil  ngs  a  day 
each  "  Further  it  was  agreed,  that  no  person,  or  persons,  shall  set  up 
any  other  milne  to  grind  corne,  for  the  town  of  Tequett,  within  the  bmjts 
0  th  town,  either  for  the  present,  or  for  the  future,  so  long  as  M 
Win  hr  p!o    his  heirs,  do  uphold  the  milne  to  grind  the  town  corn." 


(1)  The  "  Poet  Artist,"  T.  Buchanan  Bead, 
in  the  "  New  Pastoral,"  has  noticed  this 
feature  in  rural  economy,  as  well  as  the 
primitive  custom  of  making  the  miller's  duty 
subsidiary  to  other  employments.  In  this 
ease,  the  miller  is  also  the  village  minister, 
and  no  disparagement  of  his  sacred  office  is 
intended  by  the  association  : 
All  weelc  he  tends  within  his  noisy  mill, 
Whose  wheel  now  hangs  and  dreams  o'er 

yonder  stream ; 
And  bends  his   brawny  shoulders  to  the 

sacks 
Which  daily  cross  the  threshold;  or  among 
The  ceaseless  jar  and  whirr  of  rumbling 
stones. 


And    clattering    hoppers,    garrulous    with 

grain, 
He  walks  amid  tho  misty  meal,  and  plans 
The  solemn  lesson  for  the  coming  sabbath. 
«  *  *  •  * 

The  dam  has  burst!  and,  with  a  roar  of 

triumph, 
The  freshet  mocks  the  miller  as  it  flies. 
***** 
The  stream  has  fallen  ;  and  at  the  miller's 

dam, 
Thencighbors,by  good  ninstor  Ethan  called, 
Collecting  come  with   crow-bar,  pick,  and 

Fpiide, 
And  in  tho  breach  begin  the  swift  repair." 


182 


COLONIAL  GRIST   AND   FLOUR-MILLS. 


m 


Thi8"to\vne  mill,"  which  was  built  soon  after,  probably  by  Elderkin, 
liaving  been  leased  to  James  Rogers,  whom  Mr.  Winthrop  afterward 
sued  foi  breach  of  contract,  but  without  recovering  damages,  gave  dissatis- 
faction to  the  peojile,  and  the  town  complained  to  the  General  Cvurt  that 
they  were  not  "  duely  served  in  the  grinding  of  their  come,  and  were  much 
damnified."  To  prevent  "  disturbance  of  the  peace,"  the  Court  ordered 
Mr.  Rogers  to  give  "  a  daily  attendance  at  the  mill."  The  mill  was 
running,  it  is  said,  in  1852.' 

Leave  for  a  second  corn-mill  in  that  town  was  not  granted  until  1709, 
when  several  persons  obtained  permission,  and  a  mill  was  built  in  1712, 
by  Richard  Man  waring,  on  the  falls  of  Jordan  Brook,  ^'ine  years  after, 
Joseph  Smith  had  leave  to  erect  fulling  and  grist-mills,  at  Upper  Alewive 

Cove. 

The  Yantic,  and  other  branches  of  the  Thames,  on  which  they  were 
erected,  afford  some  of  the  finest  mill-seats  in  New  England.  Ihose  at 
the  Falls  of  the  i'untic  are  scarcely  exceeded  by  any  in  the  world ;  and, 
after  the  Revolution,  were  occupied  by  the  mills  of  Mr.  Lathrop,  a  de- 
scendant of  one  of  the  first  settlers. 

The  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  March  9th,  1658,  '59,  ordained  regula- 
tions respecting  grist-mills,  ordering  a  toll  dish,  "of  just  a  quart,"  ana 
others  of  different  sizes,  to  be  sealed  for  every  mill  in  the  Colony,  and  also 
u  proper  "  strike,"  for  the  grain.  Four  years  after,  the  toll  of  such  mills 
was  cstablislicd,  by  allowing  of  Indian  corn  one-twelfth  part,  and  of  other 
grain  one-sxith  part,  for  grinding.  About  the  same  time,  by  order  of 
the  Court,  the  "soldiers  of  Middletown,  in  the  same  Colony,  are  abated 
of  one  of  the  ordinary  trainings,  that  they  may  help  him  that  carries  on 
the  mill  there,  up  with  his  heavy  worke." 

Water-wheels  were,  from  a  very  early  period,  occasionally  moved  by 
the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide.  Many  of  them  were  used  by  the  Venetians 
about  107s.  In  this  country,  tidal-mills  were  also  in  use  in  several  places 
previous  to  the  Revolution.  In  1773,  the  people  of  Saybrook,  in  Con- 
necticut, were  compelled  to  resort  to  those  on  Long  Island,  a  severe 
drouth  having  so  dried  up  the  streams  by  which  the  old  undershot-mills 
were  operated,  that  only  twenty  bushels  of  gmin  were  ground  in  four 
months.  In  this  emergency,  John  Sliipman,  o'  that  place,  petitioned 
and  obtained  from  the  Legislature  a  patent  for  an  iinproved  tidal-mill,  of 
his  invention.  An  exclusive  right  was  granted  him  for  the  term  of  forty 
years,  for  the  town  of  Saybrook,  and  twenty  miles  west  of  the  C  Minicticut 
River  ;  and  all  others  were  forbid  erecting  and  improving  tide-mills  within 
those  limits  during  that  time.' 

(1)  Ciiiilkin'a  Hielory  of  Nuw  London.  Colnnion,  wcroof  llii>  undorsliot  kinil.linving, 

(2)  Most  of  t'lio  uurl)  wutcr-milla  in  the     for  Ilia  niOBt  purt,  boon  built  nitli  ika  litlU 


I 


1 


y  by  Elderkin, 
lirop  afterward 
s,  gave  dissatis- 
eral  C.-urt  that 
and  were  much 
!  Court  ordered 
The  mill  was 

ited  until  1709, 
!  built  in  1712, 
«inc  years  after, 
Upper  Alewive 

?hich  they  were 

and.     Ihose  at 

the  world ;  and, 

Lathrop,  a  de- 

)rdained  regula- 
st  a  quart,"  ana 
Colony,  and  also 
toll  of  such  niilla 
art,  and  of  other 
ime,  by  order  of 
lony,  are  abated 
n  that  carries  on 

mally  moved  by 
ly  the  Venetians 
in  several  places 
lybrook,  in  Con- 
Island,  a  severe 
I  undershot-mills 
ground  in  four 
place,  petitioned 
ved  tidal-mill,  of 
the  term  of  forty 
f  the  C  Minicticut 
;  tidc-niills  within 


dcrshnt  kinil,  liiiving, 
1  built  nitli  BS  litll* 


NEW  YOHK.      TIIK   r.OI/riNG   ACT, 


133 


2.  Miixs  IN  New  York.— Although  the  ancient  Knickerbockers,  and 
their  English  successors,  made  great  use  of  wind-mills  and  cattle-mills, 
these  were  not  their  sole  depeudc.ico.     Water-mills  were  also  used  ;  and 
the  time  is  not  very  remote  when,  according  to  her  annalists,  the  sound 
of  the  mill-stream  could  be  heard  in  the  vicinity  of  Wall  street.     Thcrt 
was  a  water-mill  there  previous  to  the  year  1661.     It  stood  ner-;    the 
Kolch  or  Freshwater  I'ond.-a  collection  of  water  north  of  the  com.nons, 
or  present  city  buildings,  in  Centre  street,  so  deep  as  to  be  thought  to  bo 
without  bottom,  and  abounding  in  fish,  which,  as  late  as  1734,  an  Ordi- 
nance of  the  Common  Council  declared  should  not  be  taken  in  any  other 
way  than  by  angling.     The  miller  had  the  use  of  the  valley  ;  and,  to  obtain 
more  water  dug  a  race  which  admitted  the  salt  water,  to  pvevent  which, 
he  was  required  by  law,  in  1C61,  to  hang  a  waste-gate,  to  bar  its  passage. 
The  outlet  of  the  "collect," or  kolch,  was  to  the  North  River,  nearly  on 
the  line  of  Canal  street,  through  which  the  Indians  entered  in  canoes  to 
their  village  on  the  banks  of  the  pond. 

A  measure  adopted  by  Governor  Anu.os,  in  1678,  for  increasing  the. 
trade  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  disregard  of  the  rights  of  other  sections 
of  the  Province,  shows  the  manufacture  of  flour  and  bread  to  have  already 
become  an  important  industry,  and  the  export  of  these  articles  consHlern- 
ble     Some  regulations  were  that  year  made,  giving  New  York  a  monopoly 
of  the  business,  by  prohibiting  the  making  and  bolting  of  flour  in  ..ny 
place  within  the  Province,  but  in  that  city  only  ;  "  nor  noe  flower  or  bread 
to  be  imported  into  this  city,  from  nny  other  part  of  the  Province,  under 
penalty  of  forfeiture."    The  Council  prayed  the  Governor  (Dongan)  to 
confirm  these  laws,  which  was  done.     The  arguments  used  by  the  Cor- 
poration, in  enforcing  these  ordinances,  were,  that  the  prosperity  of  the 
city  depended  upon  the  monopoly;  and.  that  it  would  take  nothing  away 
from  any  other  part  of  the  Province.' 


expense  a«  pojsiblo,  upon  smiill  Btreiim*.  in 
the  most  convenient  localities.  anC,  (io.«is"'''l 
only  for  the  limited  operntion  of  grinding 
the  fnmily  grist.  Mnny  of  these  little 
Btrciinis  ns  the  country  btcnmc  cleRreil, 
either  wholly  drierl  up  in  summer,  or  bopiinio 
too  (.mull  to  supply  n  mill.  As  population 
and  nRricultuto  inercnscd.  demiinds  were 
mnde  for  mills  of  greater  capacity,  and  over- 
ghotmills  took  their  place  whenever  iv  suf- 
ficient hody  of  wnti-'i  could  he  obtained. 

"It  is  notorious  In  these  countries,"  says 
Douglass,  in  his  Summary  of  the  British 
Eettlementsin  America,  "  that  many  streams 
of  water  which  iu  tUo  begiuuing  came  fr-^m 


woodlandu,  and  carried  grist-mills  and  law- 
mills,  when  these  lands  were  cleared  of  wood 
the  streams  vanished  and  became  dry.  the 
mills  ccafcd,  and  in  some  parts  the  cattle 
could  not  bo  con\cnicntly  watered." 

(1)  A  curious  repulatiim  was  made  with 
regard  to  bakers,  in  IfiSB.  There  were 
twenty-four  in  the  city,  which  wore  divided 
into  six  classes,  and  one  class  appointed  to 
serve  for  ca.di  working  day  iu  the  week. 
The  population  nf  the  Province  was  then 
twenty  thousand.  The  price  of  a  white  loaf 
weighing  12  or.  wa«  fixed  iu  1684,  at  ii« 
slivers  leumjnim. 


184 


COLONIAL  GUIST   AND   FLOUU-MILLS. 


Uuilyr  the  operaiion  of  this  law,  in  1691,  all  Hour  not  bolted  in  the 
city  was  ordered  to  Ue  seized.     This  privilege  of  the  city  appears  to  have 
been  abolished  in  1(594,  through  the  earnest  remonstrance  of  the  counties 
on  Long  Island  and  the  Hudson  lliver,  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly "  against  unlawful  by-laws,"  which  was  considered  so  great  a  calamity 
that  the  city  was  regarded  as  irretrievably  ruined,  unless  it  could  be 
restored.     The  merchants  and  city  fathers,  in  the  midst  of  a  worse  than 
modern  "panic,"  petitioned  the  Governor,  memorialized  his  successor, 
"  my  Lord  Beliamont,"  end  at  length  voted  money  to  send  an  agent  with  aa 
address  to  the  King,  praying  for  the  repeal  ol  the  obnoxious  law  abolish- 
ing the  Bolting  Act."    "  When  the  boiling  began,  1078,"  say  the  Common 
Council,  "there  wore  only  343  houses.     In  1696,  there  were  594.     The 
revenue  in  1078,  '79,  and  1680,  not  exceeding  £2000;  iu  the  year  1687, 
X5000.     T-  1678,  there  were  3  ships,  7  boats,  8  sloops.     In  1694,  there 
were  '')?       '      40  boats,  62  sloops:  since  which  a  decrease.     In  1678, 
New  York  killed  400  'beefes,'in  1694,  near  4000.     Lands  had  advanced 
ten  times  in  value.     If  this  Act  continue,  many  families  in  New  York 
must  perish."     This  danger  seems  to  have  been  more  than  imaginary,  as 
the  inhabitants,  in  1696,  complained  of  the  scarcity  of  bread,  and  the 
bakers,  being  summoned,  said  they  could  not  purchase  flour.     The  Alder- 
jr.un  were  ordered  to  inquire  into  the  matter,  and  reported  that  there  were 
iu  the  city  only  seven  hundred  bu:sht>]s  of  corn,  and  the  population  being 
6000,  it  would  not  suffice  for  a  week's  maintenance— the  cause  of  which 
was,  "the  liberty  and  latitude  that  every  planter  hath  lately  taken,  of 
making  his  house  or  farm  a  market  for  his  wheat,  or  converting  the  same 
into  Hour  by  boiling  of  itt,  and  that  under  pretence  of  a  jtrivilege,  they 
conceive  they  have  obtained  by  virtue  of  a  law  of  the  General  Assembly, 
entitled  an  act  against  unlawful  by-laws."     " The  calamity,"  they  say, 
"hath  prodnc'.d  n    u   liy  in  the  Province,  and  destroyed  the  reputation 
of  New  York  flot"  "      '<  le  City  Recorder,  in  a  lette:"  to  the  Committee 
Appointed  to  adiire-i  '    -  ^'ng,  in  1098,  says,  "he  is  grieved  to  find  the 
great  heat  he  saw  amo    •    aem,  at  the  last  meetings,  when  the  great  con- 
cern in  hand  is  considered,  no  less  than  the  livelihood  of  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  New  York."     lie  reminds  them  that  only  700  schcpels  of  corn 
were  found  in  the  city.     The  business  of  "boalling"  must  iiavo  bceu 


(1)  The"humbIo  addrcsa  of  the  Govor- 
nour  iiuil  Countiil  of  ycmr  Miijonty'a  I'ro- 
tint'O  of  New  Yorkc  iiml  Dilii'iidini'V!',  Aug. 
6,  1 61)1,"  says  "Now  Yorku  in  tlio  Molmpo- 
liM,     it    scitunio    iipiiii    n    barrvii     li<luiiil, 


chiefly  flow*  from  flower  niul  bruail  tlicy 
inuku  of  tliB  corno  tho  wont  eiul  of  Lung 
Island  and  Zopus  (E.^opus)  prodiu'ctli.whieli 
U  font  to  tho  West  Indiec ;  ami  llioro  U 
broiiitht  in  return  from  thencon  liiiuur  called 


bounded  by  llndnon's   IU\er  and  tho  East     It  inn  m,  the  duty  whoro  )f  conKidurably  in- 
Kiver,  that  runH  itii,  the  Sound,  and  1. 'ih     creuselh  your  Majeatios' ruvenuu." 
uulhiug    to  support    it    but    trade,  MhiuU 


NEW   YOllK.      VAN    UKNSSEL.\EU'ti   MILLS. 


135 


bolted  in  the 
ppears  to  Lave 
[)f  the  counties 
leiiera'  Assem- 
reot  a  calamity 
;8S  it  could  be 
f  a  worse  tliaa 

his  successor, 
a  agent  with  an 
lus  law  abolish- 
ay  the  Common 
irere  594.     The 

the  year  1C8T, 

In  1694,  there 
ase.  In  1678, 
s  had  advanced 
1  in  New  York 
n  imaginary,  as 
bread,  and  the 
ir.     TheAlder- 

that  there  were 
opulation  being 

cause  of  which 
lately  taken,  of 
erting  the  same 
,  i»rivilege,  they 
neral  Assembly, 
aiity,"  they  say, 

the  reputation 
I  the  Committee 
UTcd  to  find  the 
n  the  great  con- 
f  all  the  inhabi- 
schcpels  of  corn 
uust  iiave  bceu 

er  and  brund  tlicy 
went  eiul  of  Liin({ 
11.^)  proitueetli,  which 
iilit'i< ;  Biiil  tlioro  i« 
hcnco  0  lii|iiiir  culled 
)f  oonnidurably  in- 
'  rovenuu." 


.„  ,.uH,  to  „,.dor»l  na  by  .ha.  pm  ^^^^^^^^^.^^ 

rw,r  ^'att »-:';,;  or  .,• ..,., ..  »™o» . .....y  - 

°'":;;:o::t:r  r..roo„„  gra,„ea  in  3C..  .,•  '^^^-^^^^ 
Sutch   Province  the  decayed  institutions  of  the  old  feudal  sjstuu 

Th     renewal  of  fealty  and  homage  to  the  Company  and  ^^  V^r^^^ 
Lll,  roUli^a  .0  erect  and  kee„  .«eh  u.i.1  U,  repa,,  U  l..s  «."  e.- 

been  engaged  in  Holland,  for  that  purpose,  at  30  gm Idcs  "^  y^"    J 

Norma  'Kill,  five  miles  below  Albany.     The  former.  KoeyunJ  re  ted 
fo    a  number  of  years;  and,  in  1073,  became  the  ,n.a  .as^       a    -, 
tract  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  -;^^^^^^^;^'' 
creek,  and  the  ancient  town  of  Coeymans,  stdl  »-;  "'-^^™;,;      ^^  ^,^^^ 

There  was  also  a  mill  at  llensselaerwyck.  '»  ^  f^^^' ^^^^^'^^,,     "^ 
Tan^en  •  ard  in  1646,  there  was  one  on  the  th.rd  or  llutlcn  kill. 

N  ve'rt  ikss  in  Ja  .uary  of  that  year,  they  were  forced  to  return  to     o 
j7ttZ..ll\,"^^r^  situated  on  the  ^rth  kill  be.ng,  to  tho 
"1   d   nage  of  the  I'atroon,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Coloa.e  (K      - 
'It sTf  r  a  considerable  ti.ne  out  of  rcpa.r,  or  unlit  to  be  worked,  e.lhe 
;y  ulete^ng  of  the  dam.  the  severity  of  the  winter,  or  the  h.gh  water, 

(1)  O'CuUnijlittu's  Now  Kothcrk'idf,  1.,  218,  325. 


186 


COLONIAL   ORTST   AND   Fr.OUR-MlLLS, 


or  otherwise  ;  besides  being  out  of  the  «-ay,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  inhabi- 
tants in  going  and  returning." 

A  contract  was  made  with  Tieter  Cornelissen,  the  millwriglit,  to  erect 
a  horse-mill,  which  lie  was  to  complete  for  300  florins— the  commis;,iary,  or 
agent  of  die  Patroon,  furnishing  materials  and  horses  at  their  joint  ex- 
pense. Oi.  its  completion.  Corneiissen  was  to  work  one  day  for  himself, 
and  one  for  the  Patroon,  receiving  one  rix-doUar  per  day,  and  an  equal 
sliare  of  the  profits.  In  case  another  mill  became  necessary  for  the 
Colony  and  strangers  who  began  to  resort  thither  for  trade,  the  privilege 
of  building  it  should  belong  to  the  millwright.  Let  not  the  rich  flouring 
corporations  of  the  Empir<^  State,  smile  at  the  copartnerships  of  their 
Knickerbocker  fathers,  for  they  owe  much  to  their  prudent  eflbrts. 

Mills  were  set  up  at  quite  an  early  period  on  Long  Island.  South- 
ampton was  settled  in  1G40,  by  people  from  Lynn,  Massachusetts;  and 
Eastharapton,  by  others  from  the  same  place  soon  after.  The  first  Grist- 
mill, at  the  last-mentioned  place,  was  driven  by  cattle;  and  tradition 
relates  that,  before  its  erection,  the  people  went  to  Southampton  to  mill, 
and  carried  their  grain  on  the  back  of  the  town  bull.' 

It  was  not,  however,  until  near  the  present  century  that  Grist-mills 
were  erected  in  Western  New  York.     Through  all  the  vast  region 

"  Where  wild  Oswego  spreads  lier  swamps  around. 
And  Niagara  stuns  with  thundering  sound," 

the  Mohawk,  the  Oneida,  and  the  Seneca,  pounded  his  maize  and  ato 

his   unbolted   meal   in   undisturbed  possession  of  tl<e  "backwoods"  of 

the  Genesee  and  the  Mohawk  Valleys.     There  were  no  mills 

w""(l°n       west  of  German  Flatts  in  Herkimer  County,  in  1788,  and  few 

TJatjB  York  1  • 

or  no  improvements  of  any  kind.     There  was  not  even  a  white 
inhabitant  from  Fort  Stauwix  (Rome),  to  the  Western  Lakes.     Where 


^ 


(0  Doc.  iii.«t.  N.  Y.,  i,  nrs. 

This  will  no  um'omiiii>n  occurrence  nt  that 
time,  in  differunt  piirU  of  tlio  eountry. 
Richard  Smith,  who  fimndoJ  Sinithtnwn  in 
the  Biimo  county,  a  few  yenrs  nfter,  ac- 
quired the  cognomen  of"  Hull  Smitli,"from 
the  ftroiit  use  ho  mndo  of  the  nnimal ;  and 
the  fiiMiily  hn'o  ever  since  been  po  called  to 
dii'finRnii'h  thorn  from  thodescendnnteof  Col. 
Wm.  Smith,  who  have  hecn  na  univcrsolly 
called  "Tangier  Riiiilhs,"  from  his  having 
once  been  Governor  nf  that  iKland.  Ilichurd 
Townnond,  who  built  the  flrvl  mill  in  I'hilii- 
deljjbia,  relates  thot  one  of  hia  customers 


brought  his  grist  on  a  tame  bull.  Many  had 
not  even  that  accommtdHlion,  and  instances 
are  mentioned  in  tho  pi  -neer  history  of  New 
Yorl?,  and  still  later  in  Ohio,  where  men 
carried  their  sacks  40  miles  or  more,  on  their 
own  backs  to  mill  to  sustain  their  families. 
High  antiiiuity  may  bo  pleaded  fi>r  this  use 
of  the  animal.  It  was  common  with  the 
Plymouth  people  in  the  first  years  of  tho 
Colony.  It  is  a  well  known  tratlition,  that 
John  AMcn,  the  fortunate  rifal  of  the 
courtly  Miles  Rlandish,  conducted  his  brida 
homo  on  a  milk-white  bullock. 


)  of  the  inhabi- 

fright,  to  erect 
commissary,  or 
tlicir  joint  ex- 
iay  for  himself, 
,  ami  an  equal 
jessary  for  the 
e,  the  privilege 
le  rich  flouring 
rships  of  their 
t  efforts, 
sland.  South- 
achusetts ;  uiul 
The  first  Grist- 
and  tradition 
ampton  to  mill, 

ihat  Grist-mills 
ist  region 

J, 

maize  and  nto 
backwoods"  of 
1  were  no  mills 

1788,  and  few 
ot  even  a  white 
Lakes.     ^Vhere 


ma  bull.  Mnnyhad 
Hiion,  nnj  iii^tnncca 
neer  history  of  New 
I  Obio,  where  men 
Ics  or  more,  on  tholr 
stain  their  families, 
ileaflcd  fi>r  this  iipo 
commiin  with  tlio 
a  first  ypiirs  of  tho 
lown  trniiitlon,  thnt 
innto  rifnl  of  th« 
rnnducteil  \i\3  brida 
ulloek. 


^ 


NEW   YORK  AND  NEW  JERSEY.      MILLS   AT  ROCHESTER.  137 

Utiea  now  stands,  there  were  then  one  log  house  and  only  two  dwellings 
in  1794     Four  years  later,  however,  both  flour  and  saw-miUs  were 
erected,  at  great  expense,  at  Seneca  Falls,  by  some  enterpris.ng  persons 
who  alio  b'ilt  a  bridge  over  that  river,  and  co-operated  wUh  General 
Williamson  in  constructing  a  good  wagon  road  to  Geneva. 

On  the  Genesee  lands  granted,  in  1788  to  Messrs.  Gorhnm  &  Fhelps, 
by  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  embracing  nearly  two  m.lhons  o  acre 
d  a  fine  agricultural  region,  there  were,  in  1790.  only  four  gr.st-m.l  s  -ul 
four  saw-mills.     In  that  year.  George  Seriba,  a  German  -^^^^^^^[^'^1 
York  purchased  50.000  acres  (Tf  hmd  in  the  present  counties  of  Oswego 
and  Otleida,  for  $80,000.     At  a  place  called  Rotterdam,  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Oneida  he  s"^  "p  in  1794,  a  saw-mill,  and  the  year  foUow.nj^^,  bu.lt 
^t  the tme  place,  (now  Constantia  Centre),  the  first  Grist-mill  in  Oswego 
county,  which  at  the  present  time  manufactures  more  flour  than  any  other 

'"  Tl'e  magnificent  water-power  of  the  Genesee  Falls,  at  Rochester,  which, 
with  the  artificial  additions,  represents  an  annual  value  in  '^ot.ve-power 
of  nearly  ten  millions  of  dollars,  much  of  which  is  employed  in  the  floinr 
business,  was  appropriated  to  that  use  by  the  first  settler  Lbeuezer  Allen 
who.  in  1788  or  1789,  built  a  mill  at  that  place,  fifty  m.les  .n  advance 
the  iiearest  settlers,  but  soon  after  sold  out  to  Colonel  F.sh.     The  null 
went  to  decay,  and  in  1809,  an  enterprising  Engl.shnian,  the  budder  of 
Soho  Square,  London,  who  built  h  mill  there,  was  still  a  solitary  dweller 
in  the  wilderness,  thirty  miles  no.th  and  west  of  the  nearest  sett  ement. 
and  would  have  sold  his  improvements  in  the  "^lour  C.ty     fo    $400 
His  cabin  was  on  the  site  of  the  present  Eagle  Hotel      In  1814.  th    first 
flour  was  exported  from  that  place,  where  the  third  mill  was  that  year  budt. 
There  are  now  24  mills  capable  of  grinding  800.000  barrels  annually. 

These  were  probably  the  first  of  those  numerous  mills  which  now  occupy 
the  many  mill-seats  amonsr  the  spurs  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  on  all  the 
streams  which  seek  the  northern  lakes  throucho.t  the  flour-producmg 
regions. 

3  Nfw  JEUSEY.-In  the  eastern  part  of  New  Jersey,  mills  were  pro- 
babiy  erected  by  the  Dutch  and  New  England  settlers  at  an  early  period. 
One  of  the  first  of  which  wc  find  any  mention,  was  a  mill  at  \\  oodbndge, 
in  1670-71,  built  by  Jonathan  Dunham,  who  agreed  with  the  town  to 

M)   Frcneh-,  Historical   and    SUtistieal  of  flour  daily.     Tho  manufacture  of  barrel. 

Oa  «,...""  New  York.  1859.     Tho  mill,  of  for  tho  O.wego  Mill.,  and  the  .vra.us.  S  It 

0^0,    .8  in   number,  and  with  an  Work,  is  a  principal  buMne.-n  the  c,n.nty. 

ag^re' ate  of  100  run  of  stones,  are  stated  to  and  amounU  to  ouc  und  a  half  uaUu.n,  an- 

bo  capable  of  manufacturing  10.000  barrels  Dually. 


133 


COLONIAL  GRIST  AND  FI.OX;R-MILLS. 


furnish  "  two  good  stones,  of  at  least  five  feet  across."  It  was  the  first  ia 
that  place,  and  the  owner  received  grants  of  land  as  an  encouriigemenl. 
The  toll  was  to  be  one-sixteenth.  Others  were  built  there  in  lt05,  by 
Elisha  Parker;  in  1709,  by  John  Pike  (a  very  prominent  citizen,  from 
Watertown,  Massachusetts)  and  Richard  Cutler ;  and  iu  1710,  by  llichard 

Soper. 

Newark,  settled  in  1066  by  people  from  Connecticut,  of  whom  Robert 
Treat— afterward  Governor  of  Connecticut— was  one,  two  years  after  ap- 
pointed him  and  Richard  Harrison  "  to  erect  a  Grist-mill  on  the  brook  at 
the  north  end  of  the  town,"  setting  aparl  the  second  and  si.xth  days  of 
the  week  as  grinding-days.'  There  was  a  mill  at  Hoboken,  in  1682, 
which  was  owned  in  New  York.  Flour  and  grain  were  that  year  mentioned 
as  articles  of  export  from  the  eastern  section  of  the  Province.  A  bis- 
cuit-maker and  bakery  was  much  needed,  it  was  said,  to  prepare  their 
meal  for  the  West  India  and  neighboring  Colonial  markets.  A  superior 
horse  mill  was  built  at  Amboy,  the  seat  of  government,  iu  1685.  Water- 
mills  existed  iu  several  plaf"^  and  others  \.  ere  going  up. 

About  1680,  a  water-mill  was  built  near  Rancocas  Creek,  in  West 
Jersey,  by  Thomas  Olive,  and  the  same  year  a  mill  was  finished  by  Robert 
Stacey,  at  Trenton.  Both  of  these  persons  were  proprietaries  of  that  part 
of  the  Province.  The  inhabitants,  it  is  said,  had,  previous  to  this, 
pounded  their  corn,  or  ground  it  with  hand-mills,  and  that  those  two  mills 
were  the  only  ones  that  ground  for  the  country  during  the  first  few  years 
after  the  arrival  under  the  new  grants.  In  1714,  Stacey  sold  his  mill 
and  plantation  of  eight  hundred  acres,  on  each  side  of  the  Assunpiiik,  to 
Colonel  William  Trent,  whu.-3  name  the  city  bears.  It  was,  we  believe, 
the  only  one  there  previo\ir  to  his  death,  in  1724. 

The  first  residents  of  Saem  brought  their  hand-mills  from  England, 
but  soon  resorted  to  horse,  cattle,  and  wind-mills— of  which  they  had  at 
least  three— and  water-mills.  Of  these  last,  tide-mills  were  first  employed, 
and  there  were  several  in  the  county,  viz.  :  at  Mill  Creek,  Elsinborough  ; 
Mill-hollow,  near  Salem  ;  Mahoppomy  Creek,  in  Mannington  ;  Cooper's 
Creek  ;  on  south  side  of  Alloway's  Creek ;  and  at  Carney's  Point,  in  Upper 
Penn's  Neck." 

About  the  year  1690,  John  Townsend,  one  of  four  brothers,  English 
Quakers,  who  settled,  one  in  New  York,  one  in  New  England,  one  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  other  at  T.itlle  Egg  Harbor,  New  Jersey,  crossed 
the  river  above  that  place,  and  ^raveled  down  the  shore  ten  miles 
hi  search  of  a  mill-stream.  Having  'ound  one,  he  returned,  purchased  a 
pair  of  oxen,  got  them  across  the  river,  took  the  yoke  on  his  shoulder,— as 


(I)  Barber  i,  Howe's  Iliat.  Coll.,  177. 


(2)  Barber  4  Howe's  Hist.  Coll.,  435. 


t  was  the  first  iu 
encourugemenl. 
lere  in  1705,  by 
;nt  citizen,  from 
.710,by  llichard 

)f  whom  Robert 

0  years  after  ap- 
on  the  brooii  at 
d  sixth  days  of 
bolieu,  in  1(582, 
,t  year  mentioned 
rovince.  A  bis- 
to  prepare  their 
ets.  A  superior 
a  1685.     Wuter- 

Creek,  in  West 
nished  by  Robert 
Laries  of  tliut  part 
previous  to  this, 
at  those  two  mills 
.he  first  few  years 
cey  sold  his  mill 
ho  Assunpiiili,  to 
t  was,  we  believe, 

Is  from  England, 
hich  they  hud  at 
(re  first  employed, 
k,  Elsinborongh  ; 
ington ;  Cooper's 
's  Toint,  in  Upper 

brothers,  English 
England,  one  in 

w  Jersey,  crossed 
shore  ten  miles 

rned,  purchased  a 

1  his  shoulder, — as 

g  Hist  Coll.,  43S. 


NEW  JERSEY   AND   PKNNSYIAANIA.      SWKDISII   MILLS. 


139 


there  was  not  room  to  drive  them  abreas  ,_and    '     /-    ;  ^^^ 
him,  on  an  Indian  path,  to  the  spot  previous  y  select  d      "^    »-^;     > 
a  c  bin  and  a  mill,  and  made  a  clearing;  -'-l'/"  ^^^^ ^^       ifbtt'l  er 

A  lettei  liora  ^ '"  ^  ^    ^  y^,  Macomb,  of  that 

^^    perior  »L=.l.„.c  m  ,.erfon,u„g  .b»  Ha,n.  amount  of  »     >■  '^^ 

K,s  exi»..»  or  water,  b,  tho  use  of  l.onzo„tal  .Lcels.     1I«  ticfvid 

no"  kiin^gara  to  «,col,aui.«..  a„d  i„  ajaitioa  to  g,,ua,„8  B""'. 
rolled  and  slit  iron,  and  ground  plaster. 

N.W  Jersey  is  remarkable  for  the  number  of  mill-seats,  of  «h.ch,  m 
n%,  elevln  hu:dred  were  improved.  Eive  hundred  of  these  w.re  occu- 
pied  by  Flouring-miUs. 

4.  PENNSVLVANiA.-The  first  Grist-mill  Y^^-^y]^'^::''^^. 
Btrncted  a  mill,  on  a  ^  '  ^nit  Campanius  as  saying, 

,oat,,.t  Mtftta .  r:j:rim :«  ^^^l  .o.,,  «,.  a„a 

lu  refcrcnco  to  it,  that     It  »as  a  .  .  ^^^  ^^^^ 

rKar::otJr;rcl:aeWato..u,i.Utro.._ar,ao..a.,v.,,. 
convenient  for  water-mills.'  Rennsylva 

to  „c  ..en      Tha  «  "'^^^J  ";„      '.      ^  ,„„u,  of  Tiaicm,  of 
Crock,  a  lr,batary  »'  »' ^^^  ;  «  ^,  g..^.^^,,  ,„e  ,„n.Ufal 

:^JX^t:r:XrL..  ...c  er....  W„a.>,.to,„  De.. 
-;:  Sr  r  r^l'^atrtf'^U.  ...tr,  .,  ..a  S... 

(1)  Ferris'  Hist,  of  Swedes  on  Delaware,  p.  71. 


140 


C0I.0NIA1-   (JIllST   ANT)   VLOVR-MILLS. 


to  the  Dutch,  Joost  A.ulrian.cn  &  Co.  proposed  to  bmUl  a  saw  and 
Grist-mill  below  the  Turtle  Falls  at  New  A.nstel  (New  Castk),  in  Dela- 
ware, and  a  patent  was  granted  at  their  recjuest,  by  the  Direct..r-Oeneral 
Peter  St..yvesunt,  on  condition  that  they  ask  no  more  for  grindius   han  at 
the  Corai.any 's  mill/    The  "  Company's  mill"  referred  to,  was  probably  the 
•<  Wint  Molen,"  already  mentio.ied  as  having  been  erected  on  or  near 
Broadway,  upon  their  farm  at  Manhattan,  and  rebuilt  upon  the  same  site 
in  16C-2."  The  Company  may  have  had  a  mill  on  the  South  lliver  also 
06  the  Colony  of  New  Amstel  is  credited,  in  October,  1661,  by  Ilendnck 
Rcael,  for  two  mill-stones,  82.10  florins.     In  a  list  of  articles  purchased 
for  the  same  destination  in  November,  1662,  are  named,-iron-work  for 
a  saw-mill,  four  hundred  florins;  and  one  pair  of  mill-stones,  four  and 
a  half  feet,  six  florins.^     There  was  a  mill  on  the  Delaware,  at    'Lar- 
coen's  Hook,"  which,  having  fallen  to  decay,  the  town  of  Newcastle, 
in  1671,  represented  to  Governor  Lovelace,  that  it  "heretofore  apper- 
tained to  the  public,  and  now  is  endeavored  to  be  engrossed  by  some 
particular  persons  for  private  uses;"  a.id  proposed  that  it  should  bo 
repaired  for  the  public  benelit.     On  which  the  Governor  ordered  the 
mill-stcnes  to  be  taken  out  of  the  mud  and  preserved,  and  the  mill  to  be 
let  out  to  the  best  advantage.     In  a  special  Court  held  at  Newcastle, 
May  25th,  1675,  after  the  cession  of  the  country  to  the  Bnlish,  the  sub- 
ject of  mills  was  considered  ;  and  as  lUere  was  a  want  of  corn-mills,  and 
keeping  them  in  repair,  the  justices  ,.ere  advised  to  examine,  and  have 
them  repaired,  and  others  built :  the  tolls  for  grinding  were  to  be  regu- 
lated, and  all  mills,  public  or  private,  were  to  be  encouraged.     In  1678, 
it  is  recorded  in  the  Upland  Court,  that  "  it  being  very  necessary  that  a 
mill  be  built  on  the  Schuylkill,  and  there  being  no  fitter  place  than  the 
falls  called  Captain  Hans  Moonson's  Falls,  the  Court  are  of  opinion  that 
Mr.  Hans  Moonson  ought  to  build  a  mill  there  (as  he  says^  he  will),  or 
else  suffer  another  to  build  for  the  convenience  of  all  parts.'" 

In  1676  seven  years  before  the  settlement  of  Philadelphia,  the  Court 
ordered  that  no  grain  shall  be  distilled,  unless  it  b«  "  unfit  to  grind 
and  boalt :"  a  measure  proposed  by  the  town  of  New  Castle,  in  1671,  be- 
cause it  consumed  "  an  immense  amount  of  grain."*    On  March  10th, 

(1)  Haz«r,l's  AnnaU  of  Va.  Creek,  which  emptio,  into  the   Schuylkill 

2  Doc.  Hist.  N.  York.  i.  35S.  immediately  south  of  Woodlands  Cemetery. 

3  The  Manuscript  Uccords  of  the  Court,  The  "  Carcoen's  Hook,"  or  creelc  and  m,  1, 
he  a  at  Upland,  between  the  years  1676  and  above  mentioned,  were  the  Amesland  Creek 
,681.  the  first  English  Tribunal  in  Pennsyl-  and  mill  of  the  Swedes,  on  Cobb  s  Creek, 
vaniL.  have  been  recently  printed  and  pub-  the  Dutch  name  of  Carcoen's  be.ng  a  or- 
li^hed  under  the  au.pices  of  the  Pennsylv.-  ruption  of  "  Kacarikonk."  *"«  I"'  '»"  7» 
nia  ni..toricnl  Society.  By  the  notes  of  the  of  the  region.-««o,</,,  pp.  83.  1 15  141. 
Kditor.  it  appears  that  Hans  Moonson's  (4)  Grain  was  made  payable  for  taxc.,  m 
..  Qreat    MiU-lall"    was    the    present  Mill  1677,  at  live  guilders  per  sc.pple  for  wheat. 


TENNSYLVANIA.      KIKST   MILLS   AT   tlElUIANTOWN. 


141 


build  a  saw  and 
Castlu),  in  Dela- 
Oircctor-Ueneral, 
griiidiu;;  than  at 
WHS  probably  the 
ectcd  on  or  near 
pon  llie  same  site 
louth  llivei-  also, 
661,  by  Ilendrick 
irlick's  purchased 
d, — iron- work  for 
1-stoncs,  four  and 
elaware,  at  "Car- 
)wn  of  Newcastle, 
heretofore  apper- 
ngrossed  by  some 
that  it  should  bo 
crnor  ordered  the 
and  the  mill  to  be 
eld  at  Newcastle, 
e  British,  the  sub- 
of  corn-mills,  and 
examine,  and  have 
;  were  to  be  regu- 
luraged.     In  1678, 
ry  necessary  that  a 
tter  place  than  the 
are  of  opinion  that 
le  says  he  will),  or 
parts.'" 

adelphia,  the  Court 
btt  "  unGt  to  grind 
Castle,  in  1671,  be- 
*    On  March  10th, 

iics  into  the  Schuylkill 
of  Woodlnnda  Cemetery, 
oolf,"  or  creclc  and  mill, 
rere  the  Amesland  Creek 
wedes,  on  Cnbb's  Creek, 
Cnrcocn's  being  a  cor- 
konk,"  the  Indian  name 
corth,  pp.  83.  115.  141, 
ado  payiiblo  for  tnxc!',  in 
irs  per  scipple  for  wheat. 


16-9-80  the  Court  at  Upland  granted  Peter  Nealson,  on  petition,  leave 
to  take  up  one  hundred  acres  of  land  on  the  west  bide  of  the  Dela-vare, 
for  the  accommodation  of  a  water-mill.     The  lirst  Grist-mill  in  I'ln  adel- 
phia County  was  set  up  in  1683-4,  at  Germantown,  by  Richard  1  own- 
Bend  a  Friend,  who  came  over  with  William  I'enn.     It  stood  in  Church 
Lane,  one  mile  north-cast  of  Market  Square,  and  was  at  a  late  period 
known  as  Roberts'  Mill.     He  had  also  a  mill,  previously  erected  on  the 
left  bank  of  Chester  Creek,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  north-west  of  Chester, 
built  of  materials  which  he  had  brought,  ready  framed,  from  London.  Ihe 
mill  is  gone,  but  the  rocks  bear  traces  of  its  existence.     The  owners  of 
the  mill  were  William  Penn,  Caleb  Pusey,  and  Samuel  Carpenter,  whose 
initials  are  inserted  in  a  curious,  antiquated  iron  vane,  which  was  once 
erected  on  the  roof  of  the  mill,  "and  is  still  (1843)  engaged  in  its  one 
hundred  and  forty-fourth  year  of  its  duty,  on  the  top  of  Mr  Hower  s 
bouse'"     Samuel  Shaw,  before  the  Revolution,  erected  a  second  mill  near 
the  place.     There  were  a  number  of  mills  in  the  county  in  1695. 

Pastorius,  who,  as  the  Agent  of  the  Frankfort  Land  Company  in  Ger- 
many, founded  Germantown  in  1684,  in  an  account  of  the  Province  which 
he  left  says  "  Of  mills,  etc.,  we  had  the  necessary  number;"  and  speaking 
of  another  Company  which  laid  out  Frankfort,  he  says,  "  they  have  already 

established  several  good  mills.'"  

Thomas  Parsons  owned  a  Grist-mill  at  Frankford,  in  1698,  and  Rich- 
ard Dungworth  had  a  mill  not  far  distant,  in  Oxford  Township,  one  or 
both  of  which  were  nrobably  on  Tacony  Creek.' 

An  Englishman,  v,  dting  of  the  Province  in  1698,  speaks  of  "  famous 
Derby  River,  which  comes  down  from  the  country  by  Derby  Town 
whereon  are  several  mills,  fulling-mills,  coru-mills,  etc.  The  water-mills. 


four  for  rye  and  barley,  and  three  guilders 
for  Indian  corn,  etc.,  "  or  eloe,  wampum  and 
skins  at  price  current." 

(1)  Day's  Hist.  Coll.  of  Penna.,  where  it 
is  said  (p.  4),  that  Townsend  built  and  su- 
perintended the  mill,  but  was  not  a  partner. 
Mr.  Townsend  states  that  the  people  were 
accustomed  to  bring  their  grist   on  their 
backs,  save  one  man  who  had  a  tame  bull, 
which  performed  the  labor,— that  by  reason 
of  his  seclusion  in  the  midst  of  the  woods, 
he  had  but  little  chance  of  any  supplies  of 
fresh   meat,  and  was   sometimes  in   great 
straits  therefor.    On  one  occasion,  while  he 
was  mowins  in  his  meadow,  a  young  deer 
came  near  him,  and  seemed  lu  wonder  at  his 
labor;   it   would   follow  him  up  while  he 
worked,  but  when  he  stopped  or  approached 


it,  it  would  skip  away;  but  an  accident  made 
him  stumble,  and  so  scared  the  deer,  that 
ho  rushed  suddenly  aside  against  a  sipling, 
and  being  stunned,  ho  was  taken  alive  and 
killed,   to  the   great  relief  of  the   family 
These  incidents  illustrate  the  value  of  such 
pioneer  enterprises  in  those  early  times,  and 
the  privations  to   which    their   originators 
were  often  exposed.  A  mill  far  in  the  woods 
was  often  the  nucleus  around  which  a  vil- 
lage, with  other  forms  of  industry,  fonn  col- 
lected.     Along  with  the  materials  for  the 
first  mill,  Penn  also  brought  one  or  more 
houses,  ready  framed,  from  England,  which 
were  among  the  first  erected  in  the  city. 

(2)  Memoirs  of  nist.  See.  of  Penna. 

(3)  Colonial  Records,  i.  600. 


j^2  COLONIAL  GRIST   AND   FLOl^R-MILLS. 

and  grinding  good  meal,  there  be.      {,    _  ^^^        ^^^^  j,^^^^ 

^'^  ^'^■l:tK;xbo  0  gt     W    ia^  and  his  .on  Nicholas. 

'"  A  Gdtmill  and  bolting-house  were  bnilt.  by  the  family  of  Robesons, 
A  GuNt-miU  ana  ^  ,  in  the  late  borough  of  Uoxborongh, 

on  the  main  slrc-in,  near  the  Schuylkill  __  wissahickon  Mills." 

,ot  far  from  the  same  time,  and  were  known  -  ^^^  ^^^  ,f ';;^  ,„,,  ,,, 
The  llobesons  still  own  mills  on  te  riven    L  e    n  m^-      c     ^^  ^^^ 

that  township,  (now  ^'^^ 'J^^'''^^  Z^li^J^^^^  Grist-mills, 

nine  of  which  were  on  ^'^^  W-^"^^;;^;  :;:^f,;'^i  .ere  has  been  but  one 
Several  of  these  belonged  to  the  Rittcnhouses.     intre 

built  on  that  stream,  wiihin  the  so-ue  l'""^«;  ;-"^;^  ^he  inhabitants 

The  mill-seats  on  the  Pennepaek  were  «-    oeaip  ^.     Th 
of  Solesbury,  ai.d  the  neighbormg  parts  «^^ -'^^J^^^^n.for  twenty 
to  go  to  the  mill  of  Morris  Guinn,  on ^^l^^^^  '    "  ,e  fertile  and 
years,  until  Robert  Heath  ^^^^^  f^l^''"^^^^^^^  Chester,  and 

well-cultivated  lime-stone  tracts  «    ^"T"  ;\,^/„„^e,ous  confluents 
Lancaster    mills  ^^^^:;;^^^t^^^  freshet,  in  June 

:;  S:^^i:-:S  0^  J:.  and  a.  ^^^^ 

r CtC-;::^.  anJ  -,  .stn^Uon  of  .^-i:- ^ 

„t      Miiph  of  the  flour  made  in  thai  aay  wua,  <*= 
trreat.     JMucn  oi  uie  u  connected  with  the 

.„Ue.  u,  ->--;t":ri,ot    lie  wt ".«  .onopCy  of  m. 
bakinr'  business.     We  have  seen  no  ^^    ^  ^j.^  flour  of 

business  to  the  city  of  New  lork.     In  ^^'^^^flP^^  '^;^  „„„,^^^„,  ,bout 
the  country  found  a  market,  that  class  omhinwan  ^^^ 

this  time.     Several   were  ;f-;^'^\\^f;.  Tlf  them  furnished  with 
Kobert  llobart,  baker,  "  in  the  Front  stiect,    one  oi 

T      1    IRQS         (2^  Genealogical  Account  of  the  Levering 
(1)  G.TUomas-  HistPenna.,  Lena.,  169S.     ^£)^«-^_^  ^^  „„,^,,„  q.  j,„„,. 


r 


both  f'T  tiuicKncss 
■  good  timtier  ""d 
iiadc  by  om;  Peter 
[or  inventing   such 

e,  or  soon  after,  on 
who  settled  in  Ger- 
d  his  son  Nicholas, 
e  lirst  paper-mill  in 
up  a  J'lour-niill  ou 
from  the  eastward, 
ence  the  family  had 

family  of  Robesons, 
lugh  of  Uoxborough, 
Wissahickon  Mills." 
mi!'.,  were  built  in 
r,)  previous  to  1779, 
of  them  Grist-mills, 
ere  has  been  but  one 

ed.     The  inhabitants 
nnty,  were  compelled 
Lo  Trenton,  for  twenty 
r.     In  the  fertile  and 
Tomery,  Chester,  and 
numerous  confluents 
idous  freshet,  in  June 
,ny  in  New  York.     A 
1,  was  entirely  carried 
was  nearly  submerged, 
oridges,  etc.,  was  very 
I,  as  before  remarked, 
en  connected  with  the 
1  the  monopoly  of  this 
ila,  where  the  flour  of 
!s  was  numerous  about 
in    1721-22:    two    by 
of  them  furnished  with 


icnl  Account  of  the  Levering 
r  lloratio  G.  Jono». 


PENNSYVANIA.       MILLS   IN    LANCASTEU,    ETC. 


143 


cloths,  and  one  without ;  and  another,  with  a  grana  r  and  othe   prop^^  y 
by  Owen  Roberts.     The  burning  of  one  at  Hr.stol  .s  noticed  a Uo.     Ih.s 
Ice  was  early  noted  for  its  flne  mills,  of  diUcrent  ki.uls,  budt  by  Samuel 
^:;  e  ttV  or  nerly  a  Barbadoes  merchant.     In  1723.  the  executors  of 
Jonathan  Dickinson,  one  of  the  first  Mayors  of  the  c.ty,  advertised  f 
:L  his  interest  in  the  Grist  and  -v-mills  on  Chester  Creek  conm.o^^^^^^^ 
called  the  Chester  Mills.     There  were  at  this  tune,  m.Us  at  New  Castle 
„  one  of  the  "  lower  counties,"  owned  by  John  Evans,  probably  the  same 
who  was  Governor  a  few  years  before.     In  17G0,  the  assessors  reported, 
within  Philadelphia  county,  eighty-three  Grist-mill  and  forty  "'^w-md  s_ 

Vincent  Gilpin,  in  1772,  owned  merchant  Flounng  and  saw-m.lls 
within  two  miles  of  \Yilmington.  on  the  main  body  of  the  Brandy  win  . 
The  mill-house  was  of  stone,  with  bolting-mills,  fans,  hoistmgs,  etc  a  - 
ried  by  water,  and  was  capable  of  manufacturing  twenty  thousand  bushels 

"S:c;:^;:;::ltrLly  renod,  excened  as  wen  in  the  .lality  as  .. 

quantity  o   flour  which  she  exported,and  soon  became  a  pr.ncipa  m.vi-ket 

?or"     grain  of  the  more  southern  provinces.     The  grea   agncnltnral    a- 

pacUies  of  the  State,  improved  by  the  rapid  influx  of  the  Germans,  led 

also  to  the  speedy  establishment  of  mills  in  the  interior. 

That  thrifty  people,  who  were  chiefly  intent  on  agriculture,  relccted,  fo 

the  mos   part  with  great  discrimination,  the  fertile  lime-stone  valleys  and 
the  most    a^  w  t    g  ^^^.^  ^,  ,  ,^ 


Mills  in 


......  Berks,  and  Northampton,  which  are  still  in  ^^^^^^^^^'^'J^'' 

''"'"'''■     enriched  descendants.     These  and  the  m.ll-bniWing  New  Ln- 


gland  people,  who  penetrated  still  farther  north  and  west,  soon  distributed 
corn-mills  on  the  numerous  streams  in  all  the  inland  towns. 

Douglass  writing,  about  1750,  of  the  religious  sects  in  Pennsylvania 
speaks  of  the  Dumplers.  who,  he  says,  are  a  small  body  of  Germans,  about 
fifty  miles  from  Philadelphia,  men  and  women  professing  cuntinency.  live 

in  separate  apartments,  etc although  an  illiterate  people,  they 

have  a  very  decent  chappel,  and  as  craftsmen,  are  very  ingenious  ;  upon  a 
fine  stream  they  have  a  Grist-mill,  a  saw-mill,  a  paper-mill,  an  oyl-inill, 
ad  mill  for  pearl-barley,  all  under  one  roof,  which  brills  them  in  con- 
:idcrable  profit'"  He  probably  refers  to  the  society  o  Tankers  mLan- 
caster  County,  who  established  mills  and  several  branches  oi  the  aits  at 

Ephrata  about  that  time.  .  , 

In  178G.  there  were  within,  ten  miles  of  Lancaster  in  Pennsylvania, 

eighteen  grain-mills,  besides  sixteen  saw-mills,  one  full-ng-mi  1.  four  oi  - 

mflls.  five  hemp-mills,  two  boring  and  grinding  mil  s  for  gnn-barrels,  etc. 
Lancaster  lay  on  the  great  road  or  highway  to  the  western  settlements 

aad  the  teams  which  returned  thence  to  Philadelphia,  conveyed  great 


144  COLONIAL  QRI8T  AND   FL0VR-MILL8. 

quantities  of  flour  and  grain   to  marUet.     Tl.e  Conestoga  w„gon^  for 
1  conveyance  of  produce  from  the  inter.or,  -'^^  ^l^;-  ^  ^" ".JT^^^^ 
„,iUs  on  Conestoga  and  other  creeks,  was  a  pecul  .r  feature  of  the  trade 
arrangements  of  Philadelphia.  , 

lu  mo  we  find  mention  of  mills  on  the  Monongahela.  Chart.er  s,  Red- 
Btone,  and  other  rivers  a.>d  creeks  in  "Gist's  Settlement."  «o  famous  m 
the  border  wars  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania. 

Sevlral  of  the  mills  in  Pennsylvania  early  adopted  the  -proved  m  - 
cbinery  of  Evans  and  llumsey,  whose  inventions  were  P^t^-'^;**  ^J  ^^ 
State  Legislature,  and  by  prominent  citizens.  A  mill  of  llumsey  s 
^Baker's  Lprove  ,)  in  operation  near  Philadelphia,  in  HOG,  ground  and 
iolted  flour!  ground  chocolate,  snuff,  hair-powder,  and  mustard,  and 
pressed  and  cut  tobacco,  by  water-power.  ,    .,      u      ^  =tnffa 

^  The  following  table  shows  the  quantity  of  flour  and  other  bread-stuff- 
exported  from  Philadelphia  at  difl-erent  periods : 


Tear. 

1729 
1730 
1731 

1752 
A7G5 

'72 

1773« 
17743 


Wheat, 

busheU. 

74,809 
38,643 
53,320 

305,522 
51,699 
92,012 

182,391 


Flonr, 
taiTels. 

35,433 
38,.570 
56,639 
125,960 
148,887 
252,744 
284,872 
265,967 


Bread, 
ciiska. 

9,730 

9,622 

12,436 

34,736 
38,320 
60,504 
48,183 


Value  of  Flonr,  Wheat,  and 
FlaxHeed. 

£62,473  currency. 
57,500         " 
62,582        " 

432,615  sterling. 


In  1780  the  exports  of  flour  were  150,000  barrels ;  in  1787,  202,000 ; 
in  1788,  220,000,  and  in  1789,  369,068.* 

5  DELAWATiE—Tn  1677,  there  was  a  mill  on  Christina  Creek,  (Wil- 
mington,) which  was  granted  liberty  of  cutting  timber  for  repair.  Ihe 
first  mill  within  the  borough  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  was  built  in  74^ 
by  Oliver  Canby,  near  the  termination  of  Orange  street.  To  this  mill  the 
Swedes  and  other  settlers  brought  their  grists  from  New  Jersey,  and  from 
the  inlets  along  the  Delaware,  Christina,  and  other  places,  in  boats. 
Twenty  years  after,  the  plan  of  constructing  a  long  race  and  overshot  mills 
was  formed-the  commencement  of  the  extensive  milling  operations  for 
Ihlh  that  place  has  been  so  celebrated.     Thomas  Shipley,  who  owned 

m  Thi,  ...m   include,  flax-sesd  to  the    in  Phjladelphia,  in   September,  1774,  pro- 
Vl,  ,"o  „„„nd.  hibited  millerB  from  grinding  for  Tories,  and 

poSd  an  n,.reg«te  of  593,283  bushels  of     exports  .0  the  West  Ind.es  were  suspended 

"irr/hrcotlnental  Congress,  whioh  met        (4,  Coxe's  View  of  United  States. 


estoga  wagon,  for 
ially  flour  from  tho 
jature  of  the  trade 

ila,  Clmrtier's,  Red- 
lenl,"  so  famous  ia 

the  improved  raa- 
s  patronized  by  the 

mill  of  llumsey's, 
n  1196,  ground  and 

and  mustard,  and 

,d  other  bread-stuffa 


line  of  Flonr,  Wheat,  and 

yiaxMeed. 

£62,473  currency. 
57,500         " 
62,582        " 

432,615  sterling. 


s ;  in  1787,  202,000 ; 


hristina  Creek,  (Wil- 
iber  for  repairs.  The 
are,  was  built  in  1742, 
•eet.  To  this  mill  the 
New  Jersey,  and  from 
ther  places,  in  boats, 
race  and  overshot  mills 
milling  operations  for 
IS  Shipley,  who  owned 

,  in  September,  1774,  pro- 
rom  grinding  for  Tories,  and 
>m  printing  for  them.  Tho 
West  Indies  were  suapended 

iew  of  United  States. 


DELAWARE.      OUVER  EVANS'   IMPUOVEMENTS. 


145 


part  of  the  old  water-power,  in  a  grant  to  the  projectors  of  the  scheme, 
reserved  to  himself  the  sole  right  to  grind  all  the  grist  brought  from  any 
place  within  thirty  miles  of  his  mill.     This  circumstance  is  an  evidence  of 
the  value  to  a  community,  of  a  mill  erected  in  their  midst,  and  of  the  httlo 
account  that  was  made  of  the  navigation  of  the  creek  for  large  vessels, 
which  were  then  moreover  excluded  by  a  bridge,  below  the  mill.     So  mi- 
perfect  were  the  arrangements  of  mills  about  this  time,  that  we  are  told 
the  meal  and  flour,  ground  on  the  Wilmington  side  of  the  creek,  were  sent 
over  to  be  bolted  at  an  old  mill  which  once  stood  on  the  northeast  side 
of  the  creek,  where  a  large  mill  was  afterward  built  by  Mr.  Thomas  Lea. 
Yet  witiiin  thirty  years  after,  there  were  twelve  merchant  Flouring-miUs. 
with   twenty-five  pair  of  stones,  at  Brandywine,  and  sixty  with.n  the 
county,  all  driven  by  water.     The  former  were  supposed  capable  of  grmd- 
ing  four  hundred  thousand  bushels  of  grain  in  a  year.   Abet  half  a  mdhon 
dollars'  worth  of  flour  was  annually  sent  at  that  time  to  m.^rket.     The 
Brandywine  was  then  the  seat  of  the  most  extensive  mills  in  ti.e  country, 
and  had,  within  forty  miles,  one  hundred  and  thirty  improved  mill  seats. 
The  exports  of  flour  from  the  Port  of  Wilmington,  which  owned  a 
number  of  square-rigged  vessels,  was  in  1786.  20,783  barrels  of  superfine, 
457  of  common,  256  of  middling,  and  346  of  ship-stuff. 

The  manufacture  of  flour  was  carried  on  to  a  higher  degree  of  perfection 
in  Delaware  than  in  any  State  in  the  Union. 

Beside  well  constructed  mills  on  Red  Clay,  White  Clay,  and  other 
Creeks  of  the  State,  those  on  the  Brandywine,  were  the  most  celebrated 
flouring  establishments  in  the  United  States. 

The  great  improvements  in  mill  machinery,  introduced  about  this  time 
by  Oliver  Evans,  a  native  of  Newport,  in  Newcastle  County,  Delaware, 
constitute  a  lasting  memorial  of  one  of  the  most  ingenious  mechanicians 
this  country  has  produced.  These,  with  the  application  of  steam,  have 
efl-ected  a  complete  revolution  in  the  manufacture  of  flour,  as  well  in 
Europe,  as  in  America.  His  innovations  were,  however,  opposed  by  the 
Brandywine  millers,  and  their  refusal  to  adopt  them,  until  several  others 
had  established  a  formidable  rivalship  by  their  use,  cost  the  inventor 
thousands  of  dollars  and  several  years  of  labor,  to  overcome  the  prejudice 
which  their  exam,jle  had  generated  among  smaller  establishments.' 

(1)  It  is  related  of  tho  Brandywine  mil-  thyself  to  set  up  the  maohincry,  in  one  of 

lers  hathaving  at  length  reluctantly  agreed  our  mills,  thee  may  come  and  try !  ""^  '    '' 

0  make  a  trial  of  the  new  machinery,  in  one  answers  »  valuable  purpose,  we  -     P-'y  ">y 

of  the  mills,  they  deputed  one  of  their  num-  bill ;  but,  if  it  does  not  answer   thee  mu^t 

b  r  to  Evans,  with  the  following  proportion  :  take  it  all  out  again,  and  leave  the  m,  1  ;us. 

"Oliver,   we  have  had   a  meeting,  and  as  thee  finds  it,  at  thy  own  expense       On 

agreed  that,  if  thee  would  furnish  all  the  another  occasion,  several   of  them   having 

mTorlatand  thy  own  boarding,  and  come  visited  the  mill,  and  found  it  attending  itself. 

10 


T 


146 


COLONIAL  GRIST  AND  FLOUR-MILLS, 


ft    MvRYLAND  -"We  mav  easily  estimate," says  Chalmers,  "the  num- 
bers  and  wealth  and  power  0}  a  people,  who  think  it  necessary  b.^generd 
contribution  to  erect  a  water-mill  for  the  use  of  the  Colony.       This  vsas 
id    n    elation  to  a  bill  which  passed  the  third  Assembly  of  MarjUmd. 
n  1638-9  authorizing  the  Governor  and  Cour.cil  to  contract  for  the  erec- 
U  of  a  wat    -^ill.  provided  its  cost  should  not  exceed  "  twenty  thousand 
po  nds  of  .06.CC0."  which  were  to  be  raised  for  the  purpose  by  general 
taxation  in  two  years.'     A  mill  is  mentioned,  however,  as  hav.ng  b  e„ 
t  up    n  1635,  "near  the  town."  probal>ly  at  St.  Mary's,  the  capitol 
T  e  sparscness  of  population,  for  which  hand-mills  sufficed,  may  have 
Iffered  this  to  go  down.     The  other,  it  is  probable,  was^u.lt  ,u  the    s^ 
of  Kent,  OS  the  other  county  oC  the  Province  was  ca  led.     ^^^^y^''' 
i„  his  account  of  New  Albion,  1648,  mentions  a  mill  and  fort  on  Ken 
Isle,  "lately  pulled  down,  and.  on  account  of  war  with  all  the  Indians 
near  it,  not  worth  the  keeping."  .  • 

Maryland  passed  several  judicious  laws  for  the  encouragement  of  industry 
and  manufactures  at  an  early  period.     One  of  these,  in   1681.  aimed, 
among  other  things,  to  promote  tillage  and  raising  of  provisions  for  ex- 
portation.    It  was  not  until  1729  that  the  site  was  laid  ou    for    he 
present  city  of  Baltimore,  now  one  of  the  largest  flour  markets  in  the 
world      It  was  late  in  the  Provincial  period,  before  the  place  entered  upon 
its  career  of  rapid  growth.     How  early  mills  began  to  be  erected  on  the 
Patapsco,  Jones's  Falls,  and  neighboring  mill  streams,  so  rich  in  water- 
power -we  are  unable  to  say.     About  the  earliest,  however,  was  one 
erected  in  1711.  by  Jonathan  Hanson,  millwright.  <>"  «  •"'"'^^  P"""* 
thas(!d  of  Mr.  Carrol,  and  of  which  the  ruins  were  visible  111  18.)4,  at 
the  intersection  of  Holliday  and  Bath  streets. 

The  Maryland  Legislature,  about  the  year  1748.  made  grants  of  land 
to  those  who  would  erect  water-mills,  in  order  to  encourage  the  manu- 
facture  of  flour  for  exportation.  Many  of  the  arts  were  carried  into 
Maryland  by  people  from  the  more  northerr.  Provinces,  particularly  from 

Pennsvlvania. 

In  1762,  William  Moore,  a  native  of  Ireland,  removed  from  the  Bran- 
dy wine  Mills,  in  Delaware,  to  Baltimore,  where  he  purchased  mill  property 
of  Edward  Fell.     The  upper  mill-seats  ho  sold  to  Joseph  Ellicott,  and 

cloaninR,   Rrinding.  bolting.   colinK,  etc.,  mlUcr..  that  tho  whole  wn,  »  .ot  of  "ra.fC 

while  tho  owner  w«8  at  work  In  the  h«y-  trop,:'     H.nce;  Emi„,nt  M.ch.„„c,. 

fl„l,l,-.n.l  h«vinK  received  from  him  a  de-  (1)  Tobacco  wa.  the  cnrly  currency  of 

tailed  explanation  of  the  .evoral  operations.  Maryland,  and  the  quantity  named  in  the 

to  their  complete  approval  and  conviction  text  would  be  worth,  according  to  the  prlc«i 

of  its  utility,  ni.  he  .„ppo.ed,-what  was  b'.s  at  tt  later  period,  about  $333. 
iurpriio  to  Ond  it  reported  to  neighboring 


MARYLAND.       FXUCdTT  S    MIM.S. 


147 


mcrs,  "the  num- 
jssary  by  general 
ony."     This  was 
bly  of  MarjUind, 
trsict  for  the  erec- 
'  twenty  thousand 
irposc  by  general 
',  as  having  been 
iry's,  the  capitol, 
ifficed,  may  have 
s  built  in  the  Isle 
id.     Plantagenet, 
and  fort  on  Kent 
h  all  the  Indians 

[Tcment  of  industry 
;,  in   1681,  aimed, 
provisions  for  ex- 
laid  out  for  the 
ar  markets  in  tlie 
place  entered  upon 
)  be  erected  on  the 
I,  so  rich  in  water- 
however,  was  one 
n  a  mill-seat  pur- 
visible  in  18.'i4,  lit 

lade  grants  of  land 

courage  the  manu- 

were  carried  into 

s,  particularly  from 

ved  from  the  Bran- 
hascd  mill  propcr*y 
oseph  Ellicott,  and 


aole  wnii  a  sot  itf'rnitle 
iiient  Mrchnnicf. 
I  ttio  curly  curronpy  of 
qunntity  iiixmtMl  in  the 
1,  nocording  to  tho  prlc«i 
bout  $3^3. 


John  and  Hugh  Burgess,  of  Bucks  County,  rennsylvania,  who  bnilt  a 
mill  "opposite  the  site  of  the  jail."  Ten  yours  after,  Ellioott,  with  two 
brothers,  Jolin  and  Andrew,  built  mills  on  the  Patapsco.  In  1769,  not- 
withstanding the  general  attention  to  tobacco,  there  were  exported  from 
Baltimore,  45,868  tons  of  flour  and  b..'ad.  Two  years  after,  an  Act  of 
the  Asseml)ly,  was  made  to  prevent  the  export  of  Flour,  Staves,  and 
Shingles,  which  were  not  merchantable ;  and  to  regulate  weights  and 
measures  etc.  Jonathan  Hanson,  whose  father  had  erected  tlie  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  mills  on  the  Falls,  was  appointed  Inspector  of  Flour, 
which  continued  to  be  sold  by  weight  until  after  the  Revolution.  The  salu- 
tary effect  of  such  ordinances  was  made  apparent  in  the  high  reputation 
of  Maryland  Flour,  \>hich,  with  that  of  Pennsylvania,  where  the  same 
attention  was  paid  to  inspection  and  quality,  commanded  better  prices 
in  the  southern  Provinces,  and  the  West  India  markets,  than  other  flour 
perhaps  scarcely  inferior. 

In  1787,  Oliver  Evans  made  an  application  to  the  Assembly  of  Mary- 
laud  for  the  exclusive  right  of  using  his  improved  mill  machinery,  and 
also  his  steam  carriages,  all  of  which  was  granted— aMiough  the  last- 
named  project  had  been  rejected  and  derided  in  the  Legislature  of  Penn- 
sylvania early  in  the  same  year.  The  mill  improvements  uf  the  Patentee 
were,  not  long  after,  introduced  into  the  large  establishment  of  the  Elli- 
cotts,  on  the  Patapsco.  The  saving  in  the  expense  of  attendance  alone 
thereby  effected  at  these  mills,  where  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  bar- 
rels of  flour  were  daily  made,  was  estimated  at  four  fhousand  ei()hl  hun- 
dred and  sevcntij-fiix  dollars  annually;  and  the  saving  made  by  the 
increased  manufacture  was  at  lea.t  fifty  cents  a  bn-;rel.  a  gain  in  that 
department  oUliirtytwo  thousand  five  hundred  dollam. 

Some  important  improvements  in  mill  .luichincry  were  also  made  by 
James  Rumsev,  a  native  of  the  State,  about  the  year  1784. 

Frederick  County,  according  to  Dr.  Morse,  in  1706  had  37  Grist-mills 
on  the  Monocucy  and  its  branches.  The  Stale  contained,  in  1810,  399 
Wheat-mills. 

7.  ViRaiNiA.— This  State  had  in  1640  four  Wind-mills  and  five  Water- 
mills  for  corn,  beside  many  Ilorse-miils.  What  progress  was  made  in 
the  use  of  these  appliances  subsequently  we  have  not  the  means  of  know- 
ing. Virginia  exported  to  the  sister  Colonies  at  an  early  period  con- 
piderable  quantities  of  flour  and  grain.  Her  capacity  for  producing  grain, 
Bud  facilities  for  milling  operations,  were  among  the  best  in  the  country  ; 
nlthnngh  the  former  were  impaired  by  a  defective  system  of  cultivation, 
nnd  the  latter  too  much  neglected  fur  other  pursuits.  The  operations  at 
Richmond,  Petersburg,  and  other  places,  have  sinco  shown  the  value  of 


j^g  COLONIAL  aUIST   AND   FLOUR-MILLS. 

year  »ilb  i  nolter,  S^^"""  '^"™'''  ,„„  „,„je  about  28,000  Lamls 
„,dia„  coru.  ,•«'"*"'«  •^^;''  V  ;\:,„W  ...d  i„  .ho  count,, 
or  llour  .nuual  y  1  ""'^,  '"j; '^  VoO  b.mU  anuually  at  tbat  place,  i« 

':Sorr';^ior::;u:r:ra,  3,000 ......  .< ..-.« .....  »^ 

'eo,ooo  bu«,  or  »i»>.  and  n»;o  °f  '■l^--;;;       ,„„,  „,  j„, 

There  were  exported  from  City  i  oi.>t  lu  i   J  , 
in  1793,  23,877  barrels;  iu  1794,  5,853  barrels. 

3.    NOUXH  AND   S0.X.I     CAUOUNA   AS.    ^-^^^^^^J^ 

Oeorgla  the  introduction  of  .IIU  was  a.  o^eU    rpubl.c  ^^  ^^  ^^^ 

early  day.  as  f -^,  f^^^.f  ^  :  .t  tr  the  ropagatlng  the  staples 
encouragement  of  ^''^  ""^^"^  o^  \  .  ^f  g,,,.„,iii,  and  other  me- 
of  the  Colony  •,"  a.ul  n  17  2  or  he  Im        g  .^^^^_^^^^^^^  ^^^^^ 

chanic  engines.     Emigrants  fion    ^^'J''^,  settled      About  the  year 

and  other  u.efnl  ^^;;::^ZZ      Sed  It  Camden.  S.  C.  and 
1750.  a  Co  ony  of  Qn  kers  fro™  irt  ^^^^^^^^^  ,.^.^^^^ 

built  on.  or  more  -''\-J^;;tr;s  M«  also  built  mills  at  that  plaee. 
whom  the  county  is  named,  a  e  v  year,  ate    a  ^^^^_^^^  ^^^^^ 

and  his  enterprise  encouraged  the  F^^^;  ^^J^J^^  ,,  , ,,  p„ee  did 
not  command  as  high  a  price  a  ^^^     ^^^^^^^  .^  ^^^^ 

plained  of,  «    ^^  J  ' J  J     ^^  ,,^^  ^        „i,.ent  history,  put  an  end  to  the 
Revolution,  in  ^Inch  Camd^^  ^  ^^^^^       ^^^.^^  ^,^^  ^^,„. 

manufacture.     A  Mr.  liroome,  »'  ^  j,        j,,    ^,,^t 

,„,ll, ,  a„a  m  1»"  ■    »■"    '  7%,,i,  ,„„,.„,.  ,„1 .0  lUc  crccliou  of  o.l.cr 

:;r;::'i;:d'rt;;:r:::.^n.iu ..  ca,u..,oa 


rarville,  August, 
Pelaware,  New 
ing  mills  for  the 

le  War  were,  one 
0,000  bushels  of 
>ut  28,000  barrels 
nd  in  the  country 
at  that  place,  in 
ludiau  meal,  and 

lO  barrels  of  flour; 


-In  Carolina  and 
iblic  regard  at  an 
,d  in  1091  for  the 
agating  the  staples 
r.ills  and  other  nie- 

0  introduced  these 

About  the  year 
:!amden,  S.  C,  luul 
nel  Kershaw,  tVoni 
mills  at  that  place, 
iftt  there,  which  had 
ade  at  the  place  did 
heat  imported  from 
as  probably  in  the 
J,  with  the  brand  of 
fcted,  was  not  com- 
antially  equal.     The 
•y,  put  an  end  to  the 
ry,  during  the  cam- 
place  for  mill*,  that 
fcry  complete  set  of 
laiiufactured  at  three 
,  the  erection  of  other 

1  worth,  and  at  Greon- 
ate.  Tlio  cultivation 
0,  tobacco,  tar,  pitch, 
I  from  the  cultivation 


THE   CAROLINAS.      BUtlR   MILL-STONES,   ETC. 


J49 


of  wheat,  and  considerable  quantities  of  flour  were  regularly  received  f-ora 

the  Northern  States. 

In  North  Carolina  there  were,  in  1794,  three  excellent  Flour-mills  at 
Fayetteville  on  Cape  Fear  River,  from  which  flour  and  produce  were  sent 
down  to  Wilmington  in  boats  carrying  120  to  500  barrels  each.  The 
records  before  us  do  not  indicate  the  introduction  of  mills  or  the  extent 
of  their  employment  previously  in  that  Province  nor  in  Georgia.  In 
the  last-mentioned  State,  there  is  one  of  tlie  few  localities  in  the  Union, 
if  not  the  onlv  one,  that  furnishes  Burr  millstones,  identical,  in  compo- 
sition and  gco'logical  position,  with  the  French  bnrrs.  The  manufacture 
of  these  was  carried  on  about  fifty  years  ago  near  Philadelphia,  by  Oliver 
Evans,  and  extensively  at  the  present  time  in  Savannah. 

The  total  exports  of  breadstufl's  from  nil  the  Colonics  in  HTO  was,  of 
bread,  flour,  and  meal,  45,868  tons,  or  458,808  barrels,  valued  at  about 
$2,802,190.  The  wheat  exported  in  the  same  time  was  851.240  bushels, 
and  the  Indian  corn,  578,340.  This  amount  Lord  Sheffield,  after  the 
war  doubted  the  capacity  of  this  country  to  exceed.  England,  up  to 
that  time,  had  usually  exported  grain,  yet  had  at  difl-erent  times  been 
forced  to  depend  on  supplies  from  the  Colonies  ;  and  her  West  India 
possessions  were  mainly  fed  from  this  country.  Hence,  in  the  traffic 
with  the  Islands,  this  branch  of  Colonial  industry  was  an  exceedingly 
important  one.  Of  the  value  of  the  Provinces  to  England,  in  this  respect, 
Mr.  Burke,  in  his  speech  in  1774,  speaks  in  the  following  expres.sive 

imagery :  „  ,  ,        i,     to- 

<'For  some  time  past,  the  Old  World  has  been  fed  from  the  >ew. 
The  scarcity  you  have  felt  would  have  been  a  desolating  famine,  if  this 
child  of  your  old  age,  with  a  true  filial  piety,  with  a  Roman  charity,  had 
not  put  the  full  breast  of  its  youthful  exuberance  to  the  mouth  of  Us  ex- 
hausted parent." 

The  exports,  from  the  peace  of  1783  to  the  formation  of  the  present 

government,  cannot  be  known. 

The  total  export  of  flour  from  the  United  States  in  1791,  was  Gl.),681 
barrels,  in  addition  to  over  one  million  bushels  of  wheat. 

Among  the  early  improvements  which  this  class  of  machinery  received 
from  native  ingenuity,  the  most  important,  by  far,  were  those  of  Oliver 
Evans,  already  alluded  to.  Few,  if  any,  capital  improvements  have  been 
introduced  into  the  machinery  of  Flour-mills  since  his  time,  although 
numerous  minor  changes  in  the  manufn-»ure  and  running  of  the  stones,  and 
in  the  bolting  ni>pnratus,  have  been  patented  and  adopted. 

His  machinery  i^  now  in  almost  universal  use  in  the  extensive  mer- 


jgy  COLONIAL  GRIST   AND   FLOUR-MILLS 

.Uant-nnll.  of  this  country,  and  has  been  very  generally  adopted  m 

l;7a„r  ZLcla.;.-.,  i.  too  w«n   k,.ow„   .0  re,»,re  parucuUr  de- 

"thrLri.t«re  or  re„n,y.v»«i.,  i„  Marcl,,  1187,  ga.e  Wm  .h.  exdu- 
Jiu  of    aU„,ga,„Uelu;g  .bo»  wUUiu  tbc  Co»nao,,.»U    rejec^g 

U,a  a,„.icaUoa  was  coap.ea  a,  «o»;  -■-/-»  >■;  tat^"'  -: 

tl.P  Slime  veur.  L'ave  him  like  privileges  foruotli.     iiithe  ,.«,,* 

stone,  manufacturing  Qour,  etc.  Rumsey.  in 

■^Ir/me  valuable  improvements  were  also  made  by  James  liumsey,  i 

the  purpose  of  raising  water  for  mills  and  oth     usej  ^^^^.^^ 

influential  persons,  called  the  R«m«e,an  Society,  of  ;"';;'.  ,^ 
Ins  the  head,  was  formed  in  Philadelphia,  to  promote  the  nitroduct. 


AMERICAN   IMraOVEMENTS— STEAM-MILLS. 


151 


rally  adopted  m 

•y  about  the  year 
L'kets  to  raise  the 
3  carry  the  graiu 

sprcu'^  or  gather 
Ihe  drill,  to  move 

but  by  means  of 
V,  the  kiln-dryer, 
lulov  and  hopper- 
g  to  circumstances 
ire   particular  de- 

of  attendance,  and 
se  of  about  tweuty- 
lethod.  Yet,  it  is 
!ylvania,  Delaware, 
the  improvementa 
opt  them,  but  with 

rave  him  the  exdu- 
lonwealth,  rejecting 
Triages,  with  which 
ronized.  Maryland, 
lese  inventions  were 
ted  during  the  first 
Ho  made  an  early 
he  purposes  of  mill- 
subject  of  mill-con- 
m  wac  early  applied 
)f  sawing  wood  and 

James  Rumsey,  in 
machinery,  by  which 
ot  wheels.  A  modi- 
Bnrker,  by  wiiich  it 
icted  a  considerable 
vileges  for  these  im- 
plicutiun  of  steam  to 
An  association  of 
r  which  Dr.  Frankliu 
lote  the  introducti»a 


of  his  mechanical  inventions,  which  were  numerous.     In  the  third  volume 

ol  t  e  I  eet  of  water.nills,  by  W.  Waring,  having  rehu.on  to  tl.  heoj 
o    thei.   construction,  and  to  Barker's  Mill  as  improved  by  Rnm.e 
Burners  own  work  on  steam,  as  applied  to  boats  and  mdls.  appeared  ui 

'^^was  about  the  close  of  this  period  that  the  employment  of  steam  as 
a  motive  agency  for  mill-work,  began  to  attract  attention  in  h.s  countiy  , 
andtth  1  e  inventors,  here  named,  iu  connection  with  mills,  were  .den- 

tified  with  the  movement.  ,  ,  ,  x      i  „    a,.,-;! 

A  h-tter  of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  Charles  Thompson,  dated  London,  Apu 
22   1786   mentions  a  visit  to  the  London  steam-mills  of  the  celebrated 
Bou  ton.'the  partner  of  Watt,  in  which  eight  pair  of  stones  were  operated 
by  st^  m-pow  er,  at  an  expense  of  one  hundred  bushels  of  coal  per  rf.J^ 
iraplars  the  proprietor,  who  twenty  years  before  had  constructed  a 
slm'e  g  le  on  L   Ian  of  Savery's,  for  his  extensive  hardware  w-orks  near 
B  rminglmm,  to  supply  the  pmce  of  a  water-mill,  kept  the  machmer    of 
^rr  our-m  Us  a  secret.     Mr.  Jefferson  supposed  them  to  be  move     by 
Z  direct  agency  of  steam,  until  his  visit  to  similar  establ.shments  at 
N  sm  s  wh  re  st  Jam  was  only  applied  to  raise  water,  led  to  doubts  on  the 
f^  b  e      wh  ch  he  had  not  then  been  able  to  clear  up.     It  he..ce  appears, 
thS  stL^m  1  then  not  commonly  used  in  Europe  as  a  direct  mot.ve- 

'""Z  mi':^  g1  Britain,  according  to  Pro.ssor  E..b^-n,  Imd  been 
little  inTproved,  except  by  a  few  modifications  effected  by  Smeaton  and 
B  nni^  mUil  a  comparatively  recent  period.  The  most  important 
ha  1;  w"  e  those  of  Evans,  which  were  adopted  at  the  beg.nn.ng  of  the 
«r  S  ce  ry.  In  France,  and  on  the  Continent,  their  construct.o,.  wa^ 
Tuite  IdC  forfy  years  ago,  and  many  arrangements  long  since  abandoned 
here,  are  still  in  use  iu  many  ps'^s  of  Europe. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OP  THE  PRINTING  PRESS  IN  THE  COtONIES. 

It  has  been  remarked,  not  without  reason,  that  it  is  in  the  strong  reli- 
gious character  of  the  first  and  early  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts,  that  we 
find  the  chief  oause  of  the  efforts  they  made  to  promote  industry  and 
sobriety  throughout  the  community.  At  the  first  Court  of  Assistants 
held  upon  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  on  board  the  Arabella,  at  Charles- 
town,  it  is  said  the  inquiry,  "  how  shall  the  ministers  be  maintained,  took 
precedence  of  all  others.  An  order  for  the  erection  of  houses  for  their 
use,  and  the  appointment  of  their  salaries,  was  the  inauguration  of  the 
arduous  undertaking. 

In  this  desire  to  lay  deeply  ihc  foundations  of  order,  industry,  and 
prosperity  in  the  motives  and  sanctions  of  sound  religious  principle,  the 
inhabitants  of  Massachusetts,  were  by  no  means  the  only  exemplars.  As 
early  as  1611,  it  was  written  of  those  who,  in  that  year,  endeavored  to 
re-model  the  affairs  of  Virginia,  that  <' their  first  and  chiefest  care,  was 
showed  in  settling  laws,  divine  and  moral,  for  the  honor  and  service  o 
God  »  The  same  testimony  may  be  borne  to  the  religious  character  of 
many  of  the  early  and  later  emigrants  to  the  different  Colonies.  Of  these, 
in  many  cases,  it  was  no  less  true  than  of  the  Puritans  of  Massachusetts, 
that,  in  seeking  a  home  in  America, 

"They  sought  a  faith's  pure  shrine." 

Of  those  who  fled  from  persecution,  at  different  times,  the  greater  number 
were  distinguished  alike  for  their  industry  and  economy,  and  for  their 
attachment  to  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  freedom.  The  annals 
•f  every  age  amply  prove  the  agency  of  religious  principle  in  promoting 
industry  In  our  own  country,  the  relation  between  the  two  has  ever 
been  moie  than  an  accidental  one.  As  an  element  in  the  industrial  pro- 
srress  of  the  country,  its  influence  was  very  early  apparent  m  many  of 
the  classes  who  have  swelled  its  population.  If  the  laws  by  winch,  n. 
pome  cases,  they  endeavored  to  enforce  the  duties  of  good  citizenship,  in 
conformity  with  their  own  views,  must  be  condemned  as  harsh,  or  opprcs- 
152 


MMI 


^^;:^Vi0r 


rHE  COIiONIES. 

,  in  the  strong  reli- 
isacbusetts,  that  we 
mote  industry  and 
ourt  of  Assistants 
•abella,  at  Charles- 
3  maintained,"  took 
of  houses  for  their 
inauguration  of  the 

order,  industry,  and 
gions  principle,  the 
nly  exemplars.  As 
year,  endeavored  to 
id  chiefest  care,  was 
onor  and  service  of 
iligious  chtiracter  of 
Colonies.  Of  these, 
ns  of  Massachusetts, 


s,  the  greater  number 
inomy,  and  for  their 
•eedom.  The  annals 
•inclple  in  promoting 
en  the  two  has  ever 
in  the  industrial  pro- 
ipparent  in  many  of 
he  laws  by  which,  in 
r  good  citizenship,  in 
d  as  harsh,  or  opprcs- 


r? 


•%^'Sf; 


0'^^%. 


^    S'-'Mf 


f( 


I- 


V.  -'i'V 


>§  '^^'iS?^'  ■ 


^•""■^-■'T',i 


V  '. 


vrrn.  •■ 


•■     ,,    y.,,.  ru-! 


.i  puv'.^.'*  i>    !''■-'   r;>i.riiN; ''>. 


'•ra.-;''i;,  i 


s 
ho! 

towr,  ;♦  'i;  •^v.i'l  '1 


;.if,i-  for  'h^  f-'-^  '>■"'  r^t   i\r'i':'':,h,r  !:;r;v 


:•  '.rh-^,  wo;- 


'.  .'■   !:;f 


.,  ,.!'  .I'fi.  r,  ii,iiri'-tv; .  till.! 


,.1..  ,,,,,!     ;:t,;v   "ri!iirv.iii'-^"j    ,  iif  i  liiT -i ';■ :'   I '' 


inbabliisuis  1.,'  M.  ■ 

fiidr  ivs    I-'!!,  '■    '-■•      ■•■  • 

r>'-uiv  .>r  t*!^- ■ 'H'''.' vui'.i  ,.11        ... 

thiiK  i'  ,'!<  t.tUi''  -  *■'■■'-■  '  •    '^■'■•''^'  ' 

■    ■    ...     .,::,■•  1  ;•■"  tall '•'!■•••.■' 

•^   .,.,,.  (i;vr'>,  '1.';  i:i''-;it>r  i.iniS'*'!' 
,  ■:  ;  <■'■'. tioii  v.   i«'i -■    f'""  I'"""- 

,   ■        H  ,  (.rii.ciple  in  pi-uDioiin!.': 

,    Mi.:u-  ;.  ;     tll'i   !'' ^1    l':is  <■  ^- 1 

..■fciiiijiH  ia  i!i'  ii''!':- ti'Wi  ]'*'<■'- 


■  ■ 

ivo 

'  i. 

:••    ■: 

■jr,    . . 

t   1 

■'  ■  1 1 .  1  *  - 

ilii;  !■!,. 

.    ■*■' 

-  'imi-  •; 

.,1  ' 

f 

.  ,-a 

1  ,\'Son 

1.1 

t 

lit!  ;  'M- 

.  ,-,.■  ;;,  p..!'.i.  '  »!!      if  Oh'  ;;vas  i>v  wlii.il,  ill 

;,.,.         ,,  ^'i     .t.'<>   tui:   llUtil'-;  -ir   irr'.il  '•i'iv'tli'li'P,    111 

;.  VI    •«   ■;  '^  ■  ^  '•  <!'ji;'le!'irtu  -s  )..i'"'!',    r  .•i'iii'',v 


11     V-'\A>S'''''^. 

•.i-t;ii!'-''.t^  I'll/.,  -v'^ 
Kit,-..'  Uid'istry  11154 
art  of  A^^ist;'^ls 
[nW-x.  -'t  Tior!.^?- 
i,iiUt.t--Uiii;i'.''  t'.-ok 

,!.  r,  iiiil'/i'-iv; .  nil',! 

,:■     iur..'ij  !'••,  Ui't 

.  •  •  .>.v<ii:'!Mr'',     -\'' 

■1  .,    !-,D.l     :<.-:-'''r.-  la' 
v.,     1/    :«  t  '.'  1  .IVSC, 


•1,1;  i;fM:. T  Lii'liiTl' 

o!i  s'.  ''.';-'  f'""  I'"''' 
I'fiuiU.      T>!i:  rni!\,.i3 

i.oijjle  in  pi-^'motiiiL': 
t!)f'.  !'""   Ii:i?  •-■*  ■ ' 

•piiriia   ill   iii.T.v  ■>'" 

c  i.'VAs  >'■;  wliii  ii.  ia 

ifi'iid  "'i' i;''-ir!iii\  lii 

■i'4  I'...'--!',    r  i'['i'''"-- 


Kn^'  i  V  I    Vi,l,:h^..J. 


FIRST  PBINTINQ  PRESS  AT  CAMBRIDGE. 


153 


Bive  the  motives  which  prompted  them  cannot,  perhaps,  be  so  easily 
impugned.  Happily,  however,  other  and  more  elKcient  means  were 
devised  of  promoting  the  future  good  of  their  descendants,  and  through 
them,  of  perpetuating  the  principles  they  cherished.  Those  means  were 
more  in  accordance  with  the  enterprise  and  spirit  of  the  present  day,  than 
the  attempt  to  control,  by  legislative  enactments,  the  dictates  of  consc.ence 
or  the  tastes  and  caprice  of  individuals. 

It  will  ever  be  mentioned  as  the  fact  most  honorable  to  the  intelligence 
of  the  6rst  Colonists,  and  their  regard  for  the  welfare  of  their  posterity, 
that,  among  their  earliest  cares,  they  provided  for  the  interests  o   Kduca- 
tion  and  the  diffusion  of  Knowledge.     Eighteen  years  on  y  of   .  e  in  the 
wilderness,  had  elapsed  since  the  Pilgrims  trod  the  rock  o    I  lymouth 
and  less  than  half  that  time  since  other  adventurers  had  settled  aiound 
Boston  Bay,  when,  in  1638,  permanent  provision  was  made  for 
fngl'--"  a  college  at  Cambridge  ;  and  the  first  Printing  Press,  in  what 
is  now  called  the  United  States,  was  established  at  the  same  place.    Thus 
early  were  established  the  School  and  the  Tress,  which  have  ever  stood  m 
close  relationship  with  American  Art  and  Industry. 

Virginia  had,  indeed,  equally  early  in  her  history,  provided  for  a  cclcge 
for  the  education  of  European  and  native  youth  ;  and  money  was,  by  the 
King's  order,  liberally  contributed  for  that  purpose  in  London,  some  of 
which  was  appropriated  to  the  iron-works  previously  spoken  of,  with    he 
view  of  deriving  thence  a  revenue  to  the  general  fund.     But  one  of  the 
most  fearful  massacres  recorded  in  our  annals,  put  an  end  to  all  the  plan 
of  the  Colonists.     The  character  of  King  James,  who  took  much  interest 
in  the  effort,  however  assailed,  stands  in  creditable  cc    ''"^tto  that  of  Sir 
William  Berkeley,  who,  in  June  1G71.  returned  thanks  to  God  that  there 
were  neither  free  schools  nor  Printing  in  the  Colony     It  is  said  that 
Lord  Effingham,  while  Governor  in  1683,  actually  prohibited  the  use  of 
the  Printing  1  ress,  in  Virginia,  •'  on  any  occasion  whatever.       Ihe  pi^ss 
erected  at  Cambi^dge.  in   1688,  and  which  went  j<>to  operation  in  the 
beginning  of  the  following  year,  was  brought  from  England  by  He^^  Mr 
Glover,  who  had  engaged  in  England  a  Printer,  named  Daye,  to  condac 
it  for  him.     Mr.  Glover  died  on  the  passage  out.  but  the  press  was  set 
up  by  Daye,  at  Cambridge,  where,  in  January,  1639,  he  printed  the 
.'Freeman's  Oath,"  which  was  the  first  issue  of  the  Colonial  I  ress. 

Of  Jos.  or  Jesse  Glover,  to  whose  instrumentality  the  country  owes  the 
introduction  of  the  press,  little  is  known  beyond  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
worthy  and  wealthy  non-eonfor-nist  minister,  and  that  he  was  the  princi- 
pal pvu-chasor  and  owner  of  t'.e  apparatus  and  stock  for  priivt  mg  and  book- 
selling, which  he  intended  to  carry  on  at  Cambridge.  Ihe  entorpnse, 
doubtless,  originated  in  the  desire  of  the  large  body  of  educated  ministers 


154 


PRINTINO  IN  THE  COLONIES. 


and  laymen  in  New  England,  to  associate  with  t'aeir  school  at  Cambridge, 
—after  the  iimnner  of  the  universities  of  Europe,— the  auxiliary  labors 
of  the  rrea:,.  Tlio  oluer  names  mentioned  as  patrons  of  the  Cumbridgo 
press  are  those  of  Mojor  Thomas  Clark,  Captain  James  Oliver,  Captain 
Allen,  Mr.  Stoddard,  Mr.  Freake,  and  Mr.  Hues. 

The  fust  i)roduct  of  Day's  press,  it  is  said,  exhibited  much  want  of 
skill  and  practical  knowledge  in  the  printer.  The  next  thing  printed 
Ti.ofir.t  was  an  Almanac  for  the  year  1639,  "by  William  Peirco 
Ainmuac.  Mariner."  The  compiler  of  this  pioneer  of  a  class  of  annuals 
that  fill  a  curious  chapter  in  literary  history,  and  now  far  out-number  all 
other  issues  of  the  American  press,  seems  deserving  of  a  passing  notice. 
He  was  called,  by  the  New  England  fathers,  "the  Palinurus  of  our  Seas," 
having  repeatedly  crossed  the  Atlantic,— in  command  of  the  Ann  in  1623, 
and  afterward  of  the  Mayflower  and  the  Lyon,  and  by  his  nautical  skill, 
contributed  not  a  little  to  the  peopling  of  these  shores.  He  subsequently 
engaged  in  the  opening  trade  to  the  West  India  Islands,  in  which  he  ac- 
quired a  less  honorable  fume.  He  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Virginia 
in  1633,  and  live  years  after  carried  off  captive  some  Pequot  Indians  to 
the  W^st  Indies,  where  he  sold  them,  and  brought  back  negro  slaves,  thus 
commencing  the  slave  traffic  in  that  quarter.  In  an  attempt  of  the  New 
England  people  to  settle  the  Isle  of  Providence,  in  1641,  he  was  shot  by 
the  Spaniards,  and  died  within  an  hour.' 

In  1640,  "the  Psalms,  newly  turned  into  metre,"  which  had  just  been 
translated  from  the   Hebrew,  with  cio:e  fidelity  to  the  original,  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Weld  and  Rev,  John  Eliot,  was  printed  by  Day,  at 
book^  "     Cambridge,  and  was  the  first  production  of  the  American  Press 
in  book  form.     It  was  designed  to  take  the  place  of  the  prose  translation, 
by  Ainswortli,  previously  in  use.     The  "  Bay  Psalm  Book,"  as  it  was 
called— the  first-fruits  of  that  abundant  harvest  of  pleasure  and  profit 
which  is  yearly  gathered  from  this  field  of  American  industry— though 
possessed  of  little  merit  as  a  literary  composition,  was  somewhat  typical, 
in  its  extraordinary  success,  of  that  vast  demand  which  sustains  the  teem- 
ing fertility  in  book-making  and  printing  of  the  American  Press.     It  is 
said  to  have  gone  through  no  less  than  seventy  editions,  in  about  one 
hundred  and  fourteen  years,  during  which  it  maintained  its  popularity  in 
England  and  America.     The  first  edition,  in  England,  was  printed  soon 
n'ter  its  appearance  in  America,  and  the  last  in  1754.     In  1759,  the  last 
y :  twenty-two  editions  appeared  in  Scotland.     The  original  American 
edition  was  a  crown  8vo.,  of  300  pages,  bound  in  parchment,  and  was  by 
no  means  creditable  to  the  skill  of  the  printer.   He  is  supposed,  not  without 


(1)  Allan's  Biog.  Diet. 


MASSACHUSETTS.      THE  BAY   PSALM  BOOK. 


155 


1  at  Cambridge, 

auxiliary  labors 

'  tl\e  Cambritlgo 

Oliver,  Captain 

I  much  want  of 
xt  tiling  printed 
William  Peirco 
class  of  annuals 
ir  out-number  all 
a  passing  notice. 
ru3  of  our  Seas," 
the  Ann  in  1623, 
hia  nautical  skill, 
He  subsequently 
;,  in  which  he  ac- 
ioast  of  Virginia 
equot  Indians  to 
negro  slaves,  thus 
empt  of  the  New 
1,  he  was  shot  by 

ich  had  just  been 
B  original,  by  the 
rinted  by  Day,  at 
e  American  Press 
prose  translation, 
Book,"  as  it  was 
jasure  and  profit 
industry — though 
somewhat  typical, 
sustains  the  teem- 
ican  Press.  It  is 
ions,  in  about  one 
i  its  popularity  in 
was  printed  soon 
In  1759,  the  last 
)riginal  American 
liment,  and  was  by 
posed,  not  without 


reason,  to  have  been  a  descendant  of  John  Day.  «»«  «f  ^  ^  7^^ «-'  T!     .t" 
vealtl  V  of  early  English  typographers,  the  orig.na   P"'f  ;  '"  .    J^;!   ^    , 
Sern.o;s.  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs,  and  of  Sternhold  and  HopU  n    ^     . 
of  the  Psalm..     The  latter  was  a  clcrgyman,_ns  were  seve.ul  of  h.s 
b  otTer  -and  preached  for  Fox  at  Ryegate.     He  was  also  a  printer 
d  is  editilns  of  the  Bible  and  other  books,  contributed  much  to 

tie  spread  of  the  Reformation,  as  well  as  to  the  unprove.iient  of  the  a.t 
of  ;rinth!g      He   attempted,  among   other  things,  the  distinct  use  of 

'  t  V::^:t^:^HS^''nymns  in  HOt.  and  the  Psalms  in  lU. 
He   .id-ns'of  them  to  Cotton  Mather,  but  they  were  not  repnnted 
i„  America  until  1741.  when  Dr.  ^-k  in  published  the     Ijm.s     and 
the  Psalms  were  printed,  the  same  year,  in  Boston.     They  did  not  buper 
sede  the  New  England  Psalms  till  after  the  Revolution 

Steplien  Day's  deficiencies  as  a  compositor-md.cated  by  his  errors  ot 
pun:n!;:-?^.lfspening,bythedivi.onofmonos3..l^s^b^ 
he  end  of  lines,  and  similar  technical  blunders-have  led  to  the  presump 
ion  ImttLgh  probably  bred  a  printer,  he  had  been  chiefiy  accustomed 
to  m-    slwk  I  Thich  he  better  acquitted  himself.     He  printed  a  numbe 
of  w  rls        1     i  g  an  almanac  yearly  ;  but  Thomas  was  unable  to  find 
1  e  than  aboi/a  do.en  of  the  books  printed  by  h.m.  '-  o    v.  c 
have  his  imprint,  and  he  believes  it  :iever  appeared  in  one.    1  "^  Pn««;P^l 
o    t ,;::  were  thi  Psalms,  of  which  a  second  edition  was  prmted  in  1       , 
and  the  Body  of  Libertys.  containing  one  hundred  laws  of  the  Colony, 
d  awn  up  by  Rev.  Mr.  Ward,  of  Ipswich,  the  author  of  a  curious  b  ok 
e  tit  Id  •'  tL  Simple  Cobbler  of  Agawam."    The  Laws  were  print  d    n 
1641,  and  a  second  edition  in  1648.  which  were  ordered  to  be  sold  ^,^ 

'"dT;  t^'Z^  i"  the  management  of  the  Press,  in  1649  by 
Samuel  Green  who,  with  his  parents,  came  from  England  to  Cambridge, 
Samuel  ^  >•««",  v.  i  winthrop's  Company,  eight  years 

Teftli^arrerH:  has  been  sometimes  call.d  the  first  printer  in 
tZZ...  but  was  unknown  in  l^ ^;:^ ^Z:^:;]^^^ 
years  after  Dayjm.ence2--^^/;;fj;^^^^^^^^  the  services  of 
S:  DaTwI;  "tt:;  -Idly  JLa  as  the  American  Caxton. 

u-    1    inti„niii««  -  upon  his  tomb,  which  informs  us  that,  hav- 

(l)Ames'   Typograph.eal   AnUqmt.e^^  ."ng  spent  his  wealth  in  printing,- 

Allibono-8  D.ct.  of  Authors,_Art.  K.  my.  ^    i  returned  his  wealth  agnyne, 

John  Day  died  in  London,  in  1584.     ine  «^^      ^^  jo  him  as  he  gave  to  the  poore  ; 

claims  of  our  first  printer  to  be  a  descend-  ,j,^^  ^j^^,  ^^  had  partakers  "[ '"»  P"y»«' „ 

,nt  of  that  eminent  typographer,  may  bo  E^,h  „,/e  twelve  babe.,  and  each  of  them  one 
.irengthened  by  a  portion  of  the  inscription  more. 


156 


PRINTING   IN    THE   COLONIES. 


Original 
tlun. 


by  granting  him  three  hundred  acres  of  laud,  as  "being  the  first  that  sett 
npon  jirinting."  He  had  not  obtained  possession,  however,  in  1655, 
wlien  tlie  grant  was  confirmed  to  him.  He  died  in  1668,  at  the  age  of 
fifiy-eiglit. 

Tlic  fii'st  strictly  original  composition  published  in  New  England,  was 
a  volume  of  Poems,  by  Mrs.  Anne  Bradstreet,  the  wife  of  Simon  Urad- 
The  first   street,  afterward  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  daughter 
of  Thomas  Dudley,  who  came  out  as  Deputy-Governor,  in  1630, 
in  the  same  ship  wit'.i  the  Greens.     It  was  published  in  1640, 
and  re-printed  in  England,  where  it  was  quite  popular.     In  the  compo- 
sition and  printing  of  those  two  volumes,  and  of  Sandy's  version  of  Ovid, 
the  first  book  written  in  America ;  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  a  poem,  written 
about  the  same  time,  by  Dr.  George  Vaughan,  at  Newfoundluiid,  and  the 
Nova  Anglia,  the  first  classical  Latin  poem  descriptive  of  New  England, 
written  at  Tlymouth,  in  1623,  by  William  Morell,  of  Weymouth,— the 
American  helicon  gave  early  promise  of  its  later  copiousness.     No  reason 
is  known  for  the  tranfer  of  the  Press  to  the  charge  of  Green,  whose  first 
essays  exhibit  no  improvement  upon  the  work  of  Day.     From  the  gene- 
ral similarity  in  faults  and  workmanship,  Thomas  supposes  he  was  not  a 
printer  by  trade,  and  that  he  was  assisted  occasionally  by  Day.    It  seems 
probable,  however,  that  being  a  youth  whom  he  educan.J,  he  may  have 
acquired  his  knowledge  and  style  from  Day  prerlous  to  his  undertaking 
its  control.     One  of  the  first  works  printed  by  him  was  the  Camhrid<je 
Platform,  wliich  was  badly  executed,  both  in  press  and  case-work.     A 
new  edition  of  the  Psalms,  revised  and  improved  by  President  Dunster 
and  Mr.  Lyon,  was  printed  in  1650,  which  became  the  standard  edition 
of  the  work. 

In  1654,  tlie  General  Court  made  an  order  for  the  regular  printing  of 
such  laws  ns  were  ordered  to  be  published,  in  impressions  of  from  500  to 
100  copies,  which  the  Secretary  was  to  pay  for  "in  wheate  or  otherwise" 
at  the  rate  of  one  penny  a  sheet,  or  eight  shillings  a  hundred,  and  a  copy 
was  to  be  distributed  to  each  freeman  in  every  town. 

In  October,  1658,  Green  was  granted  by  the  Court,  for  his  encourage- 
ment, on  petition,  three  hundred  ac-'s  of  land  "  where  it  is  to  be  found." 
It  was  subsequently  l:\id  out  for  him  at  Haverhill. 

In  1653,  a  Catechism  in  the  Indian  largunge,  by  Mr.  Eliot,  was  printed 

at  the  expense  of  the  Corporation  in  l^ngland  for  propagating  the  Gospel 

among  the  Indians  in  New  England,  of  which  the  lion.  Ilobert  Boylo 

was  president.     In  1655,  the  Corporation  sent  over  a  second 

V\ 1.1  ih«   Pi-css,  with  tlio  necessary  furniture  and  materials  lor  turtner 

publications  of  the  smae  kind.    In  1659,  a  version  ot  the  I  salms, 
in  the  Indian  tongue,  was  printed  by  Green.    The  press  was  sot  up  in  Ihu 


MASSAtfiaSETTS.      EUOX's   INDIAN   BIBLE. 


157 


.lie  first  that  sett 
wever,  in  1G55, 
i,  at  the  age  of 

3VV  England,  was 
of  Simon  Drad- 
xnd  the  daughter 
overnor,  in  1630, 
iblished  in  1640, 
In  the  compo- 

version  of  Ovid, 
',  u  iioera,  written 
undland,  and  the 
of  New  England, 
Weymouth, — the 
ncss.  No  reason 
}reen,  whose  first 

From  the  gene- 
ises  lie  was  not  a 
)y  Day.  It  seems 
.ilJ,  he  may  have 
)  his  undertaking 
is  the  CambriJcje 
id  case-work.  A 
•resident  Dunster 

standard  edition 

;gu]ar  printing  of 
ns  of  from  500  to 
!ate  or  otherwise" 
ndred,  and  a  copy 

for  his  encourage- 
it  is  to  be  found." 

Eliot,  was  printed 
gating  the  Gosjiel 
on.  llobcrt  Boylo 
L'nt  over  a  second 
teriala  for  further 
lion  of  tlio  Psalms, 
i  was  sot  uj)  in  thu 


same  building  at  Can.bridge  occupied  by  Mr.  Glover's  press-a  snbstan- 
tial  brick  ediace,  erected  at  a  cost  of  between  £300  and  £400  for  an 
Indian  college,  and  in  which  all  the  printing  in  the  Colonics  for  neai- 
orty  years  ^vas  executed.  To  this  establishment,  fully  equipped  wuh 
he  necess.ry  apparatus,  was  added  by  the  Corporation  in  1660,  ano  er 
printer,  Marmaduke  Johnson,  of  Loudon,  with  better  artistic  qualifications 

than  his  predecessors.  . 

During  the  twenty  years  which  '  ,•  1  '  v  elapsed  since  the  fiist  p  ess 
was  set  up,  its  publications,  alth  ,:,h  .■■^.  only  one  in  the  Colony,  had 
not  much  exceeded  an  average.  ..  bo.K.  and  pamphlets,  of  one  work 
annually,  exclusive  of  Almanacs. 

The  Loud  press  was  designed  exclusively  for  printing  the  Bible  and 
other  books  in  the  aboriginal  tong-e.  It  was  to  assist  in  this  abor  that 
Johnson  was  sent  over.  This  was  so  considerable  an  "'f-taking  as  o 
attract  the  attention  of  the  chief  personages  in  England  and  rendered 
tJeHarvard  Tress  for  a  time  as  celebrated  as  those  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 

''trZX^^  Testament  was  issued.     In  1663,  the  entire  Old  and 
New  Testament,  with  the  New  England  Psalms  in  I "^li "";"«;•/' 
fr  Lated  by  th;  Rev.  John  Eliot.  Minister  of  Roxbury.  into  the  d.alec 
of  th    Nipmuck  or  Natick  Indians,  was  printed  in  quarto  with  margina 
notes  an  J  issued  with  the  joint  imprint  of  Samuel  Green  and  Marmaduke 
Johl     and  a  dedication  to  King  Charles  II.     The  work  had  been 
J're    y  ;-  in  the  press,  having  been  much  retarded  by  the  irregularities 
0    Jolnson.  which'were  a  source  of  annoyance  to  his  en^ployers  and  of 
trouble  to  himself.     In  the  execution  of  the  work.  Green  was  assisted  by 
aul  dian  whom  he  had  taken  as  an  apprentice  in  1659.  and  named 
James  Printer.     His  father  and  two  brothers  were  principal  personages 
f„  0      of  the  Indian  Churches ;  and  he  had  been  instructed  in  reading 
writ  ng  and  English,  in  the  Indian  school  at  Cambridge.     He  was  aft  r- 
Ho    much  service  in  the  Indian  publications,  and  was  emplo  ed    ,y 
Or  en  as  a  pressman.'    While  the  second  edition  was  ni  press,  in  1G82 
r     t  wro^o  Mr  Boyle  •  "  We  have  but  one  man,  viz.,  the  Indian  pnnte  , 
S:  is  alt  tf  CO    pi  c  the  Sheets  and  correct  the  Press  with  understand- 
'"     In  mo.  ai  edition  of  the  Psalter  was  issued,  with  the  unpnut 
n   Green  and  J.  Printer,  in  the  English  and  Indian  languages. 

l^ieeiHiost  application  of  the  Book-binder's  art  in  this  country   of 
wll    w      ave  seen  any  account,  was  upon  the  first  edition  o      1  s  fi 

Bible  printed  in  British  America.  This  was  executed  by  John 
K:;:r:e  Ratli^,  who  ca:i.e  from  England  -I'-'y  ^^/^  ^7';^  ^ 
'''"""""■  A,  ni.pears  by  a  letter  from  him  to  the  Commissioners  of  Ni  w 
England.  Au^lilt  30thf  1664.  he  .us  not  well  satisfied  with  the  price 


158 


PRINTING   IN   THE   COLONIES. 


raid  him  for  binding,  and  states  tliat  3s.  Ad.  or  3s.  6./.  per  book  is  tho 
lowest  price  at  wlucli  lie  can  do  it  and  live  comfortably.  One  Bible  was 
as  much  as  he  could  do  in  a  day.  Out  of  the  price  received,  he  had  to 
supply  thread,  glue,  pasteboard,  and  leather  clasp^^,  all  of  which  would 
cost  him  in  this  country  over  one  shilling.  Re  had  to  pay  here  eighteen 
shillings  for  what  he  could  buy  in  England  for  four,  "  they  being  things 
not  formerly  much  used  in  this  country.'" 

The  press-work  on  a  portion  of  the  above  was  charged  as  follows : 
Sheets  of  the  Old  Testament,  executed  by  Green  alone,  £3  10.s-.  per 
siicet ;  with  Johnson's  assistance,  at  £2  10s.  per  sheet.  Title  sheet,  £1  ; 
Indian  Psalms,  £2  per  sheet;  Baxter's  Call,  £2  10s.  ;  Indian  I\alter,  £1 
per  sheet.  The  paper,  which  was  fine  Post,  was  charged  at  6s.  per 
ream.  Thomas  thus  sums  up  the  expense  of  this  enterprise,  of  which  the 
practical  details  may  serve  for  comparison  between  present  rates  and 
those  of  two  hundred  years  ago. 

"  I  have  made  a  calculation  from  the  documents  I  have  seen,  and  find  the 
whole  expense  attending  the  carrying  through  the  Press  1000  copies  of  the 
Bible-  500  additional  copies  of  the  N.  (v  Testament ;  an  ed..ion  of  Baxter's 
Call  to  tho  Unconverted;  an  edition  of  the  I'salter,  and  two  editions  of  Kliol's 
Catochiiim,  all  in  the  Indian  language,  including  the  cost  of  the  types  for 
printing  tho  Bible  and  the  binding  a  part  of  thorn,  and  also  the  binding  of  a 
part  of  Baxter's  Call  and  the  Fsalter,  amounted  to  a  fraction  more  than  ill-OO 
sterling.'" 

On  the  completion  of  the  work,  the  Corporation  pre.tntcd  the  printing 
materials  to  the  College,  and  they  were  afterward  used  by  v^.reen  under 
its  direction.  They  were  valued  at  the  low  price  of  eighty  poinds.  A 
second  edition  of  two  thousand  copies  of  tlv  Bible,  revised  by  Mr.  Eliot 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton,  was  printed  in  1085  by  Green.  It  was  8i.x  years 
in  the  Press,  though  less  expensive  than  the  former  one.  A  letter  from 
Mr.  Eliot  to  Uon.  Robert  Boyle,  in  1085,  acknowledges  the  receipt  of 
nine  hundred  pounds,  in  three  payments  for  carrying  it  through  the 
Press.*     Mr.  Eliot  gave  a  part  of  his  f-    iry  toward  the  exp»^nso  of 


(1)  N.  Y.  UiM.  Mil;;,  for  Aug.,  1859. 

(2)  Thomas'  History  of  I'rinting,  i.  24.1, 

245. 

(3)  TliO  title  of  tliis  "  typographical  curi- 
osity," iia  it  ii.ost  iisMindly  is,  of  which  fuw 
copies  now  -xi?!,  iilthough  a  new  eilition 
with  nolo."  hy  I'clcr  P.  Duponccnu,  anil  an 
Introduotlr.n  by  J.  I'lrUcring,  was  published 
In  Ronton  In  octavo,  in  1»L'2,  is  as  fallows: 
"  Wnnnoetuiiawiitamwo  IT-Itlllhl'M  (101) 
N»ne««wo  Nlkkonk  Tsstai-k.nt  Kah  Wouk 


WrsKU  i  sTAMKNT."  A^  copios  of  cilhof 
eilition  ol  this  early  specimen  of  bookmak- 
Ing  are  now  extremely  rare,  the  f  )llowing 
extracts  from  a  review  of  the  work,  which 
appoarol  a  few  yeari  ago  In  the  Uuttvn 
Tiiinm-ripi,  may  not  bo  unaei'cptnble.  Th« 
one  ilc!iorihcd  is  the  edition  of  IIIH.'), 

"Tho  ancient  book  is  in  quarto  form, 
rough  nnd  rusty  with  old  ago,  and  liallowoj 
by  old  associations. 

"The  languiigc  in  which  it  is  written  ii 


per  bodk  is  tho 
One  Bible  was 
eived,  he  had  to 
of  wliich  would 
lay  here  eighteen 
iiey  being  things 

■ged  as  follows : 
nc,  £3  10«.  per 
Title  sheet,  £1 ; 
idian  Ptalter,  £1 
irged  at  6s.  per 
rise,  of  which  tho 
•resent  rates  and 


seen,  and  find  the 
1000  copies  of  the 
(l.tion  of  Baxter's 
editions  of  Kliot'a 
t  of  the  types  for 
o  the  binding  of  a 
11  uiore  than  i;i200 


:ntcd  the  printing 
I  by  (treen  under 
ghty  po'inds.  A 
ised  by  Mr.  Eliot 
It  was  8i.\  years 
B.  A  letter  from 
res  the  receipt  of 
ig  it  through  the 
J  the  expv^uso  of 

A^  copies  of  clltior 
ipeoimen  of  bdokmnk- 
ily  rnro,  the  i  )llowiiig 
3W  of  the  work,  which 
■»  ago  In  the  Iliminn 
1)0  uni>ci'C)ifnblo.  Tb« 
ditlon  of  IfiHS. 
k  is  in  qiinrto  form, 
olil  iiKo,  Hiiil  ImllowoJ 

wliicb  it  in  nritteu  il 


MASSACnOBBTTS.     B«Ort  M.BS.O.ARV  LAB.E,  AMOSO  r„E  ,ND,A.,.    160 

p,i,„i„.  it,  and  go„ero»ly  remitted  anofter  portion  in  um  ot  Mr. 

that  people    ^^T  T„]     nirefforts  to  instruet  them,  and  to  encourage 
tended  wth  remarkable  success,     intii  inu;, 

,  1     o  „n,l  mnniciual  regulat  ons,  framed    for  them,  were  tuuy 

Ins  professing  Christianity,  and  twenty-four  native  preachers.     The 


doiut-entircly   dead;   no  man  living  can 
either  road  it  or  speak  it. 

"This  Bible  was  printed  in  lb»!).      ino 
quality  of  the  paperU  poor  enough    and 

the  typo  is  uneven  and  unsightly;  that  of 
the  title-page  seem,  in  part  to  have  been 

cut  with  a  penknife  for  the  occasion.     It  .8 
bound  in  sheep,  with  heavy  ribs  upon  the 

«The  'illuminations'  at  the  beginning 
are  extremely  rude;^and  tho  linos  are  bent 

and  broken.    •  -   j  •_ 

"The  longest  word  which  I  can  find  in 

thi.  Bible  is  in  Mark  1.40:  'VVuttcppe»itt. 

ukqussnnnoowehtunkquoh,'    and    s.gniUe. 

<  kneeling  down  to  him.' 

"In  translating  Judges  v.  28—  ^n* 
mother  of  Pisera  looked  out  at  a  win-low 
and  crUd  throuyh  the  lattice<-ho  M  tho 
Intli-ms  for  tho  word  <  lattice,' and  f.mml, 
when  hii-  translation  was  c.mploted,  that  ho 
l,„,l  written, '  an.l  cried  through  the  «J-;"", 
that  being  the  only  object  which  the  n,,„vc., 

know,  as  corresponding  with  tho  object  Mr. 
Kli..l  doscribcil  to  them. 
.•The    Psalms   are  tranclatod    into   that 


form  of  verse  which  Is  termed  in  our  hymn- 
books  '  common  metre  ;'  and  nothing  can  be 
more  clumsy  and  uncouth  than  the  struc- 
ture of  the  rhyme..    Ptcrnhold  and  llopktns 
even  may  be  read  with  exquisite   plensuro 
after  perusing  a  few  stanr.as  like  the  fo  low- 
ing, which  are  from  the  19th  Psalm-'  The 
heavens  declare  tho  gbiry  of  flod,  Ac; 
"<1.  Kesuk  kukootomuhtcaumoo 
flcid  wussoliaumoitik 
Mamahcbckci.uk  wunnahtubkon 

Wutnnaknusnonk 
<i<2.  Ilohsckoeu  kosnkodtash 
Kuttoo  waantamonk 
Kah  hohs^koe  nukonash 
Kcketookon  walitcauonk.'" 
Pr.  Mather  states  that  tlte  entire  transla- 
tion  was  written  with  but  one  pen. 

The  first  American  edition  of  the  English 
nible  was  published  in  1782.  ncrly  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  ..f.cr  the  first 
appearance  of  Eliot's.  Sower'.,  ..crman 
BiMe  came  out  eighty  ycnrs  after  Wi.  1  s. 
„nd  nearly  f^rty  years  lofore  the  English 
reprint. 


1 


160 


PRINTING  IN  THE  COLONIES. 


knowledge  of  this  work  was  early  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  British 
Parliament,  and  the  Subject  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Planta- 
tions,  who  were  directed  to  prepare  and  report  an  Ordinance  "for  the 
encouragement  and  advancement  of  learning  and  piety  in  New  England." 
The  Act  providing  for  the  formation  of  a  Corporate  Societj,  and  general 
contributions  to  the  object,  was,  with  the  liberality  which  that  body  has 
ever  shown  in  matters  of  benevolence,  passed  in  July,  1649.  The  Uni- 
versities of  the  Kingdom,  and  many  of  its  most  eminent  men,  no  less 
strongly  recommended  the  work.  Had  the  rights  and  interests  of  the 
native  race  been  equally  regarded  by  all  who  settled  upon  their  heritage, 
many  of  the  horrors  of  Indian  warfare  and  Indfan  degradation  had  never 
been  recorded  upon  the  pages  of  American  history. 

The  zealous  and  unremitting  exertions  of  John  Eliot,  in  behalf  of  the 
natives  for  over  forty  years,  justly  entitle  him  to  the  appellation  given  by 
his  cotemporaries,  but  earnestly  disclaimed  by  himself,  of  the  "  Indian 
Evangelist."  His  translation  and  circulation  of  the  Bible,  and  other 
works,  is  alone  sufficient  to  unite  the  general  voice  in  the  emphatic  deck- 
ration  of  one,  who  is  himself  a  conspicuous  example  of  disinterested  labor, 
that  Eliot,  was  "the  Apostle— and  truly,  I  know  not  who,  since  Peter  and 
Paul,  better  deserves  that  name.'"  Mr.  Eliot  died  in  1690,  at  the  age 
of  eighty-six.  Johnson,  soon  after  the  completion  of  the  first  edition  of 
the  Bible,  was  dismissed,  but  was  allowed  to  retain,  at  their  original  cost, 
the  font  of  types  which  was  sent  out  with  him.  With  these,  he  printed 
several  works  on  his  own  account,  of  which  Thomas  was  able  to  identify, 
about  ten,  the  latest  dated  in  1674.     He  died  the  following  year. 

Green  continued  printing  to  an  advanced  age,  and  died  in  1702,  aged 
eighty-seven.  He  was  much  esteemed  in  Cambridge,  where  he  held 
several  civic  and  military  offices.  There  was  no  Printing  done  at  Cam- 
bridge, for  a  long  time  after  his  death.  He  had  nineteen  children,  and 
his  descendants  were  printers,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  for  over  a 
century  after  his  decease.  Thomas  was  able  to  collect  a  list  of  nearly  one 
hundred  books  printed  by  him  in  the  fifty  years  he  conducted  the  Cam- 
bridge Press,  including  those  issued  in  connection  with  Johnson,  and  for 
a  short  time  in  partnership  with  his  son. 

But  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  jealous  of  allowing  too  much 
liberty  to  an  instrument  of  so  much  power  as  the  Press,  or  modeling  \\a 
Legislation  upon  that  of  England,  appointed  in  1662,  two  licensers  to 
watch  its  operations,  and  determine  what  works  it  would  be  safe 
r,f:'ouS;  to  print,  one  or  two  religions  publications-a  class  which 
'"""•         chicdy  occupied  the  press  for  many  years— were  issued  that 

(1)  IIoQ.  E.  Everelfi  Oration  at  Dorol.osler,  MaM.,  July  4,  1355. 


MASSACHUSETTS.     FIUST  CnNSOlU-HIP  AND  C01>YllUiIlT  LAWS. 


161 


!  of  the  British 
ttee  on  Planta- 
inance  "  for  the 
New  England." 
etj,  and  general 
I  that  body  has 
549.  The  Uni- 
nt  men,  no  less 
interests  of  the 
n  their  heritage, 
latiou  had  never 

in  behalf  of  the 
illation  given  by 

of  the  "  Indian 
3ible,  and  other 

emphatic  decla- 
iinterested  labor, 
1,  since  Peter  and 
1690,  at  the  age 
le  first  edition  of 
icir  original  cost, 
these,  he  printed 

able  to  identify, 
ing  year, 
ed  in  1102,  aged 
,  where  he  held 
ng  done  at  Cam- 
een  children,  and 
)untry,  for  over  a 

list  of  nearly  one 
iducted  the  Cara- 

JuhnsoD,  and  for 

Uowing  too  much 
1,  or  modeling  its 
,  two  licensers  to 
;s  it  would  be  safe 
IS — a  class  which 
-were  issued  that 

J  4,  1365. 


year;  and  being  deemed  by  some  of  heretical  tendency,  probably  gave  r.  e 
L  the  order  of  the  Court.     It  was  repealed,  however,  .n  May  of  the  fol- 
lowin.^  year.     The  first  licensers  were  Daniel  Gookin,  and  the  Rev  Jona- 
than Mitchell.     In  October,  1664,  on  account  of  the  polenuca     reedom 
,vhich  the  press  exhibited,  the  Court  again  made  an  order,  that    for  the 
preventing  of  irregularities  and  abuse  to  the  authority  of  this  county,  by 
Printl;.g  Presse,"  there  should  no  Printing  Press  be  allowed  m  any 
town  within  its  jurisdiction,  but  in  Cambridge  ;  and,  that  no  person  should 
pr  su       to  prL  a,.ything  without  a  license  from  the  Court  under  the 
hind  of  its  appointed  officers.     The  penalty  was  tl>e  forfeiture  of  the  press, 
and  of  the  privilege  of  printing  within  the  jurisdiction  in  future. 

The  tensers  having  permitted  the  Printing  of  the  <-2).  Irr^oi.one 
Christw'  by  Thomas  a  Kerapis,  the  Court,  more  vigilant  than  discrimi- 
„a  tig  n  1668,  ordered  the  Censors  to  make  a  fuller  revisal  of  the  work 
a  d  t  e  press  to  stop  in  the  mean  time.  More  or  less  surveillance  and 
Lerferencc  with  the  operations  of  the  press,  continued  to  be  exerted 
until  after  the  Revolution. 

The  first  law  securing  the  benefit  of  copyright,  in  this  country,  .as 
enacted  in  1672,  when  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  granted  to 
John  Usher,  a  wealthy  Bookseller,  of  Boston,  the  privilege  of  publishing 
on  his  own   account,  a  revised  edition  of  the  Laws  of  the 
r'jM^Ar-  Colony.'    The  right  was  secured  by  two  orders  of  the  Court, 
granted  on  peti  ion  of  Usher;  the  first,  made  in  May,  1672,  which  decreed 
fl  at  no  printer  should  print  or  sell  any  more  copies  than  vs.ren greed 
upon,  and  paid  for  by  the  owner ;  and  the  second,  enacted  in  May   1    .   . 
B  cured  to  Usher,  the  copyright  for  seven  years.     Hejek.ah  Usher,  pr  - 
V  ou«ly  mentioned  as  the  agent  of  the  Corporation   whose  Indian  pub  - 
121  he  superintended,  had  been  a  bookseller  in  Boston    for  about 
w  eiy    elrs,  and  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  in  British  America  m 
tha    Liness     Several  of  Green's  works  were  printed  for  him    One  of  th 
e^  i    t  of  these  was  a,i  edition  of  the  Psalms,  which  Isaiah  Thomas,  wh 
ow    d  a  copy,  believed,  from  its  superior  typography  to  have  been  p   n 
after  the  arrival  of  Johnson,  and  about  the  year  1664.  or  65.     It  «^ 
'rhited  on  a  handsome-faeed  nonpareil  type;  and.  he  says  is  the  only 
C   men  of  a  book  printed,  either  at  Cambridge  or  Boston,  in  that  ty 
previous  to  the  Revolution.     Even  brevier  types  were  seldom  used  by  the 
nrintprs  of  Boston,  previous  to  1760. 

'ul  during  I  .«me  year,  Umt  VAcr's  edition  of  Ih.  l.«  »■« 
prld".!..'  >l-e  ot  11,0  rijmou.l.  Colon,  i.sued  from  the  .amo  ,,r„,. 

p„rty  lor  (..nrtccn  year..    After  tl.o  lioonsing    oopyrighl. 


1 


162 


PRINTING   IN   THE   COLONIES. 


The  following  year,  the  General  Laws  of  Connecticut,  previously  existing 
only  in  manuscript,  and  publicly  read  from  tiuie  to  time  in  the  several 
towns  were  printed  at  Cambridge.  This  first  code  was  compiled  by 
Roger  Ludlow,  and  a  copy  was  supplied  by  order  of  the  Assembly,  to 
each  family  in  the  twenty-four  towns  in  the  Colony. 

About  the  year  16U,  John  Foster,  a  graduate,  of  Harvard,  received 
permission  to  establish  a  second  press  at  Boston.  The  same  year,  the 
General  Court  added  to  the  former  licensers,  two  additional  ones.  These 
were  Increase  Mather,  and  Thomas  Thacher,  both  learned  divines.  The 
latter  wrote  and  published  in  1677,  a  treatise  on  smallpox  and  measles, 
the  first   medical  work  published   in   Massachusetts,  and   probably  in 

America.  , 

The  first  book  known  to  have  been  printed  in  Boston,  was  issued  by 
Foster  in  1676  He  also  calculated  and  printed  Almanacs,  and  a  few 
other  small  works.  Sewall  succeeded  him  in  1681.  The  printing  was 
executed  for  him  by  James  Glen,  and  Samuel  Green,  a  son  of  the  Cam- 
bridge printer.  He  was  a  book-seller,  and  a  magistrate,  and  subsequently 
tilled  the  highest  judicial  offices  in  the  Colony. 

About  this  period,  controversy  ran  high  in  England,  respecting  the 
Succession.     The  press  which  had  formerly  been  controlled  by  the  Court 
of  Star  Chamber,  was  on  its  removal  from  that  jurisdiction  by  the  Long 
Parliament  placed,  contrary  to  the  pleadings  of  Milton  for  its  freedom, 
under  a  board  of  censors,  from  whose  guardianship  it  was,  for  a  short 
time,  emancipated  in  1679.     The  Provincial  Governors,  felt  it  to  be  their 
duty— or  were  enjoined  to  control  its  freedom  in  the  Colonies.     Sir  \\  il- 
liam  Berkeley,  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  in  1671,  in  his  answers  to  inqui- 
ries of  a  Committee  of  the  Lords  on  Colonies,  says,  "  I  thank  God  we 
have  no  free  schools,  or  printing;   and  I  hope  we  shall  not  have,  these 
hundred  years.     For  learning  has  brought  disobedience  and  heresy  and 
sects,  and  printing  has  divulged  them,  and  libels  against  the  best  Govern- 
ment     God  defend  us  from  both.'"     Governor  Dongan,  of  New  York, 
on  the  renewal  of  his  commission  the  same  year,  was  instructed  "to  allow 
no  Printing  Press."    The  independent  spirit  manifested  by  the  Colonies 
at  this  time,  according  to  Evelyn,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade  and 
Plantations,  formed  that  year  in  London,  caused  some  fears  that  they 
would  "  break  from  their  allegiance  altogether."    Berkeley's  successor,  in 
1683,  was  instructed  to  prohibit  the  erection  of  a  press  in  that  Colony. 
James  the  Second,  soon  after  came  to  the  throne,  and  continued  those 
encroachments  upon  the  liberties  of  his  subjects,  which  produced  serious 
troubles  in  England  and  America.     Wliile  he  was  engaged  in  prostrating 

(1)  Chnlmcr's  Political  Annals,  ii,  328. 


Ml 


MASSACHUSETTS.      TIIK   FIRST    NEWS-LETTER. 


163 


eviouslj' existing 
e  in  the  several 
i-as  compiled  by 
lie  Assembly,  to 

larvard,  received 
le  same  year,  the 
ual  ones.  These 
ed  divines.  The 
)ox  and  measles, 
and  probably  in 

n,  was  issued  by 
mnacs,  and  a  few 
Hie  printing  was 
son  of  the  Cam- 
and  subsequently 

id,  respecting  the 
)lled  by  the  Court 
;tion  by  the  Long 
n  for  its  freedom, 
;  was,  for  a  short 
,  felt  it  to  be  their 
ilonies.     Sir  Wil- 
!  answers  to  inqui- 
"  I  thank  God  we 
11  not  have,  these 
ce  and  heresy  and 
it  the  best  Govern- 
;an,  of  New  York, 
istructed"to  allow 
ed  by  the  Colonies 
oard  of  Trade  and 
me  fears  that  they 
ieley's  successor,  in 
;s3  in  that  Colony, 
id  continued  those 
h  produced  serious 
aged  in  prostrating 


the  borough  immunities  in  England,  his  Courts  were  busy  in  vacating  the 
charters  of  his  Colonial  subjects.  His  agents  in  America,  .verc  equally 
industrious,  in  arbitrarily  levying  imposts,  executing  writs  of  qm  icarranto, 
and  controlling  the  freedom  of  expression  through  the  press  Andros 
arrived  in  1686,  with  authority  to  prohibit  Printing.  But  before  Ins 
arrival,  Randolph,  the  Collector  of  Customs,  either  with  or  without  au- 
tliority,  had  interdicted  the  Printing  of  an  Almanac  at  Boston,  without 

his  permission.  . 

The  only  other  person  who  carried  on  Printing  at  Boston,  previous  to 
tlie  establishment  of  the  third  Printing  Press  in  the  Colonies  at  Philadel- 
phia, in  1686,  was  Pichard  Pierce,  who  commenced  about  1684.     He  is 
chiefly  entitled  to  notice  as  the  printer  of  the  first  newspaper 
r,"',u.a„     sheet  ever  published  in  the  New  World.     It_  was  started  at 
^«w„paper.  .^^^^^^^  in  1 690,  and  was  suppressed  by  the  Legislature,  because, 
it  was  alleged,  "'it  came  out  contrary  to  Law,  and  contained  reflections 
of  a  very  high  nature."    The  first  number  of  this  sheet,  and  the  only  one 
k  .own  to  exist,  was  recently  found  in  the  Colonial  State  Paper  Office  in 
ndon,  bearing  the  following  date  and  imprint  :_<' Boston,  Thursday, 
September  25lh.  1690,  Printed  by  P.  Pierce,  for  Benjamin  Hams,  at  the 
London  ColTee  House,  1690."     The  Publisher  promises  that  the  country 
..  shall  be  furnished  once  a  moueth,  (or,  if  a  Glut  of  Occurrences  happen 
ofiener)  with  an  Account  of  such  considerable  things  as  have  occurred 
unto  our  Notice;  to  give  a  faithful  relation  of  all  such  things;  to  en- 
lighten  the  public  as  to  the  occurrents  of  Divine  Providence,"  the  circum- 
stances of  public  affairs  at  home  and  abroad ;  to  attempt  the  curing  or  at 
least  the  charming  of  the  spirit  of  lying,  then  prevalent;  and  to  aid  m 
tracing  out  and  convicting  the  raisers  of  false  reports. 

It  gives  a  summary  of  current  events,  as  the  departure  of  about  2a  0 
troops  and  32  sail  of  ships  for  Canada,  under  Sir  WiU.am  Ph.p  ,  the 
Z OS  of  the  small  pox  and  of  a  malignant  fever  in  Boston      It  informs 
us  that  a  fire  broke  out  between  the  16th  and  lUh.  which  destroyed 
several  bouses ,  and,  that  beside  the  loss  of  one  life,  the  "  best  furnished 
Printing  Press  of  those  few  that  we  know  of  in  America  was  lost ;  a 
ioss  not  presently  to  be  repaired."    It  gives  an  account  of  the  cap  nre  of 
S    C    istopher  Lm  the  French,  and  of  the  landing  of  King  Viiham  in 
Ireland,  wifh  140,000  foot  and  horse,  as  well  as  other  veritable  occur- 
ences in  Europe  and  America.     It  is,  to  all    ntents  and  purposes,  a 
Yciv^vnpcr,  and,  as  such,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  America. 

Thon/as    ppeilrs  to  have  had  no  knowledge  of  this  attemp  to  s  a, 
newspaper.     lie  mentions  Pierce  as  the  fifth  printer  u.  l^-ton,     v 
of  w  .0  e  books,  printed  for  booksellers  and  on  his  own  account,  he  ha 
s  e  -the  earliest  dated  iu  1684,  and  the  latest  1690.     He  supposes  huu 


164 


PRINTING   IN   THE  COLONIES. 


to  have  been  from  London,  where  there  was  a  printer  of  that  name  in 
1619      Harris,  at  the  date  of  the  above  publication,  kept  a  book-store 
.-at  the  London  coflec-honse  in  King's  street,  but  removed  two  or  three 
years  after  to  Cornhill,  where  he  engaged  in  printing,  chiefly  tor  bouk- 
sellers.     He  had  a  commission  from  Governor  Phips,  in  1692,  to  print 
the  Laws.     He  was  from  London,  where  he  had  been  a  printer  and  book- 
seller, and,  as  Dunton,  the  eccentric  English  bookseller,  who  wa,s  at  this 
time  in  Boston,  states,  had.  as  "a  brisk  asserter  of  English  liberties,    in- 
curred by  his  publications  the  displeasure  of  the  authorities  m  such  a 
form  as  to  induce  him  to  travel  to  New  England,  "where  he  followed 
Bookselling,  and  then  Coffee-selling,  and  then'  Printing,  but  continued 
Ben  Harris  still,  and  is  now  both  bookseller  and  printer  in  Grace  Church 
street,  as  we  find  by  his  London  Post;  so  that  his  conversation  is  general 
(but  never  impertinent),  and  his  Wit  pliable  to  all  inventions."    Duntou 
adds  that,  in  traveling  with  him,  he  found  him  to  be  the  most  ingenious 
and  innocent  companion  he  ever  met  with.'     Harris's  inventions  appear 
not  to  have  been  sufficiently  pliable,  nor  his  innocence    in  publication 
at  least,  so  great  as  to  satisfy  the  authorities  on  either  side  of  the 

""'Banholomew  Green,  another  son  of  the  Cambridge  printer,  commenced 
in  Boston  in  1G90,  after  the  death  of  his  brother  Samuel,  who,  as  well  as 
his  wife,  an  active  assistant  in  his  b-.-incss  affairs,  and  a  person  greatly 
eulogized  by  Dunton.  died  in  the  small-pox  epidemic  of  that  year.     B. 
Green  was  for  about  forty  years  printer  for  the  Government  and  the  lead- 
ing publisher  in  Boston.    He  was  at  first  assisted  by  John  Alien,  another 
London  printer,  who  commenced  about  the  same  time,  and  in  1707  es- 
tablished an  independent  business.  .  ^     „    ,       xt     , 
In  April  1704,  Green  commenced  the  printing  of  The  Boston  Netos- 
Letter  the'first  successful  attempt  to  establish  a  periodical  in  the  Colo- 
nies.    It  was  printed  weekly,  and  published  "by  authority 
S.r'     f^p  John  Campbell,  Postmaster,  who  was  the  proprietor.     It 
IZmv^T.  became  the  property  of  Green  eighteen  years  after,  during  fifteen 
of  which  it  was  the  only  one  in  the  Colonies.     From  1707  to  1711  it 
was  printed  by  Allen,  whose  premises  being  then  burned  in  the  great  fire, 
it  was  again  printed  by  Green.     The  publication  continued  in  the  family 
of  Green  until  the  year  1766.     The  contents  of  the  first  number,  covering 
three  pages  of  pot  folio,  were  extremely  meagre,  and  it  contained  but 
one  advertisement,  which  was  that  of  the  proprietor. 

Indeed,  the  Newspaper,  although  it  was  then  by  no  means  the  indis- 

(1)  Dunton's  Life  and  Errors,  London,  1706,  Thomas'  History  of  Prinung,  ..  282, 
2S7,  etc. 


THE  TARENT    OF   THE   MODERN   NEWSPAPER. 


165 


of  that  name  in 
jpt  a  book-store 
red  two  or  three 
chiefly  for  bouk- 
in  1692,  to  print 
jrinter  and  book- 
,  who  was  at  this 
lish  liberties,"  in- 
orities  in  such  a 
licre  he  followed 
ig,  bnt  continued 
in  Grace  Church 
srsation  is  general 
itions."    Dunton 
le  most  ingenious 
nventions  appear 
!e,  in  publication 
ither  side  of  the 

rinter,  commenced 
el,  who,  as  well  as 
,  a  person  greatly 
of  that  year.  B. 
tnent  and  the  lead- 
ahn  Allen,  another 
;,  and  in  1707  es- 

rhe  Boston  News- 
odical  in  the  Colo- 
id  "by  authority" 
he  proprietor.  It 
after,  during  fifteen 
Q  1707  to  1711  it 
ed  in  the  great  fire, 
tinned  in  the  family 
st  number,  covering 
d  it  contained  but 

no  means  the  indis- 

)ry   of  Priming,  i.  282, 


1 1.  thin^  it  now  is  may  be  considered  a  legitimate  offspring  of  the 
pensable  thing  it  now  is,  n  .ly  lovelonraent.     It  seems 

Colonial  mind  and  action  in  their  due  order  of  J'-v  '°P™J 

been  found  to  exist.     Tlie  1  crbians  ronmrkable  occurrences, 

their  posts  for  transmitting  the  ^^<^^^'l'f^^^^^^^^^^^ 
ThoKomans  ^^^-f;f^Z::'':^fc^::t::.I  ..eir  Ga. 
to  distant  provinces  of  tbo  l.m  inc.     ii  remotest  parts  »' 

ettcs,  from  the  o""-''"""',     ,',,!.  e  New      P     w-  tou„/amo„g 

preserved  a  beautiful  specimen.  ,.        ^^ 

And  hence  it  is,  that  in  our  «-  J  ^^^  ;;^7,;  IZ,  ,,,Luon  is 

and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  knowledge  is    ncr..i^^  I    1  ^^^^ 

stretching  over  a  vast  continent,  ^'!*l.;^^Jf/.'^;V2tin-.-Press  travels 
:,ewspaper  ^>- ^^^^P  :l?ar:;st  on^on  ^v^nguard  of  the 
beside  the  wagon  ^^  ^^'^  ^j;    ^^t,,  intelligence  of  their  progress. 

coin  ea„ea  .««"«.  .f»'»«'S:::  !?    'a  notlw  »  p'rtn.ed  „c.s. 

^"'^cr*:!;^-  "«»-"» -^^   '""^  """■  •"" "'"""";'  °' 

paper ;  and  the  veneuau  ^  ^^  ^^^  own  days, 

printing,  to  the  c  bse  of  ^^^  ^  f'  ^  ^a^  j.^ecchian  Library  at  Flor- 
to  be  distributed  'V"«'"'7  !J.'  „  .  „  0,,^  °,«,  all  in  manuscript.  "  It 
ence,  are  thirty  volumes  of  Vene  .an  ^^''-e"^«'  ^^    ^^^^  t,,^^ 

„ay  gratify  national  V^^^^^  <^<^^^^^^  "^^^^^^  Z  prudence  of 
„,ankind  are  indebted  to  the  --'i^^f.^^'-f^^The  first  printed  news- 
Burleigh  ^o;t^e  first  ne^pap.  ^^1  ^^^^^^  ^P  ^^^ 

paper  was  the  ' /"S^'^^.  f  ;;7j  1  ^sgg.  It  wu.  intended  by  her  mm- 
printer,  in  London,  on  the  23d  J^'y-    ^J"  ^f  ^^,,  g    „;,,,  Ar- 

ister  Burleigh  to  arouse  he  public  ^'l^'2"Zyeva\  paper  ,  still  pre- 


166 


PRINTING   IN   THE  COLONIES. 


the  gazettes  as  -ovcvnmcnt  orgnns,  according  to  tlic  original  custom. 
The  first  regular  newspaper  appeared  in  1C22,  and  was,  we  believe, 
called  The  Wcekhj  Courant.  "  When,"  says  Hunt,  "  the  reign  of 
James  I.  was  drawing  to  a  close;  when  13en  Jonson  was  poet-laureate; 
and  the  personal  friends  of  Shakspeare  were  lamenting  his  recent  death  ; 
when  Cromwell  was  trading  as  a  brewer  at  Huntingdon  ;  when  Milton 
was  a  youth  of  sixteen,  just  trying  his  pen  at  Latin  ver^^e;  and  Hampden 
a  quiet  country  gentleman  in  Buckinghamshire,  London  was  first  soli- 
cited to  patronize  its  first  newspaper." 

The  great  events  in  English  and  Colonial  history  then  transpiring;  the 
abdication  of  James  and  the  proclamation  of  his  successor;  the  imprison- 
ment of  a  Royal  Governor  in  Boston  ;  the  resumption  of  the  Charters  ; 
the  invasion  of  Canada  by  the  people  of  New  England,  to  arrest  the 
growin.r  power  of  France ;  and  other  exciting  events,  had  caused  the  issue, 
as  early  as  1689,  of  a  "news  placard  "  in  Boston,  and  tlie  reprint,  in  the 
followin-  year,  by  the  order  of  Governor  Fletcher  of  New  York,  of  a 
number  of"  the  London  Gazette.  A  means  of  public  enlightenment  on 
those  momentous  topics  was  an  imperious  necessity.^ 


(1)  Lnnilon  Mirror,  vol.  v.  103. 

(2)  The  following  passngoa  will  show  for- 
cibly the  condition,  na  to  freedom  and  activ- 
ity, of  the  English  I'ress  at  this  date  (16S5), 
and  explain  the  source  of  its  embarrassment 
in  the  Colonies. 

"No  part  of  the  load  which  the  old  mails 
carried  out,"  says  Macauley,  "  was  more  im- 
portant than  the  news-letters.     In  I6S5,  no- 
thing  like  the   London  daily  paper  of  our 
tirao   existed   or  could   exist.     Neither  the 
neoessary  capital  nor  the  necessary  skill  was 
to  be  found.     Freedom,  too,  was  wanting— 
a  want  as  fatal  as  that  of  either  capital  or 
skill.     The   Press  was  not,  indeed,  at  that 
moment  under  a  general  censorship.     The 
Licensing  Act,  which  had  b.  en  passed  since 
the  Restoration,  had  expired  in  1679.     Any 
person   might  therefore   print,  at  hia  own 
risk,  a  history,  a  sermon,  or  a  poem,  without 
the  previous  approbation  of  any  public  offi- 
cer ;  but  the  judges  were  unanimously  of  the 
opinion  that  this  liberty  did  not  extend  to 
gazettes,  and  that,  by  the  Common  Law  of 
Knglnnd,  no   man,  not   authorized   by   the 
Crown,    had   a  right  to    publish    political 
news.     While  the  Whig  party  was  still  for- 
roidiible.  the  Government  thought  it  expe- 
dient ooeasionally  to  connive  at  the  viola- 


tion of  this  rule.     During  the  great  battle 
of  the  Exclusion  Bill,  many  newspapers  were 
suffered  to  appear— the  Protestant  Intelli- 
gence, the   Current  Intelligence,    the   Do- 
mestic   Intelligence,   the   True   News,   the 
London  Mercury.     None  of  these  were  pub- 
lished  oftener  than   twice   a  week.     None 
exceeded  in  size  a  single  small  leaf.     The 
quantity  of  matter  which  one  of  them  con- 
tained in  a  year,  was  not  more  than  is  often 
found  in  two  numbers  of  the  "  Times."  After 
the  defeat  of  the  AVhigs,  it  was  no  longer 
necessary  for  the  King  to  be  sparing  in  the 
use  of  that  which  all  his  Judges  had  pro- 
nounced to  be  his  undoubted  prerogative. 
At  the  close  of  his  reign,  no  newspaper  was 
suffered  to   appear  without  his  allowance, 
and  his  allowance  was  given  exclusively  to 
the  '  London  Gazette.'      .      .      But  neither 
the.  '  Gazette'  nor  any  suipplomentary  broad- 
side printed   by  aulhi  rity,  ever  contained 
any  intelligence  which  it  did  not  suit  the 
Court  to  publish.    The  most  important  Par- 
liiinieiilary    debates,   the    most    important 
Stiite  trials   recorded   in   our  history  were 
passed  over  in  perfect  siUinco.     In  the  capi- 
tal, tlio  coffee-houses  supplied  in  some  nieas- 
ore   the   place  of  a  journal.     Thither  the 
Londoners  flocked,  as  the  Athenians  of  old 


HRST   PHINTINO   PUr.sS   IN    nilLADELHlIA. 


161 


rigiiial  custom.' 
•as,  we  believe, 
"  the  reign    of 
5  poet-liuireate ; 
lis  recent  death ; 
1 ;  when  Milton 
;  and  llamiiden 
1  was   first  soli- 
transpiring  ;  the 
ir;  the  imprison- 
3f  the  Cliarlers ; 
id,  to  arrest  the 
caused  the  issue, 
lie  reprint,  in  the 
New  York,  of  a 
jnlightenmeut  on 


ring  tlic  great  battle 
iiany  newspapers  were 
le  Protestant  IntellU 
ntelligence,  tho  Do- 
tho  True  News,  the 
no  of  thcfe  were  pub- 
;wice  a  week.  None 
ngle  small  leaf.  The 
lieh  one  of  thorn  eon. 
not  more  than  is  often 
of  the  "Times."  After 
ligs,  it  was  no  longer 
g  to  bo  sparing  in  tho 

his  Judges  bad  pro- 
ndoubted  prerogative, 
ign,  no  newspaper  was 
iithout  his  allowance, 
s  given  exclusively  to 
'  .  .  But  neither 
'  supplementary  broad- 
urity,  ever  contained 
eh  it  did  not  suit  the 
e  most  important  Par- 

the  most  important 
i  in  our  history  wero 
t  filvnco.  In  tho  enpi- 
suppliod  in  fonie  uieiis- 
journal.  Thither  tho 
,s  the  Alhouians  of  old 


.  TvZ\l  Pre.,  was  at  v  ork  in  Philadelphia,  sowing  broadcast 

r::::i:o;;r^^^i^'a"---iy;a,,don,^ 

arrival  of  ^ViUiam  I'enn,  public  educal.ou  was  attainable  at  a  small  ex 
pense.'" 

,         ,         tn  l,.ar  wh.'ther     rat.ire  which  could  be  carried  in  a  bag  then 
flocked  to. he  nuukc.-vlacc,  to  hen    wl.|hr     ^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^_^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  .__^^„^,,,^^,^, 

there  was  any  Lews.     ...       '       '      '  ,H.t>imcnt  ruminated  by  the  country  divines 

who   lived   at  a   distance   .rom    th     g-u.t  ^^                  ^,^,.^^,^_   The  diffiouhy  and  ex- 

,,,,„  of  political  -;-7;7';2  :!«:;  conveying  largo  packus  from  place 

regularly   inforn.cd    cf  ;''^^;     J    "/„  „   p„,e   was   so   great   that   an  ex.ens.vo 

there  only  by  means  ..1   "'=«^-'«";    '  ^,,4  „,,  i„„ger  in   making   its  way  Hum 

prepare   such   letters   became   a   call  ng  j,_^,^^^^^^^^  i,.,„  ,^  Devonshire  or  Lanca- 

London,  as  it  now  is  among  the  nat  .^  ^^^  .^  .^  ^^^^^^.^^^  Kentucky. 

India.    .     .     .    ^-''"%°      ''^;™t'p    -  II-  scantily  a  rural  parsonage  was  then 

which   tho  inhabitants  of  tl>°  !"*'<■«'  '^  j,^j  ,,,„  ,,m,  books  the  .nost  neces- 

vincial  cities,  and  .he  great  ^fy/^^\^^;^     ^^,y  ,,  ,  Uieologian,  has  already  b>    >.  ro- 
tryand  clergy,  learned  almost  all  they  knew  y^^^^^^    ^^^^  ^^^^^^^^^  _^  ^^^   ^^^^^^^  ^^^„ 

of  the  hi.tory  of  their  own  t.mc     •    .     ih  .  ^^^^_  _^^^^  j.^^j_    ^^^  ,„i^,„3 

was   a  memorable  day  in  -'-;     '^'J  °  ^,  ^,,,  ,,;,„  „„i  libraries  so  good  as  may 

•  news-let.er  from   London  was  latd  on  U.o  o. J  ,„,,  .„  „  ,„,„,i,.  Uall. 

table  of  the  only  coffee-room  .n  Cambndge  -^^^2^      ^^  „,  ,  ,„,„„  ,,„..Ueeper. 

..At  tho  seat  of  a  n,an  of  fortune  n    he  or  ^^^^^^^^  ^  .^  ^^^.^,_,^^,^^ 

country,  the  news-letter  was  .mpaten.ly  ex  An  e  p  _^  ^^^^^^.^__^^  ^^^^^   ^^^^^^,^ 

pected.    AVlthin  awccU  after  U  bad  arr.ed  ^  «  ^^^^^^  _^^,  „,„  s,„„ 

I  had  been  thumbed  by  twenty     un.l,    .  ^  ^      ;•  ^^  chris.endom,  lay  in  his  hall 

.    .    .     It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say.  at  ^'^^J^  ,h,  fishing-rods  and  fowli.>g 

there  were  then  no  provinc  al  nowspape.  ^  -  -  a      ^^^^^^^^  ^.^^^^^_  ^^  ^^^^^ 

Indeed,  except  in  the  eap.tal  and  at  the    wo  1  ^^.^^^^^^  ^^^^  .^  ^,^^  ^._,^,,^,.  ^^^^ 

Universities,  there  was  scarcely  a  pnnt.r  m  ^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^.,^^^  ^,^^,j  „„j 

the  kingdom.     The  only  press  .n  England  m  the  cap  ^^^^  ^  ^^^^^^^^^^ 

north   of  Trent,  appears  to  have  been  at    aff  J  ^^  J^^  ^^^  ^^^_^^  booksellers  near 

York."  ,  .„„  o.,:„,    Paul's   Church-yard   were    crowded 

nesupplyofbooks,itwouldappearfrom  S      *    P     I  day  long,  with  readers; 

the  same  author,  was  al.nost  as  .ne      e  a  e-r    da  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^  ^^^^  ^^_^^.^^^^ 

that  of  new,-a  fact  one  would  not  be  led  an  ^^^^^      j_^  „,^  ^„„„j,y 

to  expect  from  tho  length  of    .mo  England  to       rry  ,,,,„„„„oa...ion ;    and 

had  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  tho     rcss.  ad  th    o   w       n^^  ^^_^^^  ^^  ^  ^^^^^^.^^  ^^  ^^^ 

the  long  roll   of    iUustr.ous   -t^--     '  -»        !  wha.cvcr  be  wished  .o  read." 
adorned  her  past  and  current  annals.      L.te-    ...g 

(1)  Memoirs  Hist.  Soc.  of  Penn.,  i,  l«l- 


168 


PRINTING    1>:   THE   COLONIES. 


Williiun  Pcmi  luiHled  in  his  new  territory,  in  October,  1682;  and,  in 
December  following,  a  school  was  opened  in  Philadolphia.  Six  years 
after  this,  a  public  school,  or  seminary,  was  founded  by  the  Friends,  the 
charter  of  which  declares— in  pleasing  contrast  with  the  sentiments  of 
Governor  Berkeley— that  "  the  prosperity  and  welfare  of  any  people 
depended,  in  a  great  measure,  upon  the  good  education  of  their  youth, 
g^j._^  *  *  *  *  which  cannot  be  effected  in  any  manner  so  well  as  by 
erecting  public- schools  for  the  purpose  aforesaid." 

The  third  Printing  Press  in  the  Colonics,  and  the  first  outside  of 
Massachusetts,  erected  thus  early  in  Philadelphia,  was  set  up  by  WiixiAM 
First  Print-  BKADFOun,  at  Sliackainaxon,  now  Kensington,  in  the  neighbor- 
iD"p.v«"ia  Ijoo^i  Qf  |i,e  celebrated  Treaty  ground,  in  the  year  1C86.     His 
vtalir.^'"      earliest  publication  is  stated  by  some  authorities,  to  have  been 
an  Almanac  for  the  year  1G87,  by  Daniel  Leeds,  "  student  in  Agriculture." 
A  copy  of  that  is  extant  in  the  Philadelphia  Library.     A  recent  biogra- 
pher states,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Henry  Stevens,  that  a  small  quarto 
tract  of  four  or  six  leaves,  printed  in  1686,  is  the  first  work  known  to 
have  been  printed  by  him.     The  title  is  not  mentioned.     The  following 
extract,  however,  from  the  Council  Book,  which  we  find  in  llazard'3 
Re<^ister  (Vol.  i.  p.  16),  while  it  is  an  illustration  of  the  petty  annoy- 
ances to' which  the  press  was  subject  in  that  day,  seems  to  indicate  the 
issue  of  an  Almanac  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  January,  1686.    "  1G85, 
9th  11  mo  —The  Secretary  reporting  to  the  Council,  that  in  the  Chrono- 
logie  of  the  Almanack  sett  forth  by  Samuel  Atkins,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
printed  by  William  Bradford,  of  the  same  place,  there  was  these  words ; 
(the  beginning  of  government  here  by  the  Lord  Penn),  the  Council  sent 
for  Samuel  Atkins,  and  ordered  him  to  blot  out  the  words  Lord  Penn; 
and  likewise  for  William  Bradford,  the  printer,  and  gave  him  charge  not 
to  print  any  thing  but  what  shall  have  lycence  from  the  Council." 

It  was  not  unusual  for  a  printer  first  to  try  his  hand  upon  an  epheraeris 
of  that  kind,  to  serve  for  a  general  introduction  to  the  public,  but  religious 
controversy,  which  kept  the  rust  from  the  New  England  mind  in'the  first 
years  of  its  history,  also  gave  the  first  impulse  to  Literature  and  the  Press 
in  Pennsylvania. 

The  first  who  entered  this  field,  was  George  Keith,  a  clever  but  dis- 
putatious Scotch  Quaker,  afterward  Surveyor-General  of  New  Jersey. 
He  was  the  first  instructor  in  the  Friends'  School,  previously  mentioned, 
in  which  he  was  succeeded  at  the  end  of  the  first  year,  by  Thomas  Makin, 
the  author  of  two  Latin  poems  upon  Pennsylvania.  In  1689,  Keith 
pivblished  against  the  New  England  Churches  and  Divines,  by  whom  his 
sect  was  persecuted,  a  4to.  tract,  which  Thomas,  who  owned  a  copy, 
states,  was  the  oldest  book  he  could  find  from  Bradford's  press.     The 


NEW  YORK. 


PENNSYLVANIA.   BRAPFORP'S  nW-SS. 


1('9 


1682;  and,  in 
lia.  Six  yeiira 
he  Friends,  the 
;  sentiments  of 
of  any  people 
of  their  yontli, 
so  well  as  by 

first  outside  of 
up  by  WiixiAM 
in  the  neighbor- 
rear  1C86.     His 
cs,  to  have  been 
in  Agriculture." 
1  recent  biogra- 
,t  a  small  quarto 
work  known  to 
The  following 
ind  in  Hazard's 
the  petty  annoy- 
3  to  indicate  the 
y,  168G.    "1085, 
it  in  the  Chrono- 
Miiladelphia,  and 
vas  these  words ; 
the  Council  sent 
rds  Lord  Penn  ; 
e  him  charge  not 
Council." 
pon  an  epheraeris 
blic,  but  religious 
I  mind  in  the  first 
are  and  the  Press 

a  clever  but  dis- 
of  New  Jersey, 
iously  mentioned, 
y  Thomas  Makin, 
In  1689,  Keith 
ines,  by  whom  his 
)  owned  a  copy, 
Dpd's  press.     The 


of  B„,„„„,  .nJ  puU  »W        ,"    "„M  „J„  L  o»n  peo,„e,  vrUon,  h. 

n,n<rimrates   whom  he  attacked  m  print,  m  an     Appeal    lo  u     i     i 
magistraics,  wnum  nnntroversv  took  the  side  of 

tious  and  libelous  pamphlets  of  Keith  and  others      i      1        ■ 
materials  with  the  offensive  publications,  were  seized.     KtluMug  to  gi 

ing  a  paper  wn  overruled  his  exception,  to  two  of  the  jury- 

..ottt  t»t  -n .,  of  the  fact,"  i„  »v,c„o„i„io„ »-  °"  ;f-;, ; 

r  B  adf  rT    '  only  evidence  against  him  was  the  frame  containing  some 

fortunate  accideat  wa,  the  oeeaslon  of  h.  -';-■,,,  J  ;\2.t„o;tl,e 

it  into  a  more  favorable  position,  when  the  types  ten 
in  an  instant  destroyed  the  evidence  of  his  offense. 

Having  about  this  time  received  an  invitation  to  remove  to  ^ew  Yo    . 
he>Tc03.  established  in  that  city  the  «rst  press  .i  t  e  Pr.-nie 

there  had  been  none  set  up  during  the  Putcl.  rnie.     in  i       , 
""""'■   Governor  F'etcher  is  said  to  have  caused  a  copy  of  the  Lunuo. 


inn  I'lvsK  iu 
Kew  yolk. 


j,.Q  PRINTING    IN   THE   COLONIES 

Gazette    coutui.m.c;  the  details  of  an  engancmcnt  with  the  French,  to 
be        pvi  ued      B^t,  if  done  in   the   Colony,  there   does   not   appear 
"    U::Z.  any  r;,ular  printing  house  in  New  ^-U. ^^  U.at  U.n. 
Bradford,  soon  after  his  removal  thither,  was  appointed  pr.n  ei  to  th. 
Gov  n  m  at,  .ith  n.  annna-  allowance  of  fifty  pounds  from  the  pubhc 
funds      He  retained  the  situation  for  about  thirty  years      Dur.ng  the 
an'e  pel  od  he  was  also  public  printer  for  the  Province  of  ^ew  Jersey. 
Tis'first  labor  in  Xew  York,  was  to  print  a  small  folio  vohnne  of  U.e 
Laws  of  the  Province,  which  was  issued  in  1603.     In  the  .mpr.nt,  he  pro- 
dlhns  his  public  functions  as  "printer  to  their  Majest.es,  at  tl.s,gnc^ 
the  Bible  "     There  was  an  additional  printer  m  that  city  in  1 ,26,     ..ose 
„lace  of  business  was  on  Smith  (now  South  William)  street. 
^  On     aving  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  part  owner  of  a  paper-m.ll  on 
the  Wissohi^kon,  he  is  supposed  to  have  retained  the  ownerslnp,  or  an 
terest  in  the  press  there.     In  ICOO,  it  was  under  the  management^ of 
R     ier  Jansen!  a  Dutchman,  who,  published  the  same  year,  the     rst 
literary  work  upon  any  other  than  a  religious  subject  wn.ch  appeared  .n 
the  Province.     The  volume  which  is  now  very  rare,  was  by  Jonathan 
1  h-k  .son  and  was  entitled  "God's  Protecting  Providence,  '  tc,"  be.ng 
Itourir;  narrative  of  the  author's  deliverance,  with  others,  from  slnp- 
wreck  on'the  Coast  of  Florida.     The  typogrpphy  is  said  to  have  been 
"wretchedly  executed  and  disfigured  by  constant  blunders." 

How  lon"o,  before  or  after  the  publication  of  this  book,  Jansen  was  a 
printer  in  Philadelphia,  or  whether  he  was  ever  the  owner  of  a  press  or 
Sot  Thomas,  who  eould  find  no  other  book  with  his  impru.t-was  unable 
to  detennine.  T.o  other  books  from  his  press,  howjn^r  are  preserved 
in  the  Philadelphia  Library,  dated  the  years  HOO,  and  HOo. 


(1)  Tlinmns   siippnxos  liiin   to  hnvo  been 
the  ancestor  of  llu-^lofT  Jnii:<cn,  f..r  wlinm  a 
crook  in  the  nmnnr  non..»olncr  in  New  Y»rk, 
was  nnuio.1  ,   nn.1,  tbnt  ho  Im.l  bci-n  an  np- 
prenfu'o   or   workmnn,   for   Hrnafonl,   wlio 
entrusted  Iho  pross  to  hifl  care,  una  nKTi-red 
liim  to  innim«»  it  i"  hi>'  "wn  numo,  in  con- 
,e,,nfnre  of  the  ilinir.illiec  of  the  proprietor 
with   tlic  Frien.l".     He   may  have  hcen   in 
nrniifora'n  cniph\vinont  beforo  the  romovnl 
of  Iho  latter   to  Now  York,     llowcvor  this 
may  he,  lie  ecoiUl  not  have  1)C0n  Ihu  ivncotor 
ofU'olnlT.IaiiM'n,  \vl\ownii  one  of  the  earliest 
cmiKrnnt'   to  tlio  Oolony   on    the   Hn.l-on, 
nearly    Keverly    yeurN   iMMoro,   heinR   uhmi- 
tioneil  in  the  Aceount  Hooks  of  Kiliaoii  Van 
Ronspelaer,  the  flri-t  I'alroon,  In  IflHO,  Binong 
(ho  llrit  ColuMii-ts.     There   in   inuro  probu- 


bility  that  the  descent  was  in   the  opposite 
(liiveliun.     UoeJulT  Jansen  seenreil  in  1636, 
a  "rant  of  sixly-two  acres  of  land  on  Man- 
hnitan  Islind.ncar  the  present  Onnal  street, 
a  clair  to  which,  has  boon  so  long  lilinated 
with    Iho   wealthy    Corporation   of  Trinity 
Church,  In  the  famous  ".^neku  Jan's  Suit." 
Th«   eMato  was  conveyed   in   1671,  to  Oo- 
vernor  I.ovelaee,  by  his  widow— who  mar- 
ried DuorMiic  Ilonardns,  the  llrst  Dutch  min- 
ister 111'  llie  eily— and  three  of  her  four  sons 
by  Jansen.  The  fourth,  Cornelius,  not  having 
sinned  Iho  onvcyaneo,  his   heirs,  after   it 
ha.l  heeomo  the  properly  of  Trinity  Church, 
brounht   suit  for  one-eighth  interest.     Our 
printer   may    have   been    one   of  Iho   ions, 
allhouch    there    were   many    of   Iho    nivmo 
umona  the  first  solllors  in  Now  Auiuerdam 


MifeMMi 


PENNSYLVANIA.      THE   SECOND    NEWSPArEU. 


ni 


the  rrcucli,  to 
es  not  appear 
,  at  that  tiino. 
printer  to  tlie 
rom  the  public 
s.  During  tho 
of  New  Jersey. 
3  volinne  of  the 
imprint,  he  pro- 
,  at  the  sign  of 
iu  1726,  whose 
et. 

a  paper-mill  on 
wnership,  or  an 
management  of 
3  year,  the  first 
lich  appeared  In 
as  by  Jonathan 
ncc,  '  tc,"  being 
thers,  from  ship- 
(lid  to  have  been 
rs." 

uk,  Jansen  was  a 
ner  of  a  press  or 
rint — was  unable 
•cr,  are  preserved 
1705.' 

;  was  in   tlie  opponito 
iHi'ii  soouit'il  ill  1636, 
croo  <>f  liinii  oil  Miin- 
I  prpsunl  Oniiril  iitrcct, 
boon  so  long  lilidiUuJ 
rpoiation   of  Trinity 
"Anoltu  Jim's  Suit." 
>yod   in   1671,  to  (Jo. 
Iiin  willow — wlio  miir> 
«,  tlio  first  Dutch  min- 
llirt'o  of  lu>r  four  mns 
.  Corncliui',  not  linvliig 
•0,  hln    liuirK,  nflcr   it 
rty  of  Trinity  Cliurcli, 
pl){litli  interest.     Our 
i>on    one   of  tlio   ioni, 
mniiy    of   tlio   nnmo 
ir«  in  New  AuiswrJam 


W 


Laws  printed  ;  and,  on  the  9th  May,  li  i  ^„„„i„tcd  a  Committee  "  to 

,,.,„,     Wl,eU,er  Taylor  and  J«a».  w  .« ^°  '    ™    '    „„  „„,„„„,  „ 
!.,,o  other,"  rd.,-  toU.c  ■'"'l  "'*•""'' "°  Zi.cl  lira.lforJ,  >vW 

p.i,„„l  IhclawBU.  "»  PP-. '""»■.  *J''^°n«ii>«»Ull„  arrive...     In 

of  native-born  printers.     His  1  nn  i   o  j       j,^  g-xceuted  Book- 

the  s'gn  of  the  Bible."  where,  in  -  ^         .^;;"     r  articles.     A  man's 
bind.!,,,  and  sold  books,  t*^"'  ?"V    t    is  ability  to  carry  on  several 

independent  callings.     He  wns  pinH*-' 

was  Postmaster  of  the  Province  j,,  .,„,i,,  i.ja  and  New  York  were 

^\  f1r;:;:Cs'"A  i:l  elmnliced!  in  connection  v.th  John 

started  by  the  IJnidloias.     An  .  t,i,il.uleli)hia,  of  the  "American 

(%.pson,  the  publication,  at  1  >    j^'^'^'        '  .^  ,,i,„,, 

r::r,"^  weekly  ^I^-'-'="^y''I^'^^-'";''";-'':='l'- issued  in  Boston  tho 
«^'"'"""--  James  Franklin,  the  brother  of  l'«"J-^'"  "•;    "^^  ^^^,^,^^^  ^olo- 

..  Boston  Oa.tte,"  wl^h  -^^^^^r^  ':::'u.:  nrst  paper 
nies.  Tho  Boston  "News-Lett(M.  by  ^;-  /  '  .  .  ^^.^.rU-an  Mer- 
known  to  have  gone  beyond  the  first  number;  and  tho 

„„a  on  ti.  nnason, .  wen  .in  ^Vc.  J.  tuo.---;  r  Jtt:;. ' -"  •'- 

,.y  ana  Ponn.ylvniiiiv.     I"  1^V4,  wlien  N-  w     i    P         ^  ^^  ^,^_^__^  ,,^,  ,„,.^  „„, 

York  w.s  finally  oeiled  to  tlie  l^"f  "^;  J^  „     ^j^„,,  ,„„,.,  injunctions  in  Prinlin,-  in  ^«w 

r  .::;r:i- 1::;:::^  =:::-  vor. ...  ui,  re...!  .0  P,.i..ip,ii«. 

Blip  and  Broad  street,  which  was  r.nlied  in 


112 


PUINTIM     IN   THE   COLONIES. 


cury  was  the  third.     The  elder  Bradford  commenced  the  New  York 
Gazette,  October  16th,  1725.' 

When,  in   1723,  Benjamin    Franklin,  the    greatest   of  Araericaa 
typognipliers,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  made  his  first  memorable  visit  to 
Frmkih.v    Philadelphia,  he  found  the  Bradfords  the  only  printers  in  the 
'''■Miuc'i""  two  cities,  with  the  excei»tion  of  Samuel  Keimer,  then  about 
Ettoru.        establishing  a  second  press  in  Philadelphia.     With  Keimer,  a 
printer  from  London,  of  whom  Franklin  gives  no  flattering  portraiture, 
be  obtained  employmc->.t,  and  subsequently  constructed  for  him  the  first 
copper-plate  printing-press  seen  in  the  Colonies.     He  also  executed  for 
him  a  variety  of  vignette  and  other  engravings  for  a  lot  of  New  Jersey 
paper-money,  which  Keimer  had  contracted  to  print,  and  went  with  a 
press  to  Burlington  to  do  the  printing.    Franklin  found  Keimer  engaged 
in  setting  up  in  type  his  first  piece,  an  elegy  upon  a  young  printer  named 
Aquiila  Piose,  which  he  was  mentally  composing  as  he  went  along.     He 
printed  a  number  of  pamphlns,  almanacs,  and  small  works,  some  of 
which  were  repudiated  by  tho,e  from  whom  they  appeared  to  emanate, 
and  thereby  possibly  contribut>d  to  his  want  of  success.     The  first  pub- 
lication bearing  his  imprint,  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge,  is  entitled 
"  The  Craftsman,"  and  is  to  be  found  in  the  Philadelphia  Library. 

As  "  a  map  of  busy  life,"  the  :Mercury  conducted  by  Bradford  was 
but  a  sorry  representative  of  the  modern  newspaper.  In  December,  1728, 
nine  years  after  its  commencement,  Keimer  issued  another,  the  second  in 
the  Province,  with  a  title  which  would  seem  imposing  even  at  the  present 
day.  It  was  called  "  Tiic  Universal  Instructor  in  all  Arts  and  Sciences, 
and  Pennsylvania  Gazette."  During  the  first  nine  months,  it  sustained 
its  title  as  an  "  Instructor,"  by  occuiiying  about  two  columns  of  each  sheet 
with  extracts  from  Cliamber's  Dictionary  ;  but  its  subscription  list  had 
not  then  reached  one  hundred  subscriliers. 

Wliile  Franklin  was  absent  in  England,  after  his  first  engagement  with 
Keimer,  the  latter  had  increased  his  business,  enlarged  his  establishment, 
and  employed  a  number  of  journeymen  ;  and,  like  many  of  the  early 
printers,  dealt  considerably  in  stationery  and  small  wares.  After  being 
compelled  to  sell  out  his  paper,  ho  became  inattentive  to  business  and 


(1)  Proviou?  to  175S,  all  newspniicra  in 
New  Yurk  woiit  froo  of  iio^tage.  On  account 
of  tlieir  "  grent  increase,"  llicy  woro  then 
orJcrcd  to  pay  M.  n  yciir  fur  fifly  iiiili'?,  nnd 
it.  6d.  for  ono  huiulred  miles,  'i'lio  nmil 
waichniigod  in  17i,'i  from  "noi>  in  twowpolo 
to  iiuce  B  weeli.  .*ini'0  llui  Kevolnlion.  a 
boy  Ims  ciirriod  tlic  wliolo  mail  in  a  fuddlo- 


liiiK  on  homcliiiclf.  The  exact  issue  of  tho 
Kowspnper  nnd  rcriodical  I'rc.^s  of  New 
Yorlj  Cily,  in  iivcry  form,  was  afocrtained, 
in  1S49,  to  bo  in  nuniliors  I'lS,  wliicli  issued 
yearly  6St,2l7,K0»  copies.  The  yearly  con- 
piiiuplion  of  \iB\ivr  wna  147,005  rcanii,  of 
5,BllO,no()  pounds  at  a  cost  of  $000,000.— 
Mirch.  Mug.,  XT   103. 


■3WP 


'ma 


rENNSYI-VANIA. 


KETMER   AND   FUANKLI.N'ri   OAZKTTE. 


ns 


le  New  York 

of   Araericau 
orabl'j  visit  to 
printers  in  the 
er,  then  about 
nth  Keiiuer,  u 
iig  portraiture, 
r  hiui  the  first 
,0  executed  for 
of  New  Jersey 
id  went  with  a 
Leimer  engaged 
f  printer  named 
ent  along.     He 
^orks,  some  of 
ed  to  emanate, 
The  first  pub- 
jdge,  is  entitled 
,  Library. 
y  Bradford  was 
)ec'ember,  1128, 
ir,  the  second  in 
n  at  the  iircsent 
ts  and  Sciences, 
tliE,  it  sustained 
iins  of  each  sheet 
:ription  list  had 

Migngcment  with 
is  establishment, 
my  of  the  early 
ea.  After  being 
to  business  and 


le  exact  ipKue  of  tho 
Meal  I'Tcfs  iif  New 
riu,  wn8  RiieurlnineU, 
!rs  ISS,  wlilcli  issued 
ii.  Tlip  >i.'i\r1y  con- 
a  147,095  rciinil,  of 
cost  of  $000,000.— 


involved  in  debt.     He  then  sold  his  apparatus  to  Dav.d  ^ary   a      «  " 
unlutice,  and  removed  to  Barbadoes,  whither  he  was  soon  f-Uosved     y 
nTrn      At  Brid^ewater,  in  that  Island,  Harry  set  up  h.s  press  and  em- 
p      ei  hi     o'l^master'as  a  journeyman,  but  soon  resold  the  types  an 
Tess  to  Keimer.  who  established  there  the  first  newspaper  m    he  Oaub- 
b  elliu^  .     I    was  the  "  Barbadoes  Gazette,"  which  he  ushered  .no 
th    wo  Id  with  a  poetical  address;  and  it  was  continued  many  years  aRe 
b     I    I    in  1-38      That  it  was  not  destitute  of  meru,  seems  probable 
^^n  ;,;:  fL  that  two  quarto  volumes,  consisting  chielly  of  selections 
from  this  Gazette,  were  published  in  London  in  1 .41. 

Franklin   whose  intentions  Keimer  appears  to  have  anticpated    n  the 
issl  of  Ms'paper,  soon  after  commenced  business  in  company  w.tu  Hugh 
M  redith     V  reeeing  the  course  of  events,  he  for  a  tune  sustajned 
Brae  '   d's  Mercury  by  his  pen,  at  the  expanse  of  Keimer's  pap      wh.ch 
be  hJ  iul  d    "^fter  h  s  return  from  England,  where  he  acquired  a  last.ng 
r  nn     ion  for   kill  in  his  profession,  the  paper  fell  into  Frankhn's  hands. 
.7         w!^   to    K  im  rfor  a  trifiing  sum,  and  managed  it  success.- 
lll^t        o^t  mtrconnection  with  his  partner,  and  during  the  next 
Se'>  y  ars  by  himself.     An  editori  •.  in  one  of  the  nun>bers  dunug   he 
ear      :  r   slls  how  imperfect  were  the  appliances  for  pr.nt.ng  at  thu 
:  .     i'le  outer  form,  as  it  was  culled,  was  printe     reversely  or  npsn 
din  to  the  inner  form,  and  was  thus  apologetically  expUuncd  :      1  he 
TnL  hones         irregular  publication  of  this  paper  will  be  excused  . 
CZ^l^l^n  LJ,  in  consideration  of  his  l.ing  at  l.rl.,.ton 
with  the  press,  laboring  to  make  money  more  plenuful.       After  havn 
b  e^^  0    a  ti«.e  issued°semi-weekly,  and  undergone  several   changes 
form  fmm  folio  to  quarto  and  back  to  folio,  it  became  nu   ..'..a.en.ial 
tTrm  Tndwas  continued,  under  the  abridged  name  of   The  Penmyl. 
i:r(^rw;,»t    within  about  thirty-five  years  of  the  present  t.me 
r  posts -'ays  Brissot  DeWarville.  "one  of  these  Gazettes,  composed 
by  E       i  pri,  ted  at  his  p.ss.     It  is  a  precious  relique.  -  --'»-" 
which  I  wiJ.  to  preserve  with  reverence,  to  teach  n>en  to  b  ush  at   he 
Idi  e  which  tiakos  them  despise  the  useful  and  important  profession 
The  editor  of  daily  papers.     Men  of  this  pro  ess.on    among  a    r^^^ 
1        .    ♦1,,.;..  r.ivt  iireceDtors  and  best  friends.'"     On  the   Jtn  i.>iay, 

v;^z^:i:t^^^^  ^»>«  ^-'-  «^  ^  ^-^^  ^^^^^^^ ''- '''' 

,,  r. .  1,.  of  .o..t  of  .u  e.w  ^:;s;;:;  •-,;^!';;;ti:;:rrJ:^ 

p„,.Uo.,.ion..    from   U.o   pro.^c.   of  •  nn-c   .  f'"";  ""^    ';.,„„^ >/,„,,,„  ) 

Li-ner.  FrnnUlin.  nn,.   other.,  prcvlou,    o  "^  "j  ;^<;;;^     "   ;  ,,,  ^,,,,,  st,to,  l» 

1750.  us  well  ««  nn  intoroMlnR  nrd  reliable         U)  N-sw  Irav.ia 

(ketch  ..f  Iho  ...l.soqi.ont  Rrowth  ftn.l  prosent  1788 

uiacnitucle   of  tho   publUhing  businosi  uf 


mmsti 


ni 


PEINTIXG  TN  THE  COLONIES. 


parts  witli  the  motto  "  Join  or  die,"  designed  to  represent  Now  England 
and  the  seven  other  Colonies,  and  to  aronse  them  to  avenge  the  atroci- 
ties of  the  French  and  Indians  upon  the  frontiers.  The  device  was 
adopted  by  many  other  papers  subsequently ;  and,  with  the  accou.panying 
watchword,  is  believed  to  have  had  a  good  effect  in  a  most  orilical  period 
of  our  Colonial  fortunes. 

Franklin's  reputation  was  already  great  throughout  the  Colonies  ;  and 
the  Gazette,  upon  which  he  bestowed  much  of  his  attention,  was  the 
means  of  diffusing  widely  the  wisdom  of  his  counsels.  At  the  Convention 
of  Delegates  from  all  the  Colonies,  which  assembled  at  Albany  the  same 
year,  townceVt  a  plan  of  union  against  the  pretensions  of  the  French— 
who  claimed  all  bnt  a  narrow  strip  of  the  continent  on  the  seaboard,  and 
had  recently  erected  Fort  Du  Qnesne  and  other  strongholds  in  the  rear 
of  the  Colonies— Franklin  presented  a  scheme  for  general  union  and 
defense,  which  was  adopted  by  all  but  the  Connecticut  delegates,  who 
considered  it  too  favorable  to  monarchy.  The  plan,  however,  was  rejected 
by  the  Ministry,  for  the  very  opposite  reason  that  it  was  too  demo- 

cratioal.  ■       e     ^u 

On  the  31st  October,  1705,  his  paper  was  put  into  mourning  for  the 
pa-^-a^'e  of  the  Stamp  Act,  which  was  to  go  into  effect  the  next  day,  and 
which"  Franklin,  then  in  England,  had  labored  vigorously  to  prevent. 
For  three  weeks  its  publication,  like  that  of  many  other  papers,  was 
suspended,  hand-bills  being  issued  instead,  headed,  "Remarkable  occur- 
rences"—"No  stamped  paper  to  be  had,"  etc.  It  was  renewed  the 
following  year,  with  the  name  D.  Hall,  as  printer;  and,  from  the  year 
nCG,  was  condt'.cted  by  Hall  &  Sellers  On  the  approach'  of  the  British 
army'iu  1777,  the  publishers  retired  from  Philadelphia,  and  the  paper 
was  suspended,  but  revived  on  the  evacuation  by  the  army. 

In  1750,  Hugh  Gaine,  who  served  his  apprenticeship  in  the  same  es- 
tablishment in  Belfast  with  Andrew  Stewart,  a  cotemporary  printer  in 
Pliiladclphia,  set  up  a  press  in  New  York,  aud  commenced  the 
f:i:r'"  "  New  York  Me-cury."    In  17G4  and  'C5,  he  printed  the  Notes 
^'"^'  and  Proceedings  of  the  House  of  Assembly  from  1091  to  1765, 

in  two  large  volumes  folio,  of  one  thousand  pages  each,  and  continued 
to  print  to  an  ndva.  -ed  age.  The  largest  business  done  in  New  York, 
from  1740  lo  1770,  was  by  James  Parker,  the  publisher  of  the  Gazette 
after  Bradford's  resig.mtion,  who  had  also  a  press  at  Wootlbridge,  New 
Jersey,  whore  he  resided,  and  was  concerned  in  another  at  New  Haven, 
con.luetcl  by  his  partner  John  Holt.  Il.^lt  subsequently  set  up  in  New 
York  and,  as  the  publisher  of  the  New  York  Journal  in  the  service  of 
the  revolutionary  cause,  was  obliged  to  quit  the  city  during  the  war,  at 


rihw^MMiiiiH^ 


HUn 


nzi^ 


tr^ 


t  Xow  England 
;nge  the  atroci- 
i'l'.e  device  was 
c  accoinpanj'ing 
t  oritiuul  period 

;  Colinies ;  and 
ention,  was  the 

the  Convention 
ilbauy  the  same 
of  the  French — 
le  seaboard,  and 
olds  in  the  rear 
leral  union  and 
t  delegates,  who 
!ver,  was  rejected 

was  too  demo- 

nourning  for  the 
he  next  day,  and 
lusly  to  prevent, 
ther  papers,  was 
eniarlcahle  occur- 
5vas  renewed  the 
d,  from  the  year 
ach"  of  the  British 
ia,  and  the  paper 
ny. 

p  in  the  same  cs- 
porary  printer  in 
id  commenced  the 
printed  the  Notes 
om  1091  to  1765, 
eh,  and  continued 
)ne  ill  New  York, 
icr  of  llie  Gazette 
Woodbridge,  New 
er  at  New  Ifaven, 
itly  set  U|i  in  New 
1  in  the  service  of 
iuring  the  war,  at 


J 


W!^  1«fe-       'l^,. 


S^ 


£eiKmi 


■i# 


M  ,■■■'* 


w 


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m> 


«ii:x'<i^rw   -v. 


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"T 


■  !!    ■ '.(.    ■■   .■  -1     .!  lie  >r  ii:f  "  ^' 
,,      ,.    ...M    !,    ,  ■!    "   (■■    '•  r.'"'-    u:,ii.    ■•-     ■ 

.,,  ■■        ,<  iTjiiKv  :>!l.i.r  tniii'''        •*'.'■  'i ''i; 

_,  ,,  ';,.   .-  •  ,-  ;„.;!i'V(Mt  -T    ■■:■■      '  '"1  a  SfO*,' 

.-  ,  n-  •  in!  ,■, 

(.  .  ;;,  ■j:,,      .,•    ■  '                       '■  n-i-  ■  '■■■' 

\  \:i-     !     ,l/.-'!T' 
..:■     II,  t  '    V, 


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..t  'i"m  ->!;■■(  U".'.  •■'■'.'■•  '■■•< 

>     ■  '-.     .■  V  ', ill    Ciilivctlt'si':. 
,,=■,..,  ■  !•..■  i-'rci:-.'h — 


-t 


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.      .,  •  ..-  .i'-'^,  •!•'  >..  .t'    Ni  .v  V^Ti; 

,:4   :  ■■-■■  .i  \n-ii'i  ;il  ^V-.    ''.:■•.' ji.,  \  rv? 

.,!     iCUi       ii>    •-  i' '"  'iUj.lU     ti;'-    ■        .       - 


T 


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l!.,.   i-'roi'.;'ll — 

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NEW   YORK.   AND   CONNECTICUT 


115 


*.  „criaoe  of  hi.  property,  »lncl.  -.  dcstrojei    Uc  mumcd  aft« 

tho  Pcc,  and  "--^/' j„Xfi^°;t;  fi.t  settled  iu  PlnMeL 
J.,nes  Ki.,n8to„,  .  ^'^'^^"^"^^  ,„,,„,  business  iu  Kc» 

e.::r  :=::ri;,re::^.  r^iiU^^^^^^ 

about  the  year  inS,  be  began  a  "'^7;?"-;^^;  ^  [flW  cause, 
ucuired  the  title  °^'^'™«'°"  '  ^  ';f.^^rse«iou  was  eutertaiued. 

iulbiel,  piting  wa,  doue,  .a,  ereete    about  U.=      •  ■  •'^^J- 

„„der  aud  James  llobertson,  in  Barrael,  no»  Chapel  sue    , 
In  >-ove,nber  o,  the  sanie  _^-;^*«; -":      '  ^    bXs    oild  th: 
which  .as  not  oontiuued  '«-^^-_^^'J^, ■„:'„, ,„„  „,,, ,b,y  .„„h  veMge 
SrS^'ra^t-l'oH  tse'way,  in  that  Pioviuce,  Aic.™,de.  died 
in  nSi.     James  died  many  years  after  ia  London. 

Having  thus  traced  the  commencement  of  the  Art  in  the  ^^^^^^ 
JZll  the  first  to  employ  it.  and  which  have  -er  sjnce  guen     tb 

our  Constitutional  history.  T«.,,inn  in  noo  W 

A  piess  was  established  in  C™u,e*,,,,  a    --    ;   "'»;.;;,^,',:»'  J^ 

S'S,r=.  t;2/aud  se,cra,  religions  tracts  and  se, ,,»  bn    d.ed 

•'"■  '■'"■      within  three  or  tour  years  after  his  settlement.     He  was  sue 
A  d  bv  Timotl'y  Orecn,  the  son  of  Samuel  Oreen,  Jr.,  of  Boston,  who 
ceeded  by  iimoiny  uiccu,  ^  annum.     IIh 

boeanie  the  Qovernment  printer  «    ';;7„'„; /„',:,  ^  „,1  carried 
aeseeudants  were  priu.ers  ,1,  t  he  .0  or  „e  r^  a  e  ^J  ^__  ^^^ 

Co.,  at  New  Haven,  January  1,    '^^   ^  ^^  ,  ,f„.,„rf,  ,„  „ci,  and 

r^red^hiiiiCrriixt^^^^^^^^^ 

'' ne^rr=rd'Srr;rnd-Will.am  ParH  who  set  np 


176 


PRINTING  IN  THE  COLONIES. 


a  press  at  Annapolis,  in  1720.     Tiie  year  afier,  he  printed  "a  completfl 
collection  of  the  Laws  of  Maryland."     The  Printing  for  that 
nl  Mar^iaud,  Colony  had  been  previously  done  by  Andrew  Bradford,  at  Phi- 
"^^'  ladelphia.     In  1727,  or  1728,  Parks  began  the  publication  of 

The  Maryland  Gazette.  He  was  followed  in  1740  by  Jonas  Green,  the 
son  of  T.  Green,  of  New  London,  who  printed  for  the  Government  at  an 
annual  stipend  of  £500  currency.  The  first  press  at  Baltimore,  was 
erected  by  Nicholas  Hasselboct,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  had  been  instructed 
by  C.  Sower.  He  printed  in  English  and  German,  and  contemplated,  if 
he  did  not  actually  commence,  an  edition  of  the  German  Bible. 

The  Maryland  Journal,  or  Baltimore  Advertiser,  commenced  in  August, 
1773,  by  William  Goddard,  the  first  Printer  of  Providence,  R.  L,  was  the 
first  paper  at  Baltimore,  and  the  third  in  the  Province. 

While  Goddard  was  engaged  in  public  affairs,  in  which  ho  was  promi- 
nent, his  sister,  Mary  Catharine  Goddard,  managed  with  ability  the  con- 
cerns of  his  printing-house.  The  paper  and  books  were  printed  in  her 
name,  and  she  is  said  to  have  first  printed  the  Declaration  of  Independence 

in  1776,  or  1777. 

In  1729,  William  Parks,  the  first  Maryland  printer,  also  established  a 
press  at  Williamsburg,  in  Virginia,  which  was  the  first  regular  Printing 
invir  iDia  ^°^^^  '"  ^''^^  Colony.'  lie  printed  at  that  place  the  same  year, 
''''^-  '  Stith's  History  of  Virginia,  octavo,  and  the  Colonial  Laws.  He 
was  for  some  time  public  Printer  to  both  Colonies,  enjoying,  it  is  said,  an 
allowance  of  £200  a  year  from  each.  He  commenced  at  the  same  place  in 
1736,  the  Virginia  Gazette,  the  first  public  journal  in  the  Province. 

The  first  press  in  South  Carolina,  was  set  up  at  Charleston,  by  Eleazer 

Philiips  of  Boston,  in  1730.     The  Government  is  said  to  have  offered  a 

liberal  reward  (£1000)  to  any  printer  who  would  settle  in  the 

c"S      Province.    Three  printers  arrived,  in  consequence  of  the  offer  in 

"^""  1730,  and  the  year  following,  Phillips  was  appointed  printer  to 


(1)  Virginia  appears  to  have  hail  ii  press 
as  early  as  1681,  and  to  have  been  in  point 
of  fact  the  second  Province  in  which  the  art 
was  introduced,  though  it  was  immediately 
prohibited.  W.  W.  Henning,  Esq.,  of  Rich- 
mond, while  cngngcd  in  1810,  in  puMishlng 
the  Statutes  of  Virginia,  from  the  year  1619, 
found  among  the  manuscripts  in  his  posses- 
Bion,  the  following  minute  of  the  Governor 
HUd  Council,  which  had  so  long  eluded 
search  as  to  lead  to  doubts  whether  printing 
was  evjr  interdicted  there.  "Febru"Ty  21st, 
1682— .Tohn  nuckucr,  culled  befotu  .^8  Lord 
Culpeper  and  hi?  (Juiiiii-il,  for  prinui.|j-  the 


laws  of  1B80,  without  his  cxoellenp.'''s  license 
— and  he  and  the  printer  ordered  to  enter 
into  bond  in  £100,  not  h-  print  any  thing 
hereafter,  until  his  Majesty's  pleasure  shall 
be  known."  Chalmers,  also  mentions,  that 
Lord  Culpepper,  in  1682,  prohibited  print- 
ing "  till  his  Majesty's  pleasure  should  be 
known  ;"  and,  that  Lord  Effingham  the  fol- 
lowing year  received  instructions  to  disallow 
the  use  of  a  press  in  Virginia.  There  is  no 
trace  of  the  Art  in  the  Colony  from  that 
time  until  the  arrival  of  Parks.  (Thomas  ii. 
545,  546.) 


CAROLINA-R.    I.LAND-NE>VrORT.      PEOVIDENCE. 


171 


ted  "a  complete 
rinting  IV.r  that 
radford,  at  Phi- 
e  publication  of 
on  as  Green,  the 
overiiment  at  an 
Baltimore,  was 
i  been  instructed 
contemplated,  if 
Bible. 

enced  in  August, 
:e,  R.  I.,  was  the 

h  lio  was  promi- 

I  ability  the  con- 

•e  printed  in  her 

of  Independence 

also  established  a 
regular  Printing 
ce  the  same  year, 
doniid  Laws.  He 
,'ing,  it  is  said,  an 
the  same  place  in 
:ie  Province, 
leston,  by  Eleazer 
to  have  offered  a 
ould  settle  in  the 
nee  of  the  offer  in 
pointed  printer  to 

iisoxoellen(\'''s  liceofe 
ntor  ordered  to  enter 
lot  <(•  print  any  thing 
ajesty's  pleasure  shall 
■s,  also  mentions,  that 
682,  prohibited  prints 
's  pleasure  should  be 
ord  Effingham  the  fol- 
nstructions  to  disallow 
Virginia.  There  is  no 
the  Colony  from  that 
of  Parks.   (Thomas  ii. 


1  -.•!      II,.  was  followetl  in  the  UisincM  l>y  Lewis  Tiinotbiie,  a  I  rcnci 

r.  ;.t  ,;„t  KJu;r«.."  1..^  ««""-^  '»'  1^™'^""  1"  r'"'-P';\»i«"'' 

V    r    ,  T  !Ur,.rlin  of  the  Philadelphia  Library  Company,  m  1713. 
^'^^^::t:^l^U^^^^  J^  ^.^  .e.p.>rt   a.^  .as  est^.1^ 
bv  jles  Franklin.     He  had  learned  the  Art  in  England  and  in  1713-14 
'  brought  thence  a  press  and  types,  with  which  he  commenced  m 

l-rn.4ost:n  and  pvintl.l  for  a  time  the  Boston  Gazette.  In  1721. 
he  est.bli^:  the  Ne  J  England  Courant,  the  third  paper  ,n  the  Co  oj^^ 
ThC'ourant  gave  offense  to  the  Clergy  and  some  ^-^^^^^^J^^ 
Lvernment,who_denon...andattemp^^^^ 

,„ch  ce,.sor.l»p,    .     t     »™    '^         Pl,i,„,ld,,ln..     In  tlmt  paper,  .p- 
Benjamm,  even      tor^  1,.^  '7!^^  „„^  J       „,  eomposKio,,,  «Uieh 

s:::i  «i:^rr„.  ^.  Leee.. .» .» ---:,;»-- 

as  compositors.     She  pimtta  tor  me  ^^      ^^^^^^ 

^' A  p^ssts'first  set  up  at  Providence,  in  17C2.  by  William  Goddard 
nfttw    d  a  printer  at  Philadelphia,  and  later  still  at  Balt.more.     He 
IZlll  ThTsame  year  the  Providence  Gazette  and  Co-try  Joun. 
which  was  long  continued,  and  became  an  influential  journal      For  about 
Twryelrs  it  w^s  managed  by  Sarah  Goddard  &  Co.,  the  former  be mg 
Ir.s  mothir,  and  the  Co.,  John  Carter,  who  was  subsequently  the  pro 

'"ThTfirst  resident  prit.ter  in  New  Jersey,  was  James  Parker,  a  native 
12 


■■M 


■Ml 


Its 


PUINTINQ   IN   TOE   C')LON'£S. 


of  Woodbridge,  in  that  Province,  then  a  printe:-  oi'  New  York,  and  at 
one  time  of  New  Haven.  He  established  a  press  in  his  native 
wyTnsi.ijoroun-h  in  1751,  and  the  next  year  printed  a  folio  edition  of 
the  Laws  of  t!»c  Province,  edited  by  Jud-e  Nevill,  which  sold  for  five 
dollars  a  volume.  He  also  published  a  monthly  Magazine,  for  about  two 
years  In  1705,  he  removed  his  press  to  Burlington,  the  Capital,  where, 
as  already  mentioned,  Keimer,  and  Franklin  of  Philadelphia,  had  occa- 
sionally  executed  Government  work.  He  returned  to  Woodbridge,  after 
completing  the  printing  of  Smith's  History  of  New  Jersey,  of  hve  bun- 
dred  and  seventy  pages,  8vo.  .  ,   t.     ,      # 

New  Hampshire  received  the  art  in  1756,   from  Daniel  Fowle  of 
Boston,  who  having  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  Government  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, removed  in  July,  to  Portsmouth,  the  Capital  of  the  former 
Province,  where  he  the  same  year  published  a  newspaper,-The  msr 
Hampshire  Gazette.    lU  printed  the  laws  and  other  work  for  Goje™™^"*- 
North  Carolina  had  two  presses  before  the  Revohition  in  1775.     Ibe 
first  was  established  at  Nevvbern,  in  1754,  or   1755,  by  James  Davis. 
The  Public  Printing  had  been  previously  done  at  Charleston. 
'^Jonl      i„  December,   1755,  he  published  first   the  North  Carolina 
Gazette,  and  was  appointed  Postmaster  by  Franklin  and  Hunter      H) 
completed  in  1773,  an  edition  of  the  Laws  of  the  Province  pp.  580,  folio. 
In  Delaware,  a  press  was  established  in  1761,  at  Wilmington,  by  James 
Adams,  who  had  learned  the  Art  in  Londonderry,  Ireland.     The  Print- 
ino-  for  the  Province  had  previously  been  done  at  Philadelphia, 
wa^fnei.   ,y,°ere  Adams  had  the  year  before  set  up  a  press  on  bis  own 
account.   He  issued  proposals  for  a  newspaper.  The  Wilmington  Courant, 
in  1762      He  was  the  only  printer  in  Delaware,  before  1775. 

Georgia  was  the  last  of  the  old  Slates  in  which  the  art  was  practiced. 
The  Public  Printing  was  done  in  Charleston,  until  1762.  In  that  year, 
James  Johnson,  a  Scotchman,  established  a  press  at  Savannah, 
In  Georgia.  ^^^^  p^j^ted  for  Government,  by  whom  he  was  handsomely  re- 
warded He  published  an  edition  of  the  laws,  and  in  1763,  commenced 
a  newspaper,  the  Georgia  Gazette,  the  only  one  before  the  Revolution 

A  press  was  introduced  into  the  present  State  of  Vermont  in  1778,  by 
J  P  Spooner,  and  Timothy  Green,  printers  of  Norwich,  Connecticut, 
who  first  erected  a  press  at  Hanover,  then  claimed  by  Vermont, 
injermont.  ^^^  ^^^^  .^  Connecticut,  where  they  began  a  newspaper,  but 
that  year  removed  to  Westminster,  at  the  request  of  the  newly  organized 
Government  of  that  State.  They  published  in  February,  1781,  the  first 
newspaper  in  Vermont,  "  The  Vermont  Gazette,  or  Green  Mountian  Post- 
boy." The  press  was  removed  in  1783,  to  Windsor,  under  new  proprie- 
tors. 


New  York,  and  at 
press  in  bis  native 
,  a  folio  eJilion  of 
which  sold  for  five 
izine,  for  about  two 
the  Capital,  where, 
idelphia,  had  occa- 
Woodbridge,  after 
Fcrsey,  of  five  hun- 

Daniel  Fowlc  of 
overnment  of  Mas- 
pital  of  the  former 
rspaper,— The  New 
)rk  for  Government, 
tion  in  1175.     The 
5,  by  James  Davis, 
done  at  Charleston. 
he  North  Carolina 
1  and  Hunter.     H3 
vince  pp.  580,  folio, 
ilmington,  by  James 
reland.     The  Print- 
one  at  Philadelphia, 
I  a  press  on  bis  own 
Vilraington  Courant, 
fore  1775. 

lie  art  was  practiced. 
762.     In  that  year, 
a  press  at  Savannah, 
!  was  handsomely  re- 
in 1763,  commenced 
>re  the  Revolution. 
Vermont  in  1778,  by 
forwich,  Connecticut, 
claimed  by  Vermont, 
an  a  newspaper,  but 
■  the  newly  organized 
ruary,  1781,  the  first 
Jreen  Mountian  Post- 
p,  under  new  proprie- 


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i»->JHIli.i|i-JiiJM..'4- '  rtpiJ|Jk;jW3gM!M?4*"-^<.i. 


rilE   PRESS   IN   MAINE   AVD    IN    T.IE   WKSTERM    STATES. 


179 


Prlntin-'  is  snid  to  have  been  first  practiced  u,  .'Imt  is  now  th    State 

of  Maine,  in  1780.     In  1810,  there  were  newspapers  pub  shed 

Im'"^'     at  six  towns,  no>v  within  tluU  State,  includins  three  at  Portland. 

The  followi-."  facts,  from  an  interesting  monograph,  by  Mr.  Mean, 
of  mSh    "in  a  ;ork  already  qnoted,  which  we  insert  here  for  the 

No^"-p'-r<-  and  prosperity  of  the  country,  will  show  concisely  the  dates 
iniiinWesi- ""     I      '       ■'  .!„„  „f  nil  nrts"  is  believed  to  have  been 

einStKte*.     .vi,cn  thc  "  Art  prcscrvativB  of  all  arts    is  uuilvlu 

.produced  Into  the  other  territories  and  States  down  to  the  ^v^sent  year. 

The  dates  will,  for  the  m.st  part,  correspond  with  the  fi.st  issue  of  a  news 

paper  in  the  several  Territories. 

i„  178G;  the  Hecoud,  m  ^^^^1'"'^''^-,^     ,h  vra.  tirst  practiced  iu 
then  only  a  trading-post,- -m  17J5.      Ui  i^     ,  ^^^ 

,.hat  is  now  the  State  of  Indiana;  m   "^^       '    [^'"''^JlXl.o  the  United 
little  .as  done  there  before  1803,  when  the  ^;;"-'7^   ^^J^^^'Vhere  were  ..bout 

States,  at  which  time  tl>ere  -^^"J  rSS^T  1.  0     M  s^i.  ^  1809  ; 
ten.     MissounbadaPress  inl     0.^.^^^^^^^^^^^^        ^^^^,^^^^^^ 

A  abaina,  in  181Z.      mere  wa^s  "■■  ,,  .m  .™r  n„iipin    in  1815.    Printing 

niinois,  was  at  Kaskaskla,  ^^'^>^^^^\^L^;^'^^Z^^^  1,  having  no 
.a,  introduced  into  Wisconsin.   -  ^       ;^^  •  /-^^-^^  ,,  ^'.^a,  and  printed. 

:::r;t^r^:::^Ct«;:t\;ewspaperinwi.oi... 


(1)  It  i«  Mated  in   IIa7.«r.V8  Register  of 
Pennsylvania  (i.  181),  that  the  f  r.t  newspa- 
per west  of  the  AUcRhanies  wa.  the  "  Pitts- 
burg Gazette,"  i^ued  by  John  Scall,  Esq., 
„.ore   than   forty   years  before  his  death. 
„hieh  was  in  1828.     That  would  give  an 
earlier  date  than  that  of  the  Press  at  Knox- 
viUe.    An  early  Pittsburg  Diroetory,  give. 
1763  as  the  Jate  of    BcuU's  r'M'".      Vr. 
Drake,  in  hi.  View  of  Cincinnati,  give-  No- 
vember 9th,  1T93,  a.  the  date  of  the  first 
pubUeation  of  the  Centinel  of  the  North- 
West  Territory,"  by  William  Maxwell,  in 
i„t».«teityi  whlcti  paper,  ho  states,  wa. 
,he  nrst  publl.hed  north  of  the  Ohio,  and 
the  third  or  fourth  west  of  the  mountains. 
It  was  a  half  sheet,  royal  quarto  slr.e.  and, 
in  \W,  was  purchased  by  Edward  Freom..n, 
„lu.  changed  the  name  to  the  "Freomau. 

.lournul."      It  wa.   t'.iat  year   printed   on 
.-npiT  made  In  the  vicinity. 

f2)  1..  Edward.'  "  Great  West,  and  her 
Mc'ropulls,  ^•t.  bouls."  Joseph  ll'-rk... 
wbo.o  ion  wu-  lately  .hot  by  Thornton,  i. 


stntcd  to  have  started,  in  July,  1808,  the 
first  paper  in  St.  Louis,  nnd  the  lirst  west 
of  the  Mississippi.  U  was  the  Missouri  Ga- 
rotte, now  continued  in  the  Missouri  Uepub- 
lican  of  that  city.  Ho  had  previous.y 
worked  for  Matthew  Carey,  in  Philadelphia, 
on  the  first  quarto  BiWe  published  in  the 
United  States,  in  the  English  larguage,  a. 
ho  was  accustomed  to  relate.  The  Laws  of 
LouiManaClorritory),  printed  in  the  sam^ 
year  in  St.  Louis,  wa.  the  flr.t  book  printed 
west  of  the  Mis.issippi. 

(3)  The   Milwttukie   Sentinel   give,    the 
naoies  of  one  hundred  and  one  newspapers, 
Bngli^h  and  German,  now  puUished  m  Wis- 
cnnsin.    Their  agRropale  circulation  in  over 
80.000,  and  it  .aid  ihat  the  three  or  four 
million   copic,  th.t  form   the  grand   total 
eveiy  year,  are  printed  on  material  made  .n 
the  State.-four.filths  of  all  the  paper  being 
manufactured  In  WiHoon.ln.     The  ciroul... 
tinn  just  mentioned,  is   about  equal  to  tl,e 
entire  newspaper  circulation  of  the  *h>.U 
U..lon,  u.  wcuraleijr  eilimaled,  m  17»a. 


180 


PRINTING  IN  THE  COLONIES. 


The  art  was  practiced  in  Texas,  by  the  Spaniards,  as  early  as  1760;  and 
Ity  Americans,  about  1829,  m  1R^2   Tnwa 

In  Iowa,  printing  was  introduced  by  W.  C.  Conne  1,  m  1836.  In  1832  Iowa 
was  neari;  a  wilderness,  and  the  first  house  was  th.t  year  built  -a  that  part 
Tfth"  State,  near  Davenport,  which  is  now  noted  for  its  commerce,  and  no  less 

tlian  three  daily  papers.  .,  oq.i>    1«^'>      A  newsnaDer 

Printing  wr.s  first  executed  in  Minnesota,  April  28th,  184..     A  newspaper 
was  started  in  that  Territory  the  year  before,  when  there  was  not  ■)  -»ag«;'^ 
if  but  it  was  printed  at  Cincinnati,  and  published  at  St.  Paul,  Apnl  27,  1849 
Be've;;  years  afterward  there  were  fou.  printing  offices  in  St.  Paul  a^one,  and 
three  daily  journals,  while  there  were  no  less  than  thirty-one  newspapers  m 

''^Thr'Sians  are  believed  to  have  attempted  printing  in  California,  prior 
to  1S4G  ;  but  there  is  no  certain  evidence  of  it.  The  first  regular  pr.nt.ng  exe- 
cuted  there  s.ems  to  have  been  at  Monterey,  on  August  loth,  1846.  The 
Mormon,  began  printing  at  Salt  Lake,  in  1848.  It  was  practiced  -  Oregon  a 
year  or  two  before  that.'  Nebraska  and  Kansas  each  had  a  P^ess  in  1854. 
Now  (1859)  there  are  no  fewer  than  twenty  different  newspapers  in  that  Terri- 
tory. Yet  the  whole  territory  we.t  of  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Paciflo,  was  a 
dense  impenetrable  wilderness  in  1780  ;  and  withir.  the  memory  of  l.vuig  men 
there  was  not  a  permanent  white  settlement  north  of  the  Ohio,  from  the  Wa- 
bash to  the  Pao"ic."* 

It  will  be  seen,  by  the  foiegoinR  record,  Low  closely,  iu  this  country, 
the  r.ess  has  followed  upon  the  track  of  the  pioneer,  and,  in  sorae  cases, 
almost  outstripped  civilization  in  its  westward  march.     More  recently  still, 
the  Printing  press  bus  penetrate'l  the  defiles  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  having  established  itself  upon  the  very  highest  summit  of  that  moun- 
tain  barrier,  now  sends  forth  its  weekly  intelligence  from  the  remote 
minirg  region  of  Pike's  Peak.     The  Rocky  Mountain  Gold  Reporter, 
published  "at  Mountain  City,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,"  was  commenced 
in  August,  of  the  last  year  (1859),  by  Mr.  Thomas  Gibson.     This 
constant  extensioa  of  the  labors  of  the  Press,  with  the  rapid  advance 
of  new  sctllemeuts,  compared  with  the  dlow  introduction  of  the  art  in 

(1)  Tho  E.litor  of  the  Now  York  Tribune    (at  Oregon  City,  from  April  to  Docembor, 
■t»te«.  tlmt  there  nre  now  between  ninety     1818).  was  presented  by  the  E-iitor,  Geo.  L, 


•nd  one  hundred  periodicBls  published  in 
OaliforniB,  of  which,  iibout  one-third  ere 
inijucd  from  Sun  Finncisco.  Thirty-one  of 
the  forty-flve  counties  in  the  State  have 
•aoh  one  or  more  jnurnnln.  Tliree  are  print- 
ed in  French,  two  in  Spnninh,  one  in  Ger- 
man, and  at  leaH  one  in  Chlne»e.  Six  are 
devoted  to  Ruli({lon,  two  to  ABrlcullure, 
nine  or  ten  to  Lltoraturo,  Mining,  Medi- 
cine, uto. 

(2)  A  complete  let  of  the  "  Oregon  Free 
Prei-i,"  the  Orst  publiBhed  in  that  Territory 


Curry,  to  the  N.  Y.  Ilist.  Soc,  in  June, 
18il.  It  wa«  printed  on  a  woodon  Press 
of  hnuK  invention,  nnd  with  a  font  of 
French  type.  Tho  typo  was  deficient  in  the 
letters  A,  lo  and  y,  which  were  severnlly  con- 
structed out  of  6,  m  and  x.  The  pnper  wus 
dlfconlinucd  on  the  "breaking  out"  of  the 
mines,  and  had  not,  at  that  date,  been  re- 
newed. 

(3)  Truhner'i  Guide  to  Amoriean  Litera- 
ture.    London,  1851). 


THE   FIRST   AMERICAN    BIBLE. 


181 


early  as  1760 ;  and 

1836.  In  1832,  Iowa 
ir  built  '  a  that  part 
jmmerce,  and  no  less 

1840.  A  newspaper 
(  was  not  .\  village  in 
Paul,  April  27,  1849. 
3  St.  Paul  s^-^ne,  and 
y-one  newspapers  in 

ig  in  California,  prior 
regular  printing  exe- 
ast  15tli,  1846.'  The 
)racticed  in  Oregon  a 
liad  a  Press  in  1854. 
'spapers  in  thatTerri- 
to  the  Pacific,  was  a 
leir.ory  of  living  men, 
le  Ohio,  from  the  Wa- 

jely,  iu  this  country, 
•,  and,  in  some  cases, 
More  recently  still, 
e  Rocky  Mouiituins, 
uinniit  of  that  niomi- 
ice  from  the  remote 
tain  Gold  Reporter, 
,iiis,"  was  commencsd 
omas  Gibson.     This 
th  the  rapid  advance 
luction  of  the  art  in 

from  April  to  Dooembor, 
ted  by  the  Eiiitor,  Geo.  L. 
.  Y.  Iliit.  Sue,  in  June, 
rinted  on  a  woodun  Pre*8 
ion,  and  with  a  font  of 
1)0  typo  was  deficient  in  the 
,  which  were  levernlly  con- 
,  m  and  x.  The  pnpcr  wus 
the  "  breiiking  out"  of  tlio 
not,  at  that  date,  boon  ro- 

Oulde  to  Amorioan  Lifera- 
86». 


some  countries  is  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  American  rrogress. 

Tlhitrat^^^^^^^^^  -'^^'^^^  ''^^^^^'"  ''^'TTZ 

a:d  the  spread  of  intelligence,  and  especially  the  importance  or  the  fullest 

Ipmtimate  freedom  to  the  great  instructor,  the  Printing  press. 
'^Cnplo   of  t.e  blighth^g  influence  of  despotism,  -"ether  rehg^us  or 
secn,ar,rndofrevolntion,upontheg.wthofliterature.a.^of  be        v^>^ 

is  its  chief  conservator  and  hand-maid,  arc  numerous.     We  netd  only  rctcr 
to  the  M.  colonies  on  this  Continent.  In  the  provinces  of  Mexico  and 
Perr  P   nti  g  was  introduced  and  practiced  some  years  before  there  wa 
a     erranent'English  settlement  upon  this  Continent  ;bngover^^^^^^^^^ 
restrictions,   religious  espionage,  and  revolutionary  changes,  efft  tual  y 
nrev  nt^ed  any  vigorous  exercise  of  the  art.     It  is  only  the  presen    yea., 
a   we     e  inform  d  when  this  great  civiiizer  has  rested  upon  the  farther 
confines  0  civi,i.a  ion  upon  this  Continent,  that  the  first  Arab  new.pape 
e"r  ^r  nt  d  in  the  Turkish  empire,  ontside  of  Constantinople,  has  been 
ever  printea  ^"^  Sevcntv-five  years  have  elapsed  since  printing 

rrrlctd  •  oThe  0!:::::  capital,  which,  long  before  the  tin.  of 
Us  i  vet  tion  -while  European  art  and  learning  were  buried  in  Goth  c 
Its   "mention  Continent  was  undreamed  of,-  was  the  mag.ufi- 

1"  Telt  of  everT   cTa  ce       manners  and  the  art.     We  have  already 
e    Tw   1  r    gress'in  our  country  compares  with  that  of  printing  ,n 
E  gl  nd    he'only  country  which  has  shown  a  commensurate  apprecatiou 
«f  tiTea;  and.l.re  the  conditions  have  been  comparatively  favorable 

"T::;:tCtmesorenterprisesconnected  wUh  the  Coloni.  Press, 
dese     ng  of  more  honorable  mention  than  that  of  the  publisher  of  Lu- 
th.r's  German  Bible,  printed  at  Germantown,  in  Pennsyhan.a. 
•r""  «"'„.    5,.  ni-l     It  was  the  first  Bible  printed  for  the  European  popu- 
-F  h        t  on    n    ,0  In     lean  Colonies,  and  was  -  a  singular  achieve- 
.,.,..,  ^^^;^^         ,„,„,,y  ,„,  ,e,,everance.  through  good  re- 
port and  e^vi.  report,  of  Cuiu..oPUKit  Sa..  ^^^'^-7^;^ W  r 
ihe  noble  vicv  of  Bupplying  his  countrymen  with  ^«»'\«^;;      !  ^'^^.^^^ 
God  "     Saur  (or  Sower,  as  it  is  in  the  German  and  English  imprints 
fe  pectivel  0  wa«  of  that  valuable  class  of  German  P-testants  who  at 
d  f£r    t  tfmes  since  the  arrival  of  Penn,  have  peopled  Philadelphia.  G^ 
':!:;::«  Lancaster,  and  other  portions  of  I'enusylv.nia  an     to  a      m 
attachment  to  their  religion,  have  added  an  amount  of  ski    and  indu.try 
in  many  of  the  arts,  not  exceeded  by  any  class  in  the  country. 

Th  firs  paper-m  11  erected  in  the  Anglo-American  Colonies  was  buil  by 
onloaSra  period  nearly  co-eval  with  the  ^^-^^l^^^^; 
impcr  in  England,  and  others  were  commenced  not  long  after,  M  su^ 
JS  the  nrs't  printers  of  Philadelphia  with  much  of  the  material  u.scd  by 


132 


PRINTING   IN   THE   C0L0NTE8. 


them.     Like  many  of  the  early  settlers  of  New  England,  a  number  of 
these,  moreover,  possessed  scholastic  attainments  which  were  highly  re- 
spectable, and  tliey  were  not  likely  to  overlook  the  educational  advan- 
tages of  the  Press.    But  printing-types  were  then  altogether  imported  from 
abroad.     The  expense  and  delay  in  procuring  these  for  any  considerable 
undertaking,  induced  Sower,  in  order  to  carry  out  his  benevolent  purpose 
of  supplying  the  Scriptures  to  his  countrymen,— many  of  whom,  as  he 
states  in  a  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  were  ill-supplied  with 
Bibles,— to  commence  the  manufacture  of  types  and  of  printing-ink  for 
his  own  use.     He  cast  several  fonts  of  type  for  himself  and  others,  and 
the  anvil  on  which  he  forged  the  matrices  is  still  shown  at  Germantown. 
The  first  "Jamb-stoves"  made  in  America  were,  also,  cast  for  him,  and 
were  still  in  use  fifty  years  ago.     His  manufactory,  which  produced  types 
of  the  Gothic  or  German  character,  was  the  first  type-foundry  in  America, 
it  is  believed,  and  has  its  lineal  representative  in  Philadelphia  at  the  pre- 
sent time.     Sower  had  commenced  printing  about  the  year  1135,  in  which 
year  he  began  the  publication  of  a  Quarterly  Journal,  in  the  German  lan- 
guage, the  first  publication  of  the  kind  in  a  foreign  tongue  in  this  country. 
It  was  afterward  changed  to  a  monthly,  and,  after  1744,  to  a  weekly 
-...xiaper,  The  Germantown  Gazette,  and  was  continued  by  his  son,  until  the 
ilL.^lutionary  War.     A  complete  file  of  the  first  German  paper  in  this 
countryv^yliere  they  are  now  so  numerous,  is  still  preserved  as  a  precious 
heirloom  by  Vne  of  the  descendants  of  the  publisher.     Sower  also  pub« 
lished  the  first  (ji-;OTan  Almanac  in  Pennsylvania,  and  extracts  from  the 
Laws  of  the  founderrbiuslated  into  German,  for  the  use  of  his  country- 

men.  -.  _       , 

In  1743,  after  three  years  labcv.  upon  the  work,  the  German  Bible  in 
quarto  form,  of  1272  pages,  was  coniV,\°ted  and  published  by  him.     It 
was  by  far  the  heaviest  publication  which  i.n-?  yet  been  issued  from  the 
press  in  Pennsylvania,  and  was  not  equaled  for^l.^^^ny  years  after.     This 
undertaking  was  worthily  concluded  by  offering  the  vC?:iyncs  at  a  moder- 
ate price,  and  by  distributing  them  gratuitously,  or  at  a  tuijiiclv  nominal 
cost,  to  the  poor.     "The  price  of  our  newly-finished  Bible,'|  s^.3  the 
publisher,  "in  plain  binding,  with  a  clasp,  will  be  eighteen  shillings;  bul 
to  the  poor  and  needy  we  have  no  price."    His  son  Christopher  con- 
tinned  and  enlarged  the  business  of  his  father  in  its  several  branches,  and 
in  1762  issued  a  second  edition  of  the  quarto  Bible  of  2000  copies,  and 
a  third  edition,  of  3000,  in  1776.     The  book  manufactory  of  Christopher 
Sower  the  second,  was  for  many  years  by  far  the  most  extensive  in  the 
British  American  Colonies.     It  em|)loyed  several  binderies,  a  paper-mill, 
an  ink  manufactory,  and  a  foundry  for  German  and  English  types. 
Tjo  ixdubive  privilege,  long  enjoyed  by  the   Universities  in  Great 


THE  FIKSr   BEl'lUNT   OF  THE  ENOLISU  Bini.E. 


183 


ind,  a  number  of 
h  were  highly  re- 
ducational  advan- 
ther  imported  from 
r  any  considerable 
enevolent  purpose 
ly  of  whom,  as  he 
e  ill-supplied  with 
)f  printing-ink  for 
If  and  others,  and 
n  at  Gerniantown. 
cast  for  him,  and 
ich  produced  types 
sundry  in  America, 
delphia  at  the  pre- 
hear 1135,  in  which 
in  the  German  lan- 
guc  in  this  country. 
1744,  to  a  weekly 
)y  his  son,  until  the 
rman  paper  in  this 
erved  as  a  precious 
Sower  also  pub* 
d  extracts  from  the 
use  of  his  country- 

B  German  Bible  in 
jlished  by  him.     It 
jen  issued  from  the 
J  years  after.     This 
fC?'iyncs  at  a  moder- 
it  a  nilH^y  nominal 
ed  Bible,"  s^.-$  the 
;hteen  shillings;  but 
in  Christopher  con- 
everal  branches,  and 
of  2000  copies,  and 
ctory  of  Christopher 
lost  extensive  in  the 
iideries,  a  paper-mill, 
Knglish  types. 
Fnivcrsities  in  Great 


The  First     tures,  imu   t-  j^  _^^  ^^^^.^_  „„\,licalion.     About  the  year 


tures,  nau  t-. j  — -  .    ,,„Mi,.,,tiou      A.bout  the  year 

iiuericaa      Hshcrs  from  engaging  m  then-  pubhcaUon. 

Bible  iQ  -.    .       1     . t\T>  fipit.  iind  sec 


....  S^":S':!t:e:.e.standseco,.i^sof^^ 
e..  Bible!L  Edition  of  the  En^^^  Scriptures^.  ^^ l^'^ld 
vately  carried  through  the  P^-«  "  ^"^^  ,^  '^.,,  Z„,,,a  journal,  the 
and  Green,  the  ^^^^^J^'^^  l.ul  IdertaUen  by  a  printer, 
fourth  newspaper  m  the  Colony,  an  ^  r^.^^^^,^     ^reen,  the 

Green  was  the  son  and  f-^^^^^^"^,,,,,  edition  of  the  Bible 
second  printer  of  Connect.cut      1  - J^^^   An  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^_ 

i„  the  English  language  J-  ;^       /J^  ,,,,,  ^n^erica  before  the  Bevo- 
ton,  the  most  enterprising  bookseller  0  IS  the  corner  of  King- 

lution.     His  place  of  business  was  «"  ^u"^^^^^^        ^^^^„„      ...^evs,  and 
street,  where  he  mrnished  much  emplojme  the  B         ^^^^ 

even  those  of  London.  He  ^-^  ^^  ;  ^^  VZland.  who  printed  ou,n 
To  avoid  the  risk  of  prosecution  H  ^^^  ^ J"  f^f^te  copy  from  which  it 
prMle^io,  the  book  1-^1  ^h^  Lon  o^^    ^l^Btkett!  Printer  to  the 

was  made,  viz  :  '-'"^^/.^f.fThe  edition  consisted  only  of  seven  or 
King's  Most  Excellen    ^a^es H  ^^^  ^,^^^  ^^^,  ,. 

eight  hundred  cop.e  '  J     .  ^^  ^^^  j.^^,  ^,  ,,,  p,,Ucation 

blarce  in  typography  to  the  ^nj,  ^^^  apprentice  in 

,as  been  generally  over  ook..  ^^^^o.  of  the  work  speak  of  it ; 
r  ^e^ H::etk:;' rettive  of  IlLhman.  owned  a  copy  of  it.  and 
related  the  circumstances  Testament  was  soon  after  printed 

and  brevier  tjpo,«bat  has  been      .^^^^^^^^^  J         ^^^  ^.,„^^    „f    ,„„    Revolution,    ^nd, 

fl„t  A.ericn   Bible  >"  /J«   ^  ^'^    ,  «  upurt  from  tbe  limited  facilities  for  pr.nt.ng 
guttgo.    Tho  execution  of  'ho  work  u        g      i  ^^^     ^.^^^_.  .^  ^^,j^  „„   „„« 

Leu  approved  by  Doctor.  ^^  ^'^^     "^^^^  t^^iu  tbe  midst  of  his  work,  to  hava 

£,ld.  Chaplains.  Congress  passed  the  f    low  oeca  ^^^^^^  ^  ,^  ^^.^^  _^^^  ^ 

,ng  resolution :  "That  ^^^^^^'Z    S  out  !f  the  eity.  and  to  ^'";y  •»->  -der 
Conzress    assembled,   bigliiy   api  ^,         fr^m  destruction   by 

pSandlaudableundortaUingo    Mr   A    ■     a  ^  •        -^^^^     ..„.„„,,„  ,,        dis. 

Vin  as  subservient  to  the  inteie  ts  of  rell      the  Ur ms     ^^  Philade'phia  Free. 

:i, ..  «u .. » ;-.-;'-  :s:'a  rrr™, " o,.. ..,;..  .»,«.- 


jg^  PRINTING  IN  TaE  COLONIES. 

Down  to  1740,  or  about  the  time  that  Sower  commenced  the  Quarto 
Bible,  when  eight  of  the  older  Provinces  were  in  possession  of  a  press 
more  printing  was  annually  executed  in  Massachusetts  than  in  all  the 
others  togetht-r.  Massachusetts  continued  to  lead  m  the  publ.cat.on  of 
books  for  about  twenty-five  years  longer.  In  1769.  the  pubhslung  bus. 
nessof  Philadelphia  had  become  nearly  equal  to  ^^at  of  Boston  ;  and 
this  equality  was  maintained  until  about  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the 

^  Th'ese  two  cities,  to  which  belong  the  credit  of  having  thus  led  the 
enterprise  of  the  country  in  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  Arts,  also 
d     de  the  honor  of  having  produced,  during  the  period  a   which  we  h  ve 
glanced,  the  greatest  ornament  of  the  profession  in  this  or  any  othe 
country.     Born  in  Boston,  and  taught  the  first  elements  of  the  ar   ,n  the 
establishment  of  his  brother  James,  one  of  the  early  printers  of  that  place, 
Franklin  afterward  conferred  upon  Philadelphia  the  benefits  of  Ins  m- 
dustry.  inventive  talent,  and  matured  wisdom,  and  founded  several  insti- 
tutions which  have  been  a  lasting  blessing  to  her  population.     H.s  own 
simple  narrative  of  his  early  life  and  struggles  has  proved  a  most  instruc- 
tive lesson  to  thousands  of  young  mechanics  in  every  department  of 
business.     His  firmness,  sagacity,  a.d  patriotism  as  a  statesman  have 
reflected  honor  upon  his  whole  country;  while  his  discoveries  ni  Science 
andli  s  writings  are  the  common  inheritance  of  the  race.     It  has  been 
ggested.  by  one  who  labored  no  less  zealously  to  enlarge  the  area  of 
popular  knowledge,  whether  mankind  at  large  has  been  more  benefited 
ly  his  services  in  any  department  than  by  the  sententious  wisdom- of 
Poor  Richard's  maxims. ' 

scctns  to  havo  borne  no  further  ehare  in  the 
enterprise  than  that  of  superintending  the 
printing  and  recommending  the  volume  to 
public  piitronnge,  but  manifested  through- 
out  its  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  the 

work. 

(1)  The  incidents  of  hi«  public  career  MO 
too  well  Itnown  to  require  repetition,  and 
do  not  fall  within  our  province  to  record. 
As  a  printer,  he  labored  sedulously  for  the 
improvement  of  the  art,-  and  had  his  oner- 
gicB  and  ingenuity  been  exclusively  devoted 
to  the  profession,  he  would  doubtless  have 
greatly  advanced  its  interests,  and  acquired 
a  fame  equal  t»  his  achievements  in  other 
departments.     He  retained  a  lively  interest 
in  the  »rado  throughout  life,  and  his  regard 
f„r  the  dignity  of  his  profession  is  illuitroted 
by  the  following  incident,  which  occurred 


ceived  the  impression  of  these  snored  books 
was  manufactured  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
whole  work  is  therefore  purtly  American, 
and  has  risen,  like  the  fabled  Phoenix,  from 
the  ashes  of  that  pile  in  which  our  enemies 
supposed  they  had  consumed  the  liberties 
'of  America." 

The  heavy  importations  of  Bibles,  among 
other  things,  which  followed  the  peace,  com- 
pelled the  publisher  to  tell  under  cott ;  and, 
in  a  memorial  to  Congress  in  1789,  in  which 
he  asks  for  a  patent  giving  him  the  exclu- 
sive right  for  fourteen  years  of  printing  the 
Old  and  Now  Testament  within  the  United 
States,  but  which  was  laid  on  the  table,  he 
ftates  that  he  lost  by  the  publication  "  more 
than  three  thousand  pounds  in  specie." 
Congress,  which  amid  its  many  burdens  had 
10  promptly  responded  to  the  call  for  Bibles, 


THE  STAMP  ACT.      CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS. 


185 


need  the  Quarto 
!ssion  of  a  press, 

than  in  all  the 
le  publication  of 
!  publishing  busi- 

of  Boston  ;  and 
)f  the  War  of  the 

ing  thus  led  the 
of  the  Arts,  also 
at  which  we  have 
this  or  any  other 
8  of  the  art  in  the 
iters  of  that  place, 
benefits  of  his  in- 
iided  several  insti- 
llation.    His  own 
ed  a  most  instruc- 
ry  department  of 
a  statesman  have 
30veries  iu  Science 
race.     It  has  been 
iilarge  the  area  of 
sen  more  benefited 
entious  wisdom- of 


no  further  ehare  in  tho 
,  of  superintending  tho 
meniUng  the  volume  to 
ut  manifested  through- 
of  the  importance  of  the 

of  hi«  public  career  aro 
require  repetition,  and 
our  province  to  record, 
jored  sedulously  for  the 
sartj  and  had  his  ener- 
been  exclusively  devoted 
he  would  doubtless  have 
ts  interests,  and  acquired 
Is  achievements  in  other 
retained  a  lively  interest 
[hout  life,  and  his  regard 
is  profession  is  illustrated 
incident,  which  occurred 


n    th«  Stamp  Act  which  received  the  Royal  Assent  in  March,  1765, 
.  Ltf  0  e  haltlry  was  imposed  on  all  pamphlets  and  newspapers. 
^  '"^  "^Tch  wLrreiired  tob'e  printed,  after  the  firstof  Novem  er,  ou 
I^r.^"'-    stamped  paper.     On  a  publication  not  exceeding  six  see      th 

tax  was  "s  •  oa  all  advertisements,  28. ;  on  all  almanacs,  2d  a  year  it 
tax  was  -s. ,  on  ^^^     j^  ^^^  ^,^  ^1,^  ,,,„,„g 

on  one  side  of  a  shee  .J°^^^^°J  \,^^^     ,],,^  ;„  London,  as 

following  the  passage  of  ^' '«  f;^'   J    w.^t^  with  a  sorrowful  heart  to 
Colonial  Agent,  in  view  of  the  resul,  wrote  w  ^^^ 

Mr.  Charles  Thompson,  "the  -^^J  J  ^  ^^y'   ^^^^^^  ,,  ,1  to  have 

BTr;itAct,l  AT::fa.  ..d  paiJulany  in  Boston  was  very  gener^y 
T  IrrM  except  by  the  most  indignant  protests  from  one  end  of  the 
disregarded,  except  oy  lue  newspapers  continued  to  be  printed, 

rrv>„  Antwiva  rei)ealed  in  the  tollowing  yeai  ,   u""  » 

the  P;  ?^'  7;^^„„f^,t„re  of  that  article  for  a  time.     In  consequence 
stimulating  the  manutaciu  Parliament,  the  Continental 

of  these  ™-/!f^^^^^^^^^^^^^  :  |ptember.n74;  and,  among  other 

Congress  met  in  ^  "'^j'^' '  ^j,  ^^^^  punters  to  execute  any  printing 

for  the  .'*'i^7;"^L;;  '  .^,ed  in  the  general  insecurity  and  depress.ott 
llevolution,  the  Press  sharea  in  i      \  j^  ^j^  j^g  f„u  g^are  in 

which  interrupted  nearly  every  form  «f  "^J^^^"     \j^^  Colonists,  and  in 
arousing  the  spirit  of  resistance  in  ^^e^be^  «    "^^^^       .Wriersand 

printers  '  ^^^^  ^^  .f;';;^;^,  ^^  ,,  .ni^ating  their  countrymen."   The 

::rofr  A^erS^^^^^^  --'  '^-^  -"^  'z 

.i,„  nf     water  from  the  pump,  made  my  supper;  I 
,t  the  outset  of  his  career,  and  ,s  ^orthy  ^  .^  ^^  great-coat, 

repetition:  A  person  having  brought  a  pee    '^^^  J^^^  „„  ,,,  fl„„,  ,„a  slept  till 

for  insertion  in  the  P-^f'-"'^  J^^^^^  j    horning,  when  on  another  loaf  and  a  mug 
Franklin  desired  that  it  migh   be  left  unfl    m  ^  J,  ^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^^^^     ^^^^  ^„,, 

the  next  day  for  his  ''''''^^''l''^^''\f''"2T    regimen  I  find  no  inconvenience  whatever. 
log  at  the  appointed  time,  the  young  printer    reg.  ^.^^  .^  ^^  .^  ^^^^^^^  ^  ^^^.^ 

replied:  "I  hr.ve  perused  your  p.eee    and    I.nd    8  ,^^  ^^^^.^  ,„  ,,,„,,H,.,e 

fl 'd  it  to  be  seurriiou.  -<»  ^efama.ory    to    farmed  a  ^^  ^^_^^__^^.  __  ^^^ 

determine  whether  I  should  publish   U  or    my  pr  1      ^_^^  ^^_^  ^^^^  ^^  ^.^.^^ 


186 


PRINTING   IN  THE   COLONIES. 


the  press  and  Uic  pulpit,  that  in  1175,  "  it  was  determined  to  employ  these 
two  powerful  instruments  of  revolution,  printing  and  preaching,  to  operate 
on  the  minds  of  the  Canadians.  A  complete  apparatus  for  printing,  to- 
gether with  a  printer  and  a  clergyman,  were  therefore  sent  into  Canada."' 
The  Boston  Gazette,  the  third  known  by  that  name,  since  1719,  was 
regarded  as  the  oracle  of  the  disaEfected  party.  Journals  ou  both  sides 
experienced  the  hostility  of  the  parties  to  which  they  happened  to  be 
opposed,  and  nearly  all  literature,  but  that  of  a  political  character,  was 
obscnred  in  the  gloom  and  ferment  of  the  times.  But  the  occasion  de- 
veloped more  remarkable  qualities,  and  more  numerous  instances  of 
energy,  ability,  and  patriotism  in  spheres  of  private  exertion,  as  well  as 
in  the  Senate  and  the  Camp,  than  any  equal  portion  of  our  history.' 

It  was  amid  the  exciting  events  which  accompanied  the  proclamation 
of  the  Stamp  Act  in  America,  that  Isaiah  Thomas,  whom  an  intelligent 
French  traveler  styled  the  Didot  of  America,  the  able  and  diligent  his- 
torian of  this  department  of  American  indu.stry,  and  for  many  years  the 
most  enterprising  member  of  the  trade,  Grst  entered  upon  life  as  an  inde- 
pendent printer.  His  success  in  business  was  entirely  the  reward  of  his 
own  exertions.' 

The  first  journal  published  in  the  country,  which  possessed  anything  of 
a  literary  character,  was  the  "  General  Magazine  and  Historical  Chronicle 
for  all  the  British  plantations  in  America."  a  duodecimo  monthly 
American  magazine,  printed  and  edited  by  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  first 
Mag»iiue».  p^jjjjgjjgj  jj,  jauuary,  1741,  at  twelve  shillings  a  year.  It  was 
continued  only  about  six  months.^  A  few  weeks  after,  another  monthly 
of  48  pages  8vo.,  called  the  American  Magazine,  was  started  in  opposi- 
tion by  John  Welbe,  but  did  not  survive. 

Another  monthly  magazine,  with  the  title  of  The  American  Magazine, 
was  begun  in  1769,  in  Philadelphia,  by  Lewis  Nichola,  containing  forty- 
eight  pages.  To  this  magazine  were  subjoined  the  first  published  Trans- 
actions of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  founded  chiefly  by  the 
agency  of  Franklin,  and  of  which  Nichola  was  a  member.     He  was  the 


(t)  History  of  American  Revolution. 

(2)  A  paper  was  estnbliiilied  in  Charleston, 
8oatl.  Carolina,  in  November,  1765,  in  ex- 
press opposition  to  the  Parliamentary  Stamp 
Act  for  the  Colonies,  and  was  generally 
patronized.  By  an  Act  of  Assembly  in  that 
Province  in  1784,  for  the  encouragement  of 
the  Arts  and  Sciences,  the  Copyright  of 
Books  was  secured  for  the  authors,  as  the 
benefiti  of  novel  machines  were  to  the  in- 


ventors.    This  was  the  forerunner  of  the 
Act  of  1790. 

(3)  A  t>ketch  of  his  life  and  career  may  be 
found  in  the  2d  vol.  of  his  Hist,  of  Printing. 

(4)  The  first  periodical  in  England,  bear- 
ing the  name  of  a  Magazine,  was  published 
in  London,  in  1731,  by  Edward  Cave.  It 
was  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  so  long  at 
the  head  of  the  periodical  works  of  that 
country. 


ed  to  employ  these 
jaching,  to  operate 
IS  for  printing,  to- 
ent  into  Canada."' 
3,  since  1719,  was 
nals  ou  both  sides 
y  happened  to  be 
ical  character,  was 
t  the  occasion  de- 
;rou3  instances  of 
xertion,  as  well  as 
f  our  history/ 
I  the  proclamation 
rhom  an  intelligent 
i  and  diligent  his- 
'or  many  years  the 
:)on  life  as  an  inde- 
r  the  reward  of  his 


isessed  anything  of 
[istorical  Chronicle 
duodecimo  monthly 
Franklin,  and  first 
igs  a  year.  It  was 
ir,  another  monthly 
I  started  in  opposi- 

.mericau  Magazine, 
i,  containing  forty- 
it  published  Trans- 
ded  chiefly  by  the 
aber.     He  was  the 

the  forerunner  of  the 

I  life  and  career  maj  be 
of  bis  Hist,  of  Printing, 
jicnl  in  England,  bear- 
[agazine,  was  publisbed 
,  by  Edward  Cave.  It 
B  Magazine,  so  long  at 
iriodioal  works  of  that 


FIRST  DAILY  JOURNAI-S  IN   1775. 


187 


author  of  two  or  three  treatises  on  the  military  art,  published  in  Phila- 
delphia at  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  Only  one  volume  of  the  magazine 
was  published. 

The  fourth  English  newspaper  established  in  Philadelphia,  was  the 
Pennsylvania  Chronicle  and  Universal  Advertiser,  which  was  the  first 
paper  in  the  British  Colonies  with  four  columns  to  a  page. 

The  first  daily  paper  in  America,  was  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  or 
General  Advertiser,  commenced  in  Philadelphia,  November,  1771,  by 
John  Dunlap,  as  a  weekly.  It  was  sold  in  1783,  to  D.  C. 
A'roruaa  Claypoolc,  who,  about  a  year  after,  converted  it  into  a  daily, 
""""'■  and  it  became  a  profitable  concern.'  The  year  following  F.  Child 
&  Co.  published  the  New  York  Daily  Advertiser,  the  first  of  the  kind 
in  that  city.  A  daily  evening  paper,  the  Philadelphia  Gazette  was 
established  in  Philadelphia  in  1788,  by  Samuel  Relf. 

In  1775,  there  were  nine  newspapers  in  Pennsylvania,  of  which  six  in 
English  and  one  in  German  were  published  in  Philadelphia,  one  in  German 
at  Germantown,  and  one  in  English  and  German  at  Lancaster. 

At  the  beginning  of  that  year,  there  were  seven  papers  published  in 
Massachusetts,  of  which  five  were  at  Boston,  one  at  Salem,  and  one  at 
Newburyport.  There  were  four  in  Connecticut,  at  the  same  time.  New 
London,  New  Haven,  Hartford,  and  Norwich,  having  each,  one.  There 
were  two  in  Rhode  Island:  one  at  Providence,  and  one  at  Newport. 
There  was  also  a  newspaper  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire;  making  in 
all,  thirteen  in  New  England. 

In  the  Province  of  New  York,  there  were  then  published  four  papers, 
three  in  the  city,  and  one  at  Albany.  In  Maryland,  there  were  two,  at 
Annapolis  and  Baltimore  respectively.  There  were  also  two  in  Virginia, 
both  at  "Williamsburg :  two  in  North  Carolina,  at  Wilmington  and  New- 
beru  ;  three  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  one  at  Savannah,  in  Geor- 
gia ;  making  thirty-seven  newspapers  in  the  Colonies  now  comprised  in 
the  United  States.  There  was  at  the  same  time  a  newspaper  at  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  one  at  Quebec,  in  Canada,  None  of  the  other  Pro- 
vinces, as  yet,  possessed  a  newspaper.  The  entire  nnmber  of  periodicals 
which  had  been  commenced  in  the  Colonies  between  1704,  and  1775,  was 
something  less  than  one  hundred,  of  whicii  about  three-fourths  were  news- 
paper sheets,  and  the  balance  partook  more  of  the  character  of  Magazines. 
About  twenty-two  of  these  were  begun  in  Massachusetts ;  fourteen  in  the 
other  New  England  States ;  about  twenty-two  in  Pennsylvania ;  sixteen 

(1)  To  Mr,  Claypoole,  Washington,  at  a  through   Messrs.   Thomas   4   Sons,  to  Mr, 

later  period,  presented  the  original  mnnu-  Lennox  of  Now  York,  for  over  $2000,  (Phi- 

script  copy  of  his  Farewell  Address,  which  ^ndelphia   and   il»   Jranu/uclvre;  by  E,  T, 

was  lately  sold  in  this  city  by  his  executors.  Freedloy,  p,  168.) 


188 


PRINTING   IN   THE   COLONIES. 


in  New  York;  and  twenty-two  in  the  other  Provinces  now  within  the 

"^M^y  of  these  bad  but  a  brief  existenee,  while  others  attained  to  a 
n     „.r.    and  exerted  considerable  influence  upon  the  popular 

,,„bl  catio,,  of  .  n»«.p«per  one  of  doublfal  ""»"«™''7-,„  J' „7",1!l 
the-  could  secure  under  the  best  management  was   im^ed,  when  po 

In  beptemoer,  1 1 1 1,  v>     o  ^  .    (jgrmantown 

remove  "all  the  printing-presses  and  types  ^"  ^^^^^^'^y^,  "  ';^,^  ;„  ^j,,, 

disl      ag     or  abandoned  it  altogether.     Those  who  were  exposed  to 
te  hos^  itfe   of  the  two  contending  parties,  were  often  visUed  wUh  the 

3EEr.r£=r£=HrHx 

.«  «.e  ca„.o.,  pro«y>,  »™  - 1™^;,.„^  :  J.^ p^,„ea  .» 


NEWSrAPEIlS-M.CAUKV-BOOKSEI.LKnS. 


1S9 


s  now  within  the 

;r8  attained  to  a 
pon  the  popular 
ited  to  render  the 
Ki.     The  scarcity 
r  and  ink,  which 
.  serious  obstacles 
circulation  which 
cd,  when  popula- 
general.     And  in 
ament  from  adver- 
1.     Its  advantages 
lunity,  nor  the  art 
lositor.     The  first 
ding  matter,  from 
e  they  so  separated 
ed  to  be  published 
age. 

eral  Armstrong  to 
and  in  Germantown 
ord's  press  in  this 
ktown,  in  the  same 
inting-prcss  in  that 
ntelligence  received 
sufferers  in  the  gen- 
jontest.     They  were 
to  places  of  security 
iness  at  the  greatest 
ho  were  exposed  to 
'ten  visited  with  the 
whom  they  printed, 
jal  violence  or  insult 

are  the  Revolution  is 
works  printed  np  to 
['he  Philadelphia  Li- 
ine  works  printed  iu 
hundred  and  twenty- 
'our  are  re-prints  of 
ubtless,  printed  which 
ne-third,— making  an 


aggregate  of  six  hundred  publications  for  tho  T.-ovince  during  the  whole 

tot  m'ruMctured  more  generally  in  this  -u-.try.  I>ub..^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

rapidly  multiplied.     A  ^^:;;:::-:^^:^-^Lo^..  or 
of  newspapers  issued  weekly  a    ^'^°"^  ^^^  '  f  ^^^^    ,„«  hundred 

upward  of  four  millions  annually,  worth,  at  four  cents  ^aci, 
and  sixty  thousand  dollars.     Of  the  weekly  .ssues,  upward  of  th.rty 

sand  were  supposed  to  be  printed  ^^  ^-^J^'^^^^^^,,^^^  ,,  ,,3  country. 
One  of  the  most  enterprising  printers  and  bookseii-rs  j 

America,  ^'^^^^l^  J  I!  ^tc!:  ability,  was  highly  instru- 
seam,  a  periodical  conducted  oy  ni  American  Manufac 

„,ental  in  calling  pubhc  «^"-^7,  ^^^^^ V^,'^;! 
tures,  as  well  as  to  literature  and  poll Ucs    *  «*^«  ^^  .^  ^„,i,,,d^ 

,eal  to  promote  the  industrial  "^^^^^^jJ^/ZJ^fir.t  quarto  Bible, 
also,  to  the  credit  of  having  '^-/^  .^^J^'^  J^j',  ,  ',  2  principally 

Stating  acquaintance  between  P"';;;;J-:^^:^t; generally  in- 

Colonial       »s  ^^^  )'''■',  _,,  ^  ^^,.  occuiiation,  in  many  instances,  fur- 

Book.eiiers.  uqqU  binding.     The  small  occupaiiou,  ».         j 

„,.W  f»  t  pr«,  beyond  .he  .reg„.«  '^^^'J^^^^ 

-'-TVS  rrr:  •  rr:  t ":  -  ■»«"  -«■■- 

...ortmen.  of  groceries  or  toe;  .vUcle      Others  .ere 

.   1  .n  cal9  nmounted  to  2800,  witb  an  average  oir  • 


190 


rUINTINO   IN    THE   COLONIES. 


one  in  America,  and  many  of  tl>e  early  dealers  '".^^««^«' '" /^'^ '^^'"/'P" 
ctie,  aecumul.ted  extensive  stocks  for  tl,e  times  .n  winch  hey  Im^d  c 
acquired  wealth  and  station.  The  books  imported  were  seldom  of  a  cos Uy 
or  rare  description,  but  were  of  the  practical  and  useful  class,  wh>ch  b  st 
suited  the  limited  mer.ns  and  less  profound  inquiries  of  a  young  country 
compelled  to  turn  its  mental  'abor  to  immediate  account.  Books  on  law. 
medicine,  history,  and  the  less  abstruse  branches  of  science  and  on  gen- 
eral knowledge,  constituted  the  staple  of  Colonial  book  stores. 

The  number  of  booksellers,  whose  names  are  recorded  by  Thomas  « 
having  carried  on  business  in  Boston  before  the  year  1115  ,8  ni')ety.two 
and  in  other  parts  of  New  England,  during  the  same  time,  there,  were 
ab  ut  eighteen' engaged  in  the  business.     In  New  York,  there  vvere  about 
a  do^on  whose  names  are  given.    In  Philadelphia  there  were  thuty-e-gbt 
and  two  at  Germantown,  and  two  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania^    There 
w  s    ne  at  Annapolis,  Maryland;  three  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina; 
Tnd  one  at  Savannah.  Georgia.     His  list  of  booksellers  outside  of  Massa- 
chusetts,  he  states,  however,  was  not  complete.     Of  those  enun,erated  in 
t.l  and  the  oti.er  large  towns,  seldom  more  than  two  or  tl.ee  carr^ 
on  the  business  at  tue  same  time.     Among  the  most  no  ed  and  enterpris- 
i„g  of  the  trade  in  Boston,  was  Samuel  Phillips  (1680).  "At  the  Brick- 
Shop,  at  the  west-end  of  the  Town-Housc,"  who  was  a  large  dealer,  and 
the  publisher  of  soveral  books  for  the  Boston  Press.     Dunton,  who  acted 
as  his  factor  in  London,  and  consigned  many  books  to  lum,  says  »  e  ^v^^^ 
"  very  just  and  very  thriving-yonng  and  witty,  and  the  most  beautiful 
man   in  the  ♦own  of  Boston."     His  descendants  were  booksellers,  ou 
Cornhill;  until  after  the  Revolution. 

We  have  stated  that  some  of  the  early  Colonial  Printers,  combined  with 
their  business  that  of  Bookbinding.  The  earliest  exercise  of  the  art,  of 
which  we  have  seen  any  notice,  was  by  John  Rath  Je.  who  was  em- 
Kf,c«n  ployed  as  mentioned  on  a  former  page,  upon  El'ot's  Indian  Bible, 
Bo«kL.Dd«r..  ^1^^^^^^  ^^^p  yp^j.  jggg  ije  came  from  England  for  that  purpose. 
In  September,  1661,  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  wrote  to 
Mr  Usher,  who  superintended  the  printing  of  that  work,  to  demand  and 
receive  of  Mr.  Green,  the  whole  impression  of  the  New  Testament  in 
Indian,  now  finished  ;  •«  and  take  care  for  the  binding  of  two  hundred  of 
them  strongly  und  ns  speodily  ns  may  bee  with  leather,  or  as  may  bee  most 
gerviceable  for  the  Indians,  etc."  ...,„,  .   r^ 

In  the  bill  of  particulars,  rcndrred  by  Green  in  the  following  year,  £5 
was  accordingly  charged  for  binding  twi  hundred  Testaments  at  6rf.  each. 
The  binding  wr.s  probably  done  by  UatlilV,  who  in  August  1034,  wrote 
to  the  Commissioners,  that  the  prices  he  received  were  *oo  low.  and  that 


EAKI^r   BOOK-BINDEUS  IN   BOSTON. 


191 


)ks,  ill  the  principal 
diich  they  lived,  and 
re  sehloni  of  a  costly 
iful  class,  which  best 

of  a  young  country 
unt.     Books  on  law, 

science  and  on  gen- 

ok  stores. 

jrded  by  Thomas  as 

1775,  is  ninety-two; 
ime  time,  there  were 
ork,  there  were  about 
ere  were  thirty-eight, 
'ennsylvania.  Thera 
ton.  South  Carolina ; 
ers  outside  of  Massa- 

those  enumerated  in 
1  two  or  three  carried 
;  noted  and  enterpris- 
680),  "  At  the  Brick- 
as  a  large  dealer,  and 
Dunton,  who  acted 
I  to  him,  says,  ^  e  was 
nd  the  most  beautiful 

were  booksellers,  ou 


rintcrp,  combined  with 
exercise  of  the  art,  of 
II  Ratli  Je,  who  was  em- 
inEl'ot's  Indian  Bible, 
5land  for  that  purpose, 
lited  Colonies  wrote  to 
t  work,  to  demand  and 
he  New  Testament  in 
ling  of  two  hundred  of 
her,  or  as  may  bco  most 

the  following  year,  £5 
Testaments  at  Gd.  each, 
in  August,  Uoi,  wrote 
were  *oo  low,  and  that 


T„c  ...  eau..  of  ^^l^^Z^^J^^J^Zm^. 

p„„„.e„.     O,,.  or  '  ™  «^       dJ     n    ot  the  Lu«,  but  b,  .U.  .U.y 
was  completed ;  also  two  loiio  settlers,  there  were 

"- "'  r ;ir:: «:;::  r s  toi::,:'r...u;su,.„.,  a 

"-''•             -nLr  of  them  confined  their  attention  principally  to  this 

biuawBio     number  ol   inem  luhuu  hnnksellers one 

Bo.toD.        ,       „,  n^u-   TTghcrs    who  wcre  the   nrst   booKstucrs,     uno 

branch,  ine    usntrs,  «■         „,„.,,,      mnv  nns^iblv  have 

oh.„ica.  b,.„e.„  U,c  f  "-'"^  ^  J^'V^il  To.,,  Dock."    Ho  w«» 

rZ,S.ri:lub,oVbli*or.„«,„acro..,.,,^y.^ 
,.    ,  ;  w.u.nnn  119'^  "lleadof  Scavlet8\\  tiail.^oii"  r-iiu. 

ynlhanael  Bellcnap,  im,     "^"""  .t,.r  M.m^ncliU'^i'tts.    n<-ni)rf. 

„,•  1T0Q  Tl    r  native  of  Dorchester,  .^layi'ii"""^^"'- 

„,  /  Itobincnn,  1723-71,     native  o' ^  „    Thomas  Hancock,  Hid, 

T     .  1-7 9ft  "Tn  Anne  street,  near  the  Brulge.      xnvvmsj^  , 

Love,  1726  1"  f  "^^°/  ^  ,5^i.,  j,f,n  Eliot,  1728.  at  the  Great 
Anne  street,  near  t^^^-^'^.  ''f^,,^,,,,,,,-,,,,tof  the  Indian  Apostle. 
Kims,  (Liberty  Tree.)  South  Lnd,    «  '  <-«^;'^"^  „,„  (^^own 

JIf.rd  B.ner,  1720-42,  '' Y\^^  ""'IvharP  a',  -o  Boston,  and  an 
CoiTee  House,  at  the  head  of  the  Long  W  a  fa  .,at .    o 

^-:;::;^a::;tg;.cr;^-^ 


jg._j  PRINTING  IN  THE  COLONIES. 

nl. .«.,  pn-.  -  trL'"r:;':~;  n: 

per  «„t.  ohcper  .h.«  *'«  ^.^  IJ^X^^^^  "«-""  '"''''" 
k.  bad  printed  and  already  sold  120»  «»    «  °  „      ;  |^  „„,  „  ,  ,„„ 

„f  Mr.  Stephen  Dock   *e    ".-^  ^    ''^  ^;,:^;„,,  ,,„  .  „„  ..,„ 
r;rrs.ld  ^^lS..    .r,  .ppear.  to  bare  bee„  abo„t 

ae  earliest  D'"';-^-!; -f:r:::L';rB,.en  Head  in  Con,bil,," 
Charles  Harrison,  Lldd,    over  ugm  i^m  A-i    Corn-Hill. 

r*„m«  f  ™*  f  *ltl '     HvLton  and  i)o„,.rs,  1761,  »neee»»ora  to 

r;\and,  .be  ll  of  tbe  .oldiera  concerned  in  tbe  Boston  Massacre  on 

"VmV»«-  1764,  Cornbill,  son  of  Alfred  Bnller,  before  mentioned 
Alfndmuer.  1  lo  .  Cornhill,'  brjd  a  binder  in  Scot- 

^„<ir.»  «.rjl»»,  1  H  "J«,f;'^;  ,,„,^,  ,„„e,  „t  Boarded-Ally," 
,„„d.  Jo.«,A  *»«  '7'„'^;;,;, .,'.,  j„„j,  i-„„x,  llJi,  "Cornhill," 
John  Lamio'.  1"«.  ,  L  *  K„„s  both  serred  their  appren. 
„„er„rdM,,i^-Gc,,era.  ^;;:^^^^^:;;:^  ^.  „„  ollbil, 

TSJ:  i 'n.  '  NcAn!,  stre;,"  bron.bt  op  to  blndln,  in  England, 

'•r:t':i;:'rcS;xrr;^^^^^^^^^ 

mS  at  Newb«r„or.,  and  Mascol  WiUi.n..,  (1761),  at  Sale,.,  M™.a- 
"Tfind  no  olber,  mentioned  in  other  part,  of  New  England,  tbongh 

'°rr«' vXlnrltookseller.,  w.  meet  .itb  tbe  followln,  only 
.-hoelcItcdT    ding  Lo:  J!o6,r,  «,..vl/,»„«,  "<"■'■  in  B....r. tree. 
Therriere  two  MacAlpines,  Waller  and  William.  ,ho  M  .  littc  in 
LoTbiX  in  Boston  '  1  few  yen™  before.     VaUni,n,  mUer.  V,U. 

"'t:'!;:!;:..;^  t:  rtim.  r.i.ti™,  .>..,".«;  ,;;,ff;- 

;(rn./onl,  HIS.  Second  "rcrt,   ll.nf,mm  tr«M,n    ^^.X 
«„,«.».     ,,    .:^.,     '„,„,.   j,„,,,   a«dm,,,  \-M,  •■  second  Blreet,  near 

'■"  '■'■■■ SulAlit"  .'-««''  '"  "■•  ^"«"  •"  '="«""'""°" '  '■ 


d»Tl<Ulk. 


UTEEATfEE  IN   THE  COLONIES. 


193 


Cornhill,  Boston." 
Boston,  who  had 
lon,  that  he  will  sell 
ute  manner,  twenty 
»n.  He  states  that 
,8t  beautiful  Poems 
which  was  "  a  full 
nd  have  a  fine  taste 
to  have  been  about 

Head  in  Cornhill," 
740-45,  Corn-Hill, 
merchant  of  Boston, 
le  street.  Thomas 
,  1761,  successors  to 
"at  the  Gilt  Bible,'' 
1762,  "Marlborough 
rkman.     He  took,  in 

Boston  Massacre  on 

er,  before  mentioned. 
)red  a  binder  in  Scot- 
!r  of  Boarded-Ally," 
c,  mi,  "Cornhill," 
I  served  their  appren- 

binders  on  Cornhill 
0  binding  in  England, 
Isliind. 
Bd  on  bookselling  and 

61),  at  Salem,  Mfssa- 

New  England,  though 

filh  the  following  only, 
769,  "in  Beaver  street, 
m,  who  did  a  little  in 
alentine  Nutter,  1774, 

the  names  of  Andrew 

yimin  Franklm,  172!), 

"S<'cond  street,  nt-nr 

Hey,  un  Englishman  ;  J. 


1  ^iq  "  at  the  Bitrn  of  the  Book,  in  Strawberry  Alley."    Black 

Harry,  1758,  "m  Laetitia  C;""^'' /.„?...    j,,,,^  street,  near  Chestnut 
Second  street;  WUlian  ^^^f ''f  ^•i,"^^™  .'.  at  the  London 

street,"  afterward  in  Se-"    ^ Ueet^  ^o.    ^^J^er^l^^^^     ,^^  ^^^  ^  ^^^^^^^ 

Book-Store,  in  Second  street.      He  was  iro         ^  .^ 

letter-case  and  pocket-book  maker,  in  ^'"^-^  J'™  ^J^^„^^  „ 
New  York  ;  Robert  MacQiU,  1771,  corner  of  Laetit.a  Court 

Of  the  three  Booksellers  in  Charleston,  two  at  least  -T^.«s.  11^64, 
.IZ^ Taylor,  1771.  both  Scotchmen..-executed  b.ndmg  w.th  the. 

other  business. 

The  literary  character  of  the  Colonies,  was  sustained  during  the  early 
^  r-y  names  of  considerable  rep.e  ^or  -ea-g  an     a     -t^y^.n 
everal  departments  of  Science  ^^^  Letters^    Of  these  ™y 

not  less  ^'«f  Bu.^1  ed.      e.vea  t  ^^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^ 

country.     Some  "^J'^-J  j;;  ^  ^^^  ,,,  ^icd  in  1727.  is  said  to  have 
volumipousness.    Dr.  Cotton  »iauitr, 

,ork»  of  great  labor.   "".7»"  ,''"•  lL,,  „t  the  MasmcUsclts' lli»- 

r:sr;:V"  :=s  "^  -"-•-■  --■' '» "'-' "" 

the  lifetime  of  an  industrious  man.  province. 

But  the  literary  history  of  tep..d^d^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^P.^^_^^^  ,^ 

We  may  mention,  ho-ver  th  t  ^^^  ^^^  ^  ^  ,  Thomas  Godfrey. 
America,  is  believed  to  be  T»'«  l^^''^^''  nrin  ed  in  quarto  at  Phila- 
the  son  of  the  inventor  of  the  Q"'^'^'-'^^ '"^"^P^f  gl  "t?  of  London,  as 
delphia,  in  1765.     The  Transactions  of  the  ^^y^  Society  o 

„el\  as  those  of  ^^^  ^^f^^J^^:^^  tT^l:^  ^  the  pro- 

-r:f^^:^:ii-tsp 

^1^  ^rfrgrire^  :ZtrArit:;h?wLcircleof  .lence 
n:t:;:dWireniorindustry.  which  h.  for  the  most  part  proved 
,,,,,, e  -cessful  candi^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^-.  ^^^_^  ^,^  ^^^^^  „,  ,„, 

..The  people  of  ^or^h  America  ha  e,  ^^^^^  ^^  .^^ 

.ciencc.  with  adequate  salaries;  '^"^' f;;;!"-;,    „;,„/  ^t  the  head  of 
B,en  of  eminence  in  literature  are  not  of  the  nuu.i.cr. 

13 


1 


k'.      > 


PBINTINO  IN  THE  COLONIES. 
194 

ofon^a  the  venerable  Frankun.     lu 
their  philosophers  -^P^^^^^ ^^^^^V^ot  be^^^  ?"  Mathe- 

tbe  first  class,  the  ingenious  Lokimeh  ^^^^^^'  w^atherspoon.  In 
«atics.  the  self-taught  Bx^H^^^^^'  J"  ^  ^^Vp^^.B.)  In  poetry, 
history,  criticism,  and  policy,  the  -"^^  '«  T^'^^;'  \'„  j,,  l,^  oratory,- 
BA  Jw.  smith,  and  ^^ /^J^^  "/JcL.  la  Georgia.  Geokoe 
how  shall  I  enumerate  them?    Take  tne  Maryland;  Lewis. 

WALTON  ;Gek:^n  BAKER.  mYug^m^^^^^^^^^  .^  j^^^^^. 

BRA..OR..   a.«i   CHAMBERS    -J  ^^J;^,  I,  eonnecticut,  and  Par- 
Hamilton  and  Bird  in  r«ew  **»    » 
80NB  in  Massachusetts." 


rt, 


lie  Frankun.     In 
rotten.    Tn  Mathe- 

EATHEESPOON.      In 

«lYNE.)  In  poetry, 
la^v  and  oratory, — 
[a  Georgia,  Geoege 
1  Maryland ;  Lewis, 
iBDiNOT  in  Jersey; 
mnecticut,  and  Par- 


>-  -*, 


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,    ;,  V  till.,  ^il  *•  .Ills  ■'!:• 

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•■  UuT  !(«v..  i(c<mni.'s.  Im-i.uv,  u'mI   chiut-.  v::'  'iwir  con  t.^, 

,  ,  .,,,1. .  .,  ,r,  ,,-•  (',.,, T  ui.s  !!..>t  <■"  fa.".  .,ii-l.i'"vl  '."v  .^v  Mr  ;~i,- 
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-i^fc 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


.■'^!» 


■     COLONIAL  PAPER-MILLS,  TYPE-FOUNDERIES,  AND  PRINTING-PREBSES. 

THE  mannfacture  of  Paper  was  introduced  into  England  «boutt)- 
vcar  1498,  when  a  person,  named  Tate,  built  a  Paper-m.U  at  Dar  ford, 
u  Kent  By  reaso'  however,  in  part,  of  the  greater  abundance  and  finer 
quality  of  linen  in  use  on  the  Continent,  the  manufacture  of  Pape  ,  ^o- 
?ong  period,  was  carried  on  in  greater  perfection  m  France,  Holland  ar.l 
Itafy  than    n  England.     During  the  seventeenth  century  England  ob- 

Sid  her  chief  supply  of  Paper  from  France  and  HoHand^-very^^^^^^^^^ 
except  brown  Paper,  having  been  made  at  home  previous  to  t  >    1^«  «'" 
tion  of  1688.     The  French  Protestants,  who  fled  thither  about  that  t.me 

t  oduced  an  improved  manufacture.  In  1690  the  mak.ng  o  wh  ^ 
Paper  was  first  atten,pted  ;  but  improvements  were  made  so  -pully  that 
Great  Britain  has  long  since  surpassed  all  other  nations  m  that  branch  of 

^^1"^^^:  Paper  was  made  by  several  of  the  "-eivHi^ed  nat^n. 
especially  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians,  in  considerable  V^^^^^^^u^^e^ 

h  Conquest.  The  materials  employed  by  them  were  cotton  silk  muN 
berry  bark,  and  other  fibrous  substances,  but  especially  a  species  of  pam 
ZleAicTotl  and  the  maguey  plant.     Upon  this  Paper  they  preserved, 

:  ir^Ty^^^^  and  pictorL  characters,  like  those  of  t^e  Egypt.ans.-to 
Uose  cSation  and  monuments  their  own  bear  -  -f  j;;'^.^;":;:;- 
the  records  of  their  laws,  institutes,  history,  and  charts  of  the  r  coasts, 

^J^:  ransmitted  to  their  cotemporaries  the  ^"-le^^;^;--^^,;::',  ^ 
The  manufacture  of  Paper  wa.n..eaHyn.^^^^^^^^^^^ 

ret:t:;:rd\::rr^^^^^^^^  :-«  count.,     over  nf.  y^rs 
CI  aftef  Ihe  -o^on^^^nUng^^^^ 

most  improved  condition  of  the  art  in  that  part  of  Europe  where 
long  flourished  in  the  highest  perfection.  ^^^ 


196 


PAPEll-MlIXS  IN   THE  COLONIES. 


A  mill  was  built  in  the  late  borough  of  Roxborough  m  Pcnnsylvanm 
by  the  immediate  ancestors  of  the  e.ninent  American  philosoi-hcr,  Davul 
/  .,        Rittenhousc.     The  family  emigrated,  some  years  be,orc.   rom 
^Y»,m.  Arnheim,  on  t!ic  Rhine,  in  the  Batavian  province  of  GueUer- 
r&iel,,„a   where,  for  some  generations,  the  Paper  manufacture  had 
been  carried  o'n  by  them  to  a  considerable  extent.     The  first  persons  of 
the  name  In  America  originally  came  to  New  York,  while  it  was  j      a 
Dutch  Province,  and  subsequently  removed  to  Pennsylvania,  ^vhere  they 
became  the  first  settlers  of  a  part  of  the  present  consolidated  City  of 
Philadelphia,  which  is  now  included  in  the  twent.-first  ward.     A  gentle- 
man, resident  in  that  part  of  the  city,  who  has  examined  the  records  and 
papers  relating  to  the  first  settlement  of  the  place,  fnnushes  the  folowing 
particulars   of  this   early  enterprise,  the   first   of  the   kind   in   British 
America : 

..This  mill  was  situated  on  a  «mall  rivulet,  now  called  Paper-n^ill  Run  in 
Roxl.orou.rh,  near  the  south-western  line  of  Germantown  township.     It  was 
own  d  by  William  Rittenhouseu  (now  spelled  Rittenhouse),  his  son  C lau.a 
mcholal),  William  Bradford,  of  New  Yor.,  and  Thom^is  Tresse   of  PhUa  el- 
phia,  each  of  the  latter  two  owning  a  fourth  p.art.     »  *    ,  nwn 

li  it's  erection  is  not  known  ;  hut,  as  Bradford  was  i"f  f -^  ^  ^^-\,^°;;\  '. 
it  was  doubtless  built  before  109(5,  when  he  removed  to  ^-^  ^  '^;  ^'^  «^  _ 
tenhouses  are  said  to  have  settled  in  Pennsylvania  about  IbDtV  havmg  em, 
IraLdom  Holland,  where  their  ancestors  were  engaged  in  Paper-mak.ng. 
We  ha/e  positive  proof,  however,  that  Paper  was  made  at  the  Roxborough 
Im  in  1097  :  for  Gabriel  Thomas,  in  his  History  of  the  Province  of  Pennsyl- 
"nirwritten  in  that  year,  says  :  '  All  sorts  of  very  good  Paper  are  made  m 
the    Germantown,'    with    which    place    Koxborough    was  ^    -    ^^^^  ^^^^^ 
and  besides,  there  now  lies  before  m.   a  MS.  lease,  dated     «»«  24th  day  or 
Sept     inr  ;ear  of  our  Lord,  1697,'  signed  by  William  Bradford,  who  is  de- 
LrTb^d  as  '  havin,  one  fourth-part  of  y»  said  paper-mill,  near  Germantown.' 
H    rent  1  h-  ^hare  to  the  Rittenhouses  for  ten  years,  upon  the  following 
terms  -'  That  they,  the  s^  William  and  Clause  Rittenhouse  shall  pay  and  de- 
ivTr  to  said  William  Bradford,  his  exec",  or  assigns,  or  their  order,  m  Phila- 
delph  a  r  fun  quantity  of  Seven  Ream  of  Printing  paper,  Two  Ream  of  good 
wmrng  p' per,  and  Two  Ream  of  blue  paper,  yearly  and  every  year  during  y- 
eJ  Term  of  Ten  Years.' '" 

This  mill  was  afterward  carried  away  by  a  freshet,  and  Williarn  Penn 
wrote  to  his  people,  asking  them  to  render  assistance  in  rebuilding  it. 
William  Rittenhouse,  the  builder  and  principal  owner,  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Nicholas.  The  family  have  since  been  in  uninterrupted  occupation 
ol  mill-seats,  on  the  Wissahickon.  near  the  site  of  the  original  mill. 
The  second  Paper-mill  erected  in  the  country,  appears  to  have  been 

(1)  H.  Q.  Jones,  Esq.,  in  Hist.  Mag.,  vol.  i.  p.  86. 


NEW   JERSEY  AND   MASSACIIt'SETTS. 


THE   MILTON   MUX.  197 


in  Pennsylvania, 
ilosophcr,  David 
;ars  bisorc,  from 
ince  of  GueUler- 
miuiufactiive  luul 
;  first  persons  of 
iiile  it  was  yet  a 
■ania,  wliere  tliey 
solidated  City  of 
vard.     A  gentle- 
1  the  records  and 
ihcs  the  following 
kind   in   British 


Paper-mill  Run,  in 
township.     It  was 
e),  his  son  Clause 
rresse,  of  Philailel- 
*     The  precise  date 
ted  as  part  ownor, 
ew  York.     The  Bit- 
,  1(5!)0,  having  emi- 
i  in  Paper-making, 
at  the  Roxborough 
rovince  of  Pennayl- 
Paper  are  made  in 
a    often    identified ; 
I  '  this  24th  day  of 
Jradford,  who  is  de- 
,  near  Germantown.' 
upon  the  following 
ise  shall  pay  and  de- 
heir  order,  in  Fhila- 
,  Two  Ream  of  good 
every  year  during  y" 

and  William  Penn 
e  in  re-building  it. 
p,  was  succeeded  by 
errupted  occupation 
3  original  mill, 
ppears  to  have  been 

).  86. 


,„1U  ,U  Eli«*e.Mow„,  >'ew  Jersey,  »»»!''-;;'-,7, 1'         ":    .^  i 

Td'tVYor     whotr    ome  «,ne  n„„U.  the  .,o,o„gh  hi,  „h,ee  of  res. 
Leo      Aw't,;  ™,ne  date,  however,  the  manur.ctur.  w»  eo,u™o„ee.. 

1„  one  or  two  other  pUees.  Mnssnehusetti..  unrter 

The  next  attempt  appears  10  ha.e  koen  ™a«  '  s.,M^ha, 

«^»  P^:^' °Vco^;t  Sal  ::.t      "..°"or  Leaeonr'..e„o,,t 
n28,theGeaeralCouitorMa8>ael.«s        .  ^^^^,|_ 

^°',rr.;:;re:':s:':£r::;:':rn-a.ooa.ha„aro.  .„.  .rt, 

the  first-mentioned  quantity.  ^^  ^^^^ .  ^^^.^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^ 

The  third  and  afterward,  yearly  mty  n„.intities  before- 

:;:3:Tr;::^^;="=rr"^;:h„,,« 

"";:;  a,i„  .a»  oreetea  ™  Mm„,,,  -™  j't^rlt^-rr"  ^t 
''''°"""  oT:re\lt.;ro  CeVra'tCuons.  ^Xho  propHetora 
„.»„...  lilea  ""  ''agliAman  named  Henry  Woodman  aa  he,r 
"-"'  „"'1„  The,  tarnished  the  LoBislat.ro  a  sample  of  Ihe.r 
..nufaoJrrnSl,  Ji  the  mii.  was  prohaUy  badt  eariy  .n  the  pre,,- 

<"*^  y^""  t    i,„^n  v,PPn  ft  principal  projector,  was  the 

Henchman,  who  ;P--  ^^^   '^ol  TLt  tin^e.^nd  was  a  man 
leading  bookseller    ndpubl.^^^^        Another  bookseller  of  Boston,  whom 
of  considerable  wealth  for  the  times. 
Thomas  snp„«e,  to  ha„  w  co^ora^  ,a  *^^^o_B^  ^^  ^^  J_.^^^J.^__^ 

::  in  M;  nS  iltdte  ;:■  A.in,  a„.o,tisome„t  in  th,  weo.iy  Ke- 
hearsal,  published  by  Thomas  Fleet. 

..Hlchard  Pry,  Stationer.  Bookseller,  ^-^f;;;;-'  -trftrrH^d 
the  City  of  London,  keeps  at  Mr.  Thorn  ^'  ^  ;/;  ";;„^„„,,,3  „,  Gen- 
Crown,  in  Cornhill,  Boston,  where  «*'^f,  ^  '!.  ,'7 Accompt  books,  after  the 

tlemen,  Merchants    and  '^^^^^:Z!2  Jontnl  Method  of  the  most 
neatest  Manner.     And,  whereas   it  ha    bee  ^^^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^,^_.^  .^ 

Curious  Merchants  in  Boston   to  ?--«     ^  ^  ^.^,  ^^^  ,,i  ,,,,,  of  Accompt 
to  acquaint  those  gentlemen,  that  I,  the  saul  try, 


jgg  PAPER-MILLS  IN   TIIK  COLONIES. 

BOO.,  aon.  ane.  U.  .0.  acnte  M-^;--^  ^  ^^^  t ^^^i:: 
they  can  have  them  from  London      I  ■•«\' ""  ^'^  ^^J.       j,         ,„d  1.0,0  thoy 
the  Directions  of  my  former  Aavert,«oment  ^^  f  ^^;™;^f^  ;^^^^  ,fUou«ancl 
will  continue  the  like  Method,  having  received  upwards 
weight  already.'" 

^uTw  ^olUt  .be  .nllan.  Wolf,  he  receive.,  upon  tL.  pi.™ 
-.1  •     .v,„  Cfoto      Thp  Nenonsit,  on  wnicli  tins  rapei  lum, 


(1)  Fleet  changed  the  nnme  of  his  pHper 
to  the  «o»»on  Eceni,,g  Po>t,  and  in  Novem- 
ber, 1748,  made  the  following  announcement, 
which  i8  a  curious  instance  of  the  scarcity 
of  Paper  in  that  day.  "Choice  Penniiyhania 
Tobacco  Paper,  to  be  sold  by  the  Publisher 
of  this  Paper,  at  the  Heart  and  Crown  ;  where 
may  also  bo  had  the  Bi'li.s,  or  Indulgences 
of  the  present  Pope  Urban  VIII.,  either  by 
the  single  Bull,  Quire,  or  Ream,  at  a  much 
cheaper  rate  than  they  can  be  purchased  of 
the  French  ur  ^^ani.h  Priests."     It  appears 
that  several  bales  of  the  Indulgences  printed 
on  the  face  of  a  small  sheet  of  very  good 
paper,  had  been  taken  in  a  Spanish  ship, 


captured  by  an  English  Cruiser,  during  the 
war  with  France  and   Spain,  in   1748,  of 
which  Fleet  purchased  a  large  quantity  at  a 
low  price.     He  made  use  of  them  for  print- 
ing ballads,  the  back  of  each  bull  being  suf- 
ficient for  two  songs  like  "Black-Eyed  Su- 
san," etc.  Thomas  says  he  saw  large  quanti- 
ti.a'of  them  thus  worked  up  by  Fleet.   In  the 
early  days  of  Boston,  when  the  Lcg'slnture 
did  not  think  it  beneath   their  dignity  to 
prescribe  the  cut  of   ladies'  sleeves,   Mr. 
Robert  Saltonstall  was  fined  five  shilhngs 
for  presendng  a  petition  on  so  smaU  wid  bad 
a  piece  of  paper. 


MASSACHUSETTS.      PENNSYLVANIA. 


190 


Cent  clienper  than 
iianks  for  fallowing 
..igs,  and  hope  thoy 
of  Seven  Thousaucl 


a  few  years  by  the 
nfterward  sold  to 
)  curry  on  the  busi- 
laiiufaclure  at  that 

iper-maker,  named 
TOtn  wliich  soldiers 
g  the  trades-people 
;d  by  Abijah  Smith, 
the  mill  once  more 
i  to  Quebec.     The 
remain  behind,  and 
ived  upon  the  plains 
a  few  weeks. 
in  Englishman,  from 
1  said  to  have  had  a 
e  most  of  the  moulds 
inued  in  the  business 
George  Clarke,  also 
in  addition  to  other 
six  on  the  same  river, 
hich  this  Paper-mill, 
was  built  at  Dorchea- 

Inglish  Cruiser,  during  the 
I  and   Spain,  in   1748,  of 
based  a  large  quantity  at  a 
indo  use  of  them  for  print- 
jack  of  each  bull  being  snf- 
ngs  Uke"Black.Eyed  Su- 
L3  says  he  saw  large  quanti- 
worked  up  by  Fleet.   In  the 
iston,  when  the  Lf  g'slnture 
t  beneath   their  dignity  to 
ut  of   ladies'  ileeveg,   Mr. 
.all  was  fined  five  shillings 
petition  on  so  email  and  bad 


«  furnishes  excellent  milUUc,  wluch  b«e  long  ten  oceupied  by  b«., 
'•';tL..«e™p.cn,,e^e.K„.-.na.eo,,,e.^^^^^^^^^^^ 

faclnres  earned  on  ,n  *»  Colon   '  ^^^^_^^  ^  ^^^^^ 

„,„,.nnr.e.nresotOrealB  ...n.      On    5  ,^  ^..^  ^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^ 

.a.  made  ,n  l'-"»«''^  '_,'';  ,7„    ,  '^lanlntion  la.s  wa,  this,  that  "In 

=r  e::,r;rr:ade^o  e^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^  — r  ::r,; 
::tr.;rr;^;:.--  ;:::^it;}nie.  »„  ear.  .0^™ 
';:io  ,he!e ;-'-- 7;;^:::;::  „\:z:  rae-hr: 

greater  extent.     It  .s  »f;f' "  ^j;„,  „„j„  .,by  „  „i,l  set  up  «.« 

■Rav  tlipv  were  informed  that  i  aper  was  umu        j 

Bay,  tuey  vvere  i  ^^^^^^^  ^^  ^.^.^^^y  „ 

years  ago,  to  the  va  ue  ^/J^^ J'"        /„;,i  „^,  v^^nt  at  Milton,  another 

^'^"\'rrch:rer  C  eek  ^  County,  Pennsylvania,  by 

was  erected  on  Chester  treeu  r  printing-paper, 

'^^T:v;v  ::;t:;o\t  werf  — ^^^       ^^^^^^  ''-^'- 

and  clothiers'  pasteooaru  w^-n.  "^         ,  .  .  .  ..  „  „„„,„  „iace  was 

•:S:l  ;:pr:"u.s:o::;ied  onU.  husmess  .»  a„  ad™,.eed  age. 

The  old  mill  was  demolished  in  1829. 

n  .nrL  earliest  Paper-mills  built  in  Pennsylvania,  was  established 
,  t^.  Bunkers  r  German  settlers  at  Ephrata,  in  Lancaster  County 
wire  theytso'^^^^^  printing-press.     During  the  scarcity  of 

Cer  e.pe  ced  after  the  commencement  of  the  ^^evolution  and  a  few 
Iv.  before  the  Battle  of  Brandywine,  messengers  were  dispatched  to  this 
J  ?ota  sn^^^^^^^^^  The  mill  happening  to  be  ex  austed 

rhfVaternity  who  held  their  property  in  common,  generously  placed  a 
Z  iLposal  of  their  country,  several  two-horse  loads  of  an  edition  of  Fox  . 

^u        ,     „  .«fl   Mistorv  of     the  first  Paper-mill  in  the  Colony.     A  later 

sell,  Albany,  t714  is  assigned  as  the  date  of     authorities, 
this  erection,  which  the  author  considered 


Es9 


200  PAPEB-MILLS  IN  THE  COLONIES. 

Book  Of  Martyrs,  then  reaJy  for  the  bindery.     Samples  of  this  "  literary 
alunition,"  are  still  preserved  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  batUe-ground 
Nerny  two  hundred  of  the  wounded  in  the  fight  lie  bur.ed  ra  the  v.  11  age 
whither  they  were  sent,  to  the  number  of  five  hundred,  to  be  cared  for  by 
the  little  community. 

I;,  August,  1765,  a  large  and  complete  Paper-mill,  believed  to  have 
been  the  first  in  that  place,  and  probably  in  the  Province  w.s  completed 
..  .P  er  an'-,  put  in  operation,  in  or  near  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  It 
S"  is  supposed  t.  have  been  at  Olueysville.'  It  appears,  a  few 
f^'°^  ■  years  later,  however,  to  have  fallen  into  negkct.-so  confirmed 
was  the  habit  of  dependence  upon  English  manufactures. 

lu  1708,  Colonel  Christopher  Leffingwell,  of  Norwici.,  m  Connecticut, 
erected  at  that  ph-ce  the  first  Paper-mill  in  the  Colony,  under  the  promise 
of  a  bounty  from  the  Legislature.     Two  years  after,  he  was  ac- 
i::^^Z  cordingly  awarded  two  pence  a  quire  on  fourthousand  and  twenty 
"^'""="'-      quires  of  writing  paper,  and  one  penny  each  on  ten  thousand 
six  hundred  quires  of  printing  paper.     The  awards  amounted  m  all  to 
£81  16s.  8d.     -^he  Government  patronage  was  soon  afterward  w.thd.awn. 
An  official  letter  from  Governor  Moore,  of  New  York,  to  Lord  Il.Us. 
borough,  dated  May  7th,  1768,  at  Fort  George,  in  answer  to  inquiries  of 
the  Tioard  of  Trade  in  relation  to  manufactures,  spates,  that  a 
Paper-mill  haO  begun  to  be  erected  within  a  few  days,  at  » 
small  distance  from  the  town.»     This  is  the  first  of  which  we  have  seen 
any   mention   in  that  Province.     A  Paper-mill  was    about  this   time 
erected  at  Hempstead,  on  Long  Idand,  by  Uendr.ck  Onderdonk  and  hi 
son  Andrew,  .vhich  is  presumed  to  have  been  the  firstbuili  ui  New  \ork. 
The  precise  date  is  not  given.     Hendrick  Onderdonk,  w no  was  an  an- 
cestor of  Bishop  Onderdonk,  of  that  State,  was  born  in  1724,  and  had 
in  his  early  years,  built  the  first  grist-mill  on  that  part  of  the  island.     But 
as  his  son,  and  also  Hugh  Gaine,  so  prominent  as  a  printer  and  booksel- 
ler in  Now  York  at  this  time,  were  connected  with  him  in  the  business, 
it  is  probably  the  one  referred  to  in  the  letter  of  Governor  Moore      The 
manufacture  has  been  carried  on  at  that  place  from  that  day  to  the  pre- 

opiif 

lu  1769  the  following  announcement  was  made  in  the  Boston  NewB 
Letter  — "  The  bell-cart  will  go  through  Boston  before  the  end  of  next 
month,  to  collect  rags  for  the  Paper-mill  at  Milton,  when  all  people  that 
will  enconrnge  the  Paper  manufactory  may  dispose  of  them." 

In  a  country  so  much  less  populous  than  Europe,  and  the  climate  of 


in  No 
Vork. 


(1)  Btiirl<'''<  AnnnU  ,,r  P^nvIl^(•nP^  p.  ASS. 

(2)  rocumuniiii)'  Hist.  ofN.  York,  1.735. 


(3)  Thooipinn'*  Iliit.  Long  Island,  U.  48. 


IN  NEW  JERSEY  AND  PENNSYLVANIA.      TUB  STAMP  ACT. 


201 


in  pics  of  this  "  literary 
id  of  the  battle-ground, 
e  buried  in  the  village, 
U-ed,  to  be  cared  for  by 

■mill,  believed  to  have 
rovince,  v\  is  completed 
lice,  Rhode  Island.  It 
le.'     It  appears,  a  few 

neglect, — so  coufirraed 

ctures. 

orwici.,  in  Connecticut, 

lony,  under  the  promise 

I  years  after,  he  was  ac- 

iur  thousand  and  twenty 

each  on  ten  thousand 
rds  amounted  in  all  to 
)n  afterward  withdrawn, 
w  York,  to  Lord  Hills- 
n  answer  to  inquiries  of 
lufactures,  states,  that  a 
ivithin  a  few  days,  at  ft 

of  which  we  have  seen 

was,  about  this  time, 
rick  Onderdonk  and  his 
first  built  in  New  York.' 
urdonk,  who  was  an  an- 

born  in  1724,  and  had, 

part  of  the  island.  But 
is  a  printer  and  booksel- 
ith  him  in  the  business. 

Governor  Moore.  The 
rom  that  day  to  the  pre- 

ide  in  the  Boston  News 
n  before  the  end  of  next 
ton,  when  all  people  that 
3se  of  them." 
rope,  and  the  climate  of 

fion'i  Iliit.  Long  Island,  li.  48. 


which  called  for  much  woolen  clothing,  rags  were  necessarily  scarce,  and 
notwithstanding  the  amount  of  cotton  now  grown  and  manufactured, 
they  still  full  fur  short  of  the  requirements  of  the  Paper  manufacturers. 
At  this  date,  the  Taper-mills  in  the  Provinces  of  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  and  Delaware,  had  increased  to  the  number  of  forty.  The  value 
of  their  manufacture  was  estimated  at  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  an- 
nually.    Six  of  the.se  were  in  the  county  of  Philadelphia.! 

The  increase  of  the  Paper-mills  in  those  Provinces  was,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, due  to  the  enterprise  of  the  printers  and  publishers  of  Philadelphia^ 
which  was  then  the  literary  metropolis  of  the  country.  But  it  was,  also, 
in  no  small  degree  owing  to  the  interest  taken  by  Dr.  Franklin  in  that 
branch  of  Colonial  industry.  De  Warville,  who  visited  the  Province  in 
1788,  says,  Dr.  Franklin  informed  him  that  he  had  established  about 
eighteen  Paper-mills.  The  same  traveler  observes,  after  having  visited 
Boston  and  New  York,  "There  is  no  town  on  the  Continent  where  there 
is  so  much  printing  done  as  ut  Philadelphia.  Gazettes  and  book-stores 
are  numerous  in  the  town,  and  Paper-mills  in  the  State.*  Franklin  him- 
self informs  us  that  one  of  the  first  books  printed  by  him  and  Meredith 
was  on  pro  patria  paper.  Ever  ready  to  encourage  domes>ic  industry, 
he  was  particularly  interested  in  the  progress  of  printing  and  all  its 
tributary  arts.  His  metrical  pleasantry  on  the  sulyect  of  Paper  is  familiar 
to  all ;  but  another  less  known  but  more  important  dissertation  was  enti- 
tled, "  A  Description  of  the  Process  to  be  observed  in  makini,' large  sheets 
of  Paper,  in  the  Chine.se  manner,  with  one  smooth  surface,"  which  was 
read  before  the  American  lMiilosoi)hical  Society,  in  June,  1788,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  third  volume  of  its  Transactions,  a  year  or  two  after  his 
death. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  war  with  France,  in  17C3,  undertaken  fur 
the  defense  of  the  Anglo-American  jiossessions,  the  ]<uipose  was  openly 
avowed  by  PurliRmeni  of  re-ii!<bursirig  the  enormous  expense  of 
that  undertaking  by  a  tax  upon  the  Colonies.  Resolutions  iit 
favor  of  a  Stamp  Act,  similar  to  one  which  had' long  been  in  force  in  Eng- 
land, were  pn,s.sed  in  March,  1764.  In  the  following  year,  Mr.  Gren- 
ville  introduced  his  famous  bill  declaring  all  instruments  of  writing  used 
in  the  Ai  'rican  Colonies  null  and  void,  unless  executed  upon  suniped 
Paper  or  parchment,  chargetl  with  u  duty  by  Par'iament.  The  bill,  whith 
received  the  roval  assent  in  March,  1705,  at  once  aroused  in  the  Colonies 
a  atorm  of  opiiosiiion,  which  was  but  the  prelude  to  the  revolt  from  impc- 

(1)   Robert    Wiiotl,    Tifih    ilrtiot,   below  prlndpnl  cnnveynnnoM,  nnd  w«»  oonKi.leroJ 

Wiiliiiit,  in  .liimmry,  1772.  mlvortiseil  pnrch-  "  cqiisl  or  biitlor  tliHii  llio  iiii|M.rleJ." 
meni,  an  miidu  nml  nM  by  biin,  wbicli  bnil         (2)  Now  Truvola  in  U.  atutet,  iu  1788. 
for  iome  tkuie  prvvlbui  b*«D  uiod  by  tba 


Stamp  Acta. 


202  PArEU-MlIXS   IN   THE   COLONIES. 

,       r  .=  iatPr      The  resolutions  of  uon-imiiortiition  and 

rial  rule  mad.  a  fe.  y?'^-  ;;^;^^.,.^^;^^;^^^^  ,,gy  ,aon  wu.  met  on  the  part 
non.interco.r8e,byv-,nchthoPu.lum  n  ny     S  ^^^^.^.^  .^ 

of  I'rovineial  Assemblies,  gave  no  .1  g  t  nnpube  to 

of  tl.o  Colonies,  .bile  they  - '-^"-^'>\'^f    :V^  J      e"l  as  1^ 
commerce  -d  manufactures  tl.t  a  r^^^^  «  o.l.na^c  ^_^^^^^^^^    ^^^^ 

culled  for  by  ^'- '"^'^  \^"^  f  .^^f  ['eh-  land  and  in  the  Colonies,  forced 
pressure  of  pubhc  -"^"-'";';;^'  ;,,;";';  o,„oxio«s.  which  was  effected 
upon  Parliament  the  -l'^^' ^.^„^  ;;;;;;,,,,„,,  accon>panied,  however, 
at  the  expiration  of  one  year  f  om    ts  t""'-  °»      '  J         ,^,^„i,,  i„ 

,,  the  assertion  ^^^^^^X:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^  '"^ 

^"  '''^^7;- tt^  due  d  i       P-^^^^        ^y  ^'^-  ^»'-''-  Townsend.  im- 
was,  in  liG7,  intioaucLu  iiiv.  nasteboard,  painters' 

„,„y  „er»  f>.Uo»ed  by  o, her  '°»"»;-f  "  ™  ^^J^  the  d».i«  «« 

r'rr-ns  «.J  :  n        o  iu.34,«00,  m  mX  and  .be  re„.a,  of  I  . 
from  12,.n8,()uu,  in  iiu  pvciiement  was  once  more  allayed, 

Act  was  loudly  demanded,     x  «  -1  c  cxflen  e.  i  ,       ^  ^,,, 

It  U  not,  pctUni»,  .«rpr,.,ag  tl.at  1  "'1  »"  ™'   °  ,   j  ,„,„„.,„,j  i„ 

.,a„d  wl„  a  ,.co,.lc,  «o«  [-"fr^;;/:   u    'V     0,    .fgr«,,ai.o..a.„t 


THE  STAMP  ACT.      UST  OF  DtTlFf^. 


203 


on-importiition  and 
,  wui  met  on  the  part 
Lhe  native  industry 
interests  of  British 
nance  was  as  loudly 
es  in  America.   The 
the  Colonies,  forced 
i,  which  was  effected 
companieil,  however, 
bind  the  Coloniei;  iii 
d  prerogative,  a  bill 
laries  Townsend,  im- 
pasteboard,  painters' 
more  aroused  the  op- 
1,  and  non-intercourso 
esolutions,— in  which 
•t,  or  deal  with  those 
ong  as  the  duties  oa 
ere,  at  the  same  time, 
1,  home  manufactures ; 
I  as  deserving  of  eu- 
,  .it  once  fell  off  again, 
and  the  repeal  of  the 
la  once  more  allayed, 
I,  of  five-sixths  of  the 
)er  pound  on  tea,  as  a 
'arliameiit.     Althonxh 
al  mind,  and  thi?  small 
lid  bo  no  right  to  im- 
lifacultto  conceive  how 
than  many  other  Acta 
•oui  the  earliest  period, 
nd  it  difficult  to  under- 
,  who  had  submitted  to 
f.T  the  aggrandizement 
to  the  expense  incurred 
lome  sustained,  williout 
nmon  benolit. 
lanifest  violation  of  the 
r  industry.     Unless  ex- 
i,t  to  exact  from  them  a 
c,  of  which  they  were  ua 


integral  part,  .ocmed  to  rest  upon  the  same  prerogative  by  which  the 
nare^nt  State  assumed,  in  other  cases,  t.  legislate  for  ,ts  dependencies. 
The  Leoislaturcs  of  Massachusetts  and  New  York  had,  indeed,  ten  years 
be<-ore  enacted  a  Provincial  Stamp  Act :  th.e  former  granting  to  his  Ma- 
jestv  several  duties  on  vellum,  parchment,  and  Paper  for  two  ycaij,  to- 
Lrds  defraying  the  charge  of  this  Government.     That  of  ^cw  York 
„as.ed  the  following  year,  continued  four  years  in  operation.     But  the 
I     iost  was  now  resisted  upon  the  principle  that  the  Colonists  were  not 
a„u.nable  to  a  statute  which  they  had  no  voice  in  making ;  and  upon  this 
question  of  prerogative,  the  empire  was  at  length  dismembered. 

The  Stamp  Act  probably  diminished  somewhat  the  consumption  of 
paper  by  restricting  the  operations  of  the  Colonial  press,  and  by  forcing 
Ihc  colonist  to  resort  to  arbitration  and  other  non-jund.ca  modes  of 
settling  disputes,  whereby  the  use  of  legal  instruments  chargeable  with  the 
stamp  duties  was  dispensed  with.' 


(1^  Apart  fnim  tlio  question  of  prprn;:!i- 
tivn,  the  stamp  dntie?,  whicli  mnko  a  formi- 
dahle  list,  were  calculated  greatly  to  imp.'ilo 
tlie  ufiinl  forms  of  biisincBs,  and  tlie  de- 
tormined  opposition  was  but  natuviil.  As 
our  readers  may  not  now  be  familinr  with 
the  details  of  this  memorable  Act,  we  may 
be  excused  for  presenting  the  hoadi  of  it  for 
their  cunsiileriit'im. 

Zd.  on  all  pleas  in  rourts  of  law. 

2«.   on  bail  pieces   and   appeorances   on 

them. 

1«,  6d.  on  all  ploM,  etc.,  in  Chancery. 
6J.  »n  copies. 

£2  on  all  diplomas,  certificates,  etc.,  of 
collogos. 

1».  on  pleas,  etc.,  in  Admiralty  Coort*. 
6i/.  on  copio". 

10«.  on  a  oerliorari,  writ  of  error,  etc. 
5t.  on  fines,  common  recoveries,  and  at- 
taehracnli 

4«.  on  any  record  of  Nisi  Prius,  as  judg- 
ments, etc. 

U.  on  all  process,  olo.,  not  heretofore  in- 
cluded. 

£10  upon  licenses  to  practice  as  atU  .neys, 

etc. 

4</.  on  all  hiUi  of  lading. 

20..  on  all  letters  of  marque,  etc 

10..  upon  all  Brunts  of  offices,  except  of 
the  imvy,  army,  and  of  the  peace. 

IW.  on  all  Acts  of  incorporation. 

20i.  un  retailing  liceoiei  to  sell  splrltf. 


£1  on  licenses  to  sell  wine  to  persons  not 
taking  out  licenses  to  sell  spirits,  etc. 

£.:>,  upon  those  who  dn. 

5».  upon  guardianships,  and  letters  of  nd- 
mioi'tnition,  above  £20  ;  seamen  and  sol- 
diers excepted  ;  the  duly  extending  to  Iho 
Continent  of  America,  its  inlands,  etc.,  Bc»- 
miidn  and  llalinma. 

10«.  upon  the  same  in  other  parts  of  Brit- 
ish America. 

6</.  upon  securities  for  £10. 

U.  upon  securities  for  above  £10,  and  not 

above  £20. 

It.  6d.  upon  securities  for  above  £20,  and 

not  above  £40. 

6J.  upon  warrants  of  survey  for  100  acres. 
1..  upon  the  same  for  more  than  100,  and 
not  exceeding  2(.X 

],.  C./.  upon  sat;;  for  above  200,  and  not 
exceeding  1120. 

I,.  M.  upon  all  grants,  etc.,  of  100  acres; 
except  leases  up  ti>  21  years. 

2».  upon  the  same  for  above  100,  and  not 
exceeding  200. 

2..  M.  upon  the  same  .or  a'lovo  200,  and 
not  cx(  ceding  .120.  The«e  confined  to  the 
Continent,  its  islandi-,  llerinuda  an.l    «»- 

baina. 

3..  on  the  same  for  lands  above  100,  in  .ill 
other  part.T  of  British  America. 

4..  on  above  100,  and  not  exceeding  200. 

5..  on  above  200,  and  not .  xeeedinc  ;120, 

U  upon  all  offocs  not  buforu  mcutiuuid, 


PAPER-MILLS  IN  THE  COLONIES. 
204  . 

•    „  ^c^  aotrestic  manufactures  by  the 
On  the  other  hand,  the  impulse  g'^*:"  ;^     j,„;,Hsh  merchandise,  was  a 
determination  not  to  import  or  -?- ^  f  ;;',f j ,,«  the  country.     Mills 
.eans  of  increasing  ^^^J^J^vtri:  parts  of  the  country,  and  increased 
,.ere  in  consequence  erected  n  var m    P  ^^^^ 

from  that  time  more  rapidly  h'^"  ^^>  f  f^  \^^,,,,,^  there  were  but  three 

At  the  commencement  of  he  Re-lut  o  ,  i^o     ^^,  ^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^^ 
s,„all  paper-mills  in  MaB-chusett       Th^,.  ^^        ^^^^      ^^^  ^^^^^^  , 
of  repair.     In  New  Hampshue  t    re  i  ^^^  ^  ,f 

Paper  from  tl-se  mi  Is  was  far  s  oH  o        ^^^^  ^,^^^^  ^^^ 

workmen  experienced  m  the  bus  ncss  ^differently.    The  practice 

caused  what  was  made  to  be  V^^^^^^  ,,,  people,  and  everything 
of  saving  rogs  had  not  becon^  "'^  ^  ^^^^^  .itlLt  the  proper  care  m 
of  that  kind  was  e-nployed  -  '- -^^^^^^  ^^  ,,^  ^.p,,  „ade.  whi  c 
assorting  the  ^l"'^^^"^^-, ,  ^''„f'  cess  was  yet  unknown,  a  peculmrly 
the  knowledge  of  ^'^  ^^J  "^,/  S  the  product  of  that  period  . 
dark,  and  often  mottled  hue,  oy 

characterized.  .  ^.j,^  that  the  eminent  chemist, 

It  was  about  this  time,  or  m  the  y^^' '^  ^^  remarkable  bleach- 

Seheele.  made  the  valuable  ^'-^^/^  ^J  ^ ^r  or  certain  sal's,  were 

i„g  prorcrtiesof  whch  mc  mb-a^^^.^  ^^^^  others,  rendered  so 

afterward  through  the  '^''^f'''    ,„  ,^^,  i,i,tory  of  Art,  as  employed 
practically  useful,  as  ^o  -rk  J.  era  ^7.^  ^  ^^^.^^^.^^  ^      ,,. 

'upon  the  manufacture  f '^g«  f '  ^^^    ,,„  .mailable  in  Europe,  and  was 
rLe  did  not.  ^o^^;^^^^^:!::^^^^  i"  this  country,  until  after 
not  introduced  into  the  1  aper  m 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 


„cepttto.rmy,  navy,  and  justice,  of  the 
'Tr«pon  an  excmpUncation,  of  the  ,am«. 
'"tZ  «arr«n,.  to  audit  account.,  pa..- 

norU   iM>lici«9  of  insurance,  etc. 

'jM,/.  on  all  bond,.  Utter,  of  attorney, 

°r':":u'::;;.tor.  of  deed.,  etc.,  before 

'"tr;Ur.«Utcr'.ofdeod.,.tc..notbe. 

fore  mcntioiic'l. 

1».  on  plnying  ">'»*•• 

10«.  on  dice. 

irf.  on  all  immphlot.  and  new.paper.. 

ld.iflarKcrll.anahulf.heel..ndundcr 

k  who'e  fbeof. 

2i.  not  exceeding  .l«  •hoet.. 


2».  on  all  ndvortisomentg. 

2.J.  on  all  almanac.,  etc.,  on  one  .ide  of 

one  eheet.  ^r 

4.<.  on  all  other..   Tbe»«  f-". """  f"""   " 

for   more  year.,   to  be  mulf.pUed  by  the 

""fitTn  every  200.  in  .un>.  not  exceeding 
£50,a.conM.len..ionfornppren.ice«h.p.. 

1,.  on  20,  if  the.. im  exceed.  £50. 

Dnuble  dutie.  on  all  paper.,  etc.,  In  other 

than  the  EnRlixh  language. 

(,)  luacommunication  addressed  by  Mr. 

rr,  f  or  Cooper,  of  PicUin.on  CoV,c«e^ 
,.„„.ylvanl..  the  BdUor  of  the  Emporium 
.f  A.f.andS.-ienoe,.iti..tatcd.l.at  h. 
„.,,,.,.-,rfm«nV...eaoid.a.itwa..hen  e 
noofina.ed,  had  not  at  that  time  come  n 
„.,  among   the  pap.r-maker.  In  Amer.e. 


BLEACHING   OF   ruLP-MILI.S   IN    CONNECTICUT   AND   VERMONT. 


205 


lanufactures  by  the 
merchandise,  wfts  R 
he  couhtry.  Mills 
,„try,  aud  iucreased 
done. 

there  were  but  tbree 
in  Rhode  Island  out 
me.     The  supply  of 
id.     The  scarcity  of 
h  price  of  all  labor, 
•ently.    The  practice 
eople,  and  everything 
)ut  the  proper  care  in 
le  paper  made,  while 
unknown,  a  peculiarly 
act  of  that  period  is 

t  the  eminent  chemist, 
the  remarkable  bleach- 
■r  or  certain  sal's,  were 
,ud  others,  rendered  so 
ry  of  Art,  as  employed 
'his  application  of  cdo- 
ble  ill  Europe,  and  was 
tliis  country,  until  after 


IvcTtisDmentg. 

ilmanaci.,  etc.,  on  one  side  of 

thors.   These  for  one  year.   If 
ara,   to  be  multiplied  by  the 

ry  200,  in  iumi  not  exceeding 
,leniti»n  for  npprenticcships. 
if  the  Slim  exceeds  £50. 
m.gon.illpnper8,eto.,lnother 

nViKh  l«ngim(?e. 

.„nmtmiiMiti«n  nddres-ed  by  Mr. 

WilUeabiirre,  In  March,  1RI:<.  «o 

Cu..pcr.    of    Pickln-on    Collc«e. 

,1,   the  Editor  of  the  Emporium 

,1  Sciences,  it  is  stated,  that  the 
„„n„lio  aoid.  as  it  was  then  de- 
had  not  at  that  time  come  !nto 

I   the  paper-maker.  In  America, 


Tn  1776  Watson  &  Ledyard,  who  hod  a  rapcr-mill  at  East  Hertford, 
Connecticut,  were  able  to  snpi^ly  paper  for  a  weekly  issue  of  eight  thou- 
sand papers  from  the  Hartford  press,  in  addition  to  the  greater  part  of 
the  writing-paper  used  in  that  Colony,  and  by  the  Continental  Army. 
One  of  the  earliest  Taper-mills  built  in  Western  Massachusetts,  was  near 
the  town  of  Pitlsfield,  in  Berkshire  County.     In  1779,  about  twenty-seven 
Years  after  its  settlement,  the  town  instructed  its  representatives  to  the 
General  Court,  to  use  their  "best  endeavors,  that  any  petition  which  may 
be  proferred  from  this  town,  or  from  any  individual  of  it,  respeeung  the 
crectin-  a  Paper-mill  in  this  town,  be  attended  to,  and  espoused  by  you 
in  the  General  Court."     Paper  was  made  some  years  later  in  the  adjoin- 
ing town  of  Dalton,  by  Zenas  Crane  and  others.     The  county  now  ma.u- 
t'lins  about  forty  Paper-mills,  far  outnumbering  any  other  in  the  State. 
Lee,  where  the  business  began  still  late^  has  alone  above  twenty  mills, 
and'is  the  largest  Paper-making  town  in  the  Union.  _ 

A  Paper-mill  was,  we  believe,  built  at  Bennington,  Vermont,  during  the 
Revolution.  So  scarce  was  the  supply  of  raw  material,  howe\er,  that 
advertisements  were  sent  to  Albany  that  rngs  were  wanted  at  the  printing- 
office  and  Paper-mill  in  Bennington  ;  and  the  mill  is  said  to  have  been 
chiefly  dependent  upon  the  cast-off  clothing  of  the  Indians  for  a  supply 
of  stock.'    Paper  was  brought  from  the  mill  through  the  forests  upon 

althouKh  two  or  three  patent-  had  already    was  again  given  to  the  public  in  tho  papo. 
been  Xted  in  England  for  its  application     above  referred  to      A  patent  was  gran  ed  .n 
h  t  se  England,  in  17i)2,  to  a  Mr.  CampbiU,  for 

*"  1  LmTPepHred  by  an  English  menu-  bleaching  rags ,  and.  three  years  after,  John 
faoturer,  for  LLg  a  bleaching  liquor  for  Bigg,  obtained  a  paten,  for  bleaching  rag. 
l.r  p^lp,  was  sent  by  Mr.  Cist,  and  with  and  also  tho  t  .Ip  .n  the  va.s,  by  the  use  of 
engravings  of  the  apparatus  used  in  its  pre-  manganese,  sea  salt,  o.l  of  v.tnol,  and  wate. 
pura.ion,  and  remarks,  by  Dr.  Cooner  was  distilled  together.  Dr.  Cooper  appears  to 
'published  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Second  have  used  the  gas  ^^.ch  -"-';";";- 
Series  of  the  Emporium.  In  his  obscrva-  workmen,  in  place  of  a  solution  of  the  oxy- 
tlon  Professor  Cooper,  states,  that  about  muriate  or  chloride  of  l.mo,  afterward  em- 
thc;earT790,he,withaMr.I.akcr.ofM«n-  plo.Ted.  and  hence  his  method  did  «ot 
Chester,  devised  a  modification  of  llerthol-     prevail. 

et-  m  thod  of  producing  oxymuriatic  acid.  (D  A  commentary  on  the  «  '-d  c  rcum 
by  .ubstituting  minium,  or  red  lead,  for  stances  of  the  present  popub.in  of  these 
manganese,  and  by  «  direct  combination  of  States,  in  regard  to  clothing  and  the  Arts  . 
tho  materials,  produced  the  acid  without  furnished  in  a  statement  in  thoCalf  rnia 
d  itillatlon.  and  with  considerable  saving  of  State  Register,  for  1859.  where  the  existence 
expense.  lie  says,  he  employed  it  continu-  of  a  l'apcr.,..ill  in  Mann  County  is  men- 
ously  for  three  years  previous  to  his  removal  tione.l,  as  turning  out  six  tons  of  paper  per 
to  America,  in  bleaching  cotton  goods  to  tho  «cok.  And  one  of  the  great  benem.  as. 
extent  of  from  800  to  1200  pieces  of  calico  cribed  to  It,  1.  tho  "clearing  out  of  tha 
weeUlv   in    Manchester.     The  process   wa,     cast-off    garments,    which    for   yc.r.    have 

„„t  puMiMied  i^  Engl 1.  but  was  inserted     carpeted  the  streets  of  ;^''"      -":;"-'  '"<* 

by  Dr.  Mease,  in  hi.  edition  of  tho  Enoy-    every  city  and  town  In  the  State, 
clopcdia,  without  attruoliiig  attention,  aud 


J 


20C 


TAPER-MILLS  IN    TUB   C0L0NIE3. 


horseback,  and  was  so  valued,  notwithstanding  its  poor  quality  that 
imperfect  sheets  were  carefully  repaired  with  paste,  that  none  uught  be 
lost  Some  copies  of  the  Albany  llegister,  printed  on  paper  from  tjie 
Bennington  mill,  the  nearest  to  that  city,  exhibit  when  held  up  to  the  l.ght, 
this  reparative  process  so  dexterously  doni   as  otherwise  to  elude  obser- 

'Ticarce  indeed,  was  paper  in  New  York,  in  1781,  that  the  Journal 
of  the  Second  Session  of  the  Assembly  was  not  printed,  on  account  of  the 
inability  of  the  printer  to  procure  paper. '  ^  .  rr 

A  Paper-mill  was  erected  in  the  northern  part  of  that  State,  at  iroy, 
by  Messrs.  Webster,  Ensign,  and  Seymour,  in  1793,  which  made  from 
five  to  ten  reams  of  paper  daily.  It  is  said  by  Mr.  Munsell,  to  have  been 
the  first  in  that  part  of  the  Slate. 

In  1785,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  notwlthstandinr  the  odium 
nttaehed  to  the  very  name  of  a  stamp  duty,  since  the  excitem  a  growing 
out  of  the  Parliamentary  Statute  of  17G5,  re-enacted  an  ordinance  which 
thirty  years  before,  had  passed  the  same  body  Imposing  duties  on  licensed 
vellum  parchment,  and  paper,  and  a  tax  of  two-thirds  of  a  penny  on 
newspapers,  and  of  one  penny  on  almanacs,  which  were  required  to  be 
stamped.  The  law  was,  however,  repealed,  before  it  had  become  opera- 
tive. But  it  was  followed  soon  after  by  a  duty  on  advertisemeuts,  which 
continued  two  years  in  force,  ,     .     ^ 

In  1786,  a  Society  at  Philadelphia,  offered  a  premium  for  the  best 
means  of  protecting  Paper  against  the  attacks  of  insects  ;  and  another  for 
the  best  method  of  making  paper  for  the  St.  Domingo  Minket,  capable 
of  resisting  the  insects  of  that  region.  Several  plans  were  offered,  ac- 
companied by  samples  of  paper  prepared  with  sizing,  mixed  with  various 
sharp,  bitter  or  other  ingredients  fatal  to  insect  life,  none  of  which,  how- 
ever, were  deemed  worthy  of  acceptance. 

An  improvement  was  made  in  the  following  year  in  London,  by  a  person 
of  the  name  of  Hooper,  who  received  a  patent  for  a  new  method  of  making 
printing-paper,  particularly  adapted  to  copper-plate  printing.  It  was 
about  the  year  1790,  that  the  practice  of  blueing  paper  in  the  vat, 
originated  in  England,  in  an  accident  it  is  said.  A  paper-maker's  wife 
chanced  to  drop  her  bag  of  powdered  blue  into  a  quantity  of  paper- 
pulp,  and  the  article  when  finished,  being  offered  in  the  London  market 
as  an  improved  paper,  commanded  an  advance  of  four  shillings  in  the 

(1 )  In  the  library  of  the  N.  Y.  Hist,.  Soc,  .,m.or  of  the  Amerionn  Army,  on  nopounl  o: 

there  are  Ifi  folio  v.Iumos  of  the  inanu^eript  the  ccircity  of  puier,  wliilo  in  winter  qniir 

Journals  of  the  UriliMi  House  of  Commons,  ters  at  Murristown,  N.  J.,  in  177«,  or  1777 

in  Cromwell's  limt,  whose  ample   margins,  -  Wat^on'»  A.  Y.  <»  the  Oldvn  Tint. 
bad  boea  partially  used  by  a  cummuuaiug 


PAPEll   OF  ASBESTOS— MILLS  IN   THE   SOUTH. 


20t 


poor  quality,  tbat 
hat  none  might  be 
on  paper  from  the 
held  up  to  the  light, 
wise  to  elude  obser- 

n,  that  the  Journal 
d,  on  account  of  the 

;hat  State,  at  Troy, 
?,  which  made  from 
unsell,  to  have  been 

hstandinp-  the  odium 
exciten,.;.t  growing 
1  an  ordinance  which 
iig  duties  on  licensed 
[lirds  of  a  penny  on 
were  required  to  be 
I  had  become  opera- 
.dvertisemeuts,  which 

remium  for  the  best 
ects  ;  and  another  for 
ingo  Muiket,  capable 
tans  were  offered,  ac- 
j,  mixed  with  various 
none  of  which,  how- 

1  London,  by  a  person 
lew  method  of  making 
ite  printing.  It  was 
ig  paper  in  the  vat, 
A  paper-maker's  wife 
a  quantity  of  paper- 
n  tlie  London  market 
f  four  shillings  in  the 

ericnn  Army,  on  ncpounl  o: 
.iilier,  wliilo  in  winter  qniir 
wn,  N.  J.,  in  177B,  or  1777 
r.  t'n  Ike  Oldvn  Timt. 


price.     Out  of  the  increased  proCts  of  his  sales,  her  husband  rewarded 
her  discovery  with  a  costly  cloak. 

The  Paper  manufacture  flourished  in  Pennsylvania,  Xew  Jersey,  and 
Delaware,  particularly  the  fu-st-named,  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  m 
any  other  sections  of  the  Union.  In  1787,  according  to  M.  De  W  arvdle, 
there  were  in  those  three  States,  sixty-three  paper-mills,  of  which  forty- 
eight  were  in  Pennsylvania.  ,  ^^  „  a 
They  manufactured,  annually,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  worth  of  paper.  Connecticut  made  in  that  year  five  thousand 
reams,  worth  about  nine  thousand  doilav=.  X  iryland,  had  also  a  Paper- 
mill  at  that  time,  and  there  was  one  in  North  Carolina.  In  1792,  a  Mr. 
Beach  of  Danbury,  in  Connecticut,  made  samples  of  paper  from  the  Asbes- 
tos, of  which  fossil,  a  Jesuit  in  Europe,  named  Kircher,  had,  in  1646, 
produced  paper  and  other  articles,  indestructible  by  fire. 

De  Warville,  mentions  a  Paper-mill  on  the  Brandywine,  a  mile  from 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  belonging  to  Mr.  Gilpin  and  Myers  Fisher,  in 
which  the  process  for  grinding  the  rags,  was  much  more  simple  than  the 
French  and  the  specimens  of  their  paper  which  he  had  seen  both  for 
writing  and  printing,  equal  to  the  finest  made  in  France. 

The  Paper-mills  had  at  this  time  greatly  increased  in  number,  in  New 
England,  and  four  y.  rs  later,  the  Paper  made  in  Massachusetts  was 
estimated  to  be  worth  twenty  thousand  pounds  annually.  It  was  then  a 
yearly  increasing  production  in  the  State,  which  in  another  four  years, 
Numbered  twenty  Paper-mills,  where  at  the  Kevolulion,  there  w-ere  but 
three  Six  of  these  were  on  the  Neponset,  and  seven  on  the  Charles 
River  There  was  a  very  large  one  at  Worcester,  and  at  Sutton,  m  the 
same  county,  was  another  belonging  to  the  Messrs.  Burbank  situated  on 
Mill  Brook.     There  was  one  at  Springfield,  and  one  at  Andover. 

The  Paper-mills  of  Massachusetts,  at  that  time,  had  usually  two  vats 
each  andemploved  ten  men,  and  as  many  boys  and  girls;  and  their 
annual  product  was  about  seventy  thousand  reams  of  writing,  printing, 
and  wrapping  paper.  A  mill  with  two  vats,  required  a  capital  of  about 
ten  thousand  dollars,  and  was  capable  of  producing  from  two  to  three 
thousand  reams  annually,  of  different  descrii.tions  of  paper.  The  price 
of  printing-paper,  wa.  from  three  to  three  and  a  half  dollars  per  ream. 
Some  of  the  mills  in  Pennsylvania  were  of  greater  capacity,  and  bad  three 

or  four  vats  eac  'i. 

Among  the  first  Paper-mills  built  in  the  Southern  Provinces,  was  one 
at  Salem,  in  North  Carolina,  three  hundred  miles  in  the  interior,  settled 
in  1760  by  a  company  of  Moravians,  most  of  whom  were  trades-people. 
The  manufacture  was,  after  the  War,  encouraged  by  a  loan  from  the 
Slate      In  South  Carolina,  some  time  after,  an  association  for  the  aid 


208 


rAPER-MILLS  IN  TUE  COLONIES. 


.„d  in.lr«e««n  of  emigrants  recommended  the  e,uMi«taent  of  Paper- 

„,nl.  «.  .  l.™nc„  «f  "■''»'')',."^«'f/°  ^=  — ■:  'ptnn.,Wani.,  laid  . 

Tn  TTSq   Coneress,  on  motion  ot  Mr.  Ciymer,  oi  *  i-"'  "•'  ' 

.u  vof    e-n'n    a  1  alf  percent,  on  Paper,  pasteboard,  and  b  ank-books 
•2  L       Ml   Clymer  seated,  that  the  Paper-mills  of  Pennsylvania  t^^^en 
SS  annual.;,  seventy-thousand  reams  of  various  kinds  of  Pap 
which  was  sold  as  cheap  as  it  could  be  imported  and  that  there  were 
Ilady  fifty-three  mills  within  the  range  of  the  Philadelphia  market. 

The  confniler  of  the  BihUolheca  Americana,  published  m  London,  in 
nsrrrthatthepeopleofNorthAmericamann^^^^ 
in  sufficient  quantities  for  home  consumptioi.     ^^'^  f  ^[^  ;,',.f,  ;,     "  J 
Hamilton,  in  the  following  year,  represents  it  as  on    of  "^^^^tZZ, 
manufacture  which  had  arrived  at  the  greatest  perfection,  and  was     most 
St    to  national  supply."     Yet  Citizen  De  Warville.  a  few  3-.  pr  ^ 
vious  believed  that,  on  account  of  the  scarcity  and  dearness  of  labor  and 
0^1  teimeric  ns  could  not,  for  many  years  to  come,  furnish  sufficient 
plrer  for  the  prodigious  consumption  caused  by  the  increase  of  know- 
ledge  and  the  freedom  of  their  press. 

2.  PAPEa-nANOTNOS-The  manufacture  of  ^'H^er-hangings  was  a  de- 
partment  of  the  business  in  which,  according  to  Hamilton's  Report, 
rpsoectable  progress  had  also  been  made. 

"The  use  of  this  elegant  and  inexpensive  substitute    or  t  «  -Uy  -^ 
elaborate  arras  and  tapestries  of  former  times,  was  introduced  into  Fiance 
and  E  gland  early  in  Ihe  seventeenth  eeutury,-about  the  same  Ume  wi  h 
that  of  leather-hangings,  which  it  soon  ^'-^^^^^'-'^  f^       .'-^.^ 
manufacture  was  carried  on  in  England,  in  1  48  ;  and,  a    a       -  1  --d 
the  establishme,.^   of  the  Messrs.   Potter,  at  Manchester,  becaine  cele 
brated,  making  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  rolls  -^  -"^^J  '^'^^  ^^^ 
cylind  ical  machine  was  first  introduced  for  the  manufacture  of  long  sleet 
fo    Paper-hangings.   But  it  was  not  until  afterthis,  that  the  artice  began 
:  br'genSy  used  in  America.     The  first  advertisement  o    Paper- 
hangings  for  sale  in  this  country  appeared  about  the  year  1737. 


(1)  In  the  first  settlement  of  the  Confmout 
the  people  were  generally  compelled  to  forego 
the  ornftinental,  nnd  content  themselves  with 
the  essentials  of  domeslio  comfort.  Their 
dwellings,  mostly  of  wood,were  usually  guilt- 
less of  paint  throughout,  which  was  not  felt, 
however,  to  be  a  great  deprivation,  when  a 
well-scoured  and  i^anded  floor  was  the  pride  of 
respectahlo  housewives.  The  curly  rulersof 
MasBachuiotts,  indeed,  appear  to  have  dis- 


couraged the  use  of  paint,  as  a  useless  lux. 
ury.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Allen,  of  Charles- 
town,  was  called  to  account,  it  is  said,  in 
lfi:S'.),  for  having  paint  about  his  dwelling, 
but  was  discharged  upon  his  showing  that 
it  was  done  before  his  time,  and  was  disap- 
proved of  by  him.  The  first  church  erected  in 
Boston  was  never  painted  wilhiu  or  without 
while  it  stood.  Indeed,  a  list  of  moohanics 
made  out  by  the  General  Court  of  Massa- 


PAPEB-nANOINGS.      FIRST  USE  AND  MANUFACTURE  OF. 


209 


iiisbment  of  Paper- 
re. 

Pennsylvania,  laid  a 
ird,  and  blank-books 
)f  Pennsylvania  then 
3U8  kinds  of  Paper, 
and  that  there  were 
idelpliia  market, 
lished  in  London,  in 
tured  their  own  paper 
Report  of  Secretary 
le  of  the  branches  of 
-tion,  and  was  "most 
ville,  a  few  years  pre- 
dearness  of  labor  and 
ome,  furnish  sufficient 
the  increase  of  know- 


er-hangings  was  a  dc- 
0  Hamilton's  Report, 

:ute  for  the  costly  and 
ntroduced  into  France 
out  the  same  time  with 
tirely  displaced.     The 
and,  at  a  later  period, 
nchester,  became  cele- 
in  a  single  day.     The 
lufacture  of  long  sheets 
3,  that  the  article  began 
Ivertisement  of  Paper- 
the  year  1737.* 

so  of  pftint,  as  a  useless  lux- 
:.  Thomas  AUon,  of  Cliarlos- 
ed  to  account,  it  is  said,  in 
ng  paint  about  his  dwelling, 
,rged  upon  his  showing  that 
fore  his  time,  and  was  disap- 
im.  Theflrstohurcherootcdin 
ver  painted  wilhiu  or  without 
Indeed,  a  list  of  mechanics 
the  General  Court  of  Maiisii- 


The  Swedish  Traveler,  Professor  Kalm,  remarks  of  New  York,  which 
he  visited  in  1748  :— "  Tlie  walls  of  the  houses  are  whitewashed  within,  and 
1  did  not  any  where  see  hangings,  with  which  the  peoplb  in  this  country 
seem,  in  general,  to  be  little  acquainted.  The  walls  are  quite  covered 
with  all  sorts  of  drawings  and  pictures,  in  small  frames.  On  each  side 
of  the  chimneys  they  usually  have  a  sort  of  alcove,  and  the  wall  under  the 
window  is  wainscoted,  with  benches  near  the  window.  The  alcoves,  as 
well  as  all  of  the  wood-work,  are  painted  with  a  blueish-gray  color." 

Hangings  of  rich  cloth,  however,  imported  from  Holland  or  from  India, 
were,  from  an  early  period,  to  be  occasionally  seen  on  the  wall  of  a  wealthy 
merchant,  in  the  principal  cities.  Paper-hangings,  along  with  carpets, 
began  to  come  into  use  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  They  were 
advertised  for  sale,  in  New  York,  by  Garret  Noel,  the  bookseller,  and  by 
J.  Desbrosses,  in  great  variety  of  patterns  for  walls  and  for  window  cur- 
tains, in  1760.  They  appear  t'^  have  been  manufactured  also  in  the  coun- 
try, within  a  year  or  two  of  that  time. 

Paper-hangings  of  domestic  manufacture  are  said  to  have  been  pre- 
sented, in  1765,  to  the  Society  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Commerce, 
instituted  in  New  York,  on  the  plan  of  the  London  Society  of  Arts, 
which  were  highly  approved  and,  when  offered  for  sale,  were  rapidly  bought 
up  Additional  samples  of  several  varieties  of  the  same  manufacture  were 
produced  before  the  same  Society,  in  1766,  approved  and  recommended.. 
From  this  time  forward,  the  use  of  wall  Paper  increased  throughout  the 
country  with  great  rapidity.  The  importations  of  the  article  were  very 
large  from  England,  and,  after  the  War,  from  France  :  so  much  so,  that, 
in  1787  the  French  Government  removed  the  export  duty  upon  Paper- 
hangings,  on  account  of  the  great  consumption  of  its  manufacture  in  the 
United  States.  At  that  time  there  were  several  manufactories  of  the  arti- 
cle in  Boston,  and  others  in  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania. 

The  manufacture  of  Paper-hangings  increased  in  the  same  rapid 
ratio  and  when  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  made  his  report,  was 
among  the  well-established  branches  of  home  production.  Three  years 
after,  the  manufactories  of  stained  Paper,  in  Boston,  were  sufficient,  not 


chuiietts,  in  1670,  docs  not  contain  the  name 
of  a  painter.  In  1705,  the  Coat-of-arms  of 
Queen  Anne,  in  the  Court-House,  at  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  was  ordered  to  receive  "» 
colored  covering,"  which  was  the  first  men- 
tion of  the  art  in  that  quarter.  Painters' 
colors  were  for  sale  in  Boston,  in  1714.  But 
paint  was  not  generally  used  before  tho 
Kevolution.  An  anecdote  is  related  of  a 
thriving  cooper  who,  to  exool  his  neighbors, 

u 


Just  previous  to  the  War,  paint"-!  one  'if  his 
rooms.  Tho  report  soon  spread.  Scvirnl 
acquaintances  of  the  man  having  met  on  a 
wharf,  one  of  them  announced  the  event  in 
these  terms :— "  Well,  Archer  has  set  a  fine 
example :  he  has  laid  one  of  his  rooms  in 
oil."  Tho  nso  of  paint  increased  rapidly 
after  the  War. 

(1)  Doilsley's  Annual  Register,  vol.  viii. 
p.  66,  and  vol.  \x.  p.  02. 


2JQ  rAPER-MILLS  IN  THE  COLONIES. 

.,  .0  .PP.  u.  State.  ..t  r.„^a  -;5:j:^-rX-r^ 

Slutes;  Bostou  rroauccd  ---f^''^^^  ,,,  or  three  manufacto- 
Paper-hanging.  At  ^^.']^^  ^'^J^,,,  at  one  of  which  hvrge 
-  in  Boston,  and  ,ts  v-    ;^  -^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^,.,^,J,  ..^athing,  wrapping. 

:::z::^>  --^^-^  ^^^  ^^^^^  "^-'^"^  ^^^^  ^^  ^  ^""' 

*::S:?patent.  were  ta.en  ou,^;th.  ^J^^^^^^  Z 
ganizatlon  of  the  Patent  0^;;^^yi::^J^.  this  branch  of 
ehinery.  and  the  -;^^  ^^^^^eLare.  John  Biddis.  of  Pc^sylva- 
rt;:::^!:!'; ;^;::f  Ne.  yor.  J.  Condict  and  charts  K.nse. 
:,  kc.  Jersey,  and  S.  Greene  of  ConnecUeut  ^^^  ^^,^^  ^^^^ 

Althongh,  for  the  n-nfaetu  e  o    whUe  1   P  ^^  ^.^^  ^^^  ^^.^^^^ 

were  nsed  in  the  early  h.story  of  ^^^^  ^.^  ;  ^^y  .„ted  seventy-five  years 
upon  the  inspection  of  ooks  -"^  ^  "  l.^^ed  with  that  made 
ago.  was  coarse,  dark-colored,  and  ""^  -/'^'y;  '  ,^^^_  ti^^  tritnration 
i  the  most  refuse  ^^^^^'^^ '^Z^l^Z^  -  «tone  or  iron 
of  the  rags  for  the  pulp  ^^'."V^"^^^™  '^.^^j^  ^^  ^  „eans  of  discharging 
,norlars,  by  the  aid  of  a  trn>hamme  .  ^^  J^^^^^j^,,  ,f  ,^,  ,,eet.  and 
,Uo  coloring  matter.  cHl-rbefoec^r  after  ^^^^^^^^^^^^     ^^, ,,,  „a 

the  Paper  was  sent  to  '"^^^^^^'^^^^^^^^^  to  produce  a  sample 

process  of .— eture.  s..        ^     ^^^  "^.^  ,,,  ,,,  «,  cutting  and 
of  dry.  finished  Paper.     At  mc  i  i^^  j^anner  in  a 

comminuting  machinery,  the  P^  P'^^  2*=^^„;  „g  ^he  preparation;  and 
few  hours,  having  been  thoroughly  ^J^^  "^^  ^'^^^^^^^  l,,,^  the  finished 
the  whole  of  the  subsequent  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^'  ;";,  „  ,„tes.  Some  idea 
article  is  ready  for  use,  is  «^«r^^^''''  '„'«"«  o^  the  early  manufacture 
„.ay  be  formed  of  the  slow  ^  ^^^^^^\,  chemical  aids  in 

of  Paper,  as  well  as  of  t^-.^f^^^^     ^  ^"^^  .,,,,  ,,  „,oulding  and  finish- 
bleaching,  of  the  Fourdrnuer  and  oUr  mac  ^^^^^^^   ^^  ^^^^ 

ing,  from  the  following  comparison    ot  tue  pr 
methods ; — 

ii.,i,nrions      Each  sheet  was  made  sepa- 

..  Formerly  the  process  was  slow  ^l^'j^'^^J-^  ^^^\,,,  „,  twenty  by  thirty 

lately,  and  four  and  a  half  reams  of  n^wspap      of  ^^^^  ^^^^^^^^ 

inches,  was  technically  termed     a  day  s  wo  ^^^^_     ^^^^^^  ^^^^ 

,,,orof  threemen,  with  theoc.as,on^l  a  -t-       ^^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^j.ty  sheets, 

:;l:  ;r;^a:^o::';:r^:rwould  measnre  ..  tho^ana  fo. 
Iundr'edfeet,-a  little  more  than  one  mile. 

(1)  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  ill.  276-277. 


MAC.K-AL   EFFKCTS   oF    MACIIINEUY.       TYrE-FOi;NI>lN(i. 


211 


quantities  to  other 
thousand  pieces  of 

or  tliree  manufacto- 
:  one  of  which  large 
sheathing,  wrapping, 
,,  were  made  to  a  cou- 

v  years  after  the  or- 
improvemcnts  in  ma- 
ils in  this  branch  of 
Biddis,  of  Tennsylva- 
t  and  Charles  Kinsey, 

none  but  white  rags 
net,  as  will  be  evident 
ited  seventy-five  years 
,pared  with  that  made 
mces.     The  trituration 
;  them  in  stone  or  iron 
0  means  of  discharging 
latiou  of  the  sheet,  and 
alendered.     By  the  old 
5d  to  produce  a  sample 
the  aid  of  cutting  and 
a  superior  manner  in  a 
ig  the  preparation;  and 
icture,  until  the  finished 
ny  minutes.     Some  idea 
of  the  early  manufacture 
!tion  of  chemical  aids  in 
s  in  moulding  and  finish- 
practical  results   of  the 

Each  sheet  was  made  sepa- 
the  siZH  of  twenty  by  thirty 
and  required  the  constant 
,  of  two  more.  These  four 
hundred  and  sixty  sheets, 
leasure  five  thousand  four 


r7. 


"  P.y  the  iuiroduction  of  machinery,  this  part  of  the  process  of  Pappr-mnkin^ 
has  h.'en  cntirolv  chaim'cd.  Tlie  Paper  is  now  run  off  in  one  continuous  sli».et, 
and  on  our  best  macliines,  at  the  rate  of  forty-fiv-j  feet  per  minute.  Some  of 
the  machines  in  use  being  of  the  widtli  of  eighty-four  inches,  the  attention  of 
two  men  and  four  girls  is  required  to  form  paper  of  the  size  before  nu-ntu.nea, 
twenty  by  thirty  inches.  Such  a  machine,  working  the  same  amount  uf  ui.io 
as  the  ol.l-fashioued  variety  (twelve  hours),  will  make  thirty-two  thou^s^iud, 
four  hundred  feet  of  Paper  eighty  inches  wide. 

"  But  this  is  not  all.  When  the  the  three  men  with  their  assistant.^,  undnr 
the  old  plan,  had  finished  their  day's  work,  and  made  their  one  mile  of  paper, 
it  wa-i  wet.  .md  it  beoam*  necessary  to  dry  it  upon  poles.  If  the  weather 
proved  favorable,  this  might  be  done,  taken  down,  and  linished  in  Jire  c/a,ys- 
ten  times  longer  than  the  time  occupied  iu  making  It.  Mw,  when  the  two 
men  and  four  eirls  have,  in  twelve  hours,  made  their  twenty-four  miles  ef 
paper,  it  is  dry,  and  wlien  cut  into  sheets,  is  ready  for  the  printer;  and  tins 
without  regard  to  the  weather,  he  it  rain  or  shine. 

"Thus  it  is  evident  that  formerly  it  took  ten  times  as  long  to  prepare  tli« 
Paper  for  market,  after  it  was  moulded  into  sheets,  as  is  now  required  to  con- 
vert  it  from  the  pulp-and  that  the  labor  of  five  persons  in  one  day  produced 
for  the  market  only  one  twenti,-foudh  part  now  obtained  by  lb.3  use  of  labor- 
saving  machines.'" 

Over  two  thousand  engines  arc  now  employed  in  producing  Paper  npou 
a  scale  and  of  a  quality  at  least  equal  to  that  of  any  other  country. 

3.  Type-Founderies.— The  earliest  of  all  printing  is  said  to  have  liccn 
made  from  wooden  blocks,  engraved  with  letters  in  imitation  of  the  chi- 
ro-'raphy  of  the  scribes,  who  constituted  a  numerous  and  skillful  pro- 
fession throughout  Europe  and  the  East  lefore  the  discovery  of  print- 
in^-  The  iuipressions  from  these  plates  bore  so  near  a  resemblance  to 
the  written  copies,  as  to  be  with  difficulty  distinguished  from  them. 
Tvpes  of  a  movea!)le  kind,  dexterously  cut  upon  the  same  material,  after 
a  time  be-'an  to  be  used,  and  were  followed  by  metallic  typos,  with  faces 
cut  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  wooden  ones.  The  first  book  printed  from 
cut  metal  types  was  the  Bible,  on  si.x  Imndred  and  thirty-seven  leaves.  It 
was  the  Vulgate  edition,  printed  on  vellum,  between  1450  and  1455. 
The  magical  rapidity  with  which  Faust— who  became  soon  after  the  owner 
of  the  types,  and  kept  the  secret  by  which  they  were  produced-mulli- 
nlled  copies  of  the  Bible  with  exact  uniformity,  and  sold  them  for  bir'y, 
and  then  for  thirty  crowns,  while  the  scribes  charged  five  hundred,  gave 
rise  to  the  traditional  association  in  the  vulgar  mind  between  "the  Devil  and 
Dr.  Faustns."  But  if  the  effect  of  moveable  types  seemed  thus  magical, 
the  result  of  the  discovery  of  the  method  of  casting  types  in  metal,  which 

(1)  Transactions  of  Am.  Institute,  1849,  p.  412. 


312  TtI.E-FOt3NDEUIK8  IN   THE  COLONIES. 

V  i..  nrintinir  must  bc  decmcd  still 
was  the  next  step  in  tl-i-P-^-f  .^^^^  f;  belongs  to  Sch.ffer. 
,nove  extraorain.uy.  The  mcnt  of  ^^'^^  ^'«;;;  {^^t^^  f,om  Guttenburg. 
tl.e  partner  of  Euu.tu.  after  ^l^^^^^^^^^.  .olid  types,  and 
lie  engraved  matrices  u.  -^^  "sJl  g  of  Mentz,  in  1462.  dispersed 
preserved  the  improvement  unl.l  the   '^^'^'' ^  „„  afterward 

he- knowledge  of  the  valuable  art  t^'^^B':;^   ,^^^  '      ,  improvement 
employed  steel  punehes  for  the  purpo    •     I  e    -    g^^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^.^.^^^ 
wa    that  of  casting  whole  pages  in  »«^»j- «^   ^^         ^     j,i,„  MuUer,  at 
method.     Tl>is  stereotyping  process  was  invented     y 
Leyden,  in  1C90.  ^^  .^^  ^^„„t,y  ^^fore  the  Revolu- 

The  principal  part  of  ^''7^1''  .^^i  Type-foundenes,  on  a 

tiou  was  imported  from  Eng  and.  T'-;  "^  "^^^^fj    ,,,,  ume.     The 

.mall  scale,  established  ^^^^^^^^^  j.  riSy  meufioned,  established 
earliest  of  these,  beyond  doubt,  was  ^'"^  /'''  J  i,,„i,^  ,bout  the  year 
>;  Cl>ristopher  Sower,  at  ««'-'"-^7"' "J;;;!  German  Bible,  which 
1740.     He  cast  the  types  for  a  quarto  d  tion  o  1^^  U  ^^^^  ^^^^^^ 

completed  in  1743.  and  other  va^^^^^.^^^^^^^^^^^  At  this  foun- 

German  poople  who  ^^-\^2lsln^^^^^^^  -d  Engli.h  character, 

dery  he  cast  a  number  of  font   of  ty^.  >  ^^^     ^,^^  ^^^^j^,,,  ^as 

for  the  use  of  himself  and  oth  rs  a.ul  after  ^^^^^^  ^^_^^^^^^^  ^^^^ 

extended  by  his  son.  C»"-;  ^^ «  f  ^^[^f  ,„„,,y  for  many  years.     He 

largest  book-making  estabbshment  m  the  co       y  ^^  ^ 

made  his  own  types  and  prmting^nk.  and  gav^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^ 

„ill  and  several  binder.es  The  bu^^relphia,  who.  about  the  begin- 
Messrs.  Biuney  &  ^'^^^^.^[^^^^^^^^  the  United  States,  and 
„„g  of  this  century,  ca^a^l  ^e  t^P-        ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^y^^.^^^,,.     ,, 

introduced  a  very  ^'^P^'^^^^VX  business  is  still  conducted  on  a  vast 
the  hands  of  their  successors  the  business 

''''^^-  1  ,r .  r fi  an  attempt  was  made  in  New  York  to  print 

About  the  years  nC3-G6,  an  altemp  ^^^^^^^^  language, 

an  edition  of  the  Book  of  ^om-    J-yer.^n  ^^.^^  ^^  ^^.^  ^^ 

prepared  by  Messrs.  ^"^7^'^f";;:,;li3le  difficulties,  because  there 
have  beer,  attended  with  almost  "^^•^'  3.      ^^^,,„  m  the  Colonies. 

.as  not  at  the  time  "  a  J^^^^-^/;;^^^^^^^^^  by  Wm.  Weyman.  the 

Nine  sheets,  or  seventy-four  pages,  were  c^mp      J^^  ^^^^^^  .^ 

::5^t:?:i^HS:^:i"=^^^^^ 

four  or  five  hundred  copies  were  P"«»'^;  ^„„  ^y  a  Mr.  Michel 

(1)  Documentary  Hist.  N.  York.  vol.  Ui.  p.  1152. 


BVEU/S,  FRANKUN's,  ANT)  haine's  tyt-e-foundeutes. 


213 


ustbo  deemed  still 
elonga  to  Schoeffer, 
er  from  Guttenburg. 
the  solid  types,  and 
z,  in  1462,  dispersed 
ope.  He  afterward 
great  improvement 
1  form  to  the  original 
by  John  MuUer,  at 

try  before  the  Revolu- 
Type-founderies,  on  a 
aring  that  time.  The 
mentioned,  established 
Ivania,  about  the  year 
e  German  Bible,  which 

)r  the  use  of  the  many 
•ovince.     At  this  foun- 
and  English  cliaracter, 
leath,  the  business  was 
le  latter  conducted  the 
•y  for  many  years.     He 
mployment  to  a  paper- 
ward  descended  lo  the 
who,  about  the  begin- 
the  United  States,  and 
of  the  type-mould.     In 
till  conducted  on  a  vast 

Se  in  New  York  to  print 
,  the  Mohawk  language, 
rilvie,  which  was  said  to 
'difficulties,  because  there 

r  House"  in  the  Colonies. 
itedbyWm.  Weyma!i,the 

It  three  years  after,  it  was 
13  priuter  in  that  city,  and 

„  Boston  by  a  Mr.  Michel- 
i  were  said  to  be  equal  to 


any  imported  from  Great  Britain.     But  he  does  not  appear  to  have  suc- 
ceeded in  establisliing  a  permanent  business. 

In  the  folloNving  year,  Abel  Bucll,  of  Killingsworth,  in  Connecticut,  a 
cold  and  silver  sn.ith,  and  ingenious  nicdmnic,  who  hod  been  engaged  m 
lapidary  work  and  in  map  engraving,  and  had  recently  been  pardoned  for 
counterfeiting  a  Colony  note,  petitioned  the  Council  to  aid  him  in  construct- 
in<r  a  foundery  for  casting  printing  type,  by  a  new  process  which  he  cla.med 
to  have  discovered.     His   application   was  granted,,  and   he   afterward 
erected    at  New  Haven,  a  Typc-'oundry,  in  the  Sandemanmn  Mectmg 
House  'in  Grcgson  street,  where  he  employed  fifteen  or  twenty  boys  in  the 
business.     He  received  encouragement  in  the  undertaking  on  account  of 
the  difficulty  experienced,  during  the  early  stage  of  the  War,  in  procuring 
types  for  printing,  except  occasionally  at  much  risk,  from  Franc^^     The 
enterprise  appears  not  to  have  survived  the  protracted  contest.  After  the 
war  Buell  was  employed  by  the  State  in  coining  copper  money,  for  which 
he  constructed  all  the  necessary  apparatus  in  such  perfection  as  to  be  able 
to  make  one  hundred  and  twenty  coins  per  minute.     He  subsequently 
went  to  England,  where  his  advice  was  sought  in  the  construction  of  iron 
bridges      His  ostensible  reason  for  going  to  England  was  to  procure  a 
supply  of  copper,  but  really,  it  is  said,  to  obtain  «  knowledge  of  the  im- 
proved cloth-making  machinery,  which  was  not  allowed  to  be  exported. 
He  died  in  the  almshouse,  at  New  Haven,  about  1825.' 

In  1775  Dr.  Franklin  brought  with  him,  from  Europe,  the  materials 
for  a  complete  Type-founding  establishment,  which  he  had  purchased  m 
France  He  erected  a  house  near  the  site  of  his  first  landing,  and  in  a 
portion  of  it,  fitted  up  his  Type-foundery,  and  a  valuable  printing  apparatus, 
procured  in  London,  and  employed  a  portion  of  his  advanced  years  m 
the  occupation  of  his  early  life.  The  type-making  branch  was  particularly 
designed  for  the  benefit  of  his  grandson,  Mr.  Bache,-  whose  future  career 
as  a  printer  he  spared  no  opportunity  of  advancing.  Bache,  having  en- 
gaged  in  the  publication  of  the  Aurora  newspaper,  made,  however,  httle 
use  of  the  founding  apparatus.  ^  r.,-  t  ,,„ 

Soon  after  the  War.  John  Baine,  an  aged  type-founder  of  Edinburg, 
sent  to  Philadelphia,  in  charge  of  a  relative,  the  materials  for  a  Type-man- 
ufactory He  not  long  a/ter  arrived  in  person,  and  establir,..ed  the  farst 
permanent  Type-foundcry  in  the  country.  He  cast  the  types  fo; ^.P"^]'^" 
of  an  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica.  which  was  republished  in 
Philadelphia,  by  Thomas  Dobson,  in  eighteen  volumes,  quarto,  the  first 
volume  of  which  consisting  of  one  thousand  impressions,  was  published 

(1)  Barber's  Iliet.  Coll.  of  Connecticut. 


iii.  P' 


1152. 


PUTNTING  rUES..S   IN    THE   COLONIES. 


214 

V  .  •    1-00  at  11.C  age  of  sevcuty-sevcn,  and  the  con- 
i„nOO.    Eaiue  (Ilea  >n  1.00,  at  II.C    „ 

cern,  we  believe,  was  elosed.  _  ^^^.^^,^^,.^  ^o  New \ork, 

Abouttwoyearsaftev,Dav>dl>^^    c   a  ^^^^^  ^,^^^_     ,^,^^  , 

,„a   established  the  Type-fouu  n  g  bu  •  ^^^^^^^^^,.^,  ,^  ,, 

p.  &  a.  «vuce,  in  1813,  com---^  ^  ^,  ,,,  ,y^,,  called  secretary 

Suited  States.     0.  Bruce  -^^J^,,,  ,,  several  valuable  impvov- 
or  roude.  and  the  family  ^vere  the  o      na  ^  ^^  , 

Lnts  in  these  branches      [^^^  /^    ,  f,,,,,,g  year,  with  llichard 

America,  came  from  Lcth,  u,  ^^^^^^^  ^,   ,,,   ,,ess  which    beur. 

Bonaldson,  Adam  I^-^^^'^^'^JJ^rhorburn,  of  New  York      Kon- 
,,,  .ame.  and  the  now  a.e     [^t,  revived  the  type-mahiug  busme. 

aldson,  in  connectvon  l^^^^^^^^'^X^s'  xdu.ively  to  that  branch.     The 
,,rirdadelphia,devoUng      e^d^^^^^^^^  ^_.^.  .^^,^^^.,y  ,,,   America- 

iutrodueed  some   '"'f^'';^^"'^^^^^^^^  ,vith  enterprise. 

type-mould,  and  conducted  th    b-  ^^  ^^^  rrluting-pr-s.  is  sa. 

4    riuNTiNO  PuESSES.-lhe  eauicsi  .         .,,,  i„  fan.iliar  use  i 

,Xl  been  constructed  in  ^^^^^^l^:!:  l^^,..,  for  the  pu 

,,,  ,      ._  couidry  o     lie  ..  and  to^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^  -^tJ'l^     1 

pose  of  printing.     H"^  •^">  America,  was  given  it  m  Ib-O, 

Jansen  Blaew,  a  joiner  o   A-  ^  ^^   ;^^^,,  .„  „,,„,,  .aid  soon  after 

several  improvements  -^'^J^^^^^^  ,„,,«  upon  Blaew's  models 

England.     Some  additional  ^^'^^""'^^^     .5,,^,^  of  Birmingham,  a  . 

.,Lrville,the  ^^^^^^^^  ^    Z^]Z^  of  that  kind,  imported   i 

,Ue  middle  of  the  last  -"tiu-  .-        V^.  ,,  u.e  llev..hi  - 

England,  chiefly.  -MU'l-  ^  ^  ^     ,,„„,,,,  introduced  into  Lngl 

TI-.  lloUing-press  for  C  IM^^'  l"^'  ,     ^„,  g  ,,ed.  is  supp 

j„  ,,  reign  of  James  the  ^  -^'f;  „;^.t  "ii./t  the  beginning  of 

to  have  been   first  ^^'^^     ,lf :  ;  ri.'.endent  of  the  lloyal  Pnn 

eighteenth  century.     M^  ^V^  -    ;     I        ,,^,,,,  ,„provements  in  p 

ing  machinery,  late  m  uic  ,.„„s, ruction. 

tivc  of  a  now  press,  and  its  mod    o  ^^  ^^_^^^^^^^^^_ 

Still  later,  the  ingenious  C1>'"1-*     ^  ^;,,.  .^  ,>i,  attention  t 

interested  in  the  new  process  of  st  ao    1     ,  ^^^^^^^_  .^_  ^^^,,^^ 

,„,,.ovement  of  that  art.  and  >  ^  '^,^,,,,,  s,,,,,type  rrinting. 
.Uh  much  ''l^-'--;^^'^';;;,,:;  Press,  more  automatic  tha, 
„,,K.h  bears  his  name       lb    ^t"  ,n.n,lred.fold.  tV.e  yowe 

,.fore  constructed,  and  capab     0       ar  y     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^.^  ^, . 

the  same  labor  as  the  --->;;';;;,  „       ,-,„  „f  it.  meehanis, 
..rinciplcs  than  any  previously  m  um.  I 

e,,l,lied  to  the  ordinary  press. 


,0NIE8. 

vcuty -seven,  and  the  con- 

iEainbur?toNcwYork, 
i,  that  city.     The  fim, 
.tcrcotype  foundevy  in  the 
the  type  called  secretary 
■  several  valuable  impvove- 
ieh  brought  I).  r,ruee  to 
lowing  year,  with  IV.chard 
f   the   I'l'css  wliieh    hears 
rn    of  New  York.     Kon- 
a  the  type-making  busmess 
■ely  to  that  branch.     Tl>o> 
imrticularly  the   American 

enterprise.  . 

3f  the  Printing-press,  IS  said 

.•lue-press,  in  fan.iliar  use  in 
,cen  ill-adapted  for  the  pur- 
•ation  it  received  until  long 
•x  was  given  it  in  1620,  by 
rierward  a  p'-it>ter,  who  made 
„  Holland  and  soon  after  in 
ade  upon  Blaew's  models  by 
nvinter  of  Birmingham,  about 

'  of  that  kind,  imported  from 
,.s  nrevion.  to  the  Revolution 
li,,.  introduced  into  England 
„.,,,  ,,y  one  Speed,  is  suppose, 
about  the  beginning  of  the 
tendentof  thclloyalPnnt.ng 

further  improvements  in  pnnt- 
.id  published  a  treatise  descnp- 

ruction. 

Stanhope,  of  England,  becoming 

i„^,,  tu- od  his  attention  to  the 

,f  a  skillful  mechanic,  complete  I 
rful  Stereotype  Printing-press, 
^rcss,  more  automatic  than  any 
.ahundred-fold.tV.cvowerwith 

,s  constructed  on  more  se.entilic 
1  a  portion  of  it.^  mechanism,  wa* 


DEARBORNE'S   AND   KINSLEY'S  PRESSES,   ETC. 


815 


r.ut  these  presses,  and  the  cylindrical  ones  of  Nicholson,  of  London 
„n       el  Ml  ITU.)  were  not  introduced  into  this  country  during  the  period 
e    ilvie;.     The  old  wooden  presses  used  before  the  Kevolut.on 
Zc  worked  by  hand,  and  the  ink  was  also  applied  by  a  manua    proc  s. 
called  InmnuX  means  of  leathern  ball,  which  gave  place  to  the  roller 
onlv  about  thirty-five  years  ago.  ,     .    ..^a 

Ibout  the  pedod  of  the  Ilevolution.  Benjamin  Dearborne,  who  in    .     , 
became  the  publisher  of  the  New  Hampshire  Gazette,  established  at  I  oiU- 
lu  lii   1  50  by  Daniel  Fowle.  with  whom  he  had  learned  the  printing 
":    e's  L  ,  d  at  his  time  the  oldest  paper  in  the  United  Statcs,_,n v  Mited 
Tie' press,  a.  it  was  called,  which  was  used  for  a  time  at  New  mr,. 
no        I    impressed  the  whole  si.ie  of  a  sheet  at  one  pull  of  th    le^er 
Whe  phitte     turned  with  the  tympan.  having  a  counterpoise  to  balanc 
it       d    he  power  of  the  lever  had  the  additional  force  of  a  .vheel  and 
axle  "     As    >.  the  old  band-presses,  two  persons  could  work  upon  it  a 
th    same  t  me.     Dearborne.  who  subsecpiently  removed  to  Boston,  and 
b    ane    xtensively  known  as  the  inventor  of  the  Dearborne  patent  s  eel- 
V     la  d    .ahuJes,  still  in  considerable  repute  with  many,  some  time 
.r     ous  to  1810,  devised  another  press,  on  mi  entirely  new  pan  will 
Terte    simplicity  of  contrivance  than  any  then  in  use  and  designed  to 
'       e  grea  er  power  and  dispatch  in  printing.     This  ingenious  mccha- 
Xi"  we  believe,  was  the  only  one  who  attempted  any  innovation  in  the 
Printing-press,  which  it  is  proper  to  notice  in  this  place 

A     od  ficat  on  of  the  cyliudei-press  of  Nicholson,  which  was  patent  d 

bvD     Kinsley,  of  Connecticut,  in  HOG;  the  patent  circular  press    f 

i2  th    i  V  ntlons  of  Adan,  ,   Ramage.  Dow,  and  others    and  the 

!Zdi     achievement  of  Iloe,  belong  to  a  ater  period,  and  .il    receive 

a     other  place  such  notice  as  their  merits  «hall  «eem  to  demand. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


BRICKS,  AND  THE   MANUFACTURES  OF  CLAY. 

One  of  the  earliest  evidences  of  an  improved  social  condition  in  any 
community  is  an  increased  attention  to  the  convenience,  elegance,  and 
permanence  of  the  dwellings  of  the  peoulc.  Hence,  Mr.  Hallam  has 
justly  observed,  that  "  No  chapter  in  the  history  of  national  manners 
would  illustrate  so  well,  if  duly  executed,  the  progress  of  social  life,  as 
that  dedicated  to  domeitic  architecture." 

From  the  extremely  rude  cabin,  first  constructed  by  the  emigrant  of 
round  or  roughly  hewn  or  squared  logs  or  planks,  riven  from  the  trees 
upon  the  spot  where  they  had  fallen,  to  lot  in  the  sunlight  upon  the  nu- 
cleus of  a  rising  villag?,  the  change  to  houses  constructed  with  a  view 
to  elegance  and  the  highest  amount  of  domestic  comfort,  in  a  new  country, 
is  usually  a  slow  one.  The  first  habitations  of  our  forefathers,  aspired  to 
little  superiority  over  the  primitive  wigwam  of  the  native,  and,  in  many 
instances,  were  constructed,  temporarily,  in  imitation  of  the  aboriginal 
bark  hut  of  the  savage.  The  tenement  of  the  Colonist  was  possibly,  in 
some  instances,  d  less  comfortable  one,  by  far,  than  tluU  of  his  Indian 
neighbor,  with  its  closely  wallled  and  thatched  roof  and  walls,  its  plenti- 
ful  hangings  of  mats,  constructed  of  flags  or  reeds  stitched  with  Indian 
hemp,  and  its  stock  of  warm  furs  and  skins,  which  eOfectually  repelled  the 
most  inclement  cold.' 


(1)  Whether  we  regard  it  as  r  primorJial 
ft' t,  trnnifcrrcd  at  sumo  remote  time  fmm 
tlio  eautcrn  to  the  western  Ciinliiiont,  by  the 
race  which  first  neoplod  ttioso  shorei",  or 
M  an  exnni'-lo  of  the  mr^nnor  in  which  the 
human  mind,  under  nimilar  oireiim!'tnn''o«, 
worki  out  the  dnmo  ends  by  similar  dovicos, 
the  fact  is  alike  )nlerei<tin  thnl,  a»  the  use 
of  clay  in  tlio  differtnt  flelile  nmnufiicturei 
bolonKB  to  the  Infancy  of  all  niitionK,  so 
among  the  American  red  races,  it  was  one 
I'f  the  mint  general  and  perfect  of  aburlglual 
(216) 


oris.  Some  tribes,  particularly  the  I'cru- 
vinns  and  Moxicanf,  were  iiccustnmed,  be- 
fore tbe  Spanish  conquest,  to  irnnufiicluro 
bricks  like  the  Ilabylonians  and  Egyptians, 
of  clay  iitid  stubble,  which  they  dried  in  the 
sun,  and  cemented  by  a  kind  of  morlnr, 
made  souietimos  of  tempered  clay  and  lime, 
and  sometimes  by  moans  of  asphaltura. 
These  adobes,  or  sun-dried  bricks  are  exten- 
sively made  by  some  of  the  modern  tribes 
of  New  Mexico,  California,  ftnd  other 
parts. 


ILAY. 

il  condition  in  any 
iencc,  elegance,  and 
!,  Mr.  Hallam  has 
f  national  manners 
iss  of  social  life,  as 

by  the  emigrant  of 
ivcn  from  the  trees 
ilight  npon  the  nii- 
tructed  with  a  view 
rt,  in  a  new  country, 
refathers,  aspired  to 
laiive,  and,  in  many 
n  of  the  aboriginal 
niat  was  possibly,  in 
thpt  of  his  Indian 
and  walls,  its  plunti- 
stitched  with  Indian 
ectuaily  repelled  the 


,  particularly  the  Pcru- 
nf,  wore  nccuBtciiiiDd,  bo- 
?onqucst,  to  irnniifnclure 
bylonians  and  EgyptianK, 
I,  wliioh  they  dried  in  tlia 
■d  by  a  kind  of  morlnr, 
r  tempered  clay  and  liino, 
y  tnoani  of  ajpliallum. 
;in-drivd  bricks  are  exten- 
me  uf  tlie  mcidi'm  tribei 
,    California,    and    otber 


DWELLINGS   OF  EARLY   SETTLERS— FIRST  BRICK-KILN.  217 

The  dwelling  of  the  European  settler  for  many  years  was  but 

"  A  rudo  habitation, 
Solid,  substantial,  of  timber  rough-hewn  from  the  firs  of  the  forest. 
Wuoden-barred  was  the  door,  and  the  roof  was  covered  with  rushe,, 
Latticed  the  windows  were,  and  the  window  panes  were  of  paper. 
Oiled  to  admit  the  light,  while  wind  and  rain  were  excluded." 

From  a  dwelling  of  this  descriptif  n,  with  its  wooden  chimney  and  floor 
of  clay  with  one  or  two  apartments  only  scantily  supplied  with  furniture, 
wherein  the  housewife  plied  her  drmestic  employments  by  the  light  of  a 
bl.".:!;ing  log-fire,  or  a  light-wood  candle, 

Urit  odoratam  nocturna  in  lumtna  cedrum, 

the  transition  to  the  neat  and  capacious  frame  house,  or  one  of  brick  and 
,  V  °  is  only  accomplished  by  years  of  toil  and  patience.  The  si-ostitu- 
uon  for  those  materials,  of  bricks  or  hewn  stone,  slates,  tiles,  snwcd  and 
planed  boards,  sash  and  glazed  windows,  plastered  and  painted  or  papered 
walls  with  corresponding  improvements  in  the  i.-tcrior  .locorat.on  and 
appointments,  involves  the  introduction  of  many  forms  of  industry,  and 
the  appropriation  of  many  valuable  materials  by  processes  of  art  from 
the  great  store-house  of  nature. 

The  enterprise  which,  in  point  of  comfort  and  appearance,  most  speedily 
modified  the  primitive  irchitectnre  of  the  Colonies,  was  the  introduction 
of  the  saw-mill ;  which  not  only  supplied  materials  i:.  an  improved  form 
but  also  furnished  valuable  articles  of  export  for  the  infant  commerce  of 
the  Colonies.  But  until  a  people  begin  to  build  for  the  future,  to  con- 
struct for  other  generations  than  their  own,  architecture  can  hardly  be 
Baid  to  have  an  existence.  The  more  enduring  forms  of  Bnck  prompt 
thelnq-=:  — 

<<  What  the  temple  we  wo  ild  build 
Now  the  massive  kiln  is  risen  V 

The  first  Ikiek-kiln  of  which  we  have  any  account  in  New  England,  was 
erected  in  Salem.  Massachusetts,  in  lf.29,  the  year  following  that  in  which 
Francis  Webb  was  commended  to  the  patronage  of  the  Oovernor 
kii"  utw  o„  „,co«„t  of  his  saw-mill,  as  mentioned  in  a  previous  chnptcr. 
"'.''*'"' '"  ..  It  is  thought,"  writes  the  minister  of  Salem,  about  July  of  that 
year  "here  is  good  cluy  to  make  Bricke,  and  Tyles  and  Earthen  pots,  aa 
need'  to  be,  At  this  instant  wo  are  setting  a  brick-kill  on  worke  to  make 
Brickes  and  Tyles  for  the  building  of  our  houses."     He  adds  also,     h  or 

tone   here  is  plentic  of  slates  at  the  isle  of  slates,  in  Massuthulet.,  Bay. 

and  Lime-stone,  Free-stone,  and  smooth  stone  and  Iron-stone,  oud  mar- 


215  COLONIAL  BVILDiXa  MATERIALS. 

Me  stone,  also  in  such  store,  tl.at  wo  have  g-at  Koekes  of  U  ^ncl  a  l.ar- 
bur  'uu'd  by      Our  plautatiou  is  from  thence  called  Marble  Ila  bu. . 

Th  existence  of  limestone  and  marble  thus  appears  to  h.ve  been  early 
dis  e  I  In  the  structural  economy  of  the  globe  and  o^  all  >ts  orgam^ed 
h  li  t  as  w.Il  as  in  the  arts  of  life,  there  is,  perhaps,  no  one  art.clo 
i;,;ensable  or  .nore  abundantly  met  with  than  lime  and  Us  com- 
Znlu  Oldunxou,  writing  of  I'ennsylva.ia,  says,  "  Mountjoy  :  a  Ma- 
n  at  belong..d    o  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Pen,  and  here  the  f.rst  L.me- 

Btone  wis  dug  tl>at  ever  was  found  in  America.'"     That  a  m.neral  so 
Itant  for  building  purposes,  as  a  flux  for  iron,  anu  other  uses,  so  un  . 
V    sally  distributed  in  its  various  forms,  should  so  long  renm.n  und.s  ov- 
I  e  ms   scarcely   credible.      Tl>e   discovery   of  compact   hmestono 

Id  to  took  plac.  not  long  previous  to  1G81  ;  but  tins  was  ev.den tly 
no    the  flrst  fo  nd  in  America.     Captain   Smith,  in  1G14,  n.  erred  U 
:.:Ltence  from  the  resemblance  of  the  cliffs  of  NewEng  and  to     o  cc.as 
of  Dover.     Morton,  who  lived  in  the  country  from  1022  to  1C3-  speak 
o    m  rble   "useful   for  sumpteous  pallaces,"  slate,  and  other  materials 

d        1  chalk  was  shown  him  by  an  Indian,  and  that  H-^tone  ex.sted 
to    his    knowledge.      Virginia,    about   that  lr;,r\'fJTt^t 
with   lime,    but   its   source   is    not   mentioned.     Thomas   Graes,  ;sho 
rettlea  at  Charlestown,  in  1020,  was  instructed  to  find  l--to"e  a  d 
that  and  other  ndnerals  were  probably  fou..d  by  h.s  agency    .^«    J;^  '  ' 
son  relates,  that  the  fort  on  Castle  Island  had  'o  be  rebu.lt  .u  104 4  be- 
cause "  the  country  afforded  no  lime  but  what  was  burnt  of  oyster  shell.s 
ate  time  it  was'  coustructed.     And  Jocelyn,  also  in  10C3,  alludes  to 
the  absence  of  stones  that  would  "  run  to  lir.e,  of  winch  t  cy  have  g 
want  "     The  earliest  mention  of  its  manufacture  that  we  hav-c  seen   was 
in  Rhode  l,.land,  where,  in  January,  10G2.  a  Mr.  Ilacklet,  of  Provulencc 
a,,plied  to  the  town  Tor  liberty  to  burn  lime,  and  to  take  .s/o,,.  and  wood 
from  the  commons  for  that  purpose,  which  was  granted  h.m  fora  lun.ted 
time      In  October,  1005,  the  town  ordered  that  "those  lune  rocks  abou 
ILu-klct's  lime-kiln  shall  perpetually  be  common,  and  that  no  land  shall 
be  laid  out  on  the  north-east  of  said  kiln,  within  si.v  poles  or  upon  tl.e 
other   sides   or   parts   of  said   kiln  within    sixty  poh   ,   this  said   k.ln 
bc.ng  at  or  near  a  place  called  Sroak,;„anolsrir-    The  I.mo  rocks  at 
that  place  became,  at  a  later  period,  a  source  of  large  quantities  of  lime 
for  exportation.     Limestone  is  not  abundant  in  the  eastern  part  of  Mas- 
.achuselts.  and,  as  late  as  1724.  shell  lime,  .hich  was  the  principal  de- 
pendeiico  in  all  the  Colonics,  was  in  common  use,  and  the  authorities 

(2)  Brit.  Emp.ln  Amcr.    EJ.1741,  i.  30.3. 

(3)  Aunuli  of  rroviili'Dce. 


(11  IIlBpi'i^'i'n'fl  \<'w  Englnnd"!  Planta- 
Mon,  1  Mii«».  Hist.  Cull.  VI.  118. 


cs  of  it,  and  a  liar- 
arblc  narbor.'" 

to  luive  been  early 
1  o!"  all  its  organlzeil 
haps,  no  one  article 
n  lime  and  its  com- 

Mountjoy  is  a  Ma- 
licre  tlio  first  Lime- 

Tliat  a  mineral  so 
i  oilier  uses,  so  uni- 
ig  remain  niidiscov- 

compact  limestono 
it  this  was  evidently 
in  1G14,  inferred  its 
ngland  to  the  coasts 
022  to  1C32, speaks 
nd  other  materials; 
iiat  limestone  existed 

was   well    snpplied 
homns   Graves,  who 
I  find  limestone,  and 
agency.     Yet  Johii- 
I  rebuilt  iu  1C44,  be- 
jrnt  of  oyster  shells," 
>,  in  lfiC3,  alludes  to 
vhich  they  have  great 
lat  we  have  seen,  was 
iicklet,  of  Providence, 
I  take  .s/o?i6'  and  wood 
ited  him  for  a  limited 
hose  lime  rocks  about 
id  that  no  land  shall 
iix  poles,  or  upon  the 
pol'   ,   this  said   kiln 
■*    The  limo  rocks  at 
rgc  (piuntities  of  lime 
!  eastern  part  of  Mas- 
was  the  prineipiil  de- 
0,  and  the  authorities 

.in  Atner.    EJ.  1741,  i.  303. 
I'ruvitk'Dce. 


FIRST  LIME  MADE-WOODEN  CIIIMNKYS-TH.VTCUED  ROOFS.  219 

Iheu  ordered  that  "  Muscles  shall  not  be  used  for  making  lime  or  any 
il.iii.r  fi-<e  except  for  food  and  bait  to  catch  fish." 
'      :        ;,  Edward  Scull  advertised,  iu  Bradford's  Amencau  Mei.ur 
../;;   good  lime   to  be   sold  by  him.  next  the    I^ankl.u   Tavo  n      n 
Front  street  I'liladelphin,  at  15</.  per  bushel,  and  he  will  dehve    U  to 
a,;;  1™  at  Salem,  Newcastle.  Burlington,  or  Bristol,  at  2.  per  bushel. 

''^J!J::::X  abundance  of  excellent  "ativ.  building  niaten^^ 
as  marble  and  other  stones,  and  of  lime,  which  could  have  b-     -"^  >y 
the  calcination  of  the  marble,  the  houses  o    the  first  -*^tle  .  .  e      lb    a 
lonsr  time  chiefly  built  of  wood,  even  to  the  chimneys      H.c^e,  m  tun 
rrmi        itU  the  custom  in  English  cottages  of  that  ^'^y- -^  "'-'^   ^ 
g  .  or  sticks  of  wood,  placed  one  above  another,  at  -«•>  J^;^^        ;^ 
.las  ered  with  clav,  or  mortar.     The  roofs  were  usua  ly  thatcl ad  n  tli 
^X-  1  ak  obt^iined  from  spots  of  ground  reserved  u.  some  phic    J. 
hat  use  above  low-water  mark.     Great  exposure  to  fire  was  tl  e  ic  u  t 
0   thi     t'y  e  of  building,  although  the  chimneys  and  roofs  were  sub   ct   o 
f  e       nt  nspectiou  by  olficers  detailed  for  that  duty.     Jamestown,  in  A  u- 
g       t ;;;;u:^the  ^rt.  storehouse,  and  all  their  conteuts  was  l.ur,je^  ni 
.1..  ■^■••t  vear  of  the  settlement  from  that  cause,  as  -vas  also  the  hist  bu  1  l 
:  ::!     :l;  :l-house  ereced  by  the  Pilgrims  at  1>>P-;1;.  ^  - 
a  month  after  it  was  built.     The  first  fire  in  Boston,  occurred  on  the     . 
Mr     1031   from  the  imperfect  claying  of  one  of  those  wocnlen  or  catted 
d       1  y      V lie  c    fire  com.nunicated  with  the  thatch,  and  destroyed  tvvo 
d^S^      Governor  Dudley,  iu  consecp.ence  prohibite    ^^^^ 

dCi    wo   ears  in  building_at  much  eM>onse_was  almos  as  soon  as 
ompleted,  destroyed  in  less  than  half  an  hour  by  the  l";^^;-;^^  «  ^^  JJ,''. 
fn.n  a  irun   in  the  reeds  with  which  it  was  covered.     But,  notwitlistanu 
Tp  oh     t    ns,  those  inllammable  materials  continued  long  ui  use,  esp^ 
ally!        infant  settlements.     So  prevalent  ha.l  tl''-'-^-  l^-;^?;;^ 
to  a  late  period,  that  General  Washington,  in  his  tour  through  the  Eastern 
Stat      118'.,  deemed  it  worthy  of  record  in  his  diary,  on  several  oca- 
,;  er   ea  iuK  New  York,  that  no  dwelling  houses  were  seen  in   ho 
':^;:^^.aZ^^n.  thron  h  which  he  passed  without  stone  or  bn.k 
dlinuieys      Those  in  Connecticut,  had  generally  "two  fiush  stones,  with 
ft  V.TV  (rood  show  of  sash  and  glass  windows."  r^„i,„ 

S, me  and  bricks-of  which  last  ten  thousand  were  sent  from  London 
to  M^adiusetts  iu  1020,  were  first  used  iu  the  construction  of  the  iirc 
i,Uu-es   which  were  usually  of  the  most  ample  dimensions. 
';;.;■  filluouse  of  Brii  erected  in  Boston,  and  perhaps  in  Massachu- 


220  COLONIAL   BflLWNO    MATKUIALS. 

setts,  was  built,  it  is  said,  by  Mr.  Coddiugton  one  of  t;«efatl>m  of  Rhode 
Island,  previous  to  his  removal  to  that  plantation  ,n  1638  In 
f- '^r^  1643,  ;  brick  watch  house  was  built  on  Fort  IIu  ,  m  the  town 
^•'^"""'"'-  of  Plymouth,  which  Dr.  Thaehcr  says,  is  the  earbest  notice  of 
bricks,  b/ll'l  he  probably  meant  in  that  -n  The  bnc  s  w^e^jr- 
•  1   A  1...  o  Mr   firimes   at  Us.  per  thousand.'     Lime,  Uiick,  ana  iul 

„.  i„d..„c„dc,it  callings  ii.  Nc»  England,  about  11.6  ycM  1C«.     Br  cl, 
Ikitrirthen  oar,L  on  at  MysUoK,  or  Mcdford,  wUcnce  tLc  prodne. 

"■"Trt's:  B^r  .adc  1„  «.c  Anglican  Colonics  Wvc.cr  ...  -.1- 
^-  ■  ■  o=  nnrlv  as  161'>  durli.tr  the  administration  of  Sir  Ihomas 
Virginia,  ^l^^-\^\^l'!-^^  J^  of  Virginia,"  of  that  date,  when  the 

f:L"j;i.c1:  Colony  consisted  of  seven  hundred  inhaoitants.  it  was  said  after 
"""         the  removal  of  the  people  to  a  healthier  place,  four  score  miles 
un  the  river  from  Jai^estown,  "the  spademen  fell  to  digging,  the  brick- 
"nen  bun     their  bucks,  the  company  cut  down  wood,  the  carpenters  fell 
to'onaH  g.^    sawyei-s  to  sawing,  the  soldiers  to  fortify  ng,  and  every 
man  to  BomewhKt.     And  to  answer  the  first  objection  for  w  lolesome 
Tdgi.  ^  1   r     they  have  built  competent  and  decent  houses  the    rst  story 
an  0  bricks  Uiat  e'very  man  may  have  his  lodging  and  dwe  ling  p  aee  ap.- 
by  himselfe."     In  1649,  the  Colony  had  lime,  it  was  said  and     s to.e  of 
bri  ks  made,  and  house  and  chimneys  built  of  Bricks  and  some  of  wo  d 
h  Ih  and  fa  ire.  covered  with  shingall  for  Tyle,  yet  they  have  nunc  tha 
ma^ke  t  em  wai  ting  workmen  ;  in  that  trade,  the  Briekmakers  have  not 
The    rt  rmake  it,\  shrinketh."    The  first  church  built  in  Virginia  was 
of  brick,  and  was  destroyed,  luring  Bacon's  rebellion  in  1  7G.  by  the 
burning  of  Jamestown,  which  was  chiefly  builtof  the  same  material.     Mr 
cTa    on  in  his  letter  to  the  Royal  Society  in  1688,  speaks  of  the  supenor 
nuaCof  the  cluy  he  had  found  there,  of  which  he  made  a  large  cruc.bl 
which^was  the  bist  he  had  ever  seen.     He  speaks  of  the  pipes  and  pots 
very  handsomely  made  by  the  Indians  of  clay. 

Boston  about  the  year  1657,  is  quaintly  described  as  having  "  large  and 
Bpacious  houses,  some  fairly  set  forth  with  brick,  tile,  slate,  and  stone,  and 
^  orderly  placed,  whose  continual  enlargement  presageth  some 

r^S^t" '"     sumptuous  city."   The  Massachusetts  Court  in  1667,  appointed 

M)  At  tho  fir.t  Court  of  A«bt.nt..  bold    lowing  March.    A.  M.ch  law,  ««-  f"""'*  »« 
(1)  A    ino  nr  ^  ^,^^_^,^  ^^„^^^_  t„  „t,,er  pUcc», 

',:,r,:r :::;::: ';;  :r:*, .;.. .;;/;-- ::-::-i:'.;rj::!:,,  ::; 
;:-;;:;;r::;;rr::::rrr-:.i.i....  «.,-....- 

lb;,  .mpon-io  oraerWM  rcpuloJ  in  iha  til- 


BRICK-MAKINa   IS    NKW    ENGLAND. 


221 


le  fathers  of  Rhode 
ation  in  1038.  In 
t  IIul,  in  the  town 
c  earliest  notice  of 
'he  bricks  were  fur- 
ac,  Brick,  and  Tile- 
1  that  were  pursued 
year  1647.  Briclc- 
whcnce  the  product 

wever,  were  made  in 
Lion  of  Sir  Thomas 
■  that  date,  when  the 
,nts,  it  was  said  after 
ace,  four  score  miles 
)  digging,  the  brick- 
1,  the  carpenters  fell 
fortifying,  and  every 
ction  for  wholesome 
liouses,  the  first  story 
I  dwelling  place  apart 
i  said,  and  "  store  of 
;s,  and  some  of  wood, 
they  have  none  that 
Brickmakers  have  not 
built  in  Virginia,  was 
lion  in  1C76,  by  the 
!  same  material.     Mr. 
speaks  of  the  superior 
made  a  large  crucible, 
of  the  pipes  and  pots 

\  as  having  "  large  and 
Ic,  slate,  and  stone,  and 
iincnt  presagcth  some 
)urt  in  1667,  appointed 

A«  duch  laws  wero  founil  to 
>nily  Bciirco,  to  other  places, 
were  removod  in  1810.  Tba 
ami  material  oomliiiioil,  may 
lie  of  tlie  oust  of  briok-work 
luri  a20. 


a  comnilttec  to  frame  a  law  to  regulate  the  size  and  mam.fac  u.    of  Bnck  . 
As  early  as  1G77,  a  brick  college  edifice  was  bu.lt  at  Cambr.dge  by    ub- 
Bcription,  and  in  1094.  a  substantial  brick  meeting  house,  the  first  buUt 
oMhat  material,  took  the  place  of  the  old  nnpainted  wooden  one     u 
Brattle  street,  Boston.     An  order  of  the  General  Court,  two  pars  befo 
required  buildings  above  a  certain  size  to  be  of  stone  or  bnck,  and  to  be 
creed  with  slates  or  tiles,  because  of  the  "  great  desolations  an    ru.n. 
caused  by  the  contiguity  of  wooden  buildings,  whence  ;t  •M-b.U^^e   hat 
the  town  was  no  longer  dependent  upon  importations  of  b.  cks^  In  1700 
lie  .Boston  contained  about  1000  houses,  and  7000  people.  Dr.  Mat 
says  of  it,  "ten  times  has  the  fire  made  notable  run.  among  «    but  the 
r  Jns  have  mostly  and  quickly  been  rebuilt."    But  a  more  than  usually 
derructive  fire  Occurred  there  in  1711,  after  which,  houses  were  pnnci- 
«allv  built  of  brick  and  of  three  stories  in  height. 

'tot:itLtanding  the  abundance  of  wood  ^^X'^^^^::^ 
settlers  in  Maine,  built  a  brick-kiln,  on  the  east  bank  of  ^»-  ^^  ^  "^^^^^^^ 
a  branch  of  the  K...nebec,  some  ti.oe  previous  to  107o.     Sir  B.lby  Lake 
andhi:  partner  Clarke,  settled  on  that  river  in  16G0,  and  one  W.  red  aM 
thirty  years  after,  the  owner  of  land  twenty-seven  miles  irom  the  head 
of  uav  gation,  in  digging  for  clay  to  begin  a  brick-kiln,  came  upon 
r  ins  of  an  ancient  kiln,  with  decayed  bricks  -f  «^^'" -"^^"7^//^'^^ 
manufacture.     The  site  of  the  kiln  was  occupied  by  a  hemlock  tree,  of 
more  than  two  feet  in  diameter.'  .      ,    .      j  n       i 

Bui  d  ngs  of  wood  principally,  however,  prevailed  in  that  and  the  ad- 
jacen    provinces,  previous  to  the  Revolution.     Bricks  to  a  ™all  amoun 
tere  Leluded  in  the  exports  from  the  Port  of  I'iscataqua.  m  the  years 

'^Melford,  wa.  in  early  times,  a  principal  place  for  the  manufacture  of 
Br^ksn  Massachusetts  and,  after  the  war.  produced  annually  abou    ou 
^  Hons  of  them.     Boston.'  Dorchester,  Charlestown.  and  a  few  oUier  of 
Th    older  towns,  furnished  the  chief  supply  of  an  article  too  weighty  to  be 
insported  ani  distance,  when  the  mean,  of  conveyance  were  imperfect. 
Te  old  al  populous  county  of  Worcester  produced,  in  severa    paces, 
krge  qua'titL  of  bricks  in  ancient  times,  and  is  still  next  to  Middlesex 
n  the  am     nt  of  bricks  manufactured.     The  last-named  county,  now 
Ikes  over  forty-eight  millions  annually,  nearly  nine-tenths  of  which  are 
made  in  the  towns  .f  f^ambridge  and  Somerv.lle  p^.^jdenc- 

A  few  fine  buildings  excepted,  the  towns  of  ^ewport  and  Frovdenc 
i„  Rhode  Island,  were  so.e  years  after  the  peace,  principally  constructed 

„..,„.  in  Boston,  and  was  furnished  by  John  Ilay- 

(,)  SuUivan'sILst  ofMamo.  .Jj  V    of  D^'^'"'""'' '"  ^^"• 

(2)  The  first  granite  ever  imed  in   this  ward,  r-sq..  oi 
country,  was  lo  the  erection  of  King's  Chai^el 


fM 


222  COLONIAL   BUILBISG   MATERIALS. 

imported  from  Holland.  wl.ere  the  ^^f^^^X^^^^^^^^  .^-Us, 
perfection,  early  pmlommated.    ^'^V""^"" ''"4'      .  .^^t^rdam 
B"S^    .      „,u1  tl.P  stvlc  of  architecture  adopted,  gave  to  ^cw  A mbteraam 
nmkiniin     ancl  tuc  SI) It  ui  uilu  -rv  V  I  +„,. n      Th(>  notcUcd  ffaole 

^ow  vork.  .„„„Utftkal)lc  features  of  a  Dutch  town.     1  nt  noiuau  ^ 

administration  of  the  last  Governor  ftuyve  ant^     Pre-ou.  t  . 

population.  .„„,i:„„,  previously  erected  on  the  island,  were 

The  pr  ncipal  public  buililings,  prcvum^  j- 

.1     ..  «.M.U  huvs  "  which  was  sold  at  auction  in  1696,  tor  i  J-w,  «"" 

have  engaged  in  several  uni  stuyvesant,  they  said,  had 

,„g.  mill-building,  ^'  -'-;^2^^^^^^  like  occupations 

been  mostly  engaged  in  bu.l  ing,  ^r  c    "laK.  fe.  ^^^       ^^^ 

on  the  Company's  accoun    ^»>«"g';  '"':^7^ '*^^;';;;  J^ges  against  the 
did  not  justify  the  expenditure.     There  wee  g  -  e     ha^^^^    g  ^^ 

energetic  Director,  or  -JJ^e^;^;;  :^,,7J   ^  r^^^^^^    Kray,  among 
probably  then  forniei  a  con  per  thousand,  payable  in 


BRICKS  AND  EARTHENWARE  IN  NEW   VOUK. 


223 


to  any  cotisiilerable 
rts  of  llie  Province, 
cxiiortd  thence  in 

^  or  in  part  of  Bricks 
)iig  existed  in  great 
color  of  the  bricks, 
to  New  Amsterdam 
The  notched  gable 
heckered  with  black 
ers,  the  date  of  erec- 
!  was  either  thatched 
unted  by  a  weatber- 

the  island  daring  the 
Previous  to  his  time, 
had  made  little  pro- 
ceed one  thousand  la 

d  on  the  island,  were 
1  in  1G42,  at  a  cost  of 

Conn^jcticut,  "a  fine 
lenties  Slip,  afterward 
96,  for  £920,  and  five 

about  the  same  time, 
n  of  a  better  class  of 
n  the  free  list  in  1648. 
ring  year,  to  complain 
bo  were  represented  to 
erprises,  as  ship-build- 
lyvesant,  they  said,  had 
d  such  like  occupations 
vantage,  for  the  profits 
?cr  charges  against  the 
received  as  evidence  of 
rs,   Tunis  Kray,  among 
cr,  performed  the  duties 
id  from  Holland  which 
imports.     The  price  of 
icr  thousand,  pnyable  in 

however,  several  brick 
liest  and  largest  of  these 


.U.  U,o„s„»a.     Among  a  numto  »' Jj""  '^     ";,,^„,  p„  „„Hcr,  one 

„„„.„c,,  "an  «'-;^-:;;,':    '::  J^      ::';:  t  .,«..  n,a,n,«-  „o.. 

";  Ta"lo°:i;r     n     c,,    i      asluneo  in  ,o.r  power.     If  l.e  resolve, 
8iblc,and  to  gnt  lum  tvti^  i^  T^in,,,!  ihis  year,  procure 

(steenbackery),   as  he   ^''^^'^'"^     ™  ^i^^.^lf  somewhere  on  the 

given  him  docs  not  appear.     He  f'^^'^f^^^  ^  j^^^^j  ,     i.-.m  on 

NorthRiver.     '^''^^"--^^ ?!|::;  ^:   ^y,"       b^^^^ 

a  tolerably  large  sea..,  as  the     ^tetn  BacLery  ^^^^ 

de  Hulter,  on  the  Uudson,  was  leased  about  th    time  tU 

ceded  to  England,  for  eleven   hundred  f ' '^  "  ^J^^^^^^^     ,,,,„teen 

,elon,ngto^.  same  for  three  ^^^^^ZXt.  day,  wl.n  a 

Sr:;^SU.eonsideredas^a.^^^^^^^^ 

that  potters'  wares  were  made  at  '^'' '^^^  f'l''-     .^^^^  ,„  L„„g  island, 
equal  the  Delft  manufacture,  was  made  m  ^    J--;  J^^"^^,,  J  ,,,,  ,« 
,ome  time  before  that.»    About  ^^^ -™f,    '"^^  1     i.^^,^;  the  Com- 
stron.My  commended  to  the  patronage  of   he  1  '^7''!'-  "^    ^'^  ^'j,''^  ^.^^ 
;::  ijllolland  reused  to  sauc.ion  cer^  graii.  ^^^;^  ^   ^^J  ^ ' 

one  for  a  potash  work,  i^^^^^^Z  Sie^i  refusal  evinces  their 
and  the  third  for  salt-works.     Ihe  ^^^flf'  ^f  ,,,,  ,,r,„ehes  of 

views  of  the  policy  of  -^^^^X^:':^:;^t.r^.j  say,  "we 
industry  by  monopolies  and  specul  V^^^ ^S'^         J  .^^  ^„,  ^i^^ie 

not  only  entirely  disapprove,  but  -q"      that  you  wig     ^^^^^^ 
grant  more  hereafter,  as  it  is  in  our  opinion  '^J ^  ™  ,  and  welfare 

f.incipaiiy  so  in  ^-:x::^^::ri::!z  ^r^^^^^  ^^  which 

cannot  be  promoted,  but  througn  gcnti  country,  either  as  a 

every  one  wl,o  n,i8„t  bo  >-'-"»;:  '|„X  ,  ^'^a/Le  regard., 
merchant  or  mechanic,  may  paiticipate. 

„,   ■     xt,„  ri.lo    LotiKue   dos   potteries   do   terro   qui 

(,)  Albany  Record.,  Vol.   V  OVnMun-  [^^^cTvl  rnonJ.Mn.^   auo  cellos  U. 

tell's  Annnls  of  Albany,  iv.  85.  Delft.-tf.«'.  Oeu.  d,  Voy,  x:ci.,  285. 

(2)    O'Oallagban'.  New  NetherUnds,  ...  Del.  ,  i,.  g-j.^i;.  an... 

j,r     Lea  UoUandois  avoient  etablis  dam        {i)  Alb.  ttccQr    , 


224  '   COLONIAL  BUILDING   MATERIALS. 

nics  tt  Iho  lime,  Md  it  ""»!  be  q"es"»»«  ^^^  ,^„„  if  „t 

any  Umc.  stand  m  -^^  ;J  ^./^f^.^any)  about  this  thne  by  AndrieB 
tile-kiln  was  owned  ^^  Beverwjck  (A        >;  ^^.^^  ^^^^^.^^^^^  ^^^^ 

Hubertsen  van  der  Blues     Bj^^^  ^     ^^  ^^^■^^,,^  Colony  on  the 
S:X:£et- "  :"le':e.f  .a.,  although  they  appea.  to 

have  been  made  ^^^J^  ^^/f  J       ^ed  to  the  Committee  of  Lords  on  the     ■ 

Governor  f:'lX^lll^^^^^^^^^  and  forty-three  houses, 

Colonies,  that  >ewyork  coniai  ,.      ^^  ^^od,  some,  lately, 

with  ten  inhabitants  to  each  of  the  bu'ljmgs      «n  ^.^^^^^  „ 

stone  and  brick.  ^^^^ -^'^ ^^r^^t  1^^^^^^  being  large. 

An  old  Dutch  writer  speaks  of  the  cUy  Ur^  e  J^^"         '  ^^^  ^i,, 

containing  about  five  hundred  houses,  ^'^  -^;>  ^;^  ^^  ^^^^.{^^^  ^ew 
.meanest  not  valued  at  less  than  £100.    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ..  ^he  buildings 

York,  about  the  close  of  ^^e  Beventeenth  c    tu^  .^ 

are  brick.  ^^^^^^^^Z^:^^  ^^  rintior,'  which  was  "neot  to 
being  glazed  they  l^^^J^ T'J'^^,,  fi^e-places  had  no  jambs,  but  the.r 
admiration,"  she  remarked  ^^^^^^^^^P  ,^,,,  ^,,e  of  tiles,  and  ex- 
backs  ran  flash  with  the  walls-    the  Aj^  P^^J  ^.,^,  ^,  g,,  f^et. 

tended  far  out  into  the  rooms  in  ^7^^;°^^^"^ j^i^'/,^„  j,  one  or  two 
About  this  time,  narrow  brick  footpaths  w  -  laid     own  ^^ 

streets.     Bricks,  pan-tyles    etc.,  paid  in    687,  ^^^^^  -      P^^  ^^^  ^^„. 
forty  shillings  o.  the  hundred  pounds  wor  h.     At  t^,e  ^^^^ 

tury!  Albany  contained  a  large  P-P^-  "  J  ^^^t  .f  the'  tweuty-four 
usually  covered  with  tiles.     The  style  nere,  as 


(1)  The  resources  of  the  country  in  build- 
ing materua  seem  not  to  have  been  well  un- 
derstood at  first     Mr.  V«n  Rensselaer,  after 
twelve    years'  occupancy,   and  a  personal 
visit  U>  his  Colony,  sent  out  with  a  fresh 
emigration  in  1642,  30,000  bMding  Btone, 
which  his  commissary  begs  him  not  to  re- 
peat,  as  but  a  part  were  received,  and  better 
could    be   had  at    the    North.      Of    4,000 
tiles,  and  3,000  bricks,  sent  at  the  same  time, 
he  says,  the  tiles  were  not  worth  th  -  freight, 

for  they  crumbled  all  away,  so  that  he  got 

but  ten  or  twelve  hundred. 


In  1637,  bricks  sold  in  New  Amsterdam 
for  ten  florins  ($4)  the  thousand.      Reeds, 
for  thatching,  were  at  the  same  time,  one 
and  a  half  florins  for  100  bundles,  mi  at 
Fort  Orange,  one  florin.    Carpenters  daily 
wages  were  about  two  florins  j    and  day 
laborers',  one  florin.   Nail,  were  eight  to  en 
stivers  (16  to   20  cents)   per  pound,  (100 
nails  to   the   pound.)     A  dwelling    house, 
built  wholly  of  oak,  even  to  the  doors  and 
window   casings,   was    purchased    for    the 
minister  at  Ren«elaerwyck  for  350  guilders. 
^O'Callaghan't  Neu  Netherlandi. 


NEW  YORK.      EAULY   BJICK-YARDS  IN   ALBANY. 


225 


which  the  principle 
rlier ;  and,  that  the 
■at  monopoly.     The 
in  the  English  Colo- 
t  were  the  wiser  one 
■ts,  which  then,  if  at 
encouragement.     A 
this  time  by  Andries 
riod  sometimes  sent 
►utch  Colony  on  the 
lOUgh  they  appear  to 

littee  of  Lords  on  the 
,nd  forty-three  houses, 
)st  wood,  some,  lately, 
'  their  several  kindes." 

later,  as  being  large, 
Dutch  bricks,  and  the 
:night,  describing  New 

says,  "The  buildings 
rs,  and  laid  in  cheques, 
:,r,  which  was  "  neot  to 
ad  no  jambs,  but  their 

were  of  tiles,  and  ex- 
0  the  width  of  five  feet, 
id  down  in  one  or  two 

duty  en  importation  of 
Lt  the  close  of  the  cen- 
»rick  houses,  which  were 

most  of  the  twenty-four 

icks  sold  in  New  AmBterdnm 
s  ($4)  the  thousand.  Reeds, 
;,  were  at  the  same  time,  one 
lorins  for  100  bundles,  aad  at 
,  one  florin.    Carpenters'  doily 

about  two  florins;  and  day 
B  florin.  Nails  were  eight  to  ten 
to  20  cents)  per  pound,  (100 
e  pound.)     A  dwelling    house, 

of  oak,  even  to  the  doors  and 
iings,  was  purchased  for  the 
RenMolaerwyck  for  350  guilders. 
\an't  Neu  Netherlandi. 


towns  and  villages  of  the  Trovince,  as  far  as  the  frontiers  at  Schenectady 
then  just  rising  from  its  ashes,  was  of  the  same  Bclgic  type  thut  prevailed 
more  or  less  for  a  century  later.    In  the  constructiou  of  these  a  partiality 
for  bi'ick  was  manifest, 

"With  terracod  g.aWe,  sharp  steep  roof, 
Walls  iron-lettered,  turret  vanes, 
Sashes  of  lead,  and  diamond  panes." 

Albany  was  the  principal  centre  of  manufacture  of  that  material.     But 
bricks  continued  to  be  imported  for  some  years  later.  A  house  was  standing 
about  thirty  years  ago,  on  the  corner  of  North  and  Pearl  streets 
fn'^^u^ba:  known  as  the  Lydius  House,  which  was  erected  m  1725,  with 
bricks  brought  from  Holland.    The  clay  banks  in  Lydius  street 
for  a  long  period  supplied  nnmerous  brick-yards  in  the  vicinity  with  ma- 
terial  foAheir  manufacture.     In    1728,  Luykas  Ilooghkerck  obtained 
from  the  City  Council  of  Albany,  on  petition,  a  'ease  of  two  acres  of^ 
land  "  upon  y-  gallohiU,  adjoining  and  near  a  small  run  of  water  for  y 
term  of  fifty  years,  for  y'  use  of  a  Brick-kiln  and  plain,  provided  he  and 
his  heirs  and  assigns  pay  therefor  to  the  Freemen  of  the  City  12s.  yearly 
and  every  year,  and  he  doth  not  stop  the  Roads  and  passes  etc^    Abra- 
ham Vasburgh  and  WilU.lmns  V.  D.  Bergh,  with  Mcholas  Grosbeek, 
were  granted  leases  of  similar  Ic.s,  near  the  same  place,  for  a  like  purpose, 
for  twentv-five  and  six  years  respectively,  and  on  the  same  occasion. 
The  city  'also  in  March,  1732-33,  granted  Lambert  Iladlcy  and  Jona- 
than  Broock.  an  acre  on  gallohill,  west  of  Hooghkerck's  br.ck-kiln,  for 
twenty  years:  for  the  use  of  which,  and  of  the  run  of  water  and  liberty 
to  use  the  clay,  they  were  to  pay  the  Corporation  20... ;  "and  in  case  a 
war  happen  to  break  out  during  said  term  of  years,  so  that  they  should 
be  molested  in  their  possession  of  the  same,  then    during  such  time  ot 
hindrance  or  molestation,  they  shall  pay  no  acknowledgment  for  the  same. 
The  hostilities  apprehended  were  from  their  New  England  neighbors. 
Jau  Masse  had  also,  in  1736,  a  brick-kiln  in  the  western  part  of  the  city, 
south  of  Foxe's  Creek  ;  and  Wynant  Van  der  Bergh,  on  the  north  side 

of  the  same  creek.'  .  ,    ,    ,      ,     r     ., 

The  hills  around  the  city,  which  anciently  furnished  the  clay  for  these 
works  have  long  since  been  leveled  at  great  expense,  and  the  fine  im- 
provements of  that  ancient  town  cover  the  low  grounds  then  occupied  by 
the  "  plains"  of  the  brickmakers  and  numerous  tan-pits,  supplied  with 
water  from  several  considerable   runs    or  creeks  now  converted  into 


(1)  City  Records,  in  Munsell's  Annals  of  Albany. 


15 


COLONIAL  BtlLDlNO  MATERIALS. 

,e.er.     The  ^anuracturc  has  not  ceased  to  be  an  important  industry  in 

^rlnhatta.  there  were  also  at  t.s  ^^^:-::f  ^t:^ 
and  coarse  earthen-ware  <=f  ^'-"•"'^"  "  ^J^  ,  "Ji  y  Pari,  where  he 
r.ulding  leased  a  part  of  the  ^^;^;Z^,^^,,,  north  of  the 
established  a  large  br.ck-yard.  Out  dt  ue^  p  ^  ^^^^^^  p,,.,,,,,,,-,  estab- 
eoiniuons,  there  were,  a  few  years  ,  ^^  ^^^.^  ^-^^^ 

lisbments,  .ear  the  Collect  ^"^^^  ^^''^'^  "  p^'^.^elphia  in  its  buildings, 
according   CO  Kai™,  rivaled  ^^^^'^^^^J^^^^^^^ 

which  were  mostly  ^^^^f'^'^'f^Z^'n^^^.  or  shingles  of  white 
longer  built  with  the  gable-en    to  ^^^^^^^^     ;^,^^^^^  ,„,,,,,  .,3 

fir,  were  the  coverings  of  ^'>«;;«f-  \j^^^  ,.^,^  ^,  ,ays,  conformed 

built  iu  1729.     The  ^''^''yy'^''^lZvtv'  Neatness  everywhere 

,uuch  to  the  old  style,  but  the  houses  -^°  v-y  "e     ^^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^_ 
characterised  the  Dutch  population      0^7  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^„,,^ 

ends  facing  the  street  were  of  ^^'^.^^';  "^J  The  covering  wa. 

-^  peculiarity  Which  ^'^f  ^  ^^  ;:^^^^^^  ^Vwhood  was  not  con- 
chieily  white-pme  shingles.     He  ci^y  ^.      ^^  ^^^  ^ther 

.idered  suitable  for  ^'^  "^^J^;      .r^     L  the  ex^^^^^^ 
,.,  a.  was  a  g.at  -^!  ^^^  ^^'^  lulli:  nor  elsewhere  in  North  Ame- 
plains  north  of  it.     iNeiuier  i  ,     j^,,  ..jime  or  mortar." 

l-iea,  had  the  writer  ever  seen  l---^^;j  7  dietaries  and  settlers  of 
The  letters  of  ^^^^l^^^;:;^^^^^  of  houses  to  have 

East  New  Jersey,  ui  168*.;ei>|esen^  ^    ^^  ^^^  g,.  „p, 

been  quite  primitive  .  ^'^'\^'\;^2uM  to  the  "rising." 
-TS-one  end  in  the  ^^^t^;^  ;^.,  .ithin.  Barns 
.ev...       They  were  covered  w^     s  1    ,lcs     ^^^P^  ^^  ^_^^^      ^^^^  ^^^, 

,vere  built  in  the  same  way.     The  eo^  brick-earth."  writes 

..antiles.  in  the  ^utch  manner,  ^th        g  ^he  country 

Luwrie,  "and  stone  for  building  a  A-boy  ^  ^  ^^^^^^^  ^^_^  ^^^_ 

farm-houses  they  build  very  cheaP  «  -^P  ^;  ^^^  „^,,j„g,  ,ave  nails, 
vants,  builds  the  house ;  the^h  aU  -te^  ^^^^  ^  ^„^.„,  , 
The  chimneys  are  f  »«•  J;"'j^^,,,  some  thirteen  years  later,  speaks 
enthusiastic  ^^^'P^'^^f.^^ti  and  Burlington,"  especially  at  the  last- 

,.        i,,7      fell  to  $2.50  per  thousand,  and  but  half  th< 
(1)   For    fifteen    years    prcccdms   1817,    '  <ie.    The  city  now  contain 

^   '  iv     .  „f  Tiripka  were  annu-     quaniuy  ""» '" 


BniCK-MAKINQ    IN    NEW   JERSEY   AND   rENNSYLVANlA. 


227 


aportant  bdustry  in 

everal  brick-making 
year  1742,  Joscpli 
Jily  Park,  where  he 
iS,  just  north  of  the 
je  pot-baker's  estab- 
rhe  city  at  this  time, 
)hia  in  its  buildings, 

newer  ones  being  no 
),  or  shingles  of  white 
)st-officc  building  was 
e,  he  says,  conformed 

Neatness  everywhere 
the  houses,  the  gable- 
jr  walls  were  of  wood, 
jy.  The  covering  was 
aborbood  was  not  con- 
Che  city,  on  the  other 
he  extensive  white-pine 
3ewhere  in  North  Ame- 

"lime  or  mortar." 
Tietaries  and  settlers  of 
class  of  houses  to  have 
trees  split  and  set  up, 
nailed  to  the  "rising." 
plastered  within.     Barns 
It  £5  each.     Some  used 
rood  brick-earth,"  writes 
elsewhere.     The  country 
,  with  a  man's  own  ser- 
I's  for  nothing,  save  nails, 
jy  some.     A  quaint  and 
hirtcen  years  later,  speaks 
[>o,"  especially  at  the  last- 
t,  and  had  "  many  fair  and 
fhichthe  gentry  have  built 
and  stately  palace  of  John 

n  per  thousand,  and  but  half  the 
as  raado.  The  city  noif  contains 
•yards. 


Tatcm,   Esq.,   which   is   pleasantly  situated   on  the   north  Mih  of  the 

town."' 

A  Brick  meeting  house  was  built  at  Salc.i,  by  the  Friends,  in  the  year 
noO,  at  a  cost  of  £415  13s.  It  does  not  appear  whether  the  bricks  wire 
imported  or  not.  Thirteen  years  later,  a  large  brick  house  was  I'uilt  iit 
nadiloiifield,  of  bricks  brought  from  England  by  Elizabeth  Iluddon, 
whose  father  had  purchased  four  hundred  acres  of  land  at  that  place  in 
1710,  and  sent  his  daughter,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  to  make  a  setllemeut, 
which  took  his  name. 

Free-stone  was  first  quarried  at  Newark,  in  1721,  and  was  thencefor- 
ward an  increasingly  valuable  article  of  export  to  neighboring  pro- 
vinces. 

The  first  dwellings  erected  by  the  Swedes  in  Fennsylvania  and  Dela- 
ware, were  of  a  somewhat  rude  description,  chiefly  of  wood,  one  Btory 
in  heiffht,  with  a  single  room,  the  doors  being  very  low,  and  the 

First  Dwell-  o      •  .      .,  i,        mi  e  .1 

'"K*'"        windows  merely  small  apertures  in  the  wall.     'I hey  were  ot  the 

I'pUllSV'lVH*  • 

">»•  kind  common  in  Northern  Europe,  for  a  century  or  two  previ- 

ous. On  Tinicum  Island,  Christina  Creek,  and  in  other  places,  they  built 
strong,  rude  forts  of  hemlock  and  hickory  logs,  filled  in  between  with 
sand  and  stone,  and  some  churches  also  of  wood  and  stone.  They  built 
one  of  brick  at  Wicaco,  in  the  year  1700.  This  antiquated  littU-  iioii^-e 
still  remains,  and  was  considered  a  fine  building  when  it  was  erected. 
Better  dwellings  were  erected  by  their  neighbors  and  successors,  the  Dutch, 
— whu  brought  bricks  from  New  Netherlands  for  the  purpose.  At 
New  Amstel  (New  Castle),  bricks  were  made  in  1656,— as  appears  by  a 
petition  of  Jacobus  Crabbe  to  the  Court  at  that  place,  respecting  a  plan- 
tation "near  the  corner  where  brick  and  stones  are  made  and  baked. "^ 

Ferris  states  that  he  had  seen  in  his  youth,  at  New  Castle,  the  house  in 
which  Governor  Lovelace  entertained  George  Fox,  in  1672,  built  of  brick 
and  hewn  timber,  the  mortar  and  cement,  made  of  oyster-shell  lime, — 
lime-stone  not  having  been  yet  discovered.  It  was  standing  about  the 
beginning  of  this  century. 

The  house  at  Chester,  or  Upland,  in  which  was  held  the  first  Assembly 
in  the  Province  after  the  landing  of  Penn,  was  also  of  brick. 

Although  the  first  English  settlers  in  the  Province  were  compelled  to 
find  temporary  lodgings  under  the  friendly  shelter  of  forest  trees  and  in 
caves,  or  huts  erected  for  present  defense,  they  were,  very  shortly  after 
the  laying  out  of  the  future  Capital,  in  possession  of  some  substantial 
brick  edifices.'     In  the  centre  of  the  city  plot,  "  fiir  out  Market  street,  at 

(1)  O.  Thomas'  Hist.  Penna.  and  West  (.•?)  John  Key,  the  first  ohiUl  horn  of  E;i- 
New  Jeri-cy.  8''^''  parents  in  Philadelfhin,  w:is  l>.)in  it  a 

(2)  Haiard's  Annals  of  Penna.,  209.  cave,  in  the  bank,  near  Race  street. 


COLONIAI.  BVILDINO   MATERIALS. 


1   •    ^c'^^i  'he  first 

„„,,  „  ...oson,ca  in  tl.c  Torct,  «  «*'■„"',;  ,,1  re«»'. 

Cenlre-squaic,    em  j        ,.„  Wrtre  pluin  brick  buiiaing.       >        ^r  «vicks 
l.,.iena-.  meeting-house      a  a  ge  1  ^^  ^^.^^  P^T'^^'  Vhcth    ^^^ 

,,trucUous  to  his  agent  m  that    «  ^^^^  ,  ^  ^^^^^  ,,   ,.  Wheth  r   U 

uv  which  end  he  had  sent  a  person  \  .     ^^aterial,  as  it  has  btcu 

^7^^  t:  Manor.ho.se  of  ^^-^^     ^^^  ,,,  ,„nt  of  hricU 

Bucis  Councy,  which,  he  says,  cost  bun  ov  ^^^^^^^^^  j 

the  materials  having  been  pnnc  pa  ly  brouj,  ^^      ,^^  ^^^^^  ^^^  ,i, 

7';:2l  edifice,  many  "^^'^  l^^;      ^ ^^  year^  after  theLand m 
,y   verebniltofthesamemate na   -t  ^^^^^^„  ^^  ^,,       nh-e. 

iobert  Turner,  .hose  •'gve-l^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^,,,ol  T  onias 

corner  of  Front  and  Are     ^^'^J^,  „„„e  to  tbe  street,  built  t 

1698,  facing  the  stone  arch  wUit  >  b  ^^  ^^^^^  „«  i685    ^ 

hree-story  brick  houses,  and  ^^^^'^"^  ^^  p.^jel  Pegg.    This  p  eas 

r      t  ani  Gveen.  was  a  l-^^  ^J^f  ^^.d  by  Pegg's  lUn.  and  also 

OS  dence,  surrounded  by  '"-J^  jf ^.o.ite  the  Treaty  tiec  a   Sin 

Le  brick  edifice  of  Thomas  Fairma i,  oil  (j^.^^nors  of  the  1 

'surpassing  all  in  size  ^"^  -"^^Xyor  of  the  City,  built  abou^ 
.ion  of  Edward  Shippen.  the  ^^^  ;V,^^^,  ,„a  Dock  street,  or  c 
--  time,  on  Seeoml  ^-^  ^^:1,...  with  a  greenness  to  ^ 

The  old  State  House,  or  ^f^^^^^^^  ,,  a  favorable  spec.n 
J,  with  its  historic  assoca  ion,   1 11  ^^^^^  ,, 

Jy  Provincial  archite.i^^    O^,^^  ^^^^^,  „„  ,,  banks 
,vcre  abu-ulant  withm  thccitj.an 

DclaNvarc  and  Schuylkill.  ^^^^^^    ^f  ^i.ich  the  tov 

U  is  probable  that  some  of         oar  y  ^^  ^^^^  ,, 

taiued.  in  K.Hi.  over  t  re.  -^^^;;.  /  ,,  f„,K,wing  year  in  h>s 

rastorins.  who  ^-'^^f ,«,'.:;   a  Province  of  Pennsylvania 
r;rrU^:^rr^-r  world."  record,  that,  when. 


BRICK-MAKING  IN  PENNSYLVANIA*  AND  IN  MARYLAND. 


229 


rectccl,  in  1C84,  the  first 
ilding."    William  Fenn  s 
ild  principally  of  BncUs, 
,nake  tl.em.  Whether  the 
,  umterial,  as  it  has  been 
,  or  not,  his  injunction  ap- 
i'crs  to  the  present  tune. 
,e  Assyrian  Capital,  says, 
Penn,  the  Quaker,  laid  out 
..sylvania;  undwercita 

fairest  and  best  city  in  all 
,e  whole  world."  _ 

few  miles  above  Bristol,  m 
£5  000,  was  built  of  bricks. 

.^'from  England.     Besides 
;  of  a  superior  class  for  that 
fiw  years  after  the  Landmg. 
s  bouse,"  on  th3  north-east 
oued  by  Gabriol  Thomas,  m 
„ame  to  the  street,  built  two 
.  ones,  as  early  as  1685    Nca 
■  Daniel  Pegg.    Thi^  I' ^^ 
by  regg's  ll«".  a..d  also    >e 
site  the  Treaty  tree  at  ShacU- 
,everal  Governors  of  the  1  ro- 
as  a  town  residence,  for  which 

iitel,  was  the  splendid  man- 
r  of  the  City,  built  about  the 
rcet  and  Dock  street,  or  creek 
,,,cc;,  with  a  greenness  to  winch 

"lluil,  was  commenced  in  1131, 
„,uins  as  a  favorable  specimen  of 

1    gravel,  and  other  mater.aU 
landed  on  the  banks  of  the 

houses,  of  winch  the  to«u  co,,- 

•0  built  of  imported  br.cks.        ul 
U    following  year,  in  his  pos- 

.rovince  of  Tennsylvanm  smmt  d 
;:  records  that,  when  he  wrote. 


they  had  a  sufficient  number  of  mills,  brick-kilns,  and  tile-ovens  The 
English,  at  Frankfort,  had  also  a  pottery  in  operation.  Fonr-hflhs  of 
the  buildings  in  Philadelphia,  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  were  bu.U 
of  briek  The  city  had,  at  that  early  day,  a  high  reputation  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  that  article.'  In  many  of  the  older  country  lowns,  the  hrst 
houses  were  of  stone,  to  which  br=ck  succeeded  In  due  time.  In  the 
newer  ones,  framed  houses,  «ith  shingled  roofs,  were  more  common,  after 
the  lo.-eabin  of  the  pioneer  gave  place  to  permanent  habitations 

Another  branch  of  the  fictile  art  was  early  established  in  Philadelphia. 
A  card  in  Bradford's  Mercury,  in  May,  1719,  mentions  "good,  Ion?  lay- 
era  Tobacco-pipes,  sold  at  is.  per  gross,  by  the  single  gross,  and  3.s.  or 
a  larger  quantity,  by  Ilicl>ard  Warden,  Tobacco-pipe  maker,  livn.g  under 
the  same  roof  with  Ph:iip  Syng,  goldsmith,  near  the  market  place  ;  w-l.ere, 
also  any  that  have  occasion  n>ay  have  their  pipes  burnt  fur  8u.  per 
gross  "  This  is  the  earliest  mention  we  have  seen  of  that  manutaclure 
amon-  the  white  inhabitants.  Tobacco-pipes  were  made  by  the  natives 
with  great  skill,  of  clay,  wood,  and  stone,  curiously  wrought  or  carved 

with  various  figures. 

Baltimore,  which  of  late  years  has  produced  superior  bricks  in  laige 

enumtity,  appears  not  to  have  made  them  in  sufficient  number  for  its  own 
u'e  for  some  years  after  its  settlement.  Charles  Carrol,  an  ong.nal 

Jl.TnXl'-'   proprietor  of  lands  now  covered  by  the  city,   in  1.54   erected, 

""""'''■        "  at  the  Mount,"  buildings  of  bricks  imported  for  the  purpose. 

Two  years  before  it  had  but  four  brick  houses,  and  only  twenty-five  .n 
all,  the  others  very  primitive  in  style.     A  pottery  was  erected  u.  the  town 
ten  years  after,  by  John  Brown,  from  New  Jersey,  who  had  learn  dth 
business  at  Wilmington,  Delaware.     Ti>e  town,  at  that  date,  contained 
about  fifty  houses.     Thirty-two  years  after,  it  container   one  thousand 
uine  hundred,  and  was  the  fourth  in  the  Union,  having  more  than  h  If 
the  number  of  New  York.    This  unparalk-led  increase  ...  build...g.  the  cje- 
.a,.ce  of  the  buiidh.gs  at  the  Capital,  Ani.apolis,  an.l  of  l-redericktown 
which  was  chiefly  built  of  brick  -iLd  stone,  must  have  made  Bnck-mak.ng 
a  considerable  manufacture. 

Wooden  buildhigs  uredominated  in  the  Carolb.as  u..t.l  some  years  after 

n)  The  Brick,  mndo  in  Vlnl«.lolpl,M  wore    more  ,in,o  «n,l  fuol   t'-"  '"  '^"«';;i  /^ 


230 


COLONIAL   BllLDINO   MATEKIALS. 


the  RcvoliUion.  Twenty  or  thirty  siiacious  brick  houses,  according  to 
Dr.  llamsay,  were  built  in  and  near  the  city  of  Charleston,  about  the  be- 
ginning of  the  last  century,  by  the  more  wealthy  first  settlers.  As  late 
as  1731,  it  was  said,  there  was  not  a  potter  in  the  Provnice,  nor 
"t"."'."!';  any  glass-maker.  The  clay  for  pottery  was  of  a  superior  qua- 
Ciroiiua-.  j.^y  ,j,,^g  mannfaeture  of  potter's  wares  was  commenced  at 
Camden,  about  thirty  years  after,  by  an  Englishman  named  Bartlam. 
After  the  year  1740,  when  a  great  tire  laid  in  ashes  a  large  number  of  the 
wooden  buildings  of  the  "  Queen  City  of  the  South,"  brick  and  stouo 
were  more  used  than  before. 

As  lute  as  1795,  however,  the  Society  formed  to  aid  and  instruct  emi- 
grants recommended  the  manufacture  of  bricks  as  a  profitable  industry. 
Their  price  was  then  nine  dollars  per  thousand,  and  the  supply  fell  short 
of  the  demand.     About  this  time,  Bartholomew  Carroll  introduced  in 
Charleston  a  new  deseriotion  of  houses,  wholly  of  cky.     "  Seven  houses 
thus  built  in  Charleston,"  says  Dr.  Ramsay,  "  have  hitherto  answered 
very  well,  and  they  are  as  elegant,  comfortable,  and  as  free  from  moisture 
and  all  other  untoward  accidents  as  any  brick  houses,  though  they  cost 
much  less.     They  stood  the  hurricane  of  1804,  wliich  exceeded  anything 
of  the  kind  which  had  taken  place  since  the  year  1752,  yet  the  example 
has  not  been  followed  by  a  single  citizen."     Subsequently,  in  July,  1790, 
Uenry  Walker  patented,  in  England,  a  similar  method  of  erecting  houses 
in  one  entire  mass,  even  to  the  floors,  stair-cases  and  roof,  by  applying  fire  by 
means  of  flues  to  the  difl"erent  parts  of  a  clay  house  constructed  on  Car- 
roll's plan.     General  Washington  described  Cliarleston,  in  1791,  as  hav- 
ing a  number  of  very  good  houses  of  brick  and  wood,  but  most  of  the 
latter,  the  whole  number  being  about  one  thousand  si.\  hundred. 

Newborn,  the  largest  town  in  North  Carolina,  had,  six  years  later,  about 
four  hundred  houses,  all  of  wood,  except  the  i)alace  built  by  Governor 
Tryon  before  the  War,  and  then  going  to  ruins,  one  church,  the  jail,  a 
market-house,  and  two  dwelling-houses,  which  were  of  brick.'     Bricks 


(1)  Tliifl  pnlntiHl  odifii'O  of  Oovcrnor  Try- 
on,  of  whi.h  u  out  i» given  in  Lousing'?  l*in- 
toriiil  Field  Bodlt  of  the  Uuvolution,  from 
tho  origiiiiil  druwings  »)>•  tlio  urchitopt,  John 
]Iswkn,  K:'q.,  In  the  po!<iip«iiion  of  his  gran.t- 
non,  Kov.  Dr.  F.  L.  Hiiwks  w»8  poniiidi'rod 
the  gnindont  Btruotiire  in  Ainorio*.  A  gnml 
i,f  £25,000,  and  another  of  £50,000,  wiin  oli- 
liiimMl  from  the  AK»»mbly,  througli  llio 
blrtndi-hments  of  Lady  Tryon  and  hpr  si*- 
t.r,  KilhiT  Wake.  It  wan  conlnicti'd  for 
ill  January,  17B7.     The  main   buildiiii{  »ii« 


to  ho  of  brick,  cighly-sevon  feet  front,  fifty 
f.'ct  deep,  and  two  storiea  high,  witti  suita- 
ble buildings  forolIi.'oH,  and  wan  to  bo  lom- 
pliited  by  October,  1770.  The  saliiry  of  the 
architect  was  to  bo  illtOO  per  nnnum,  pro- 
clamiition  money.  The  interior  was  ilo. 
gantly  finished.  The  chimney  brenila  and 
coniieen,  etc., of  several  aparlinontd  wore  of 
while  marble.  Don  Francisco  dt  Miranda, 
who  visited  it  in  17H.1,  said  it  h'ld  no  e(iual 
in  Sonlh  America.  Tlie  peoplo  ouuiidainiiJ 
niueh  of  its  cost. 


BttlCK-MAKINCi— STATISTICS— EXPORTS. 


231 


liouses,  according  to 
leston,  about  the  be- 
st settlers.  As  late 
in  the  Province,  nor 
IS  of  a  superior  qua- 
was  couimenced  at 
uiu  named  Bartlaiu. 
I  h\ri:;e  number  of  the 
111,"  brick  and  stone 

lid  and  instruct  enii- 
i  profitable  industry. 

the  supply  fell  short 
/urroU  introduced  in 
ilay.  "  Seven  houses 
ve  hitherto  answered 
as  free  from  moisture 
ses,  though  they  cost 
jh  e.\ceeded  anything 
752,  yet  the  example 
neiilly,  in  July,  1190, 
lod  of  erecting  houses 
aof,  by  applying  fire  by 
a  con  itructed  on  Car- 
ston,  in  1791,  as  hav- 
'ood,  but  most  of  the 

six  hundred. 
,  six  years  later,  about 
ice  built  by  Governor 
jne  church,  the  jail,  a 
ere  of  brick.'     Bricks 


were  then  coming  i.ito  use,  and  were  made  of  very  good  quality  at  Fay- 
ettevilie,  and  sold  for  five  to  six  dollars  the  thousand. 

The  manufacture  of  Cricks,  coarse  Tiles,  and  Potter's-ware  were  among 

t:tX^'^o  i^c^^u^tion.  The  only  importations  niade 
w"  rbabl/,  i'the  shape  of  ballast.  There  was  a  small  -"ua  e  u  t 
:^  -iksfVointhat  time  forward.  ^^  Hampshire  export^ -18  . 
129000  to  the  West  Indies,  and  the  whole  country,   u  \.iO,m,ni. 

thousand   would  exceed  tje  -  -  ^  ^^,^,,^  ,^  ,,,  ,Vest  In- 

r  whictl  1  -  "-  a  trge  pirt  of  oifr  exported  bricks.  A  duty  of 
fi  e.  r  c  nt.  was  laid  on  foreign  bricks  in  1794.  A  number  of  un- 
^ZZlu^^-  manufactuv.  were  patented  after  H^O.-tbe Jirst,  y 
Savid  RUlgway,  in  1792,  and  the  first  machine  for  ^-^-^^^^^"^ 
George  H-'f-i  i"  1800.  Twenly-two  labor-caving  projects  were  offe.ed 
before  1810. 


iglily-sevon  feet  front,  fifty 
»i)  nturius  hiRh,  witti  suitii- 
•ulTi.'CH,  uiiil  wan  ti)  Ijo  I'liin- 
!r,  1770.     The  naliirv  oftlie 

be  X.'IOO  (ler  nnmiin,  pro- 

y.      The    interior  wn«   tlo- 

The  chimney  brenilH  nnd 

soveriil  npnrlmonts  wore  of 
Don  I'runciico  (It  Miniridii, 
1  ITHI,  siil'l  il  h'ld  no  e((Unl 
on.     The  |>eo]ilu  ouuiiiluiDui 


CHAPTEU   X. 


(i LASS-WORKS   IN   THE   COLONIES. 

The  production  of  Glass,  combining  as  it  does  in  a  high  degree, 
both  elegance  and  utility,  is,  to  a  new  country,  an  important  step  in  the 
line  of  progress.  The  art  is  a  very  ancient  one,  having  ministered  to  the 
luxury  of  the  Sidonians,  its  first  manufacturers,  and,  as  the  collections  in  the 
British  Museum  prove,  it  was  nearly  perfected  by  the  Egyptians  over  three 
thousand  years  ago.  Conspicuously  encouraged  by  the  Venetians  as  a  me- 
dieval art,  and  received  with  nearly  equal  fuvor  in  France,  it  passed  into 
England  in  1557.  In  1C23,  wheu  the  settlement  of  Massachusetts  was 
taking  place.  Sir  II.  Mansell  received  the  first  patent  recorded  in  England 
foi  the  manufacture,  and  su!)stituted  the  use  of  mineral  coal  for  wood 
fuel.  The  monopoly,  at  the  same  time  accorded  him,  of  iraportiiig  the 
fine  Venetian  drinking-glasscs,  is  an  evidence  that  the  finer  articles  of 
Glass-ware  were  not  yet  made  there. 

Glass-making,  as  has  already  been  stated,  was  one  of  the  earliest 
manufacturing  attempts  in  this  country.  Artizans  were  sent  to  \  irginia. 
Fir  t  at  f^r  ^'"^t  purpose,  in  1C09,  and  an  essay  was  made  in  the  business 
t„..,i"»,'(i)9.  iiuraediutely  after.  The  advantages  of  the  country  for  a  profit- 
able introduction  of  the  art,  were  probably  inferred  from  the  abundance 
of  fuel  existing  for  the  supply  of  the  furnaces.  Wood  was,  at  that  time, 
becoming  scarce  in  England,  and  the  supplies  of  sea  coal  were  as  yet  but 
limited ;  while,  in  America,  the  soil  was  encumbered  with  forests,  and  the 
Fame  labor  that  prepared  it  for  cultivation,  could  supply  abundant  fuel, 
with  pot  or  pearl  ashes  as  material  in  the  proposed  manufacture.  The 
net  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  those  articles,  it  was  said  at  a  later  period, 
reimbursed  the  expense  of  felling  and  burning  the  wood  in  the  process  of 
clearing  the  land  for  agricultural  purposes. 

The  great  cost  of  its  importation,  on  acount  of  breakage,  may  bo  sup- 
Voscd  to  have  been  a  further  inducement  to  its  domestic  prc'uction. 
And  still  another  circumstance,  to  say  nothing  of  the  extreme  convenience 
of  Glass-ware,  appears  to  have  invited  the  Virginia  adventurers  at  least  to 
make  an  early  attempt  at  its  production.  This  was  the  manufacture  cf 
(232) 


EAKLY  GLASS-WORKS  IN  VIUGINIA  AND  MASSACUUSKTTS. 


233 


in  a  high  degree, 
[jortant  step  in  the 
ig  ministered  to  the 
;he  collections  in  the 
Igyptians  over  three 
>  Venetians  as  a  me- 
ince,  it  passed  into 
'  Massachusetts  was 
■ecorded  in  England 
leral  coal  for  wood 
in,  of  importiiig  the 
he  finer  articles  of 

one  of  the  earliest 
ere  sent  to  Virginia, 
made  in  the  business 
country  for  a  profit- 
frora  the  abundance 
3d  was,  at  that  time, 
coal  were  as  yet  but 
with  forests,  and  the 
iipply  abundant  fuel, 
\  manufacture.  The 
lid  at  a  later  period, 
jod  in  tlie  process  of 

•eakage,  may  bo  sup- 
ilomestic  prc'nction. 
I  extreme  convenience 
dventnrerH  at  least  to 
the  manufacture  of 


beads  and  other  trinkets  of  Glass,  which  formed  a  considerable  part  of  thfl 
currency  in  the  early  Indian  trade,  and  were  exchanged,  at  jirices  altogether 
beyond  their  intrinsic  value,  for  furs,  peltry,  and  even  the  lands  of  ihe 
natives.     In  1621— twelve  years  after  the  first  glass-house,  as  related  in 
a  previous  chapter,  was  built  in  the  woods,  about  a  mile  from  the  infant 
settlement  of  Jamestown,  and  an  humble  experiment       de  in  the  art— 
an  effort  was  made  to  promote  farther  colonization,  and  the  permanent 
good  of  the  Colony.     Wives  were  j.rovided  for  the  settlers,  in  order  to 
give  stability  to  the  population  by  the  formaticT  of  domestic  ties.     To 
promote  so  popular  a  measure,  a  roll  or  subscription  was  opened  the  fol- 
lowing year  to  scna  others,  and,  at  the  same  time,  another  was  formed  to 
raise  funds  for  the  erection  of  a  glass-furnace,  to  make  beads  for  the  In- 
dian trade.     The  subscribers  to  these  rolls,  or  lists,  were  to  participate 
in  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  articles.     One  Captain  Norton,  with 
some  Italian  workmen,  was  sent  over  to  conduct  the  business  of  glass- 
making.'     Other  rolls,  of  a  similar  kind,  were  subscribed  to.     But  the 
investment  which  proved  most  profitable  to  the  adventurers,  and  by  far 
the  most  useful  and  acceptableto  the  plantation,  was  that  first  named. 
The  price  of  maids  rose  from  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco  each,  and  the  list  was  readily  disposed  of. 

The  cheapness  of  fuel  and  of  a  portion  of  the  alkaline  salts  required,  was 
probably  found,  by  the  first  Glass-makers,  to  be  more  than  counterbal- 
anced by  the  greater  price  and  scarcity  of  labor  in  the  Colonies,  the  prin- 
cipal cost  of  Glass  consisting  of  the  labor  employed  in  its  production. 

The  first  manufacture  of  Glass  in  Massachusetts  has  been  stated  to 
have  been  at  the  village  of  Germantown,  in  Braintree.     Glass  bottles 
alone  were  made  there.     The  proprietors  failed  some  years  be- 
rv'"kfiu"'"  fore  the  Revolution,  and  the  house,  having  burned  down,  was 
""""■  never  rebuilt."     The  earliest  Glass-works  in  New  England  to 

which  we  are  able  to  assign  a  date,  were  commenced  in  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts, about  1639,  in  which  year  there  "  were  granted  to  the  glass-meu 
several!  acres  of  ground  adjoyning  to  their  howses,"  in  Salem,  for  the 
purpose  of  promoting  the  manufacture  of  glass.  The  persons  engaged 
in  the  undertaking  were  Ananias  Concklin,  Obadiah  Holmes,  and  Law- 
rence Southwick,  fiach  of  whom  received  two  acres  of  land.  The  year 
following,  John  Concklin,  of  the  same  business,  was  allotted  five  acres 
more,  bordering  on  the  previous  grants.  In  December,  1641,  tho  General 
Court,  for  the  encouragement  of  the  enterprise,  authorized  the  Town  of 
Salem'  to  lend  the  proi.rietors  thirty  pounds,  which  was  to  bo  deducted 
from  the  next  town-rate,  and  the  glass-men  were  to  repay  it,  "  if  the  work 


(1)  siith'inut.  viio'uitt. 


(2)  Muss,  Hist.  C'<1.  vol.  iii.  278. 


234 


COLONIAL  GLASS-WOUKS. 


1 1-.  ))i  TliP  works  liaviiiff  been  negleclccl  for 
sneeeeaea,  ^^^  ^'^^  ^^^^ :^\J'^:^l  permifsiou  from  the  Court 
three  years,  the  Conckhns,  ni  164^,  receivea  p 

•  ;X.e  t,fat  noU...  -e  was  atte^-^  Xo'irltri:. 

JXalle  had  then  reeeived  scarcely  a  moiety  of  Us  n--;-^       ; 
tions  to  the  purposes  of  domestic  convenience,  and  of  use  in  the  vanous 
arts      'L  great  increase  in  New  England  population  and  prosperity  a 
ledatllf  mentioned,  and  the  improvements  ^^^ff^^^l^Z 
the  construction  of  the  dwellings,  would  have  rendered  the  domes  c 
manufacture  of  wiudow-glasc  u  special  boon  to  the  country      But 
Z^L  :s  altogether  !  more  difficult  and  expensive  -^  -  than^t 
of  bottles  and  the  coarser  household  wares.     Uence  we  find  that  the  fir. 
dwellg-houses  of  the  Colonists,  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  were      .> 
glnerally-with  the  exception  of  those  of  some  the  wealthier  e-.g-^  -- 
d    titute  of  glass  win.lows.     Indeed,  although  window-glass  js  bel  e^ed 
avtbeen  made  at  the  first  English  Glass-factory,  ^^r^^ 
mirrors  and  utensils  of  glass  were  by  no  means  common  there  fifty  year 
ble  Uie  settlement  of  Massachusetts.     A  Gjass-manufactory  was  se 
up  in  Scotland,  in  ICIO.  and  the  importation  o    «^'  ^ -«  f^;/'  ^^;'^^.  ^ 
vears  after.     Yet,  in  1661.  the  country  houses  in  that  part  of  the  king- 
dom we     still  u  glazed,  and  the  royal  palaces  were  only  par  lally  sup- 
p  i^d  wUU  glass.   Window-glass  was  not  made  in  France  until  four  yeai- 
£.  :hen'the  art  was  brought  from  Venice  by  French  a«  one 
whose  descendants,  Thenard.  afterward  discovered  the  '^rt  of  ca  tmg 
plate-glass.     The  Duke  of  Buckingham,  in  England,  about  the  sa    e 
Sme  by  the  introduction  of  Venetian  workmen,  greatly  improved 
luifacture  of  Flint-glass,  for  which,  ^-wever.  a  patent  was  grantedn 
ir.fi2  followed  in  16T9,  by  one  for  Normandy  window-glass.   Plate-glass 
Tfu^  ISe'in  England!  at  Lambeth,  in  1673.     While  the  pro  uc  ion 
and  use  of  window-glass  were  thus  limited  iu  England,  m  the  beg  nnng 
0    the  nth  century,  it  cannot  surprise  us  to  find  a  prominent  membr  of 

eP^Jouth  CololVjn  1621.  counseling  his  friends  in  Engan^^^^^^ 
paper  and  linseed  oil  for  your  windows,  with  cotton-yarne  for  yo»r  'amps 
M     Iligginson.  writing  from  Salem,  about  eight  years  after,  advisen    m  - 
grants  to  bring  ,/«««  for  their  windows,  which  is  regarded  as  an  evidence 
of  improvemeift  in  domestic  comforts.     Although  glass  windows  were  not 

(1)  Fell'.  Annal.  of  Sulom.  ;2J  Colonial  Uocords.  vol.  1.  344,  il.  137. 


EARLY  WINDOWS. 


GLASS  IN  NEW  YOUli— rKNN-Vl.VANIA. 


been  neglecloil  for 
;ioa  from  tlie  Court 
Slass  was,  for  a  cou- 
which  is  mentioned 
,  In  this,  as  in  tlie 
id  for  many  years,  it 

the  manufacture  of 
10  most  valuable  iui- 

place  at  a  later  date, 
ts  numerous  adapta- 
of  use  in  the  various 
on  and  prosperity  at 
•eady  taking  place  in 
mdered  the  domestic 
he  couiitry.     But  its 
5ive  matter  than  that 
e  we  find  that  the  first 
he  country,  were  very 
wealthier  emig.ants — 
idow-glass  is  believed 
tory,  glazed  windows, 
mraon  there  fifty  years 
s-manufactory  was  set 
lass  was  prohibited  ten 
that  part  of  the  king- 
'cre  only  partially  sup- 
France  until  four  years 
rench  arlizans,  one  of 
•ed  the  art  of  casting 
gland,  about  the  same 
,  greatly  improved  Ihc 
a  patent  was  granted  in 
udow-glass.    Plate-glass 

While  the  production 
?land,  in  the  beginning 
a  prominent  member  of 
ds  in  England  to  "  bring 
n-yarne  for  your  lamps." 
years  after,  advises  emi- 
regarded  as  an  evidence 
I  glass  windows  were  not 

Rocoras,  vol.  1.  344)  li.  137. 


aecmod  indispensable,  and  in  some  places  were  not  ^^^^f^J^^'i 
after,  another  te,."  years,  which  saw  our  glass-men  at  work  n  fc"'!'^'".^- 
effoc  ed  considerable  cha.iges  in  the  ability,  if  not  m  the  tastes  of  the 
people.  Their  houses  were  already  improved  in  structure  and  accou.nu  - 
dations,  insomuch  that  strangers  were  urged  to  come  and  share  the.r 
plenty,  as  they  had  "spare  rooms  or  good  houses  to  entertain  then,  uw 
id  t  ey  hud  built  faire  townes  of  the  land's  own  materials  and  fa.re  sh.ps, 

ome  of  which  are  here  to  be  soen  in  the  Thames."    The  requ.ren.en 
of  t'wenty  thousand  people,  supposed  to  have  arri^-ed  m  New  L.^land  up 
this  time  many  of  them  possessed  of  means,  and  the  advanced  ab  1. ty  of 
iw  ul     not'long,  we  may  suppose,  tolerate  so  dim  a  su  sU  ute  as 
..r  used  paper  for  windows,  or  the  still  more  comfortless  e.xped.en    o    a 
httice  0    wicker.     Wc  find,  therefore,  the  houses  of  the  more  opulent  a 
!     ellater,toco..tain  beneath  their  deeply-projecting  roofs,  accord- 
ing  0  the  style  of  the  days  of  Elizabeth,  two  ample  wmdows  m  each 
story,  with  white  or  stained  rhombic-shaped  glass  set  hi    oaden  fran.es, 
opening  on  hinges,  while  the  two  sharp  gables  received  each  another  ad- 
n        ^abundJit  light  to  fitting  accommodations  withi«._     The  wmdows 
the  hnmbler  dwellings  of  the  first  settlers  were  e.xceedmgly  d.m.nut.v 
pared  with  the  size  they  have  since  attained.     The  diamond-shaped 
,     OS  were  usuallv  three  to  four  inches  in  length,  and  the  windows  two  and  a 
i;:;;  to  three  feet  ion.,  by  one  and  a  half  to  two  feet  wide,  sometimes  made 
in  halves  opening  inwardly  or  outwardly. 

The  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  in  December,  1T52,  passed  an  Act 
granting  Isaac  C.  Whislow,  and  others,  the  sole  privilege  of  making 

Glass  in  the  province.  , 

Among  the  early  settlers  on  Manhattan  was  a  G.ass-maker  Jan 
8„.eedes  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  about  the  first  to  -ceive  albt- 
n,ents  of  land  on  the  present  South  William  street,  between  Wall  and 
Pearl.  He  resided  on  the  east  side,  just  north  of  Hanover 
!;,'rruT.w  Square,  where  he  owned  considerable  property,  and  probab  y 
--  carried  on  the  business  of  making  Glass.     The  street  ancien  ly 

bore,  within  the  above  limits,  the  name  of  "the  G|ass-maker's  stree^ 
.,,..1  'afterward  Smee  street  (Smith  street),  from  its  original  occua  t.    0 
De  Witt's  Farm  map  of  the  City,  an  estate  which,  abou    the  yea    173- 
;^e;^!ged  to  Sir  Pet'er  Warren,  situated  ^-^ween  Eig  th  and^E^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
aveniK-s,  and  north  of  Thirty-fourth  street,  was  called  the     Glass  House 
Farm  "  indicating  the  site  of  another  establishment  of  the  kind 

Tl ;  only  other  notice  of  Glass-making  during  the  seventeenth  century 
that  we  have  met  with,  is  of  one  or  two  attempts  maue  in  Pennsylvania 
nnder  the  auspices  of  the  proprietary  and  the  Free  Society  of 
l".-'""'-  T    dors     In  a  letter  to  the  Society,  in  1683,  he  alludes  to  the.r 


1 


23g  COLONIAL   GLASS-WORKS. 

'tSltandingthe.  attempts  in  dif^rent  quuHers  t.  njanu^^ 

and  no  i;nvare  ...;  what  ca.e  H-o.  England.  ..d  a  pottev.  establ.sh- 
„.e„t  and  Glass-ho.se.  it  was  thought,  -o»l;leerta,n!y  succeed 

A  GlaBS-niauufactory  was  very  early  established  n.  ^cw  J  r«<^y.  '^^""^ 
twtand  a  half  .lies  f.ou.  AUowaystown    in  Salem  f^Zill^ 
known  as  Wistar's  Glass-works,  and,  about  the  -<^^'''^  "  ;^;^',;  ^ Lgh 
employed  quite  a  nun.ber  of  German  workmen,  who  settled  -^^^^^^^^^^ 
in   he  vicinity.     The  great  scarcity  of  skilled  mechanics,  and  the  temp.a 
In    t        t   ansto  Abandon  their  trades  to  become  agricuUur.ts  a  u 
rd-owners.  stood  in  the  way  of  the  introduction  of  J-     branche  ,  an 
created  co..stant  difficulties  when  attempted.      In   J-'"«;J'     \^^'/; 
Henry  Moore,  Governor  of  New  York,  writing  to  tl-,e  Lord    of  Tiade,  m 
obedience  to  'their  Circular  letter  of  A.gust,  in  the  P-d.ng  year    e- 
quirino.  the  Governors  of  the  several  Trovinces  to  give  a  particular  ac 
r    %f   all    manufactures  that  had  been  set  up  - /heir  resp    t 
governments,  dwells  on  this  tendency  of  labor  to  desert  the  factory  fo   the 
field  as  an  antidote  to  all  successful  attempts  at  manufacture  in  the  de- 
pendencies.     Even  servants,  imported  from  Europe  for  different  trades 
i:  soon  as  their  indentures  expired,  quit  their  occupations  and  obtain  d 
a  small  piece  of  land.     The  satisfaction  of  being  landhold-'-s,  prompted 
them  to  endure  every  privation  for  a  few  years,  in  preference  ;  • .  a  comfort- 
able subsistence  easily  attainable  in  their  trades.     He  informs  their  Lord- 


(1)  rnstorius,  in  Mem.  Hist.  Sop.  Pa.— 
The  author  fays,  that  just  heforo  he  liiul  out 
the  site  of  Germantown,  in  October,  1685,  ho 
built  in  I'hila.ielphia  a  Binall  house,  thirty 
feet  by  fifteen,  the  windoici  of  which,  for  want 
of  glass,  wore  made  of  oi7f(i  paper.  Over 
the  donr  ho  placed  the  fnllowinjj  inscrip- 
tion: Parvii  dumui  ted  arnica  uoniii,  procul 
iito , pro/anil,  at  which   the   Governor,   on 


visiting  him,  laughed  heartily,  and  enoour- 
aged  him  to  build  more. 

(2)  At  this  date  it  was  announced  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Gazette,  that  Edward  Brad- 
ley, "near  the  Po.st  Office,  in  Front  street, 
Philadelphia,"  tihereJ  Looking-Glassos,  and 
gold  window-glass  by  the  box.  An  Iron  mill 
for  grinding  clay,  and  other  appliHiioos  of 
the  Potter'*  art  were  offered  for  sale  also. 


rAUr.IAMKNT  TAXES  Gl.VSS.      STF.TC.F.Ll/s  0I,ASS-W0RK3. 


28T 


onveniently  posted 
1  Delaware  County, 
ere  the  glii;«s-house 
efforts  of  Penn  to 
y  was  established  at 
sh  Friends  who  set- 

crs  tj  manufacture 
.!h  the  purest  glass 
developed  as  some 
olution. 

glazier  of  any  kind, 
i  a  potter's  establish- 

ly  succeed.* 
i'  New  Jersey,  about 
m  County.     It  was 
e  of  the  last  century, 
jttled  at  Freasburgh, 
nics,  and  the  tempta- 
iic  agriculturists  and 
f  such  branches,  and 
January,  1701,  Sir 
le  Lords  of  Trade,  in 
e  preceding  year,  re- 
give  a  particular  ac- 
p  in  their  respective 
iert  the  factory  for  the 
aanufacture  in  the  de- 
)e  for  different  trades, 
pations,  and  obtained 
landhold<"-s,  prompted 
reference  ;•  a  comfort- 
[le  informs  their  Lord- 


iglieil  heartily,  and  enoour- 
Id  more. 

ito  it  was  announced  in  the 
lazftte,  that  Edwnrd  Brad- 
Post  Office,  in  Front  street, 
ilvereil  Lookin|j;-(ilii8Sos,  and 
iss  by  tlie  box.  An  Iron  mill 
ly,  and  other  appliaiioos  of 
;  nere  offered  for  sale  also. 


.hips  that  the  master  of  a  Glass-house,  sot  up  in  the  Province  a  fw  ye  s 
agi  then  a  bankrupt,  assured  him  that  his  ruin  was  attributable  to  .  o 
oSr  cause  than  being  deserted  in  that  manner  by  his  workruen  winch  he 
had  hnported  at  great  expense.     Many  others  had  suffered  equally  w.th 

himself  from  the  same  cause.'  ,  .  ,     .       ,  ;„  .u^  -n,.itUh  Par- 

In  May,  of  the  same  year.  Mr.  Townsend  introduced  in  the  Bntish  Pa 

liamentlfii  scheme  for  drawing  "a  revenue  ^^^^^^f^^^m^ 
civincrthem  offence,"  which  the  Stamp  Act  had  faded  to  do.    Ilis  b  11  laul 
Tndry  Ses   upon  Glass.  Painters'  Color,  Teas,  Paper,  Pasteboar 
Td  Pap-  Hngings  imported  into  the  Colonies,  the  revenue  from  wl. 
was  to  be  appropriated  to  the  support  of  the  Civil  Gover.unent  in  the 
Co  0  iies      Tl  e  lill,  which  passed  the  seals  in  June,  provoked,  as  m 
form     case  retaliat  ve  measures  i.>  the  several  Provinces,  in  which  Boston 
etTh  ex  n;p  e  in  town  meeting,  in  October.    The  ii.separability  o  repre- 
llaUou  anS  t'axation  was  strongly  enunciated,    f  f-f^--  -;  ^ 
of  all  superfluities  was  again  resolved  upon  ;  and  to  give  efficacy  to  the 
noilpor    tion  agreeme.',  it  was  deterinined,  "by  all  prudent  ways  and 
me  ,r  to  encourage  the  manufactures  of  British  Amer.ca,  and   more 
e'ellly  those  of  thi.  Province."     The  articles  Glass  and  Paper  were 
narticularly  designated  as  deserving  of  domestic  encourageiiient. 
'If       a  tardy  and  reluctant  assent  of  most  of  the  Colo.ues  to  th.s 
severe  expedict.  ar,d  ineffectual  efforts  of  the  ministry  to  enforce  its 
revenue  policy,  the  decline  in  the  amount  of  exports.-especally  to  the 
NoXr.'provinces,._and  the  manufacturing  spirit  aroused  m  America 
for    d  the  Premier,  in  March,  1770,  fourteen  n.oi.ths  after  the  adop  .o,.  of 
;«  non-importation  agreemctts,  to  bring  in  a  bill  for  the  repeal  of  thedu- 
ties  on  glass,  paints,  painters'  colors,  paper,  and  pasteboard,  retatn.ng  only 
that  on  tea,  and  restoring  the  drawbacks  allowed  on  the  exportation  of 
China-ware  to  the  Colonies,  which  had  been  repealed  by  the  Act  of  1767. 
It  passed  the  House  in  April,  but  the  assertion  of  the  right  to  bind  tlie 
Colonies  in  all  cases,  made  at  the  same  time,  admonished  the  people  not 
to  relax  their  efforts  to  foster  their  own  infant  manufactures. 

Previous  to  its  repeal,  a  Flint  Glass  manufactory  was  established  at 
much  expense,  and  on  a  larger  scale  than  any  before  attempted  in  the 
steiger.  Colonies,  by  an  enterprising  and  wealthy  German  gentleman  of 
^^oTw^Tar  Philadelphia.  The  attempt,  it  was  hoped,  would  prove  a 
unca.ter.    ^^  ^^  ^j^^  Proviuce  of  thirty  thousand  pounds  annually. 

The  proprietor  was  a  German  baron,  Henry  William  Steigel,  who,  in 
nG2  laid  out  the  village  of  Manheim,  about  eleven  miles  northwest  of 
the  borough  of  Lancaster,  near  which  he  erected  several  iron  furnaces 

(1)  Doo.  Hist,  of  New  York.  vol.  i,  7^3. 


238 


COLONIAL  (iLASS-\VOUK?i. 


and  the  Glass  Works.     Tl.c  latter  was  in  operation  in  tl.c  bc-inning  of 
the  Your  1770.     Mr.  Pavid  Rittenhousc,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Barton,  on 
4th  February  in  that  year,  speaks  of  the  little  cariosity  lately  introduced 
by  Dr.  Franklin  from  Germany,  and  called  by  him  the  pulse  glass,  and 
his  intention,  when  he  next  viMted  Lancaster,  to  have  some  of  them  and 
other  thin<^s  he  wanted  made  there.     The  quality  and  workmanship  of 
the  glass  made  at  that  place  seem  to  have  been  of  a  good  description,  as 
appears  from  another  letter,  written  in  the  following  summer,  acknow- 
hld-ni,"-  the  receipt  of  a  barometer  tube  made  at  the  factory.        I  am 
obliged  to  you  for  the  glass  tube  ;  it  will  make  a  pretty  barometer,  though 
the  bore  is  somewhat  too  small.     I  have  compared  it  with  an  English 
tube,  and  do  not  think  the  pieference  cau  with  any  reason  be  given  to 

*''But"the' enterprise  did  not  prove  successful.  The  owner,  who  pos- 
sessed both  artistic  skill  and  means,  was  somewhat  visionary  and  osten- 
tations in  his  projects.  He  erected  one  or  two  castles  in  the  country, 
mounted  with  cannon,  whose  discharge  announced  his  arrival,  and  sum- 
moned his  workmen  from  the  furnace  and  the  foundery  in  baronial  style, 
to  attend,  with  music  and  other  service,  on  the  guests  whom  he  enter- 
tained in  feudal  magnificence  at  the  castle.  The  war  cut  off  his  receip 
of  funds  from  Enrope  ;  embarrassment  ensued,  and  the  Glass  Works  fell 
through;  while  his  ironworks  passed  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Coleman, 
bv  whom  and  his  successors  tliey  were  successfully  managed. 

Other  efforts  were  at  the  same  time  made  in  Pennsylvania  to  promote 
native  manufactures.  There  were  three  potteries  in  Lancaster  in  1786. 
A  manufactory  of  China-ware  was  commenced  in  Prime  street,  near  the 
present  Navy  Vard  in  Philadelphia,  about  t'r)  same  time  the  Glass 
Works  were  established.  A  saving  of  fifteen  thousand  pounds,  it  was 
thought,  might  be  yearly  effected  by  the  manufacture  of  that  article. 
But  the  measure  was  not  permanently  successful.'  There  were  three 
manufacturers  of  common   pottery  in  the  borough  of   Lancaster  m 

1786.  ,    ,,     . 

Notwithstanding  attempts  made  in  several  quarters  to  supply  the  in- 


(1)  Barton's  Morooirs  of  Rittenhouse,  p. 

2or.. 

(2)  In  Franklin  &  IlalVs  Ponnn.  Gazette, 
for  .lamiary,  1772,  is  an  Advertisement  of 
<'Tlio  (lla.«»  Facture,  Northern  Liberties, 
next  door  to  llie  sign  of  the  Miirqiiis  of 


In  tlio  same  number,  the  proprietors  of 
tlio  Southwarlt  China  Factory  advertise  for 
brolJcn  flint  glass,  and  for  contracts  for  five 
to  fifty  wngon-loads,  whole  flint  stone,  to  bo 
delivered  at  the  manufactory  by  1st  May. 
The  greatest  encouragement  was  also  pro' 


Oranl.y,  in  Market  street,  where  the  highest  mi.ed  to  all  pa.nters  e.thcr  >"  J^ "«  <";"- 

price  is  given  for  broken  flint-glas,  and  «1-  mel,  by  which  it  would  appear  that  the  dco- 

llaline   salts."     Whether   this  was   another  rntive  branch  was  attempted  .n  connection 

manufactory,  or  an  agency  for  the  Lancaster  with  the  manufacture, 
faotory,  we  are  unable  to  say. 


MATERIALS   FOR   OLASS- MAKING. 


SCO 


n  tlie  bcjjinning  of 
to  Mr.  Barton,  on 
:y  lately  introducert 
:lie  pulse  gluss,  and 
!  some  of  them  and 
id  workmanship  of 
^ood  description,  as 
g  snrainer,  acknow- 
;he  factory.     "  I  am 
y  barometer,  though 
it  with  an  English 
reason  be  given  to 

le  owner,  who  pos- 
visionary  and  osten- 
stles  in  the  country, 
lis  arrival,  and  sum- 
;ry  in  baronial  style, 
lests  whom  he  enter- 
ar  cut  off  his  receipt 
the  Glass  Works  fell 
ids  of  Mr.  Coleman, 
lannged. 

nsylvania  to  promote 
11  Lancaster  in  1786. 
•rime  street,  near  the 
same  time  the  Glass 
usand  pounds,  it  was 
cture  of  that  article. 
'  There  were  three 
gh  of   Lancaster  in 

ters  to  supply  the  in- 

umbcr,  the  proprietors  of 
bina  Factory  advertise  for 
I,  and  for  contracts  for  five 
ids,  whole  flint  stone,  to  bo 
manufactory  by  1st  May. 
courngenient  was  also  pro' 
Iters  either  in  blue  or  ena- 
wouM  appear  that  the  deco- 
!is  attempted  in  connection 
icture. 


creasing  demand  for  this  perishable  article,  which  had  then  become  ono 
of  universal  necessity.  Glass  was  exceedingly  scarce  during  the  wnr  of 
ludep^-ndence.     The  voluntary  disuse  of  English  Glass  had  now  b..o.ne 
a  compulsory  one,  and  it  was  equally  impracticable  to  obtain  the  avtu- lo 
from  other  countries.'     Lord  Sheffield,  writing  in  the  year  of  the  peace 
remarks  on  this  manufacture  :  "There  is  no  article  of  Glass  ,n  any  part 
of  Europe  but  the  British  which  will  answer  in  the  American  market. 
There  are  Glass  Works  in  Tonnsylvania.     Bad  glass  is  made  ,n  ^ew 
Jersey  for  windows,  but  there  is  not  any  (piantity  of  glass  made  i 
America  as  yet  except  bottles.     Uilherto  these  manufactures  have  boon 
t:,       on  tlLe  by  ierman  workmen;  a  considerable  Glass  manu  ae  nre 
at  Boston  failed  several  years  ago.     The  want  of  flint  in  America  .,1b 
always  a  great  disadvantage  in  the  manufacture  of    his  ar  icle.     1  here 
has  been  no  earth  yet  discovered  in  America  proper   or  making  the  po 
u  ed  in  the  manufacture  of  glass.     What  has  hitherto  been  u.od   ,n 
America,  at  least  in  the  Northern  Provinces,  for  that  purpose,  has  been 

imported  from  Great  Britain."  <•      ,i  *„   „„, 

The  New  Jersey  window-glass   manufactory  above  referred  to   was 
probably  at  Gloucester,  whore  a  Glass-house  existed  a  few  years  later ; 
and  the  factory  spoken  of  at  Boston  we  suppose  to  have  been   he  o      a 
Braintree,  before  mentioned,  a  few  miles  from  Boston.     U.s    ord.l.ip  s 
statement,  as  to  the  absence  of  silicious  material  for  the  manufac  nre  of 
Flint  Glass  In  America,  arose  from  the  fact  that  before  the  war  no  a  - 
tempt  was  made  to  discover  it,  because  abundant  quantities  of  gun-flint 
could  be  imported  at  a  very  low  price.     Considci-able  ^^-''/'/^  «^  «;"* 
were  also  imbedded  in  the  chalk  which  was  brought  m  ballast  from  Eng- 
land, and  the  kind  of  glass  attempted  required  little  pure  flint.    Congress. 
dnring  the  war,  ordered  the  commissioners  in  France  and  Spain  to  pur- 
chn.e  large  quantities  of  gun-flints,  and  to  send  also  persons  acquainted 
with  the  manufacture  of  those  articles.     Hence,  the  British  Ministry 
also  labored  nnder  the  impression  that  the  United  States  was  desti  u  e 
of  flint  rocks,  and,  in  the  second  war,  caused  vessels  ballasted  with  chalk 
to  discharge  the  same,  lest  "flint  stones"  should  be  found  among  it 
But  in  addition  to  vast  quantities  of  silicious  sand,  feldspar,  quartz,  and 
other  minerals,  there  exist  ample  supplies  of  pure  silcx,  in  nearly  every 
State     Large  masses  of  silicious  rock  exist  in  Northampton  and  Berks 
counties,  Pennsylvania,  and  greater  or  less  quantities  stratified  with  car- 
bonate  of  lime  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  while  the  white  sand  p.auis 

(1 )  In  Oroton,  Massachusetts,  ,?l«ss  could  the  Town  was  forced  to  Pejition  the  Court 
not'in  1779,  be  purchased  in  priv.,.e  store,  for  an  appropriation  from  the  public  depo.,- 
to  repair  the  School  and  Meeting-house,  and    iory. -Felt'i  Annal: 


SiO 


COLONIAL  GLASS-WORKS. 


nml  pine  forests  of  New  Jersey  sustain  immense  manufactories  of  green 

''Lrco"';quence  of  the  increased  attention  given  to  ^1- snbject  of  do- 
mestic manufactures  about  the  year  1786,  when  the  ev.ls  of  inordinate 
:      10^^  ns  from  abroad  .ere  seen  and  felt,  several  further  at  ern^ns 
Tec  made  to  produce  Glass,  of  which  the  manufacture  had  as  yet  been 
of  a  trifling  amount.    In  April  of  the  following  year,  specimens 
"'^'T'"^  of  white  glass,  nmde  at   a  Glass-house   lately  erected  near 
'"""""''■   Albany  in  New  York,  were  presented  to  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society.     Mr.  Elkanah  Watson,  of  Revolutionary  memory,  in 
h  s  ReminiTcen  es  of  Albany  in  1788.  says  it  was  erected  by  John  De 
Neufv  lie,  a  former  correspondent  and  a  resident  of  Ams  erdam.     Ho 
was  tie  negotiator  of  the  treaty  between  Holland  and  the  American 
Conor's    which  produced  the  war  between  England  and  Holland  in 
mi        iaving  sacrificed,  in  his  attachment  to  the  cause  of  American 
pen!lence,"an  hereditary  fortune  of  a  half  million  sterling,  with  w> eh 
be  h  d  commenced  business  in  Amsterdam,  living  in   he  highest  afflu  nee 
and  splendor,  he  invested  the  fragment  of  his  estate  in  Glass-work    eight 
::t:t:t  «;  AU^ny.    Mr.  Watson  found  him  there  in  -iitary  ^^lusior, 
the  tenant  of  a  miserable  log  cabin,  furnished  with  a  single  deal  table 
and  two  common  arm-chairs,  destitute  of  the  ordinary  comforts  of  life 
The  enterprise,  like  that  of  Mr.  Steigol  in  Pennsylvania,  was  one  of  .he 
numerous  instances  in  which  enterprising  foreigners,  ignorant  of  th    re- 
elements  of  a  new  country,  and  of  the  best  mode  o    adapting  thr 
efforts  to  the  eircumstances  of  the  times  and  place,  were  tempted  by  flat- 
tering prospects  to  their  individual  ruin. 

n' January,  1788,  the  proprietors  of  th^  Glass  factory  which  wa 
situated  at  Dowesborough.  in  the  midst  of  a  .  Jl-wooded  pine  f or  st,  a  d 
then  owned  in  part  by  Leonard  De  Neufville,  Jan  Heefke,  and  Ferdinand 
wTlfa  a,  pealed  to  the  patriotism  of  the  State  to  sustain  their  under- 
rking     They  represent  the  State  to  be  annually  drained  of  thirty  thou- 
a„d  pou   Is  for  glass,  which  they  were  able  to  manufacture  of  any  size 
uperior  to  Englilh  glass.     In  1793,  the  Legislature  of  New  York  voted 
Xn    f  three'thousand  pounds  for  eight  years  to  the  prop-tors.  three 
years  without  interest,  and  five  years  at  five  per  cent.     The  owners  at 
hTtime  were  McClallen,  McGregor  &  Co..  of  whom  James  Caldwell, 
he  p'prietor  of  extensive  tobacco  and  other  mills  in  the  neighborhood 
and  Christopher  Battemar  constituted  the  Co.    They  in  thH  year  oflered 
a  reward  of'fifty  dollars  for  the  discovery  of  a  bank  of  s.ia  suitab^  fo 
their  use  within  ten  miles  of  the  Works.     Having,  in  1796  fo  med  the 
design  of  consolidating  and  extending  their  operations,  the  village  of 
H  m  Hon,  ten  miles  west  of  Albany,  was  laid  out  as  a  manufacturing 


GLASS  WORKS  IN   ALBANY   AND  BOSTON. 


841 


lufactories  of  green 

0  the  subject  of  do- 
3  evils  of  inordinate 
ral  further  attempts 
are  had  as  yet  been 
,ving  year,  specimens 

lately  erected  near 
the  American  Philo- 
lutionnry  memory,  in 
erected  by  John  De 
of  Amsterdam.  He 
d  and  the  American 
and  and  Holland  in 
e  cause  of  American 
n  sterling,  with  which 

1  the  highest  affluence 
3  in  Glass-works  eight 
e  in  solitary  seclusion, 
h  a  single  deal  table 
inary  comforts  of  life. 
Ivania,  was  one  of  the 
rs,  ignorant  of  the  re- 
ode  of  adapting  their 

were  tempted  by  flat- 

3s  Factory,  which  was 
vooded  pine  forest,  and 
Heefice,  and  Ferdinand 
to  sustain  their  under- 
drained  of  thirty  thou- 
lanufacture  of  any  size, 
ire  of  New  York  voted 
o  the  proprietors,  three 
r  cent.     The  owners  at 
whom  James  Caldwell, 
lis  in  the  neighborhood, 
'hey  in  th-H  year  offered 
lank  of  sana  suitable  for 
ng,  in  1796,  formed  the 
lerations,  the  village  of 
out  as  a  manufacturing 


tovn,  and  so  named  in  compliment  to  the  distinguished  citizen  of  that 
StatJ,  Alexai.der  namilton,  who  was  an  active  promoter  of  that  and 
other'cfforts  to  advance  manufactures.     In  the  spring  of  the  following 
year,  the  association  was  incorporated  as  "  The  Hamilton  Manufacturing 
Company,"  by  the  Assembly  of  the  State,  and  the  company  and  its  work- 
men were'  exempted  from  ta.xes  for  five  years.     The  proprietors  were  at 
tlii;>  time  Jeremias  Van  Rensselaer,  John  Sanders,  Abraham  Ten  Eyck, 
l.]lkanah  Watson,  Frederick  A.  De  Zeng,  K.  K.  Van  Rensselaer,  Thomas 
and   Samuel  Mather,  Douw  Fonda,  and  Walter  Cochran.     The  estab- 
lishment at  Hamilton  now  presented  an  example  of  the  highest  degree 
of  enterprise  hitherto  exhibited  in  the  country  in  connection  with  manu- 
factures.    They  had  two  Glass-houses,  a  saw  mill,  pounding  mill,  and 
cross-cut  ruill.     They  employed  three  large  furnaces,  and  about  thirteen 
glass-blowers,  and  made  on  an  average  twenty  thousand  feet  of  glass  per 
month,  besides  bottles  and  flint  glass.     They  substituted  kelp  for  pearl- 
ash  in  the  manufacture.    Their  Glass  was  in  good  repute,  and  the  business 
was  carried  on  for  some  time  with  much  activity.     It  is  said  to   have 
been  suspended  in  1815  for  the  want  of  fuel.' 

About  the  same  time  that  this  manufactory  was  established  in  New 

York,  a  spirited  effort  was  made  to  recommence  the  business  in  Boston. 

A  Company  was  formed  in  that  city,  and,  in  July,  1787,  re- 

lu  Boston.    ^^.^^^  ^  ^^^^^^^^  j.^^^  ^,j^  Legislature  of  the  State,  with  the 

exclusive  right  of  manufacturing  Glass  for  fifteen  years.     A  penalty  of 
£500  was  attached  to  any  infringement  of  their  right  by  making  glass 
in  the  town,  to  be  levied  for  each  offense.     The  capital  stock  was  ex- 
empted from  taxes  for  five  years,  and  the  workmen  employed,  from  all 
military  duties.     A  pyramidal  factory  of  brick  was  erected  on  a  large 
scale  at  the  foot  of  Essex  street.     Being  found  ill  adapted  to  the  pur- 
pose, it  was  afterward  taken  down,  and  a  wooden  one,  lined  with  brick, 
differently  constructed,  was  put  up  in  its  place.     Its  dimensions  were 
100  feet  in  length  by  60  in  width.     On  account  of  difficulties  in  procur- 
ing workmen,  and  other  embarrassments,  operations  were  not  fully  com- 
menced until  November,  1792.     The  corporation  commenced  with  the 
manufacture  of  crown  window-glass,  which  they  produced  of  a  quality 
equal  or  superior  to  any  imported.     Materials  were  found  to  be  abun- 
dant; and  some  six  years  later,  they  produced  about  900  sheets  per 
week,  worth  $1.75  per  sheet,  or  $76,000  per  annum.     Some  hints  to 
manufacturers,  communicated  to  the  first  volume  of  the  American   Mu- 
seum the  same  year  that  the  Glass  Works  in  Boston  were  commenced 
by  Ma'k  Leavenworth  of  Connecticut,  stale  that  labor  was  tweivc  to 


(1)  Munsell's  Annals  of  Albany.     Morae'fl  Hniv.  Oeog. 


16 


212 


COLONIAL  GLASS- WoUKS. 


twenty  per  cent,  higher  in  Connecticut  tiiun  in  Engamd.  He  conceived 
it  to  be  a  great  error  in  t'  o  glass-maiiers  to  altemiit  the  production  ot 
crown  window-glass,  which  was  the  most  difficult  of  all,  and  only  under- 
Ktood  by  a  few  in  Europe.  It  could,  moreover,  be  purchased  in  his 
State  for  a  little  more  than  in  Bristol,  while  other  kinds  were  double  the 
European  price.  A  box  of  window-glass  worth  three  or  four  pounds 
])aid  but  3s.  or  '6s.  id.  freight,  and  there  was  little  loss  l)y  breakage  com- 
pared with  oi.her  kinds.  As  ninny  quart  bottles  as  would  amount  to  X4, 
would  cost  ill  freight  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars.  The  expense  of  making 
ihe  latter  description  of  glass  was  also  much  less,  and  workmen  more 
easily  obtained.  All  descriptions  of  white  glass,  as  decanters,  tumblers, 
chandelicr.s,  sconces,  phials,  and  wine  gla.ses,  paid  a  freight  beyond  all 
proportion  greater  than  window-glass,  and  were  more  liable  to  fracture 
in  the  transportation,  and  any  of  them  could  be  attempted  with  better 
jirospect  of  success  than  it.  Junk  bottles,  moreover,  were  a  desirable 
manufacture  for  the  exportation  of  their  cider  to  the  West  Indies  and 
Southern  States,  where  it  was  more  highly  esteemed  than  British  cider. 
They  could  be  made,  it  was  probable,  for  2.«.  id.  (Connecticut  currency) 
per  dczcL  ;  their  cost  in  Bristol  was  l,s.  id.  sterling  per  dozen,  the  excise 
duty,  though  drawn  back  on  exportation,  increasing  the  cost.  The  want 
of  a  sufficiency  of  black  bottles  was  represented  by  Tench  Coxe,  Qon 
vernor  Eowdoin,  and  others,  at  this  time,  as  obstructing  the  manufacture 
of  malt  liquors,  for  exportation.  A  Glass-house  was  in  operation  in  Hurt 
ford,  Connecticut,  a  few  years  after. 

Thca  was  also  a  manufactory  of  Glass  at  Alexandria,  in  Virginia 
whir'ii,  according  to  M.  De  Warville,  who  visited  the  State  in  the  nutumr 
of  1188.  oxnortrd,  the  previous  year,  glass  to  the  amount  of  tei 
thousand  pounds,  and  employed  five  hundred  hands.     In  th 
wo-k  by  that  wrf.cr  nnd  M.  Claviere,  on  the  Commerce  of  Ameri( 
with  Europe,  the  iinpor  unce  of  the  glass  manufacture  to  these  States  wn 
strongly  insisted  upon,  ns  a  means  of  clearing  the  wood  from  the  soi 
which  at  the  same  time  supplied  cheap  materiols  in  the  process.     T 
discouragement  of  Such  manufactures   in    France  was  regarded  os 
national  importance,  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  fuel.  In  which  Anieric 
pos.scssed  advantages  in  her  forests,  and  England, — whoso  glass,  with  t 
exception  of  bottle  glass,  was  superior  to  their  own, — in  the  fossil  woalt 
of  her  coal  mines. 

'^he  General  Government,  at  itB  outset  under  the  present  Constitutioi 
in  1780,  manifested  a  disposition  to  givespecial  encouragement  to  certni 
branches  of  monufacfure,  by  the  imposition  of  higher  duties  than 
others.  In  adjusting  the  tariff,  therefore,  in  July  of  tiint  year,  windov 
glass  wos  one  of  the  objects  thus  discriminated.  On  motion  of  Mr.  C;i 
roll,  of  Maryland,  who  stated  that  a  manufactory  of  glass  bad  been  su( 


DTlrKlnla. 


GLASS-WORKS    IN    MAliYI.ANU — IN    riTTBIiLIia 


243 


liiigiaiul.     He  conceived 
leiiipt  the  production  ot 
It  of  all,  ami  only  under- 
cr,  be  purchased  in  hia 
er  kinds,  were  double  the 
th  three  or  four  pounds 
tie  loss  l)y  breakage  com- 
i  as  would  amount  to  £i, 
The  expense  of  making 
less,  and  workmen  more 
is,  as  decanters,  tumblers, 
aid  a  freight  beyond  all 
re  more  liable  to  fracture 
be  attempted  with  better 
lorcover,  were  a  desirable 
•  to  the  West  Indies  and 
ecmed  than  British  cider. 
d.  (Connecticut  currency) 
rling  per  dozen,  the  excise 
asing  the  cost.     The  want 
ted  by  Tench  Coxe,  Oo- 
istructing  the  manufacture 
B  was  in  operation  in  llurt- 

t  Alexandria,  in  Virginia, 
ed  the  State  in  the  autumn 
glass  to  the  amount  of  ten 
!  hundred  hands.  In  the 
he  Commcice  of  America 
ifacture  to  these  States  was 
g  the  wood  from  the  soil, 
eriab  iu  the  process.  The 
•nnce  was  regarded  ns  of 
y  of  fuel,  in  which  America 
md, — whose  gloss,  with  the 
f  own, — in  the  fossil  wealth 

er  the  present  Constitution, 
al  encouragement  to  ccrlnin 
of  higher  duties  tlinii  on 
July  of  tiint  year,  window. 
d.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Cur 
;ory  of  glass  had  been  sue- 


cessfuUy  commenced  in  his  Slate,  a  duty  of  ten  per  cent,  ad  valorem  was 
laid  on  window  and  other  glass,  with  the  exception  of  black  quart  bottles 
imported  from  foreign  countries.  The  Legi.slature  of  Maryland  had 
previously  encouraged  the  manufacture  of  glass  in  that  State  by  a  con- 
siderable loan.  The  works  were  established  at  Tuscarora  Creek,  four 
miles  above  Fredericktown,  and  were  known  as  the  Etna  Glass  Works. 
Like  most  of  the  gla,ss-factories  heretofore  established,  it  was  the  property 
of  an  ingenious  and  enterprising  German,  John  Frederick  Anielung.  It 
was  equal  to  any  in  O'c  country.  The  manufacture  of  window-glass  was 
first  commenced  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  we  believe,  by  Albert  Gallatin, 
Mr.  Nicholson,  and  the  Messrs.  Kramers,  Germans,  at  New  Geneva,  in 
Fayette  County,  Pennsylvania,  where  Mr.  Gallatin  purchased  lands  in 
1785,  and  named  the  place  after  his  native  city  iu  Switzerland.  The 
works  wcio  on  a  large  scale. 

The  lirst  glass-factory  in  Pittsburg,  which  has  since  acquired  so  much 
eminence  in  the  manufacture,  was  not  commenced  until  about  the  year 
1795.  In  January,  1784,  the  first  sale  of  lots  was  made  on  the 
'  ""^'  present  site  of  the  city  by  the  Proprietaries  of  the  Manor, 
John  Penn,  Jr.,  and  John  Penn,  to  Isaac  Craig  and  Stephen  Bayard 
The  laying  out  of  the  town  was  fii^ishcd  in  June.  In  1705,  a  small  win- 
dow-glass manufactory  had  been  se^  -ip  and  was  in  operation,  having  one 
eight-pot  furnace.  It  was  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mononga- 
hela,  at  "Scott's,"  now  called  Gloss-house  Ripple.  Wood  fuel  was 
employed,  and  three  boxes  were  made  at  a  blowing.  But  Pittsburg  is 
chiefly  indebted  for  this  valuable  branch  of  its  industry  to  the  enterprise 
and  perseverenco  of  Gen'l  James  O'llara,  who,  with  Mr.  Craig,  made 
preparations  the  following  year  for  the  manufacture,  and  employed  Mr. 
Peter  Wm.  Eichbaum,  of  Philadelphia,  to  erect  the  works. 

The  first  furnace  of  the  same  capacity  as  the  one  above  mentioned,  was 
below  Jones'  Ferry,  nearly  opposite  the  Point,"  where  other  glass-houses 
now  stand.  Green  glass  was  made  at  this  factory,  which  went  into  oper- 
ation in  1797.  A  memorandum  was  found  among  Gen'l  O'llara's 
papers,  after  his  death,  to  this  efTect :  "To-day  we  made  the  first  bottle 
at  \\w  cost  of  thirty  thousand  dollars."  Flint-glass  and  window-glass 
were  soon  after  added  to  the  manufactures,  and  the  proprietor  and  others 
were  induced  l)y  his  example  to  engage  in  the  business,  which  soon 
became  a  principal  industry  in  that  place.  The  abundance  of  coal, 
which  was  mined  at  the  very  doors  of  the  furnaces,  gave  it  unequoled 
advontiiges,  which  were  increased  by  tiie  facilities  for  obtaining  other 
materials  by  water,  either  from  above  or  below  the  town. 

The  substitution  of  soda  for  potash  in  the  Glass  manufacture,  has  more 
recently  much  reduced  the  cost  of  manufactuio  and  increase<l  the  con- 
Buroption  of  that  article. 


CHAPTER  XI 

BREWING  AND  TJ>.  MANUFAOTUEE  OF  BEER. 

Wine  and  Beer  were  amo  ^  the  early  products  of  industry  in  the  colo- 
„ia7  I  od  of  our  history.  At  the  ti™e  of  the  settlement  of  the  Amer. 
clu  Uo Ionics  tea  coffee,  and  chocolate  were  almost  unknown  in  England 
,  eir  P  c  i)  .  g  sup;iied  by  fermented  liquors.  From  the  earUest 
A  1  S  xo,  t  mes  whence  we  have  probably  derived  th.  names  of  our 
„  f  iquor  ira'nd  Beer,  or  Wine,  had  been  the  principal  everages 
Llnrl  as  Mead  had  been  with  the  ancient  Britons  and  the  Irish 
m  England,  as  Meaa  •"'«  ^-^^  n.^m  the  drink 

Accord  112  to  an  ancient  baxon  aiaiogue,  wiiio  «u.o  „  „,„  jr 

of  the  "elders  and  the  wise,"  while  the  common  people  drank  ale  if 
ey  had  itwater  if  they  had  it  not."  The  brewer  of  bad  ale  was 
V  thm  consigned  to  the  ducking-chair  or  muleted  for  his  neglect. 
Near  The  te's  of  which  we  write,  a  quart  of  Beer  and  a  quan  o  wine 
alwny  ^med  a  part  of  the  breakfast  of  my  lord  and  lady  o  Northi  m- 
beZd  Ale  .ua  Beer  were  first  made  without  hops,  which  were  not 
raised  in  England  until  about  1524.     An  old  writer  says  : 

IIopi,  reformation,  bays,  and  beer, 
Came  into  England  all  in  one  year 

The  price  of  Beer  in  the  thirteenth  century  was  regulated  «eco.ding  to 
Tat  of  corn  and  wine,  and  its  cheapness  in  the  sixteenth  favored  an    nor- 
0  ;  onsuniption.     The  extent  may  be  inferred  f-™  the  fact  that  .   w 
hen  sc.  lorn  absent  on  any  occasion,  from  Mie  courtly  banquet  to  the 
1     repast  of  the  cottager.     No  less  than  twenty-Uiree  thousand  ga- 
o„7were  drunk  at  a  single  entertainment  given  to  Queen  Elizabeth 
K  nilworth.     English  beer  was  reputed  to  be  the  best  m  Europe, 
^r  ;wed  in  March,  and  by  persons  of  consequence  was  -  "sed  »    ' 
a  year  old,     The  monasteries  in  early  times  brewed  the  best  ale  as  they 
*  a     the  best  wine.     Even  the  balls  of  science  were  not    -  celebrated 
"r  their  ale  than  for  their  learning.     As  late  as  the  year    7  8,  when  n 
Eg  and  and  America  tea  began  to  displace  the  use  of  malt  -quors,  the 
U«f     e  Wurton,  in  his  Ode  to  Oxford  Ale.  laments  the  declining  popn- 
laH^  of  a  beverage  which  he  is  not  alono  In  representing  to  be  the  salva- 
tion  of  the  British  nation. 
(244) 


SGR. 

lustry  in  the  colo- 
ent  of  the  Ameri- 
:nown  in  England, 
From  the  earliest 
the  names  of  our 
riiicipal  beverages 
ons  and  the  Irish, 
rilh  them  the  drink 
iple  drank  "  ale  if 
er  of  bad  ale  was 
!d  for  his  neglect, 
ind  a  quart  of  wine 
i  lady  of  Northnra- 
ps,  which  were  not 
lays : 


ulatcd  according  to 
nth  favored  an  enor- 
a  the  fact  that  it  was 
rtly  banquet  to  the 
-three  thousand  gal- 
Qnecn  Elizabeth  at 
best  in  Europe.     It 
■e  was  not  used  until 
the  best  ule,  as  they 
•0  not  less  celebrated 
e  year  1748,  when  in 
e  of  malt  liquors,  tho 
8  tho  declining  popu- 
mtlng  to  be  the  salva- 


•XL  ^':. 


??  ♦>  •> 


''■'■■AM    MA'i^>:^'    ""^ 


.4.  ;><  «i» 


v.    iv- 

cr.        i 

'.    '     %,.'■■■     '. 


-Xi 


■,i  . 


^''''    ■*''    ''11' 


/      'I      til.  Jnn]    1*   •.■!     "  :i    '"   ii'    I''  -' 


'r;ii^ 


;■),   .,_  ..,-,»,•,,.. 


I> 


I'i  :l :  1  '    ■ '.  .     1  '. 


.lo'.n  .l./'iiiv,  V   ,.     ■  .:n'     <■    i'!vni.-;<iih   \u  1  ^  2 '.  (v,;  ,i  i- •   i>  iT  I  y  i-i"!' 


Hi'  lia.  I  '•■'<■     '■ 
wtiS    ftH    '■•«■  '• 
V''|.-;  ■        -  ■ 

The  tftf*-*  -*. 

t!  I'i  *!>'■';  'ftv  '■'--■ 


fvt  U'ii( 

lU'O  is 

1  wewc 

n 

Ol'ilrn' 

1    !.' 

llIl'i^'r 

p-'tir. 

h0tl'5i' 

in  '..' 

hriw-t 

1     'l>it   ' 

•  III   ./li  n-"   fill"  !'Ci.i''ii' t.»r  iif  :i  ■■•'•!'  '!>''     -iv 

•  •■      .         v'lln'r     |>Vl":,liilS.     *    It     \i '■  ■      !'■'• 

ijiVi'i'   '!!'■   '"■■I       ■    •'    li'iA'-/   -:!'„  (•'iyjvii.iatli, 

.1-  ,  ■       .  ■   '■'••  ''"•liitiir?. 

li'aW  ^-■■I'v-  >■    III'.' ..■•i-(l  g<un\  aiU't 

v'.miii!l)i'r    K'.it    ;!i"   'i    ni  thI   Ciii!!,  for 

."n\'T;-.  V  ;n;  ^  ' -111  ill.    111!/  I'j  I'.sVf  I'fiUhthiitPii 

,!.:^'    '   \o   ].(;r^r;i   •  Ikii"    ;ii-'"V(    ..(,;,   H'Mft,,..;  ini':, 

'r    n\.-     i.p  x'j'    1!|    i^T'i?-  <;'■    ii.N    l».'  .i!i.    '  ii*   mil      -"I'-'i   ;rl 

•■•ruiil  iiv  i<i|g  '.Vfxii'le,  .■)(]  pjiiiu-  '■(  '  lii^'  .    u'.ni  t>i  i'"i'. 
>^.-.i,.'tt''ck  liinh  !>t-f<irf'  i'^  ;» •!;!»" '''C '  ,.  n  Wr''\\ '■-';•!:,  . 

lit!:!   ;%■:.)    I'Uli'ij.li.'H;'   inr  tJii;*  V'i't'    "•     ''   *'  ''  f:'!!':'''^:; 

■  !■•  i'l'-'wo  Iciirc  t*  «(il  act'-'iftiii.)/  '.I  ill'  -'•!■.'■','  J'l '  >■'' 
■  }>U:v.,»i'.-  li!  'lii>  i'<-:-n>-'\  '  T'li'  ■*;•■«' ''  vvii  ;  ( •'' r>' 
ori;.'-!  I'lan  i-milii  li>;  '^   '  ^    •'  i''V.ii  'li'iiim.    v      ;.(■;.  I 


'!''  i-'    /.t'.'iii'  S'-. 


<  tri  1  >'  iMi'  .<'i'ii     '  A  I.. 


'1*       vi'.if!!   Ui[('.r    '     -vt.  i!    iity    I'cl   ViX   }'iii 


.       l',.    I     !■■• 


-m. 


■af, 


.^. 


.A>f' 


,«», 


FIRST   BREWERY   IN   THE   COLONIES. 


245 


•4 "   '•  «^ 


l^^^'t^ 


m'^  t 


Thus  initiated,  the  brewery  became  an  early  requisite  withonr  ancestorg 
in  America.  The  Court  of  Assistants,  in  1G20,  were  not  unmincrul  of  tlie 
hereditary  tastes  and  habits  of  the  emij^rants  to  Massachusetts  Bay,  wlio 
con!d  not  readily  forego  their  accustomed  beverage.  Among  the  outfits 
to  New  England,  in  that  year,  in  addition  to  four  hundred-weight  of  hops, 
were  forty-five  tuns  of  Beer,  to  go  in  the  Talbot,  provided  she  had  one 
hundred  passengers  and  eighty-five  mariners.  Soon  after,  in  the  Lyons 
Whelp,  were  sent  thirty  quarters  of  malt,  at  a  cost  of  £25  15s.  Less 
generous  beverages,  however,  appear  to  have  fallen  to  the  lot  of  tlieir  pre- 
decessors at  Plymouth,  where,  in  1G23,  the  best  they  had  to  offer  their 
friends  lately  arrived  from  England  was  "a  cup  of  faire  spring  water." 
But  if  there  were  none  among  them  who  had 

"Learned  the  noble  secret  how  to  brew," 

they  were  not  without  expedients,  and  tradition  says  they  were  accustomed 
to  sing  with  commendable  fortitude, 

"  If  barley  be  wanting  to  make  into  malt, 
We  must  be  content,  and  think  it  no  fault, 
For  we  can  make  liquor  to  sweeten  our  lips, 
Of  pumpkins,  and  parsnips,  and  walnut-true  chips.'" 

John  Jenny,  who  came  to  Plymouth  in  1623,  was  a  brewer  by  trade. 
He  has  been  elsewhere  mentioned  as  the  proprietor  of  a  corn  mill,  and 
was  an  enterprising  person  in  other  pursuits,  but  we  have  seen  no 
evidence  that  he  ever  followed  the  business  of  Brewing  at  Plymouth. 
The  early  hardships  of  their  first  settlement  compelled  the  Pilgrims  to 
forego  all  but  the  most  needful  provisions  for  comfort. 

The  business  appears,  however,  to  have  been  commenced  soon  after 
the  settlement  of  Boston.  In  November  1637,  the  General  Courl,,  for 
the  protection  of  common  brewers,  who  seem  already  to  have  constituted 
a  trade  there,  ordered  that  "  No  person  shall  brewe  any  beare,  or  malt, 
or  other  drinke,  or  sell  in  gross  or  by  rctaile,  but  only  such  as 
ery  Id  the  Bhall  be  licensed  by  this  Courte,  on  paine  of  £100  ;  and  where- 
as Capt.  Sedgwick  hath  before  this  time  set  up  a  brewe-house 
at  his  greate  charge,  and  very  comodious  for  this  part  of  of  'he  countrey, 
hce  is  freely  licensed  to  brewe  beare  to  sell  according  to  the  size  before 
licensed  dureing  the  pleasure  of  the  Courte."  The  "size"  was  before 
ordered  to  be  not  stronger  than  could  be  sold  at  eight  shillings  the  barrel, 
under  penalty  of  £20.  Tiiis  seems  to  be  the  earliest  mention  of  a  brew- 
house  in  the  Colonies.  Ten  years  later,  however,  they  had  six  public 
brew-houses  in  Virginia 

(1)  The  l;'orufathor&'  Song. 


246 


BBEWIN'O   IN   THE   COLONIES. 


„,ving  "  fallen  into  their  -f « J?^        1?,       d  some  who  have  a  n,ys- 
..  brewers,  besides  divers  sorts  of  sho  .ke  pe  3,  .  ^^ 

,ery  beyond  others  as  have      ejan^^^^^^^^^ 

one  of  the  first  settlers  at  ^atertown   Ma  distinguishea  by 

elected  a  representative  to   he  G    era    Cou^^  _^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^  ^^^^^^^^^^^ 

the  respectable  title  of  Mr.,  ^^^''J^  P  ^^^,,  ,  ,,uivator  of  hops, 
ia  that  place.  Ue  is  sa.d  also  ^^J^llnZ  there  in  166^  Many 
Samuel  Livermore  followed  ^^-e  J- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ,^^^,,y  ,,,  ,,i.ed  in 
years  elapsed,  in  7- Pf  /J.^^^^, ^^t  and  Beer,  and  a  consider- 
sufficient  quantity  for  the  P'-^'^^f  ^"/^  ^^^  f,,  the  use  of  the  brewers, 
able  importation  of  malt  ^-^^  J^^^^^;;  ,„  importation.  Whether 
This  was  subject,  in  f^^^^^^^': ^^Z  important,  or  the  domestic 
au  increased  supply  of  the  articl^^^  ^  .^^^^^^^^  ^f 

manufacture  of  it  had  d.muushed  t^^  P">''^^' ^  }  J^  ,^,  Assembly 
.alt.  and  other  "-chants  of  Bo^ton^^"  1  ^5,  pet  _^^^^^  ^^  ^^  .^  ^^^^^^, 
for  a  reduction  or  a  repeal  of  the  tant^,  as     1  ^^.^.^^^ 

welth  and  also  a  discoridgm   to  rnarchan^.       One  o^^^^^J^_^^  ^^ 

of  those  early  Boston  ^^T^^  ^^^jj J;   j^'^'a  Rober 

Thomas  Broughton,  and  signed  «  '^yj^y^^^^^^         ^   f,,,,,„e  of  ports  and 

sents  that  "  the  weU-^nowa  adv  ntag   ac^ruein      y     ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^^  .^_ 

buidrance  of  trade  P-P-^'^^^^;;  ;;,';lg  „pou  this  countrey  a  reall 
posed,  that  this  seeming  go^f  ^^  ^^^  '  Jto  custome  on  another,  till, 
even,  and  from  customs  "P-^-  '^^^^^  ^^^  i„e„,iblie  brought  under 
«tep  by  step,  under  specious  PJ^^^^^^J^  ^,  ,,,,„  nations  well  known 

taxes  for  everything  -  ^^^  T^^;  ^J  '  ."of  the  present,  and  to  prevent 
unto  us  showeth."  therefore  f^""  ^h^ J^°  your  humble  petitioners  to 
tbis  even  in  future  ^^-^'J/J^^Xag-n^ay  remind  you  as  fathers 
remove  the  customs  upon  malt,  that  alter  ^^^  ^^^.^  ^^^^^ 

of  their  freedome,  and  the  Pre-nt  m  7  bow  b  or  j  ^^^^^^  ^^.^^  ^^^^ 
rience  of  your  care  of  theire  -"-«'.t\ew  England  had  now  held 
Brewers  of  New  A^^ter  -  ^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^o'r ously  resisted  a  tax 

commercial  intercourse  for  over  thirty  y  ^^^^  ^^^ 

on  malt,  justifying  their  recusancy  -;     J"  Thes    examples  show  how 

::t:::=;^r?:;n;^^^^^^ 

,ettloment  (1630)  rcfuBod  to  pay  the  Brst 
(I)  Wond.r.WorUing  Prov  dence  ^^  ^^^.^^  ^^^^^  ^,,^^,,^  u  ,,,  „ah- 


MALTING  OF  INDIAN  CORN.      INDIAN   BREWl.SQ. 


247 


date,  mentioned  as 
eat  advantage,"  are 
ne  who  have  a  mys- 
,1,  John  Appleton, 

who  was  IVtqueptly 
ras  distinguishea  by 

set  up  a  malt-house 
cultivator  of  hops, 
re  in   1661.     Many 
barley  was  raised  in 
Beer,  and  a  consider- 
)  use  of  the  brewers, 
portation.     Whether 
rtant,  or  the  domestic 
rincipal  importers  of 
itioned  the  Assembly 
litiall  to  this  comou- 
)ne  of  the    petitions 

the  handwriting  of 
obert  Pateshall,  repre- 

freedome  of  ports  and 
geness  of  customs  im- 
)n  this  countrey  a  reall 
ustome  on  another,  till, 
ensil)lie  brought  under 
her  nations  well  known 
present,  and  to  prevent 

bumble  petitioners  to 
ly  remind  you  as  fathers 
fore  you  for  their  expe- 
n  years  before  this,  the 
England  had  now  held 
vigorously  resisted  a  tax 

that  the  taxed  were  not 
ese  examples  show  how 

every  form  of  taxation, 
iidies  levied  through  the 
ded,  while  deprecating  so 

1630)  refused  to  pay  the  fir«t 
5,on  them,  alleging  it  wo»  with- 
y,  Ao. 


dangerous  a  precedent,  that  a  persistent  oppos.fon    o  taxut  on  would 
become  the  ostensible  cause  of  a  dismemberment  ot  the  emp.re.     Th 
fit  Tee-trade  movement,  however,  seems  not  to  have  been  successful,  as 
thrcourl'instead  of  repealing  the  duty,  merely  referred  the  petitioners 
tn  a  former  order  of  the  Court  on  the  sul)ject. 

^urg  t  e  year  1662.  the  younger  Winthrop,   of  Connecticut,  read 
severa   papers  of  a  practical  character  before  the  Royal  Society  in  Lo  - 
do        In  December  of  that  year,  the  first  of  its  corporate  exis  ence,  he 
wo  'requested  by  the  society  to  institute  some  experiments  n.  the  manu- 
rture'o    Beer  from  barley  and  maize.     In  the  following  Marc  .  he    c- 
oXgy  presented  to  the  society  some  bottles  of  Beer  ^'--d   rom  Ii  - 
,         diancorn.     Two  years  previous  to  that,  a  duty  o    2..   M    • 
f:ilTZ..^^„,l  on  strong  beer,  and  of  6rf.  a  barrel  on  small  beer,  had 
been  imposed  for  the  first  time  in  England.     The  increased  price  of  Beer 
wlTch,  as  the  favorite  beverage,  was  consumed  in  enormous  quantities 
may    ave  suggested  the  possibility  of  finding  a  cheaper  article  than  barky 
Tth    new  American  staple,  and  thus,  through  the  well-known  ingenuity 
M    wltop.  of  leading  to  results  valuable  both  to  England  and  her 
colol       It  is  more  probable,  however,  that  Mr.  Winthrop  or  others 
.ad  comni.  nicated  to  inembers  of  the  society  a  knowledge  of  the  custom 
'     clhad  long  obtained  in  America  of  brewing  Beer  from  Indian  corn  ; 
r  0   without  a  practic-1  aim,  doubtless,  he  was  solicited  to  furnish  an 
lust  aion  of  its  feasibility.     Most  of  the  cereals  possess  the  property 

0  beTnrmalted.  Campanius.  in  his  description  of  New  Swedeii  cites 
a  pa  age  from  Sir  llichard  GrenviUe's  relation  of  his  voyage  to  Virginia 
iuTs  5  in  which  he  states  that  very  good  bread  may  be  made  out  of  the 
male  then  ground ;  "  the  English  have  prepared  it  in  the  same  manner 
as    orn  and  have  brewed  with  it  a  kind  of  small  beer."     He  gives  also 

1  teXony  of  Peter  Lindstrom,  an  engineer  of  New  Sweden,  about 
h    ye     S  who  observes  that  '<  Maize,  or  Indian  Corn,  grows  there 

of  va  iou  coi;rs,  white,  red,  blue,  brown,  yellow,  and  pied  ...  ou  of 
the  white  and  yellow  maize  they  make  bread,  bnt  the  blue,  brown,  black 
Ind  Id  is  brewed  into  Beer  which  is  very  strong  but  not  remarkably 

lear'"  V^^^^^^^^  tells  us,  brewed  excellent  drink,' as  in  Sweden, 

and  a  very  cooling  beverage  was  made  from  water-melons. 

This  practice  of  malting  Indian  corn  was  doubtless  of  Ameman  orig  n. 
anlmay  h    e  been  derived  from  the  Indians,  who  made  arti  cial  drin  s 

.1  several  native  products,  including  maize.     Von  Humboldt  remarks 
Chemist  wonlAave  some  di«y  ^^^Jje^^  ^ -^  -- 

l-r  T.:;  ::lrr:rLt::Letsyrups  from  tl.  stalks  of  th. 

pCt     They  also  understood  the  effect  of  germination  in  developing  the 


243 


BREWING   I.N   THE   COLONIES. 


Raccburiiie  prii.ciples  c.f  the  grain,  which  they  iufased  in  water,  after 
which  it  was  masiicd  and  boiled  in  the  same  water,  and  in  dne  time  it  was 
drawn  off  and  set  aside  to  ferment.  This  drink,  which  was  called  vinapu, 
possessed  intoxicating  qualities,  and  was  in  consequence  forbidden  by  the 
Incus.  The  juice  of  the  maize,  mingled  with  that  of  other  fruits,  chewed 
and  then  deposited  in  a  vessel  and  left  to  ferment,  constituted  another 
disgusting  drink  of  the  natives  of  the  southern  continent,  called  diitu, 
and  by  the  Indians  of  the  same  countries,  by  whom  it  is  still  prepared, 
kawa.  In  its  preparation,  it  is  said,  that  made  from  materials  ground 
between  the  molars  of  withered  and  half-toothless  crones  was  preferred, 
for  no  other  reason,  we  may  suppose,  than  that  the  difficult  and  pro- 
tracted labor  of  mastication  excited  a  more  copious  effusion  of  the  sali- 
vary ingredients  in  the  nauseous  compound.  These,  like  the  former,  were 
highly  intoxicating.'  The  North  American  tribes,  however,  are  be- 
lieved to  have  had  no  knowledge  of  any  intoxicating  beverages  previous 
to  the  arrival  of  Europeans.* 

A  paper  by  Mr.  Winlhrop,  on  the  culture  and  uses  of  maize  in  Ame- 
rica where  its  employment  in  Brewing  was  thus  ancient  and  aboriginal, 
was'  published  in  the  twelfth  volume  of  the  T.  actions  of  the  Koyal 
Society  A.  D.  1G78,  two  years  after  his  death.  It  describes  the  Indian 
mode  of  raising  the  plant,  and  the  use  by  the  Indians  of  the  stalks 
■uid  leaves  in  making  baskets,  and  also  tlie  great  improvements  made  in 
its  cultivation  by  the  use  of  the  plow.  The  method  of  making  malt  and 
Beer  from  the  grain  is  there  described.     Good  malt,  it  is  stated,  could 


(X)    Humboldt's    E.-^!^ny8.      McCulloch's 
Aboriginal  llosearchos. 

(2)  Acoonling  to  IIeikewel<ler,  there  id  no 
tradition  of  the  riico  better  supported  than 
that  which  B.'cribes  ft  scene  of  intoxication 
to  tho  first  iulerviow  between  the  Dutch  ftnd 
the  Indians  on  Manhattan  Island,  of  which 
he  received  a  curious  account  from  tho  Dela- 
ware.'. Tho  name  of  tho  island,  ho  says,  is 
hut  an  abbreviation  of  that  given  it  on  tho 
ocCBPion,  and  ooinmemoratcs  and  substanti- 
ates the  story,  meaning  "  the  place  where  we 
nil  got  drunk."  Tho  Iroiiuois  are  said  to 
hold  a  similar  tradition  n*  to  what  occurred 
when  they  were  first  made  acquainted  with 
the  use  of  gunpowder.  In  the  Pandora's 
box  of  varied  and  swift-destroying  evils 
brought  by  the  Europeans  to  the  Indian  race, 
none  has  been  more  baneful  than  the  fatal 
gift  of  "Jirr  miler."  Hudson  is  said,  on  the 
uccasion   above  referred   to,  to   have   flritt 


offered  them  brandy  to  elicit  more  of  their 
character  and  designs  by  the  artifice. 
Mainly  through  the  consequence  of  that  act 
wo  SCO  the  whole  race  now  rapidly  melting 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  reeals  tho 
words  of  Horace,  who  finds  a  parallel  to  the 
wickedness  <pf  tho  first  navigator  in  the  sia 
of  Prometheus  and  its  dire  eonsequeneos  to 
tho  human  family.  Upon  the  natives  of  this 
Continent  the  act  of  the  first  voyager  to  their 
shores,  with  his  metaphorical  "fire  water," 
has  been,  in  Us  fatal  effects,  almost  a  literal 
rcaliiation  of  the  Roman  poet's  description, 

Audax  Japetl  genus 

Igncm/raiirfcmdW  gontibus  intulit: 
Post  ignom  sethereii  domo 

Subductum  macies,  et  nova  fobrium 
Terris  incubuit  oohors ; 

Semotique  prius  tarda  necessita* 
Lethi,  oorripuit  gradum. 


BEKR   VllOM   CORN   BREAD.      PRICES   OF  BEER.     MALT   DUTY.         249 


fused  in  water,  after 
nd  in  due  time  it  wu.h 
;h  was  called  vinapii, 
ence  forbidden  by  the 
f  other  fruits,  chewed 
t,  constituted  another 
ntinciit,  called  chitu, 
n  it  is  still  prepared, 
;-om  materials  ground 
crones  was  preferred, 
Lhe  difficult  and  pro- 
is  effusion  of  the  suli- 
1,  like  the  former,  were 
es,  however,  are  be- 
ig  beverages  previous 

ises  of  maize  in  Ame- 
ncient  and  aboriginal, 
actions  of  the  Koyal 
t  describes  the  Indian 
Indians  of  the  stalks 
mprovements  made  in 
d  of  making  malt  and 
lalt,  it  is  stated,  could 

ndy  to  elicit  more  of  their 
des^igns  by  the  artifice, 
the  couscquencc  of  that  net 
B  race  nnw  rnpidly  melting 
'  the  enrth.  It  recals  the 
,  who  finds  a  pnriiUel  to  the 
10  first  navi;;a!i'r  in  the  sin 
nd  its  dire  consequences  to 
jr.  Upon  the  natives  of  this 
tof  the  first  voyager  to  their 
metiiphorioal  "fire  water," 
fatal  efl'ect?,  almost  alitenil 
e  Roman  poet's  desoriptiun, 

genus 

rfc  maJfi  gontihus  intulit : 
therei  domo 

maciea,  et  nova  febrium 
it  oohors ; 

prius  tarda  necessitoi 
lit  gradum. 


only  be  made  from  maize  by  peculiar  management,  and  the  barley  malt- 
masters  had  in  vain  employed  their  skill  to  make  it  in  the  ordinary  way. 
It  was  found  by  experience  that  the  corn,  before  it  was  fully  malted,  must 
be  more  completely  germinated,  both  as  to  the  root  and  blade,  to  the 
extent  of  a  finger-length  at  least.  The  plan  found  most  effectual  was  to 
remove  the  surface  .soil  to  the  depth  of  two  or  throe  inches,  throwing  it 
up  each  way;  then  to  spread  the  corn  thickly  over  the  ground  thus  exca- 
vated, and  cover  it  with  the  earth  previously  removed.  Left  thus  until 
the  jilot  looked  like  a  green  field  with  the  sprouting  corn,  which  would 
require  ten  to  fourteen  days,  according  to  the  season,  it  was  then  taken 
up,  the  earth  shaken  from  it,  and  dried.  The  Beer  made  from  it  after 
this  management  was  wholesome,  pleasant,  and  of  a  good  brown  color. 

Another  mode  of  making  Bper  from  maize,  more  practiced,  he  says, 
because  better  understood,  was  from  the  corn  bread.  This  was  broken 
into  large  lumps  the  size  of  the  fist,  then  mashed  and  treated  as  malt.  The 
bread,  thus  treated,  yielded  a  beer  fine-colored,  wholesome,  and  which 
kept  better  than  that  made  from  the  grain.  Hops  were  added  or  not,  as 
desired.  A  syrup,  made  from  the  juice  of  the  jointed  stalks  of  the  kind 
cultivated  by  the  natives  north  of  New  England,  is  also  mentioned  by 
him.  A  Paper  by  Dr.  Murray,  in  the  same  volume,  states  that  Barley 
alone  was  used  in  Scotland  for  malting  at  that  time.' 

The  price  at  which  the  best  quality  of  Beer  was  sold  in  New  England, 
in  166T,  was  \^d.  per  quart.  The  General  Court  had  previously  ordered 
that  Beer  should  be  made  with  four  bushels  of  good  barley  malt  at 
least  to  a  hogshead,  and  that  it  should  not  be  sold  above  2d.  the  quart. 
It  was  now  ordered  that  Beer  should  be  made  only  of  good  barley  malt, 
without  "  any  mixture  of  molasse-s,  coarse  sugar,  or  other  materials  in- 
stead of  mault,  on  penalty  of  five  pounds  for  every  offence."  The  prices 
of  Barley,  Barley-malt,  and  rye  were  fixed  for  that  year  at  4s.  the  bushel ; 
wheat,  at  5,s.,  and  Indian  corn,  at  2s.  Sd.  the  bushel.  The  value  of  silver 
was  then  about  6.?.  Sd.  sterling  the  ounce. 

In  May,  1673,  the  Court,  taking  into  serious  consideration  "the  neces- 
sity of  upholding  the  staple  commodities  of  this  country,  for  supply  and 
support  of  the  inhabitants  thereof,  and  finding,  by  experience,  the  bring- 
ing of  malt,  which  is  a  principal  commodity  oi  this  country,  from  foreign 
parts,  to  be  exceedingly  in-ejudicial  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony," 
imposed  a  duty  of  &d.  a  bushel  on  malt  imported  from  Europe,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  rate  of  one  penny  previously  laid.  The  protectionists  appear 
to  have  been  still  the  most  numerous  class  in  the  Assembly.' 

(1)  A   patent  was   granted,   in   1801,  to     tion  of  H..m<(^<'.7  grain  in  the  proee-s  which 
Alexander  Anderson  for  «  mothod  of  Brew-     was  then  considered  a  valuable  discovery. 
Ing  with  Indian  corn,  by  employing  a  por-        (2)  Records  of  the  Col.,  vol.  iv.  344.  552. 


BREWING  AND  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  BEEB. 


250 

T.0  .h^ppin.  business  <^  ^^f-^i:^^^^:::  :^^ 

towns  of  New  England,  P'"'"^^^^.  J;j;' " f™  "n  the  provisioning  of 
Colonial  times,  .as  always  a  .^^^^''^^^^^^^J^J  '  J.ed  from  the«e 
vessels.  Beer  and  distilled  ^P>"ts  jvere  m  and  x^^^^  ^^^^.^^^  ^^^_ 
parts  early  in  the  last  centnry.     It  was  sent  to  ^^^  _^ 

Lndland,  and  other  of  the  ^-t'"-  f  ^^:^^  ^^.^  1,,^  mneh  trade,  iu 
of  the  Island  of  Barbadoes,  -^^^  ;^^;'^^J'^^^^„i^°„td  seventy-five  tuns  of 
the  first  eight  weeUs  of  the  J^^^,  •;::,r:  Xlgsbeads,  of  bottled 

Beer  and  Ale ;  one  hundred  and  B/  y  «  ^      IJ  ^f  ^^ich  was  pro- 
Beer  and  Ale,  and  nine  and  a  half  tuns  of  »rm  ^^^^^^^ 

,a,  very  aoM,e  ..terferedj  t  Ih.  ta  ^^      ___^,^^^^^  ^^,  consequently 

Urewing.      A  bieh  prohibitiTC  ""'y  T|,e  Province 

reeommended  about  th,.  t.me  a,  "Z;^™' '  "  ,  ^^        juced  at  a 

raised  and  exported  barley  in  eous.derab  e  qnaul.ly.  P 

,a.e,  period  very  -^f';':  *I,  ^^^C^  1 

ConneeticulwaBalsoeelebrateaor  „„»,  was  made  at  an 

.„d  at  MiddletoWD,  a  fe»  years  afte    the  peaee  po  ^^ 

extensive  ^--J^J^nTr;"'         s  made  >  >"..  "U  3,««0 
::,:":?^idr  1:::;*'    w^este™  eonn.ie.  ..so  produced  .uC. 

*^''^®'-  .  ;„^i<rpnniii  as  Well  to  Holland  as  to  Eug- 

ery  ».id  Di.-  Tw  1  er,  caused  the  erecuou  ui  luu  o 

K«.    c,ndi„J.B«e,yu^on  J.™^^^^^  '^l" taf  ^^2 

ent  Wall  «"«' »=f 'f '°  ".ttonB      d  »nd  Whitehall.     From  that 
of  what  is  DowBndBe  street,  between  isr  ^^ 

time  forth  the  place  contmued  "''  '"^  =^,3/„;  ,640,  which  was 
The  distillation  of  Brandy  »— "^^^^^        'L  Colonies.     In  the 

tir:rn-5  ::r;r:zz:. . ...  «r  .ha.  year, 


BEEB. 

thcr  of  the  maniime 
J  of  Beer,  which,  in 
the  provisioning  of 
exported  from  these 
le  West  Indies,  New- 
Amor  ;  the  imports 
es  had  much  trade,  iu 
d  seventy-five  tuns  of 
hogsheads,  of  bottled 
uch  of  which  was  pro- 
,ly  of  Rhode  Island, 
Strong  Eeer,  Ale,  etc., 
^rnments.     New  York 
s  time,  were  exporting 
sign  ports. 

le  sugar  Colonies,  and 
business  Rhode  Island 
usiness  of  Malting  and 
Lsses  was  consequently 
lasure.  The  Province 
ity.     It  produced  at  a 

and  quality  of  its  cidor, 

porter  was  made  at  an 

to  London  porter.     A 

},  in  1121,  nearly  3,000 

38  also  produced  much 

to  Holland  as  to  Eug- 
y  as  the  days  of  Tacitus, 
sessions  in  America.     In 
ugh  their  Director,  Tan 
and  other  buildings,  in- 
extending  from  the  pres- 
ts  site  was  the  north  side 
d  Whitehall.     From  thai 
with  the  national  drink, 
early  as  1640,  which  was 
in  the  Colonies.     In  the 
rmingly  prevalent  that,  to 
are  a  better  observance  of 
own,  in  April  of  that  year, 


SUNDAY   MQUOB   LAW-FIUST   EXCISE   ON    UaUOUS. 


251 


pruhlbited  the  tapping  of  Beer  during  divine  service,  or  after  ten  o'cloc 

;  h,  under  a     enalty  of  twenty-five  guilders  or  ten  ^-.   or  each 
otfen  e.  beside  the  forfeiture  of  the  Beer  for  the  use  of  th«      Suh  u 
Fiscaa  ,"  or  Attorney  General.     The  offender  was  not  allowed  to  tap 
B  er  a:ain  for  three  months.     The  prean^ble  to  this  early  ordinance  fo 
fe     aiding  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquor,  shows  the  sense  t'-n  en^r^^u.d 
of  the  magnitude  of  an  evil  which  still  baflles  f '--'^r  "L      s  "  t  - 
sors  of  the  Burgomasters  and  Schepens  of  that  day.     M\  hereas,    th^v 
ay   ' 'compUunts  are  made  that  some  of  our  inhabitants  have  eomn.enced 
up  B  i;  during  divine  service  and  use  a  small  ki-jd  of  measure,  wln^ 
is  in  conten.pt  of  our  religion  and  must  ruin  the  State,  &-'    J  *- 
tavern  on  the  Island  for  the  accommodation  of  strangers,  «  ;1^«-  ^»'    « 
were  many  already  from   New  England,  was  erected  in   1642  near  the 

'tlS'tlSilltrationof  its  affairs  by  a  privileged  commercial 
com  ay  whose  object  was  the  prosecution  of  trade  and  .ts  own  emolu- 
n        1  unfavorable  to  private  enterprise  in  many  departments  of  lu- 
du  try         -count  of  numerous  monopolies  established,  and  the  onerou 
d  arbitrary  taxation  resorted  to.  many  prominent  -ti--  -^^ -J-^e^ 
i.  the  manufacture  of  Beer  in  the  Dutch  Frovnce.     A  tax  on  Beer  be 
name  at  a  very  early  day  a  source  of  much  trouble  in  the  Colony      la 
164       hen    t'was  much  harassed  and  impoverished  by  wars  with  the 
.  dian     when  the  Treasury  was  empty,  and  the  West  India  Company 
was"  ;ady  verging  toward  bankruptcy,  and  therefore  unable  to  assist 
The  D  iector  Geiieml  Kieft  and  his  Council  determined,  contrary  to  the 
dvic::rthe  people,  representatives,  to  resort  to  t-t.o.i,  as  a  e^po^ 
rary  expedient  for  the  clothing  and  maintenance  o    the    old.ers.     la 
June,  therefore,  proclamation  was  made  that  there  shoud  be  pa       on 
each  half  vat  (or  barrel)  of  Beer  tapt  by  the  tavern  keepers,  wo  guilder 
ha    to  be  paid  by  the  Brewer  and  half  by  the  tapster_the  burgher  who 
dolnotrrtail  if  to  pay  half  as  much  ,   on  each  ^^^;^^;^::^;^ 
four  stuyvers ;  French  wine,  two  stuyvers.  to  be  paid  by  the  tapsters ,  ou 
rhbeLer  hide  brought  to  the  port  and  ^^^^;;;l;^^:  Jl^^ 
one  guilder  triplets  and  halves  in  proportion.     All  on  pain  of  forfeiting 
21  go  dtlone-third  for  the  informer,  one-third  for  the  officer,  and  the 
r  natder  for  the  Company.     All  this  provisionally,  un  il  the  good  God 
hT^r.,  t  us  peace  or  that  we  shall  be  sufficiently  aided  from  Holland  ' 
S  S:l:  S^ing  an  excise  and  additional  expo,  duties^n  cer.in 
articles  but  especially  the  liquor  tax  "  establishing  for  the  first  tim.  in 

cunt:    an'excise'on  wine,  beer,  and  other  liquors."  produced  nu 
dissatisfaction,  especially  among  the  traders.     Later  in  tl>e jeaj  - m. 
Dutch  soldiers,  destitute  of  clothing,  arrived  from  Curacoa  to  the  great 


252  BREWING    AND    Til.-.    MANV r.VCTVIlE    OF    «EER. 

relief  of  the  Province.     But  us  these  h.d  to  be  clothed,  t'-  i;>!'-'^^tor  r, 
>  wed  L  impost  on  Beer  by  urderi.-g  that  every  tun  should  pay  Un 
7  r    m  A\      Fverv  brewer  was  at  the  same  time  to  make  a  rptu, 
:?  Ur,      "tity  ntad:  b    him  before  .e  cotdd  maUe  any  sale      A  r.ee.. 
Is    pointed  to  collect  the  revenue  from  this  Bource,  and  -vas  enttth 
0  fi  c  nt.  for  his  trouble.    This  indefinite  renewal  of  a  tax  .mpos 

or  a  temporarv  purpo.e  produced  intense  excitement,  and  wa.  firmly 
t!d  ly  t le  1  r  we k  both  on  account  of  its  object  and  the  mode  of  , 
c  ,  ent      It  was  the  duty,  they  urged,  of  the  Company  to  uua.nta.P 
lorand  defend  its  subjects  from  foreign  and  domestic  enenuos.     1 
t.oops  and  de  tna  u  represented  the  commonul 

!::?::  :^st\i;^i;:;::t;;!.:ns.  .oj..  o...... ..md ,,, 

:::::^  the  imposition,  but  ,t^.slevi^b3^.;e^ 

e^if  the  payment  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  law.  Numerous  prose 
?        f  .mIc  1     1 .  is  early  invasion  of  the  popular  rights  and  determu 

;::-;;r:^t:^;o;ccLnnch  recrimination  .^ 

'a  ties  and  added  greatly  to  the  troubles  with  wh.ch  the  I  rov 
was  afilicted.     It  contributed  to  the  ultimate  recall  of  an  arbitrary  G 

'Xlral  of  tl.^  first  Brewers  in  New  Amsterdam  were  men  of  eonsi. 
abfe    o.,,and  filled  some  of  the  highest  civic  offices  ui  the  commn. 
T    icsablishmentswero  chiefly  situated  in  the  vicmity  of  M.   F 
wi  tn  which  the  first  was  built.     The  street  occupied  by  them  was 
r     ircumstance  ^-alled  the"Bronwer  S.raat,"  or  the  Brewers'    t, 
am      orr^^onded   with  the    present  Stone  street  between  Broad 
Whitehall.     It  was  one  of  the  first  streets  occupied  in  the  fntuie  c 
r  d        apital,  and  received  its  present  name  from  be  ng  the  firs   p, 
wU     stone,  which  was  done  by  an  ordinance  made  ui  the  year  1 
O      0    the  principal  brewers  in  this  locality  was  Isaac  Do  Forcest 
le  to  J  country  in   1030.  and  in   1645  rece  ved  a  graut  upon 
above  street,  then  one  of  the  best  in  the  town,     lie  was  also  the  o 
of  a  farm  at  Ilarlaen,  and  of  the  "Old  Kirk"  or  f  "-'-'nd       ' 
and  for  many  ye.rs  a  magistrate.     U  acknowledgment  of  hi.      r 
in  improving  the  town  and  in  public  office,  he  was  privileged  with 

irroat  citizenship."  , 

Jacob  Wolfertsen  Van  Couwenhoven  erected  a  large  stone  brewe 
the  north  side  of  the  same  street,  on  land  granted  hi.n  also  in  K. 
the  corner  of  Slono  vM  Broad  street,    lie  was  not  successful  tn  bus 


(1)  0'Cttll^ghan•n  New  NBtlicrlundi. 


EAULY  HREWEns  or  m;w  YuUK. 


•253 


JllE   OF   BEER. 

be  cloUied,  the  Director  rc- 
every  tun  should  jiuy  threo 
same  tiuie  to  nvakc  a  return 
make  any  sale.     A  ri.eeivcr 
[lis  source,  and  -vas  entitled 
ite  renewal  of  a  tax  imitostd 
citement,  and  wa.-,  firmly  rc- 
8  object  and  the  mode  of  its 
the  Company  to  maintair  its 
vnd  domestic  enemies.     The 
rein-esented  the  commonalty, 
lid  be  offended  should  ihey 
by  the  Company's  paid  ser- 
y  were  therefore  determined 
other  hand,  was  directed  to 
he  law.     Numerous  prosecu- 
opiihu-  rights  and  determined 
lion  nud  ill  feeling  between 
.s  with  which  the    Province 
Ic  recall  of  an  arbitrary  Got- 

tordam  were  men  of  consider- 
ivic  offices  in  the  commnuiiy. 
in  the  vicinity  of  *!k.  Fort, 
?t  occupied  by  them  was  from 
traat,"  or  the  Brewers'  street, 
le  street  between  Broad  and 
3  occupied  in  the  future  com- 
lime  from  being  the  first  paved 
anco  nuidc  in  the  year  lfi57. 
ty  was  Isaac  Dc  Forcest,  who 
,5  received  n  grant  upon  the 
)wn.     lie  was  also  the  owner 
irk"  or  church  on  Pearl  street. 
:knowlcdgment  of  his  services 
e,  he  was  privileged  with  "  the 

•ected  a  large  stone  brewery  on 
I  granted  him  also  in  10  j,  at 
u  was  not  succesaful  in  business, 

/ 

Nuthcrlunds. 


and  entailed  mortgages  upon  his  propoily,  uf  whi.h,  however,  he  held 
l.ossession  until  his  death  in  1G70.  The  same  premises  were  occupied  as 
a  brewery  subsequently  by  John  Tan  Couwenl-.oven. 

Peter,  a  younger  brother  of  Jacob  just  referred  to,  was  also  a  promi- 
nent person  at  that  day,  and  carried  on  business  as  a  brewer  and  trader. 
He  was  six  years  a  "  Schepen"  of  the  city,  lie  was  unpopular  both 
with  the  English  after  they  came  in  possession  and  with  his  Dutch  neigh- 
bors. Having  been  arraigned  on  a  charge  of  extortion,  he  refused  to 
give  bail,  and  was  imprisoned  and  fined.  He  left  the  city  and  resided 
awhile  at  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  of  which  ho  was  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers;  b-.U  in  1G05  was  still  a  resident  of  the  city  at  the  north-west 
corner  of  Pearl  and  Wliitehall  streets.  His  brewery  at  ihc  head  of  the 
present  Broad  street  became,  in  1670,  the  property  of  Isaac  Van  Yieck, 
who,  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  there  conducted  a  prc^perous  business 
in  Brewing,     lie  was  several  years  an  alderman,  and  died  in  10115. 

The  Bayards,  also,  Nicholas  and  Balthazar,  step-sons  of  Governor 
Stuyvesant,  were  among  the  most  conspicuous  and  opulent  citizens  at 
tliat  time.  They  were  both  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  Beer.  An 
extensive  district  of  the  city,  long  afterward  and,  to  old  residents  of  New 
York  still  known  as  the  "  Bayard  Farm,"  was  tlie  property  of  their 
wealthy  descendants.  It  extended  along  each  side  of  Broadway,  north 
of  Canal  street  for  the  distance  of  mai.y  blocks,  and  from  the  Bowery  to 
beyond  McDougal  street,  on  the  west  side  of  the  city. 

Another  wealthy  Burgomaster,  who  was  one  of  the  early  brewers  of 

the  rising  Dutch  metropolis,  was  OloiT  Stevenson  Yan   Cortlandt.     lie 

came  to  the  city  in  1037,  on   military  service,  which  he  quit  the  same 

year  for  a  civil  office  as  Commissary  of  Cargoes,  at  a  salary  of  thirty 

guilders  ($12.00)  per  month.     He  resigned  his  office  to  the  Company  lu 

1648   to  engage  in  the  Brewing  Imsiness.     His  premises  were  on  "Do 

Brouwer  Straat,"  now  Stone,  adjoining  those  of  Isaac  De  Forcest,  where 

his  property  was  one  of  the  first  class,  and  valued,  on  the  final  cession  of 

the  city  to  the  English,  in  1074,  at  $30,000.     He  was  an  influential  poll- 

tician,  and,  in  1050,  the  President  of  the  citizens'  representatives  cabcd 

the  "Nine  Men,"  who  were  opposed  to  the  ndmiuislration  of  the  last 

governor,  Stuyvesant,  and  were  by  him  turned  out  of  their  pews  in 

church  and  their  seats  torn  up.     He  had  a  valuable  property  on  the 

west  si'de  of  Broadway,  adjacent  to  Cortlandt  street,  which  still  perpetuates 

his  name.     He  held  several  prominent  offices.     His  son,  Stophanus,  was 

the  first  native-born  Mayor  of  New  York,  to  which  he  was  appointed  at 

the  age  of  thirty-four.    Another  son.  Jacobus,  was,  like  the  lust-mentioned, 

a  wealthy  merchant  and  a  Mayor  of  the  city.     Jacob  Ki).,  a  son  of  one 

of  the  oldest  settlers,  in  IC53  resigned   the  secretaryship  of  the  city 


254-  BUKWING  AND  THE  MANVFACTUUK  OF  BEKI.. 

x,>toA  five  vears  before,  while  H"i^<=  " 
„,agi.tracy,  to  which  he  was  ^P^"  f  ..f  j;;',,^,.,^  iu  the  Browing 
,ouU,  en  the  first  organization  of  .  >-;'^;^  '^^^  ,rsaU.  His  pro,- 
;asi,..e..     He  afterward  ->g.ed  .t  f     mcrca  ^_^^      ^.      ^^  ^^^._ 

ertyou  Broad  street,  partly  ac.uuedm  the  b  ^   ^^^  ^^^.^^^^^^  .„ 

,iagc  with  the  wealthy  w.dow  "  «"^^>;^  J  ^,,,  Originally  settled  at 
1674  at  $8,000.  D-''''^  ^^7:-^l*^"' ^f ^ "'De  Prinec  Straat,"  now 
Fort  orange,  resided  »^-^;- ^  ^  ;  f  the  na^e  now  in  the  State. 
Beaver,  east  of  Broad,  '^^l']'^'^^^;^^  y,„  presteede,  a  cooper,  who 
On  ihe  same  street  bved  also  'T- /j"  ;;  /  ^^^^,  ,„a  5,  icCT  inspector 
..as  appointed  iu  1658  the  ."^^^Ue    of     e     ba^r  ^  ^^^^^  .^^  ^^^3^ 

of  pipe  staves.    Jan  Vinje  ,s  mention  d  - J^  ^-;;?      ^^,.^^,  „.,,  Maiden 
He^;asoneoftheheirstothepropeny^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^,^^  ^^„^^„  Farm. 

Lane,  and  extending  from  r>ver  to  "  «r  >no  ^,,^  j,,,,  E„g. 

I.  1654.  Thomas  Hall  an  E,^  .  .n.^  w       Id  ^  ^^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^ 

Uvnders  some  years  before  m  the  attack  ni^^^^i  t  ^^,^^, 

Delaware,  wher.  he  was  taUen  P"--;^^.^^^;   .V  street.     He  there  es- 
U.e  pnrchaser  of  a  farm  on  what       n  w  li ^  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^_^^  ^  ^^^^^ 

tablished  a  Brewery,  wh>eh,  -^'^]^^'''^'f^^^  j^,,,.  ,,,,  purchased  of  his 
,„d  valnable  tract  from  Pearl  st^H   0     ark  IV   ^  r^^^  ^^^^.  ^^^  .^ 

widow  by  William  ^^^  -"; .  f  '^ar  ltd  on  for  many  year,  the 
1647.  .nd  was  the  Hrs  «  ^^^^J^'C  and  Willian.  streets,  which 
Brewing  bns.ness  at  the  corner  ot  u  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^  ^ 

conjointly  still  bear  ^^^r^-^^'^^^,,,,^^  offices  at  different  times. 

Sehepen  of  the  cty,  «^"^/^  ^^  '^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^„  ,,     gonth  lliver  fro.n  1058  to 

Tie  was  Sub-Director  of  O^e  Colo  J  on  ^^^  ^^^^^  .^  ^.^^^^  ^^^ 

1663.  and  after  that  was  b^. .r  ^  ,-    L-P  j,.^  ^,,p,,,y 

,env  «,.til  his  .k.ath  -    J^^-  ^^  ^^  f^^^„,,„  s,„are  and  Ann  street, 

S^''^'"l'-"  ,         f  «„,  made  at  Ronsselacrwyck,  in  the  neighbor 

I„  1630.  a  ««"1<'"^^"\^";'",  ;,    p'   00ns      Among  the  first  person 

,ood  of  Albany,  nnder  the  ^^'^^^^^^  "^ J;;        "     „endrickson  Van  SoesI 

......      -"^  ^"  ^?^«"''r  TJZ  Brewe    >r  which  capacity  he  ha 

S™rMt..ny.  as  Bupeniitendent  of  the  ^''^^^  J'  .       ;„  ,i,ivanco  of  h 

been  engaged  in  Holland  ^^^  ^^;;;^ ^n  ^  f'.m  the  Patroo, 

earnings  sixty  florins,  tneudrng  «^^  f^  ;;"^c,;^      ,„„,;,„„  j.p-vions  I 


f   BEKR. 

before,  while   H"i^<=  " 
gaged  ill  llit-'  Brewing 

pursuits.  His  proi)- 
ss,  and  partly  by  mar- 
nek,  was  estimated  in 
\o  originally  settled  at 

Pi-inec  Straat,"  now 
larae  now  in  the  State, 
•estcede,  a  cooper,  who 
,  and  in  ICCT  inspector 
XT  in  the  town  in  1653. 
Wall  street  and  Maiden 
,  as  the  Damcn  Farm. 

1  joined  the  New  Eng- 

2  Dutch  Colony  on  the 
tto  Manhattan,  btcame 
m  street.  He  there  es- 
[0  rt'th  the  farm,  a  large 
nv.  w.K?  purchased  of  his 
;amfi  to  the  Province  in 

on  for  many  ycarrf  the 
,d  William  streets,  which 

was  at  an  early  age  a 

ofQces  at  different  times, 
onth  lliver  from  1058  to 
lie  was  held  in  high  cs- 
ighty-Rve.     His  property 

S(iuarc  and  Ann  street. 

It  was  long  known   as 

long  the  leather  nianufuc- 

hilc  appropriated,  as  "the 

ncrwyck,  in  the  neighbor- 

Among  the  first  persons 

cr  llendrickson  Van  Soest, 

for  which  capacity  ho  had 
receiving  in  advance  of  his 
,v  present  from  the  Pat roon. 
olony  s.imetime  previous  to 
,,tin  lC42l.y  the  Company 

was  Eveert  Pels,  a  brewer, 
Colony.     Between  two  and 


FOr.T  ORANOE — PATROON'S   BREWERIES. 


255 


three  hundred  bushels  of  malt  for  his  use  were  sent  in  the  ship  with 
him.'  Joan  La  Battle  was,  after  the  building  of  Fort  Orange,  per- 
mitted to  build  a  house  in  the  fort  and  to  use  it  as  a  Brewery,  and  re- 
main in  possession  of  the  soil  so  long  as  the  Company  shall  retain  pos- 
session of  the  fort,  provided  the  Company's  affairs  and  interests  were 
not  neglected  by  him,  and  that  he  annually  paid  six  merchantable  beavers 

for  the  privilege.*  ,    j  ,  j 

In  erecting  a  Brewery,  however,  for  the  use  of  his  little  feudal  do- 
minion,  the  Patroon  reserved  to  himself  the  right  of  manufacturing  Beer 
for  the  retail  dealers,  but  permitted  private  persons  the  privilege  of  brew- 
i,,.'  for  the  use  of  their  own  families.     This  seems  to  have  been  some- 
times unlL.vfully  invaded.      In  December,    1G46,   a  peremptory   order, 
under  the  hand  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Colony,  Antonie  De  Ilooges— 
whose  uame  is  perpetuated  in  that  prominent  feature  of  the  Highlands 
known  as  Anthony's  Nose-was  served  by  the  magistrates  upon  one  of 
the  offenders.     "  Whereas  their  Honors  of  the  Court  of  this  Colonic  find 
that  Cornclis  Scgcsz,  notwithstanding  former  placards  and  prohibitions, 
has  still  presumed  fo  meddle  with  what  is  not  his  business_with  Beer- 
brewing-directly  contrary  to  the  grant  and  authorization  given  to  the 
brewery  of  this  Colonic ;  Therefore,  their  Honors  expressly  forbid  the 
Baid  Cornells  Segersz,  to  brew  or  cause  to  be  brewed,  or  otherwise  to 
manufacture  any  Beer,  except  so  much  as  shall  be  required  by  him  for  his 
own  housekeeping,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  twenty-five  Carolus  guilders 
besides  the  brewed  Beer.     The  said  Cornells  Segersz  is  further  warned 
that  no  cloak  or  idle  excuse  shall  hereafter  avail,  but  that  this  ordinance 
shall  be  maintained  and  executed  on  the  spot  without  Court  process,  if 
he  shall  make  any  mistake.     Let  him  therefore  prevent  his  loss.     Actum 

llensselaerwyck,  26  Oct.,  1646."  r      i  in 

The  Patroon's  Brewerv  was  rented  in  1649  to  Ilntger  Jacobson,   n 
partnership  with  Goosen  Uerr.ltson  Van  Sclmik,  both  magistrates  of  the 
Colony  at  450  guilders  per  annum,  with  an  additional  duty  of  one  guilder 
on  every  tun  of  Beer  brewed  by  them.     This  duty  amounted  in  the  first 
vcar  to  330  guilders,  which  therefore  represents  the  cpiantity  of  Beer 
made      The  next  year  they  consumed  fifteen  hundred  schepels  (about 
U»o"l.ushels)  of  malt.    Jacobso.   rose  by  industry  to  wealth  and  respect- 
ubility      His   daughter  was   the   maternal  ancestor  of  the  resp.etablo 
family  of  ^•.leeekers.     Wolfert  GerrilHcn,  probably  a  near  relative  of  his 
partner,  was  the  superintendent  of  the  Patroon's  farms,  and  the  step- 
lather  of  the  two  eminent  New  Amsterdam  brewers.  Jacob  and  Peter 
Van  Couwenhoven. 

(1)  0-Cun«6l.»n'.  Now  Nothcrlandi.  (2)  Mun..ir.  Annal.  of  Albnn,,  Iv.  56. 


256         BUKWING  AND  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  BEER. 

'  ,„o.Ue.  ear,  official  of  ^^-^^tt^f  ^"p-^'^^^  ^ 
16G1  the  proprietor  of  a  Brewery  at   B  .ery  k    u  ^^^^^^^^ 

Albany.     He  was  held  in  high  -^teem  both  b  E  ^^_^  .^^^^^^ 

Governors,  who  sought  h is  r.endsh.p  -^  -^  ,^^,^„_  ,„  ,J,y  settler 
iu  the  affairs  of  the  Dutch  Prov.n  e^  ^^5" ^uless  of  brewing  at  Man- 
at  Fort  Orange,  afterward  carr.ed  on  ^^^^^^^  ^,  ,„,uiities  with 
hattan.     Some  years  previous  to  this  theie  ^^^_^^^^  ^^^^  ^^ 

New  England,  and  certain  l-^-  "^^f^^.S  a  period.  The  City 
waste  grain  in  brewing  strong  ^-^  ^^/^J^^'^^.^,,  Council,  made  in 
r.,cordsof  Albany  contain  an  -<^J  ^  ;\^n"  ,,,„,  ,,oney.  due  for 
August.  16..)5.  that,  for  the  l-J^"  ;^J  „\  .^,';"co  ,nty  shall  procure 
charges  and  expenses,  "care  shall  be  tak  n  t       y  ^    ^^^^^^^ 

,orn  so  mucl>  to  brew  three  pu-       ^^^  ^.,  ^^„„„,  ,,  y  eom- 
and  Albert  Kyckmun  are  to  brew  ^'^l     ^'^       p,.,,.,„,  ,,,  ^7.  that 

P'e»-^",  f"""  rt:?\:i  ;  n ear  N  w  yL;  City,  but  that  in  the 
Ue  noticed  large  fie  ds  °  ^]'»  ^^^  "  ^^  ^  ,i,,„e  crop,  and  were  ac- 
vicinity  of  Albany  they  d  d  "ot  th.nk    t  a  p  ^^  ^^^^^^ 

customed  to  make  malt  of  wheat.     0"^  "    "'^       J^^^  -.^  died  in 

of  Albany  during  the  last  century  ^^^.^^^^^'^,^^,..,,^..^00^ 
ISOl,  having  acquired  a  large  ^^^'^^^ ^ ^^"^^  ,„,  aemolished  in 
at  the  corner  of  Maiden  Lane  -»J^-  flexure  of  Beer,  and  as  late 
ISOT.     He  found  large  pro^t  ^  l.^^'^.^f^td.  the  aged  Dutchmen 

-  1833,  when  the  <^^^^;^Z  brew  kettle  of  old  Harme  Ganse- 
of  tlie  city  compared  it  to  the  cap  hh  _      ^ 

voort,  who..e  fame  was  fresh  "'^;;^;^2dsonvery  branch  of  agriculture, 
The  general  neglect  in  New  ^'•'^'.'^^  ""     "   "'^f\i,,  f,r  trade,  cau.e.l  a 

frequent  scarcity  ot  b.e  ulsluUs     l   rt  ^^^^^^^^  ^^  ^,^^. 

eat  upon  the  husbandry  an  ^'^-  .';:?';,,  ,,.,e.  and  the  grent 
sistence.     Tl>e   prospect  of  a  ddaKucy  _  ^^^^^^^^^^  ^.,^^_ 

,.flux  of  emigrants  then  taking  pi  ce   1    add  t  on  t  ^_^^_^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

Wad  and  the  States  «--'^'*>;  •^•^"^^^Vr^^f^iri  attention  should  be 
portation  of  bread-corn,  and  an  "^;'  '  ^';;^;t„  L,„ting  a  hill  of  the 
^.en  to  the  cultivation  of  c.ni  as  ot   To^  -.^^^^^^,,^^  ,t,„,„,,  at  tl. 

former  for  every  uie  ".  ^'''^j"^^  J,,,,,.,,,^  and  distilling  was  slrictlj 
«,une  time,  the  consumption  «f  ^'''^'"  'f  ^^ "  ,*^,  f.^bidden  in  1076.  am 
forbidden.     The  distillation  of  gnu"  J  np-  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

ou  numerous  other  occasions,  in  thut  and  in 

P,  „.      ll,i»  wH.l.hy  nrewor,  that  when  U  wl«h« 
.n.rio.  at  1...  ex,u- f  A  .-any  A  o  a  .1  „  «J- ^^  ^P^^  ^^^  ^^^  ,^^^,^^^„  ,,„„„,„. 

uud  by  tie  o\a  p« -I'li'  '^xiy  y«»"  "K"  °f 


itti 


iMi 


EAllLY   LAWS   RELATING   TO    BEF.E. 


25T 


BEER. 

;  Van  Curler,  was  in 
the  present  site   of 
English  audi  French 
He  was  prominent 
cclen,  an  early  settler 
,  of  Brewing  at  Man- 
<ars  of  hostilities  with 
re  were  warned  not  to 
'  a  period.     The  City 
mon  Conncil,  made  in 
current  money,  due  for 
•  Co  inty  shall  procure 
and  Bonn.  V.  Corlucr 
will  amount  to  y*  com- 
Proviuce  in  inT,  that 
;   City,  but  that  in  the 
,nble  crop,  and  were  ac 
lost  prosperous  brewers 
[lansevo  '-o  died  in 

,es8.  Hu-'v;werys*ood 
,  and  was  demolished  in 
lire  of  Beer,  and  as  late 
isud,  the  aged  Dutchmen 
ttle  of  old  llarmc  Ganse- 

ery  branch  of  agriculture, 
of  the  fur  trade,  caused  a 
Colony,  at  times,  depend- 
iins  for  the  means  of  fub- 
this  cause,  and  the  grent 
on  to  a  war  between  Eng- 
a  prohibition  of  the  ex- 
qual  attention  should  be 
,  by  planting  a  hill  of  the 
Inscrvutive  measure,  at  the 
^  nnd  distilling  was  strictly 
i„  forbidden  in  1076,  and 
thcr  Provinces,  aa  well  for 

,y  Ilrewor,  th.it  when  k.  wl-he-l 
.pecirtl  flavor  to  a  good  brewinR 
«uh  1,1,  nU  lo»llicrB  brnoohu.  m 


the  preservation  of  bread-stnffs  as  to  abate  the  growing  evils  of  intem- 
perance among  Indians  and  European  settlers. 

Among  the  Laws  established  by  the  Uuke  of  York,  in  1CG4,  for  the 
Government  of  the  Province  after  its  surrender  to  the  English,  was  one 
relating  to  the  mannfaclure  of  Beer.     It  was  ordered,  "  That  no  person 
whatsoever  shall  henceforth  undertake  the  calling  or  work  of  Brewing 
Beere  for  sale,  but  only  snch  as  are  known  to  have  sufficient  skill  and 
knowledge  in  the  Art  or  Mistery  of  a  Brewer.     That  if  any  undertake 
for  victualling  of  ships  or  other  vessels,  or  master  or  owner  of  any  such 
vessels,  or  any  other   person    within  this  Government,  do  prove  unfit, 
unwholesome  and  useless  for  their  supply,  either  through  the  insuUiciency 
of  the  Mault  or   Brewing  or  unwholesome  cask,  the  person  wronged 
thereby  shall  be  and  is  enabled  to  recover  equal  and  sufficient  damage  by 
action  against  that  person  that  put  the  Beer  to  sale."     By  the  altera- 
tions and  amendments  of  the  laws  confirmed  by  the  General  Assizes  in 
the  following  year,  "  Inn-keepers  and   ordinary-keepers  are  not  to  be 
obliged  to  put  any  particular  quantity  of  malt  in  their  Bear,  but  are  not 
to  sell  Beer  above  two  jicnce  per  quart,  nor  any  liquors  above  12s.  the 
gallon,  under  penalty  of  20s.  for  each  gallon  sold."' 

The  importance  of  Beer  for  victualing  ships  in  all  the  seaport  towns, 
as  well  as  for  export,  rendered  au  attention  to  its  quality  a  matter  of 
jiublic  interest. 

Such  were  a  few  of  the  first  attempts  to  manufacture  Beer  in  the  earty 
years  of  the  Colony,  near  the  i)lace  where  it  has  ever  since  been  an  im- 
portant industry,  and  where  some  of  the  largest  establishments  of  the  kind 
on  this  continent  now  combine  the  skill,  machinery,  and  enterprise  which 
the  last  fitly  years  have  developed  in  the  business. 

In  New  Jersey,  barley  was  very  early  raised  in  quantities  sufficient  for 
exportation.     Its  price  was,  in  1608,  4.s-.  per  bushel,  and  in  1C78,  it  was 
;j.-   Ct/.     In  1G84,  Deputy  Governor  Lawrie  states  the  price  of 
NowJ.rMv.  i„„.i,,y  (0  imve  been  only  2s.  currency;  which  price,  as  tlieenr 
rency  was  one-fifth  more  than  sterling,  was  highly  favorable  to  the  manu 
facturcrs  of  Beer.     There  appear,  however,  to  have  been  none,  as  yet,  in 
the  eastern  Province,  as  letters  from  the  early  settlers  of  East  Jersey,  of 
the  same  vear,  to  their  friends  in  Ergland  and  Scotland,  state  that  a  malt- 
house  was  oei  up  that  year  at  Perth  And)oy,  but  there  was  no  Brewer  in 
the  place.     A  Brewer  and  Baker  were  much  needed.     Tradesmen  of  all 
kinds  were  scarce.     As  an  inducement  to  emigrants,  it  was  represented 

(1)  Wr  nro  Inrgclv  in.l..l.tH  for  tt,o  foro-     l«n.b.  »,y    Dr.   E.  K    O'Cunnghan,    .nd    :« 
BoinKla.l-.t..tlK-vHU,ul.lolli.lnri.,(.fN«w     Mun.oll>  ..nnal' of  AU.H.,y. 
York,  by  1>.  T.  Valculins;  of  New  NotUr-        (2)  Documwu.iry  Uistuo  of  Nuw  \.rU. 

17 


_1 


wm 


r,     AVT1    THE    MVNVFACTL-RK    OF    BKEU. 
BREWING   AND   TUi.    -'"-'>^''' 


258  . 

,.  i„.,lana,  while  they  n^red  ''™'^     '^  ^^^^^  ^,  ,„,,.     Their  wages 
pua-liug.  n.llls  butter,  wUh  ^^^^^^^^.^  jersey  was,  lu  Colonial 
vore  2.S.  to  2..  C^?.  per  day.    ^"^        "  ,„uues  of  it  are  men- 

„„.s,  .aid  to  be  the  best  xn  ^l-^^    ;,^'^^;,.:,,,  of  which,  that  made 
,„,ed.  thus  early   as  the  ^^^^^       y,^  ,.e  cder  of  New  Eng- 
.  at  one  town  called  >ewa>k,smi^^        ^  ew-houses,   nvalt-houses  and 
h>nd.     At  liurlington    >n     U>t  ^t^   J,^  ^^^^^^  ^^_^^^  ^^^  ^^,^  ^,^  „,,,  .^ 
bakeries  are  mentioned  m  ^  "'^,    ^      ;    ,5,cw-honse,  MiU-hon^e,  brew- 
High  street  in  the  tow,.,  with  ^f^^%^^^^^  ,,n  ten  barrels,  coolers, 
i.g.vessels,  kiln,  a  large  copiu'    ^^  ^^     "  ^.^^^  ^„,,red  for  sale,  in  1730, 
,.L,  backs.  maU-niiU  a.   nu   -s  o.-.  ^-;;^^^^,  ,,  j,,,,,  and  other 

l.v  William  Bartoft,  of  I'l'-l'^^^'-^'l*'  ''V.,.  t mboy  in  1750. 
gvain,  is  named  among  the  exports  f;"-"  ;^-  '°.^;    ,^^,  ,„„,  town,  nnder 
'   A.;  early  law  of  the  l^'---  ^'" Jj^'       '^Z^,^,,  for  the  enter- 
l-.aUy  of  40.  for  each  ...  eet   -  r^ ^^^  ^^^^^,  ^^^  ,,^^^^^  ,   j,,, 

tainment  of  strangers.     It  .Inl    >)         ..^.^,.^,,x  redu.-ed  to  one  gallon. 
,„antity  than  t->  gallons,  .h.   J  -^u.ai^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ,^ 

I„  1083.  -•'l"-^^-^^^""  :      ,      ler  san^guard.  of  the  public  morals, 
sold.     Notwithstanding  the.e  and  other  ^^^  ^  ^^^.^^^^^,,,^ 

,,ade  at  different  times  u.  relerenee  to  U      la  ^^^^  ^^^^_   1^^  ^^_^^  ^^^^^  ^^ 

and  at  length  to  do  away  with  ^>;^'J;'2^-  ^       ;„  ]>ennsylvania  and 

The  Swedes,  who  were  the  lirst  1  - -"^^  ^    ^.^  „„,  ,,„„,y  f,om  the 
pelaware.  made  tea  i'-  ^'o  -  H^  l^^^,  ..^^^  fro.  Indian  corn.  a. 
,    ,     persimmon,      llicj  aiso  mi.  ..r,i;„</  their  countryman, 

BrewingUi   I  ,      'pi,,.  i.rewing,  accoruing  mtu  »-  ^ 

r,.nn.yw,..  v,eforc  mentioned.      llu  o  ,^^^     ^^^^ 

ma  iiiMi  u-!-        ,  ,  „.>  i,v  t\ie  Aoinen.  as  in  bwculu  an  i 

i»wivr.,,       Kalm,  was  done  t))  uie  auiu^i  , 


(n  The  County  UccrJ,  of  Palom  contain 

"■  '  .,   1       f  .1...  Cinrt.  m;i<lo  in 

tl,„  following  Uulo  of  tl.e  ( 
,-o„.  ..  That  cncl,  reM«'ctivc  puWu-houso 
vlo'r  within  tV.cunt.v  take  for  tlu.ir.c. 
;;inu-aM,ro,ol-U,«"">-reuftorn«mo,, 
I        ,owotl„«nannmon.,vi...Foreaehna. 

.l,,.;,.owit,.,...t>.o..f,nc.U«gnran 
..„    Kmnmlaln.lfofrnm,..lnopon,.„     fo 
,,,„,.  „il,„.aaow..h.inKl>--fuH.a...,«r,  am 
.„..pnan.lnlmlforrmn,oightp.-nC«;for 
Lh.it.  ">"'1«  of  Mu...v„.l....>«ar,ct. 
.vcnponcoiforcach.u.,tof,iffma.le«uh 


bnlfapi«tofrumintl>o.an.o,mnorenc.i 
;  each  pint  of  wine,  ono  .hilling  ;  lor  cab 
;Ulofru,u,throe.r..noeiforc.a,.h„n„r 

"trong  Iter,  four  penoo:  for  each  Kill  o 
;:„,fy.oreor,U„„tnun..Upenc„orea 

,„.rt  of  oi,lcr.  fonr  ponce  l.ntat.l  f 
,,„.„„.F„r  a  hot  Jinnor,  o.ght  rnc  ,  . 
,.rc.aUfast  or -upper,  .ixponoo.  tor  1.  ^- 
„T«o  ,,,.irts  ontMl-rco  pcnc«  ;  M..l.""t 
„„a  goo.lhay.  ^^'^l' "isl".  ^i''  pcn.nspa» 
ture,  ilx  ponco." 


BEER. 

3  Unit  was  required 
1  beef,  povk,  bacon, 
Irink.     Their  wages 
sov  was,  ill  Colonial 
iliiies  of  it  are  mcn- 
of  wbicl),  tliat  made 
i,e  cider  of  New  Eug- 
ses,   malt-houses  and 
x\  lot  on  the  main  or 
ISC,  Mill-hon>e,  V)vcw- 

tcn  barrels,  coolers, 
ared  for  sale,  in  1730, 
1  as  Barley  and  other 
.  noO. 

,red  eiu'li  town,  under 
.rdinary  for  tlie  enter- 
,i.,il  of  liquors  in  less 
educed  to  one  gallon, 
lecting  debts  for  liquor 
Is  of  tiic  public  morals, 
m  of  liquors,  strint,'eiit 
■Id  for  the  free  sale  of 

May  and  October,  be- 
nd necessary  to  prohibit 
liliug  liquors  in  Salem, 

lers  in  Pennsylvania  and 
er  and  brandy  fi'om  the 
jcer  fro-.-.  Indian  corn,  as 
rdin?  their  countryman, 
Sweden  and  other  parts 

r  nun  in  tl.o  ^amo,  nine  penc"  ; 
t  of  wine,  one  .billi-.K  ;  1">-  '""•*' 
thr^o-ronoe  |  for  cn.-h  qnurt  .1 
,  f„„r  pence  :  f"r  onol,  gill  of 
nrdinl  .Inun,  ^ix  pence  !  for  each 
,,,UeKlin,  nino  pence;  for  cftch 
i.,cr,  fonr  pence.     KnnO.le.   for 
ft  hot  Jinner,  eiglit  p'-nce  ;   lor 
r  .upper,  .ix  pence.    For  I.orse. 
,rls  out.,  three   pence  ;  .l.l.Ung 
,ay,  euel.  nigbt,  six   pence  ;  pa«. 
onco." 


PENKSYI.VANIA. 


1'KNN'S  MAW-HOrSK     FlUST  F.XClSi:  ON  IJQOVRS.      250 


of  Europe.  The  Dutch  had  several  breweries  in  the  settlement  about 
the  vc'ir  IGG-'  In  the  deliberations  of  tiu-  first  Assembly  held  under  the 
IToprieiarv  (iovernment,  about  the  year  lOS-',  the  question  was  debated 
whether  Malt  IJeer  should  bo  rated  at  2'/.  per  quart  and  molasses  beer  at 
one  pennv,  which  it  was  decided  in  the  alV.rmative  shouhl  be  the  sellmg 
prices.     The  new  settlers  reaped  their  first  crop  of  burley  in  May,  of  the 

fallowing  year.  -r      ,     n       * 

At  his  manor  of  Fcnnsbury,  a  few  miles  above  IJristol,  in  Lucks  C.umty, 
I'..,ni  soon  after  caused  the  erection  of  a  splendid  mansion  house,  attached 
to  which  was  a  Malt-honsc,  Brew-house  and  Bakery,  all  under  one  roof. 
The  dwellin"  fell  into  early  decay,  and  was  demolished  before  the  Kevo- 
huion;  but  the  ancient  frame  Brew-house,  of  which  a  cut  is  given  m 
Diy's  Historical  Collections  of  Pennsylvania,  was  standing  a  few  years 
a-o  near  the  farm-house  of  Mr.  Cro/.cr,  the  solo  memorial  of  the  departed 
MTalth  and  power  of  its  original  owner.     The  cash-book  of  the  establish- 
ment shows  the  cellar  to  have  been  well  supplied  with  beer,  cider  and 
wines   all  of  which  he  sought  to  produce  himself.     Tliose  liquors  were, 
at  that  day,  especially  to  one  obliged  to  entertain,  relativ.-ly  more  im- 
portant than  at  present.  i      t>       > 
Coflee  tea,  and  chocolate,  were  tlu'n  comparatively  little  used.     1  enr  s 
accounts  show  that  coffee,  in  the  berry,  was  sonulimes  procured  fix... 
New  York,  at  the  cost  of  18s.  Od.  the  pound.     Tea  i.  ^q>posed  to  have 
been  procured  direct  from  England,  as  none  is  charged,  though  a  tea-pot 
is  upon  the  inven.ory  of  his  goo.ls.     Good  Bohea  tea  is  ad.'ert.sed,  mi 
ni9,  by  the  printer,  Bradford,  and  others,  at  from  22  to  50  shillings  p.r 
pound,  l'enn>vlvania  currency.' 

In  im  a  tax  for  the  support  of  the  Governor  was  proposed  in  the 
Assemldy  'by  Samuel  Carpenter,  to  be  laid  on  dillVivnt  liquors,  including 
Beer  Mum,  and  Spanish  Wines,  on  which  5^/.  per  guHon  was  proposed. 
It  was  d.'cided  that  strong  Beer  and  cider  should  pay  2d.  per  gallon. 
J',.„n  .vouerously  remitted  the  revenue  from  this  excise,  which  act  he  after- 
ward  r'.-rretted.  During  his  absence  in  England,  in  K'.ST,  he  proposed 
that  the'cnstom  on  liquors  should  be  revived,  as  the  most,  e.putabie  way 
of  sustaining  the  government.  But  he  di<l  not  afterward  lind  the  Assem 
biy  so  well-disposed  on  the  subject  of  taxation  for  ttiat  purpose.  Several 
Acts  were  passed,  at  the  same  session,  to  restrain  tlie  inordinate  use  ot 
intoxicating  liquors.      "Three  or  four  spaacions  malt-houses,  as  many 

fl)  Tin-  f,r.t  ColTee  Ilm.BC  in  London  wn»  W„rvillo  s„y«  ttrU,  in   K-^s.  .here  ,v».  no 

„„    open,.,,  nn.il  about  tbe  year  1«:.7,  nn.i  Oolleo  Ibm.e  in  l^.too,  New  V.rk-  o.'       i- 

o„l..ninaori,inu.e,l  .h«  l>oueo  in  St.  Mi-  la,lelpl,ia.     Ono  houso   in   enel,,  calk.)   1, 

el,nef«   ri,«reh.y:,r,l.  l<nown,  until   a   Into  tUt  name,  servcl  as  an  Kx.t,«n«o. 
day,  as  llio  "  Virginia  Coffee  llouee."     Do 


200  Bn.V-lNG   AND  THK   MANLFACTVUE   OF   .EK«. 

Ur,c  brow-ho„ses.  ana  .any  l^na.o.e  ^^^^^  ^^ j;::!:  ::;^'j: 

e,uul  in  strength  to  the  I;-^;;;'  ^^^  '^^  t   ,  ,,,„gH  .  higher  price 
barreh     It  was  in  more  est  e.u^  he  tc  1»  u  .  ^^^^.^^      ^^^^ 

i..   Barbadoes  than  En.l-'^j^-;  jj  riicinors  were  very  early 

reputation  and  exportation  of  ^ ''-l'^^^\l  '^'^  J^^^^^  ^me.  and  pro- 

established.      One  of  the  brewers  «/  ^^^J^^^^^^  ,,„„y  Morris.    His 
,„bly  one  of  the  hrst  to  F^^^.^  ^  "^Vd  eic  Cr  et  and  was.  for  several 

generations.  .  ,   ,  ■,     ,„  ^f  Phil'uleli)hia.  less  anti-tariff  than 

those  of  Boston  a  itw  yuu  .  ordered  accord- 

impose  a  dirty  on  ^ l^^;^^^;^^^^:^^^^^'^  promoting  the  enlti- 
i„gly,  and  the  nnpost  1^'^,;  '  Y.  7^'  e.  rly  as  657,  been  made  the  ob- 
vation  of  the  hop  plant,  winch  hud,        e^u  y       16  ^^  ^^^^ 

Ject  of  legislative  «-^"^i:  ™^  a  petition  praying  for  a 
following  year,  the  v.ntners  ^^  ^^I^^J  .:';„,  by  the  Brewers  in  their 
bill  to  restrain  the  abuses  con.u>me;   a^.    U^  m  by  _^^  ^^^  ^^^^ 
.ueasnres.     Leave  was  granted  thu.o   In    g  ^^^      ^^^^  ^.^^^^^^.^^ 

.,,e  price  of  malt  tl.at  V^^^^^^^^  ,  ^xtlnded.  Hops  were,  at 
i,  n21,  when  I'- ;7'"^'' ;;"',";;,  ;  Beer  was  shipped,  previous  to 
this  li."e,  m,uTl^<i  from  M»sba..l.usetts._    ^e  .,,ovince8, 

this  date,  fro.  ''''i'-^^'^''^ '^^  ::^;;r" V  ^-'-^^  -^^' ^^  ^^^^ 
by  George  Can.plon,  a  brewc     .f  ^^^^  ^^  ,,,a>er  principal 

;?-:;::Uu::p::;""-tntione^ 


(1)  Porter  is  quite  a  mo.lern  bovern^e, 
having  been  fir.t  Uewed  since  Ulin.  1  re- 
vious  to  that,  nle,  beer,  »n.l  .w..ponny.  «ero 
the  mnlt  liquors  in  u.c  nn.!  p.r.ons  were 

aceu«tomeatocnllfor"halfand (.    >"n 

U  Imlfof  aloaml  half  of  beer,  or  of  beer 
B„d  twopenny;   "  three  thr,-„.ls"wn«  nex 
„,e.i,   which   was  "  third  of  cn.h  ,  and  to 
.voidtheinconvcnionc-nndwn.toofdnnv- 

ing  from  three  cn.l<^  a  brewer  nam-d  lar- 
wood  invented  a  liqU'Twitb  the  muted  nu- 

vor  of  the  three  combined,  wbbh  he  called 
."entire  butt."  Aa  it  was  .trenKthcn.nff, 
and  much  u.ed  by  r"rlers  and  working  peo- 
,do,  it  received  the  name  of  ;">■'<•■•• 

<o)  Bv  nn   Act  of  the  As.e.nl.ly  "f  •'"*' 
year,  licensed  tavern  keepers,  etc..  were  re- 


quired to  sell  Beer  and  ale  by  wine-mcu.ura 
,„  tb.,.e  who  drunk  it  on  the  premi*««,  and 
by   beermeHfuro   to   tl.o..   who  carried  U 
away.  The  seller  of  adulterated  rum,  brun-ly 
or  spirits,  forfeited  the  lame  and  three  t.mea 
iU  value.     An  Act  of  May  81,  1718,  mudo  , a 
con.e.inence  .,f  the  esceseive  rate,  ehlirra 
by  tavern  keepers,  etc.,  for  wine,  beer,  elder 
nnd  other  liquor,-,  empowered  the  ju.Ueei 
throughout  the  province,  four  times  in  the 
year,  to  fi.  the  price,  of  sueh  liquor.,  wh.eh 

,vere  to  b«  proclaiu>ed  by  the  cner  al  the 
close  of  the  Bc.Mon.,  nnd  to  be  affixed  to, ho 

Courl.house   doors,    nnd    twenty   s Inllm, 
,vas  the  penalty  for  exceeding  the  rate.    For 
the  third  offense,  five  pounds,  and  loss  ol 
the  privilege  of  selling  for  throe  years. 


b£ER. 


PENNSYLVANIA.      QT.ALITV    OF    rillLADELrillA   BEER. 


2C1 


pr  public  use,"  in 
lie  brewers  sold  ale 
iftcen  shillings  per 
fgl't  a  higher  price 
to  be  credited,  the 
luors  were  very  early 
[that  time,  and  pro- 
|iitliony  Morris.    His 
and  was,  for  several 
first  Society  of  Bap- 
business  for  several 

,  less  anti-tariff  than 

e   Qcnerul   Court   to 

was  ordered  accord- 

jiroinoting  tlic  eulli- 

7,  ijeen  made  tlie  ob- 

n  December,   of   the 

lelilion  praying  for  a 

)y  the  Brewers  in  their 

I  bill  for  the  purpose. 

r  on  hops  was  renewed 

jnded.     Hops  were,  at 

8  shipped,  previous  to 

er  Kuuthern  provinces, 

•cw-liouse  was,  at  this 

iter,  another  principal 

,  member  of  Assembly, 

>er  niiJ  ale  by  wine-iuensuro 
link  it  uu  tlio  preiiiiiun,  ad't 
■8  to  Hiofii  who  porrleil  it 
r  of  iidiillofiiied  ruin,  lirati'ly 
leil  tlio  iiimenui\  tliree  times 
kctof  May  a  I,  lUH,  tnmln  in 
tlio  excessive  rates  c'liiirg''! 
rs,  etc.,  for  wino,  boer,  ililur 
ir.«,  empowered  the  Juftiees 
province,  four  tinita  in  tlio 
[irii'os  of  such  liquorp,  wliji'li 
iliiimeil  liy  tlio  crier  at  the 
ionf,  and  to  be  affixed  to  tho 
lors ;    and    twenty   ehillings 

for  exceeding  tho  rate.  For 
so,  five   pounds,  and  loss  of 

selling  for  three  jcaia. 


and  a  highly  influential  citizen,  apprised  the  jiublic,  in  April,  1732,  that  ho 
sold  strong  Beer  for  24s.  tiie  barrel,  or  127.  llie  gallon  ;  good  ale  for  IQs. 
the  barrel,  or  8(/.  the  gallon  ;  and  middling  Beer  for  8^s.  the  barrel,  and  4</. 
the  gallon.  Those  who  would  send  "clean  bottles,  with  good  cork.s," 
could  have  the  best  beer  for  4s.  the  dozen,  and  middling  Beer  for  2s. 
Another  Brewer  of  the  city,  at  that  time,  was  Mr.  Badcock. 

The  manufacture  of  barley  into  malt,  and  of  malt  into  Beer  for  ex- 
portation, is  named  by  Dr.  Douglass  as  one  of  the  established  branches 
of  Pennsylvania  production  in  1750.  The  exportation  of  strong  Beer  from 
Philadelphia,  in  1766,  amounted  to  1288  barrels,  worth  £1  10s.  per  bar- 
rel. The  shipments  of  Beer,  in  1772,  were  1236  ;  in  1773,  1798,  and  iii 
1774,  1394  barrels.'  After  the  Peace,  considerable  quantities  of  English 
Beer  were  poured  into  Philadelphia  and  other  ports  with  the  flood  of 
British  manufactures.  Mr.  Tench  Co.xe,  in  an  address  to  the  Friends  of 
American  Manufactures,  in  August,  1787,  stated  that  the  breweries  of 
Philadolphia,  nevertheless,  in  their  infant  state,  recpiired  forty  fhousnnd 
bushels  of  barley  annually,  and  predicted  an  increase  when  the  foreign 
stock  was  consumed.  The  consum])iion  of  Beer  was  much  diminished  by 
the  general  use  of  distilled  spirits,  which  was  made  and  imported  in  great 
(piiintities,  In  addition  to  its  more  periiieions  effects,  a  thousand  hogs- 
heads of  riirn,  worth  £20,000,  mi.wd  with  water,  would  make  as  nuich 
strong  drink  as  would  require  one  hundred  and  twenty  thonsiind  Inishels 
of  grain  to  make  its  equivalent  in  Beer.  The  loss  to  the  country,  in  ad- 
dition to  that  oil  other  articles  employed  in  brewing,  was  great  in  propor- 
tion, The  importation  of  ardent  spirits,  in  Piiihidelphia  alone,  was  ten 
times  the  above  sum.  In  March,  178S,  the  AsscniMy  of  Pennsylvania 
laid  a  duty  on  foreign  barley  and  malt  imjiorted  into  the  State.  Tlio 
Barley  grown  in  the  State  was,  however,  insnfTR-ient  for  the  support  of 
the  breweries,  and  nearly  one-half  tin'  /  '  Hi,uined  was  derived 

from  'he  Chesapeake.  Malt  was  also  iini  .  -i  iVom  New  Englund,  til 
the  following  May,  it  was  found  that  the  manufacture  of  Beer  and  porter 
at  Philadelphia,  had  been  more  than  doubled  within  a  year.  The  Brew- 
ers were  only  circumscribed  in  their  Imsiness  by  the  want  of  Barley.  The 
ntteiilion  of  the  farmers  was,  in  consequence,  strongly  turned  to  the  eiil- 
fiviillon  of  that  grain.  Tiie  quality  of  Philadelphia  Beer  was  still  equal 
t(/  \\h  early  repulallon.  The  jiortcr  made  in  tho  city  was  considered 
scarcely  inferior  to  the  Knjjli^h,  and  was  in  repute  throughout  the  country. 
A  R(H/((ile  of  Beer  from  Philadelphia  is  said,  aliout  this  time,  to  have  made 

(1)  Ou  the  manifest  of  the  shij)  Amrca,  of  whi«'l»  It  Is  »illil  ill  llu>  letter  of  Iiistriic- 

of  S;iIoin,   Maf8nehii.'-elts,  hy   K.  11.  llerhy,  lions,  "The  I'liiladoliiliia  lieer  ia  put  up  eo 

with  an  assorted  cargo  for  Canton,  '>n  17S9,  strong  l|inl  It  will  not  be  approved  of  until 

nr«  2t  hhds,  of  2  barrels  each,  and  24  bar-  it  h  made  weaker.     You  hail  beat  try  eoiii* 

reU  of  lOt'iiUuns  each,  of  I'hiludelphialtuer,  of  it  first." 


BUENYING   AND  THE   M'- 


,  TIT.K   OF   r.EEB. 


20,2  BUE\>i>"   .^--    -  ^^^ 

tn  CUiua  ana  back  .i.l.out  d.U-uncut  \''^\^^'^^,\,n-.\, 

'  ,    1    u      I,;   i.cr  ilozon.     ltw>i«M"ii  f  tUr.  f'itv  took  ou 

,uk1  hotted,  8.-i.  'if/,  l'^^  "\  „,,     ^h  \M'i"S    '^  '  i 

:1  that  ana  other  '^--^^n^^el    onsiptlon,  favoved  ^ -ven^ 
considerable  quunlities,  ana  Ue  douM^  ^^^_^^_^^^  ^^  ^^.^^,^,  .   ^     ,o 

:. linancos  designed  to  ,>ron.oteUn^_^^     ^^^^  _.  ^^^„^  Tlu  a  ^H  - 
Tho  exuoi'ts  of  i>eei,  t-iuLi,  i       ,  iw-ittlcs      But  mncu 

„i..onor  of  the  r-'vo""^.;^^  f  Inufaetured  liqnovs,  those  of  l  the 
ocodea.  in  the  n->"tuy  of  h  >r  n  -  ^^^^^.^^_^  of  malt  had  then  0.9^) 
seaports  in  the -Unite''  ^>tatc..  /";  \ ^^.^  ,ere  imported  ^l^f  J^/; 
Ponsed      About    l.'.,500   bushels   of   baU  y  ^.^^^.^^^^  ^,y  ,Ue 

^^rtpovtation  of  Beer   Porte,  a.      CkIc.  ^  ^^  ^^^^^^^     ^^ 
scarcity  of  black  glass  bottles,  the  n  j,^  ^.ad,  m  1  .bb,  ihu. 

Breweries,  andlitt.bm„, 

soon  after.  .         ,  ,. ,,,  .vp.ion,  vhieh  eorvespondul  wm 

la  riantagenetV  a..cvipt,on  o    ^^^^y^^^/f^on.  Master  Kvehn   who 
,o^,lons  of  Delaware  and  ^^^^Z  (1C48)  more  cludee  drmks 
had  lived  there,  says  the  people        ^  ^  j        „a  beer  •,  and 

,„..w;«.;u  »"^^'  ".    -p,„.,i.,,K\for  "  pumpio"  ^^'•'>'^^' ''"I'l"  \  ^^         ^,,^.,  ^oel^ 
M.ryUM.      thanmEngUuKUoi      '       '       ,.  f^r  vou,  and  m  bum.iiei 

::it '  "^'-     ale  we  have  for  yon   and  ^^^    ^^      ,,  u>e  best  beaverage 

e.,a  water,  with  an  ^^f^^^^^^^  ^Z'  -s  a  eonside.1^  arUc 

::ir;:olinees.  b^h  ^^l^:;i-^Z  rLer  penod  m;.h  c 
and  Virginia  produced  S"«'l  'i'^^l'^"  ^^^,  ,f  the  Assembly,  in  10D9,  en 
.,U.h  was  sent  to  ^^^'f^^Jl^^  ^^  the  retail  of  ^^^or.  ' 
nowered   commissioners  to  gu  nt  nu.  ^^  ^,,.0  mdes  of 

:    1  were  to  be  paid  witlnn  the  po^^         A^  1^  ^^,^^^^^^^  ^,^^        ,, 
or  at   any  County  Court  llou^e,  1;«0   ;  ^,t,  the  County  Comm 

parts  400  pounds,  and  no  more.      >y  ^^^  .,^  j^^„,,,y  ,„a  Aug 

Toners  and  the  Mayor  of  the  C.ty  of  b    Ma    s^^  _^^^^^  ^^,  ^,,      .s 

.„,„TTSUtcs.     The  rtv\iT»l     '■»'""■       ,  ,^, ft  ,,, turned    forty-oiSt't  '^' 

'" '■": ,"„  ..%»<»- " "•"• """;: .;,?..< "•"" •"■••" -" 


liMi 


IN    MAllYhANO    AND    YIU..1NIA.       IIOME-BREWTNO. 


263 


r.EEB. 

to  its  qnalUy.  The 
1190,  30s.  the  biirvel, 
all  parts  of  the  world 
r  of  the  city  took  ott 
Ion,  favored  by  sevcrul 

CO  to  distilh'd  Vuiuor?, 
,t,r  from  riiiladelphi!^ 
,u  bottles.     But  much 
.,    and   other   portions 
lutcr,  Mr.  Coxe,  Conv 
•ies  of  rhilaJelplua  ex- 
U^uors.  those  of  all  the 
of  malt  had  then  0'^-^) 
e    imported    that   year, 
as  mneh  limited  i)y  the 
,f  which  was  yet  ineonsi- 
,asJer  had,  in  nSG,  three 

■owusviUe  were  provided 

^vhieh  corresponded  with 
from  Master  Kvelin  -Ijo 
1G48)  more  choice  drinks 
l,opped,  is  good  beer-,  and 

von,  and  h.   summer  rock 
;av,isthebestbeaverage 
%vus  a  considerable  article 

'ew  Jersey,  and  the  more 
,r  exportation.  Marj-lan^l 
,t  a  later  period,  nuich  of 
ti,e  Assembly,  inicnem- 

,r  the  retail  of  Vupiors  for 
.napolis.,  or  two  miles  of  It, 

^1,  if  tobacco,  and  in  other 
„e  Act,  the  County  Conim.s- 
,,vere,  in  January  and  Angus 
liquors,  and   500   pounds  of 
tcs.     The  price  of  small  Betr 

Lt^e,  of  .VK...  eleven  .ero    n 
Xm.  Ct.y,   a.>^   -veuucu   lu   tU« 


w,.s  then  established  at  10  pounds  of  tobacco,  and  of  strong  beer,  20 
-;^-:;:/:r;rectedinBaltim...o.,^^^^ 

;!:;;:;:  ^;:::vrc:::v::;i:::ri::ut"br:;;ery .  the  soiuhwest 

jjiiinti/.,  HOMi  iuii^,  X  ,.  ,,  ,      M'lu.v  were  iimonn- the  hrst  ot 

tlfd  beer  were  exported  m  1.01.  i  „.   it  wis  said  "  Most 

.   .    ,     ,    •     liMO   i;;v  Diihl  c  Ib-ow-liouses ;  but,  It  wassaui,     .""-<' 

Vifgi.,...  li...l,  1"  11.".  "■"  1'"''"°  '    ,     ].  „„  „'„„  I,™  „,„1  hW.  .....1 

*x     .♦.,! .      The  malting  of  Indian  corn  thus  appeals  to  haNC  iH.tn 
common  then      Hops  we  ^,^  ^^^,.,    ^..^  j,,,t,y  general 

after,  received  lep^Utise  P^J"^^^^^  ^^^,„  ^3^,,^.     This  practice- 

custom  in  some  V^^^^^^"^:^  „.,„.t  universal,  until  late  in 
in  Europe,  and  particulailj  in  ^"^-^^^'^ '  ,     ^,,^^  i,         ,,„„ 

the  last  century,  ^'^  ^^  J^;^"  ,:^      ^  uli.its  of  the  people  in 

^''-■-^^t  ";:;/J;     1  of  YirginLwhere  this  custom  prevailed, 
that  respect.     In  those  parts  0  ^  .^^   ^^._.^_  ^^^^.^^^ 

beer  was  the  common  drink.     In  «  "'-»^- '  .' Peveri-e."     This 

-"^'^  '^\  ""'T "::::' or;:'-::  :^'  -r  viiim.  who  we,.,. 
:::;;;i:t;;;::i;^^::s^ekerbytheirdi. 

wives  they  were.' 

(1)  lluiumoml's  LeuU  aiul  Kaditl. 


■M 


264  BI^^,^VINu  and  tuk  mani  factvre  of  beeu. 

houseUoU  appears  al»o  to  have  been  ur     „  ^^^^^.^  ^^^^ 

pracUee  w..,l,owc«.  never  ,«„alA„„»^^ 

various  fermented  liquors    t,o.n  f""''  »^^  „,  „„  „,„,„„t  ,„.my, 

'*^""  :;'To,: LTune,    a  ho    Iw  Jnafaeture  o,  considera.,, 
was,  during  Colonial  limes,   a  pvnorted      It  was,  after  sim- 

valae,  and  more  or  less  of  it  was  '^«"-^^'^!  y/^P^^^/J^i,;"  .i^n  of  tobacco 
pie  fermentation,  distilled  '"to  strorig  s^^^^^^     >e       Uvat  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^ 

and  a  few  other  --l^' ^^  ^^^Va  , v'or^^^^^^^      and  constituted  the  cur- 

'-'''1  Ur;;";.?    ;  uSeLnd  ^fly  pounds  of  that  article, 

rency  of  the  1  lovintc.     xmv^;  irRo  fi,p  nrice  of  a  1  cense, 

„oi„«  the  cas,  ;-.^''^J;,t„r;i.  r.:!  Ive  tUo  rates 
to  sell  liquors  by  retail,  a  bond  '»■  "B  6  ,i,^„  „„„bcr 

nxed  by  the  Commissioners  ,n  e.el,  =""'  ^  "'7  °  '  ,^j  ,„  „  „,„  „, 
of  ordinaries  or  .ippling-bouses  «as,  ''^J^^f^l^l,,  i,„.,,  fo, 
»•»  near  tl,e  C-t-  "use  n»  -  P^^'^J^;^- „  „/„.„  „„  p„,.. 
the  accommodation  ot  tiaxtutrs. 

°\.-ery"'r'r';^r  :;::H:tr:t;^;:;r..rs;iV.ri.s  are  eom. 

satisfactory.     *  "^'^  ;„„  fnnrlnpsq  for  Beer  at  that  time. 

about  the  year  "«»;jJ';,''J2f  .^'year,  after,  had  more  trade  than 

temperanee  was  not  o     »    *      '>;3;,,4,,  ,,  o^lethorpe,  in  'Jeor- 

in  early  tunes.    A  '»  ««/^"''    „,i,,„j  Beer  for  all  the  troops  in  great 

t'  ■;''""'  *X;"r,s  lo     t  o    1  use  of  ardent  spirits  were  'ound 
abundanee.     His  olToils  »  "«1  j    j,eers  would  wilharaw 

impraetleable.  and,  ,t  sa,d        Sc^l-  ^'^^^^^^^     .^  .,,  ,„,„  of  whioh  he 

rol'dir:  wlr'Xor,  and  whleh,  if  it  eame  to  hi,  s..ht,  he 

"'Zran;itsta.c.s.to„d  in  .e  way  .a  -  -",- n:^:: 
tnre  of  malt  liquors  in  the  Amencan  «»  «"'«■«      «  ^^ 

„„;.  condneted  as  a  separate  "»"»'»•'    "„fj^,    jhe  taste  for  such 
brewing  ot  small  Beer  was  eonsequently  not  favored,  and 

I 


BEER. 


)  the  women  of  the 
the  colonists.     The 
and  for  domestic  use, 
ine  substances,  sup- 
an  excellent  quality, 
ture  of  considerable 
.     It  was,  after  sim- 
ultivation  of  tobacco 
rginia  and  the  other 
I  constituted  the  cur- 
)unds  of  that  article, 
he  price  of  a  license, 
»  sell  above  the  rates 
a  year.     The  number 
r,  limited  to  "  one  or 
and  great  Roads  for 
re  of  Beer  was  proba- 

,  in  1808,  "  is  in  favour 
n  water  is  not  deemed 
ilc  distilleries  are  com- 
for  Beer  at  that  time, 
ince,  by  Mr.  Kershaw, 

ir,  had  more  trade  than 
!  distilleries  and  Brewe- 
■nt.  Wine  was  mora  an 
Beer,  cider,  etc.,  being 
larolinas   and  Georgia. 
I  of  malt  liquors,  strict 
tures  of  the  inhabitants 
by  Oglethorpe,  in  (leor- 
r  all  the  troops  in  great 
rdent  spirits  were  found 
officers  would  withdraw 
at  the  smell  of  which  he 
it  came  to  his  sight,  he 

rnore  extended  manufac- 
Malting  was  not  gene- 
Europe.     The  household 
red,  and  the  taste  for  such 


te 


U 


ba/;age  evaluation 
test  target  (mt-s) 


4^ 


^  .  W^ 


t 


1.0 


1^ 


|3.2 


I.I 


1.25 


1.4 


2.5 
2.2 

20 

1.6 


^? 


c^3^' 


^  'wVw 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


as  WIST  MAIN  STRUT 

'VIBSTIR,N  Y.  MSIO 

(716)  173-4303 


k^. 


Lrf- 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductlons  /  Instltut  canadien  de  microreproductlons  historiques 


Hi)l»J.iniilH"yj* 


|iiiiiijuiii.i'i«.i  m»^M  III!     .    J I ,-  JT 


IMPEDIMENTS  TO  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  MALT  LIQUORS. 


265 


liquors  was  not  formed.  The  heat  of  the  summers,  and  the  preat  scarcity 
and  high  cost  of  strong  bottles  for  preserving  good  effervescing  Beer,  was 
another  impediment  to  its  manufacture,  particularly  for  cxpon.ttion. 
BU|t  the  large  quantities  of  vinous  liquors  of  a  pleasant  quality  made  in 
families  from  native  fruits,  such  as  cider,  perry,  apple  and  peach  brandy, 
currant  wine,  etc.,  of  metneglin  and  mead  from  honey,  of  molasses  and 
spruce  beer,  of  distilled  spirits  from  molasses  and  grain,  in  addition  to 
tl'.e  large  importations  of  rum,  brandy,  and  wine,  from  the  West  Indies  and 
wine  countries,  rather  formed  the  popular  taste  to  these  beverages,  than 
to  the  more  wholesome  ones  of  Beer,  ale,  and  porter.  Pale  ale  and  por- 
ter were  Grst  made  in  this  country  about  the  year  1774. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

ESSAYS  IN   TIIK  MANUFACTURE  OP  WINE  IN  I'HE  COLONIES. 

TuE  attempts  made  during  onr  Colonial  history  to  introduce  the  cul- 
ture of  the  grape  for  the  manuiacture  of  Wine,  were  far  more  numerous 
and  expensive  than  they  were  successful  or  encouraging.  That  strong 
otlbrts  were  made  to  rciuler  it  a  principal  industry  in  several  of  the  Colo- 
nies, is  not  surprising.  Since  the  day  when  Noah  "began  to  be  a  hus- 
bandisan,  and  planiod  a  vineyard,  and  drank  of  the  wine,  and  was 
drunken,"  it  is  doul)tnd  if  any  gift  of  the  Creator  has  been  more  esteemed 
than  the  grape,  or  any  device  of  man  more  abused,  thau  the  beverages 
cxiracted  from  it.  The  cultivation  of  the  vine  has  been  an  object  with 
every  civilized  nation  of  ancient  or  modern  times. 

Tlie  lirst  explorers  of  this  Continent  found  vines  growing  wild  in  tlie 
woods,  and  climbing  upon  the  loftiest  trees.     Even  the  Golhlandic  nar- 
ratives of  ante-Culumbian  adventures  had  bestowod  the  name  of  "  Wme- 
land  the  Good"  ui)on  some  portion  of  the  North  American  Continent, 
or  its  islands,  which  tlicy  are  supposed  to  have  visited.    A  largo  propor- 
tion of  the  first  Colonists  were  familiar,  in  their  own  country,  both  with 
the  use  and  the  manufacture  of  Wine.     Even  in  England  tlie  culture  of 
the  f'rape  had  existed  from  the  earliest  times,  and  long  before  the  intro- 
duction of  foreign  Wines.     Though  few  vineyards  are  now  to  lie  found 
in  that  country,  they  once  covered  large  tracts  of  land,  and  furnisiied 
abundance  of  Wine.     Altliough  the  importation  of  French  Wines,  after 
the  Norman  ooiuiuest  had  caused  the  vine  to  be  neglected  in  England, 
the  use  of  Wine  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  proba- 
bl}  far  more  general  witli  its  population,  relatively,  than  at  i-resent. 

The  hopes  of  profit  from  the  manufacture  in  America  were  great,  as 
well  with  tlie  English  as  with  the  German,  French,  and  other  emigrants 
from  Continental  Europe,  in  proportion  to  the  glowing  descriptions 
given  by  the  early  writers  of  the  abundance  and  luxuriance  of  the  native 
vines,  oV  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  favorable  temper  of  the  climate.^ 
The  several  ossocialions  and  private  adventurers  who  at  diircrcnt  times 
made  settlements  upon  American  soil,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  there- 
(260) 


La 


H„ 


*•'»■-. 


FIRST   VINEYARDS   IN    VIRGINIA. 


'*'.,,  2G7 


DL0N1E8. 

I'oJucc  the  cul- 
more  numerous 
:  Tlial  strong 
ral  of  the  Colo- 
m  to  be  a  hus- 
wiue,  iinil  was 
I  more  esteemed 
ii  the  beverages 
an  objeet  wilii 

I'ing  wild  ill  the 
Golhhiiidic  nar- 
lame  of  "  Wine- 
riean  Continent, 
A  large  propor- 
nntry,  both  with 
d  tiie  culture  of 
before  the  intro- 
now  to  l)e  found 
d,  and  furnished 
nch  Wines,  after 
!ted  in  England, 
itury,  was  proba- 
i  at  1. resent, 
.•a  were  great,  as 

other  cmigranta 
ving  descriptions 
nice  of  the  native 
)cr  of  the  climate, 
at  different  times 

exception,  there- 


fore, cither  attempted,  recommended,  or  encoi'.raged  the  oultivalion  of 
the  vine.  In  souie  instances  the  attempts  involved  aconsideral)ie  amount  of 
unrecpiited  e.xiicnse.  It  is  only  iu  our  own  day  that  a  prospect  has  ari-s-ru 
of  malving  this  a  Winc-producing  coiiufry.  Tiie  first  abortive  cH'orts  to 
cultivate  liio  vine  with  profit  arose  from  no  failure  of  nature  to  fullill  her 
early  pledges,  for  her  indications  are  seldom  delusive.  Late  experience 
has  shown  that  both  soil  and  climate  are  fitted  fov  its  successful  propa- 
gatiou.  The  plants,  moreover,  whose  cultivation  is  now  liecoiiiing  a  pro- 
fitable business  in  several  States  of  the  Union,  are  tlio.v;  indigenous 
varieties  tliat  first  trailed  their  rich  clusters  iu  wild  luxurianco  aJ-mg  the 
valleys  and  fertile  bott'mis,  or  clasped  with  fruitful  embrace  the  tree-truoks 
oil  every  sunny  hill-side  throughout  the  land.  These  are  nearly  the  only 
ones  that  have  been  found  on  trial  to  be  altogether  suitable  to  the  soil 
and  climate  of  the  country,  and  their  assiduous  cultivalioii  would  proba- 
bly have  better  rewarded  the  attemiits  of  the  early  vine-grower.s,  than  the 
foreign  kinds  wiiich  they  endeavored  to  acclimate. 

This  appears  to  have  been  a  iirincipal  error  with  the  first  cultivators. 
To  tliis  may  be  added  a  want  of  experience  on  the  part  of  many,  which 
was  iniperujily  supplied  in  the  hireling  assistance  uf  foreign  vine-dress- 
crs;  igniiiance  of  the  peculiarities  of  American  soil  and  climate,  as  well 
as  of  the  habits  of  the  native  grape;  and,  more  than  all,  the  premature 
nature  of  the  attempt.  However  alluring  iu  the  prospect  to  the  Colonists 
two  hundred  years  ago.  Wine-making  is  only  adapted  to  an  advanceil  state 
of  society,  with  accumulated  capital. 

As  early  as  IGIO,  soon  after  coloni/Uition  had  got  an  effect ivo  foot-hold  in 
Yirginia,  mention  is  made  of  he  French,  sent  over  for  that  purpose,  making 
preparation  to  jtlant  vines,  which  were  as  cominoii  as  brambles 
yarLu'vir-in  the  woods.     A  sample  of  Wine  from  native  grapes  was  sent 
*''"'""  home  in  1G12.     A  vineyard,  as  mentioned  in  a  former  chapter, 

was  planted  in  that  Colony  by  the  London  Company  before  the  year  1C20. 

In  the  following  year  the  Company  also  sent  thither  a  niinilierof  French 
vine-dressers,  with  a  supply  of  plants  or  cuttings  from  ICurojican  vines. 
Their  favorable  report  of  the  climate  and  productions  uf  the  country,  it 
is  said,  was  highly  advantageous  to  the  cause  of  emigration.  They  repre- 
sented that  it  "far  excelled  their  own  country  of  Languedoc,  the  vines 
growing  iu  great  abundance  and  variety  all  over  the  land  ;  that  some  of 
the  grapes  were  of  Jiat  unusual  bigness  that  they  did  not  believe  them  to 
be  grapes,  until,  by  opening  them,  they  had  seen  their  kernels;  that  they 
had  planted  the  cuttings  of  their  vines  a^  Michaelmas,  ami  had  gnijies 
from  those  very  cuttings  the  spring  following  ;  adding,  in  tlie  coneln.-ioii, 
that  they  laid  not  heard  of  the  like  in  any  other  country.'"  The  htale- 
(1)  Luvoik'^V  Ui.-liiiv  el'  Viryiiiiii. 


'•'.» 


'^v,. 


"■'  ^U 


2C8 


Cfil.ONIAI,   WIXE-MAKINO. 


■»\, 


'%, 


Vv 


^.. 


ment  of  the  Frenchmen  as  to  the  early  maturity  of  the  vines  is  vmd.cated 
by  the  historian  whom  we  have  q-.ote.l,  wl>o  avers  that  he  had  seen  the 
experiment  made  both  with  foreign  and  native  vines.  Ihe.r  wan  of  suc- 
c"eL_for  thev  are  said  to  have  ruined  the  projeet-renders  questionable 
the  fidelity  dt'her  of  their  report  or  of  their  services.  They  had  however 
succeeded  in  making,  previous  to  the  n.assacre  in  1G22,  a  -^1  quant  T 
of  Wine  of  which  a  sample  was  sent  to  England  that  year.  He  atttn- 
tiou  of  the  Virginia  settlers  to  that  industry  was  enjoined  ^^^  J  '«  ^enns 
of  their  grants  of  land,  by  which  means  it  was  vainly  hoped  to  dueit  them 
from  the" all-absorbing  cultivation  of  tobacco. 

Wine  of  good  qu;iity  was  made  in  Virginia  in  1649   or  earher,  by 
Captain  Brocas,  a  member  of  the  Council,  who  had  traveled  much,  and 
pronounced  the  country  as  well  adapted  to  Wine-mak.ng  "  as  any   n 
Chrissendome."     But  :apital  and  skilled  labor  were  wantmg.     A  l-viet 
already  quoted,  was  published  in  London,  in  1G50  '  in  wh.ch  the  au  ho 
E.  Williams,  elaborately  argues  in  favor  of  "  the  dressu.g  of  vines  foi  the 
rich  trade  of  making  Wines  in  Virginia."     He  states  that  ^^  .ne  had 
already  been  made  there  from  the  wild  grapes,  and  with    us  customary 
enthusiasm,  declares  that  if  the  Candian,  Calabrian,  or  other  European 
crapes  of  the  same  latitude  were  cultivated  in  Virginia,  ,t  would  e..r.ch  the 
province,  excite  the  envy  of  France  and  Spain,  and  afford  the  hnest  ANmesfor 
he  markets  of  northern  Europe,  China,  and  the  ^^  est  L.duv  islands.     lie 
advises  that  every  planter  be  required  at  once  to  plant  a  nursery,  and  as 
Boon  as  possible,  a  vineyard  ;  that  European  vine-dressers  be  employed 
and  encouraged  by  a  participation  in  the  profits  of  the  vintage  ;  and  that, 
for  their  security,  written  contracts  should  be  made  whereby  the  planter 
nuKht  be  prevented  from  violating  his  engagement,  and  compelling  tho 
vignerons  to  labor  in  the  capacity  of  slaves,  which  had  been  a  cause  of 
previous  failures  in  Wine-making  ;  that  well-digested  instructions  m  all 
Lrts  of  the  business  should  be  prepared  and  printed  for  circulation  among 
the  Planters,  to  give  "  competent  knowledge  in  the  mystery.       Had  all 
is      on  done,  as  intended,  the  "country  had  not  hung  down  its    eso^a  e 
head  as  of  late,  nor  had  the  poor  planter  (who  usually  spends  all    he  p  o- 
fits  of  his  labor  in  forraigne  wines)  been  impoverished  by  the  want  of  it. 
In  the  following  year  premiums  were  offered  in  the  Colony  to  encourage 
renewed  attempts  in  the  vine  culture. 

The  more  rugged  but  virgin  soil  of  New  England  was  found  teeming 

w.u   a  like  abTndaneeof  native  grapes;  and  Governor    Vinthrop  was 

',  „  thence  induced,  almost  as  soon  as  he  landed,  to  begui  the  cnl- 

rStT  ift  .Mon.    "Excellent  vines  arc  here  up  and  down  in  the  woods,' 

It  was  said,  in  iv?0;  "  Our  Governor  hath  already  planted  a  vineyard, 

\'J..  Force's  Cullection,  vol.  iil.  No.  U. 


'I. 


ATTEMl'TS   IN    NEW   ENGLAND.      IMPOSTS   RESISTED. 


269 


,  is  vindicated 
litid  seen  the 
r  want  of  suc- 
I  questionable 
had,  however, 
mall  quantity 
r.  The  atten- 
1  hy  the  terms 
to  divert  them 

or  earlier,  by 
led  much,  and 
ig  "as  any  in 
ng.     A  l>act, 
ch  the  author, 
of  vines  for  the 
hat  Wine  had 
his  customary 
ther  Europeai. 
ould  enrich  the 
iiuest  Wines  for 
ia  islands.     lie 
lursery,  and,  as 
PS  be  employed, 
tage;  and  that, 
•eby  the  planter 
compelling  tho 
een  a  cause  of 
jtructions  in  all 
rculation  among 
;ery."     Had  all 
own  its  desolate 
ends  all  the  pro- 
tho  want  of  it." 
ny  to  encourage 

5  found  teeming 
r  Winthrop  waa 
0  begin  the  cnl- 
■n  in  the  woods," 
uted  a  vineyard, 


with  great  hope  of  increase."'  Master  Graves,  "  Engyncre,"  declared  the 
grapes  were  tlie  largest  he  had  ever  seen,  sonic  of  them  "  Iburc  inches 
about."  Mr.  Winthrop  seems  so  far  to  have  succeeded  as  to  louk  for  au 
annual  yield,  however  small,  from  his  vineyard.  The  rental  of  Governors 
Island,  in  Uoston  Harbor,  granted  to  him  in  1C32,  on  condition  that  he 
should  i)lant  thereon  a  vineyard  or  an  orchard,  was,  in  1034,  a  hogshead 
of  Wine  yearly. 

It  is  not  probable  that  attempts  to  manufacture  AVine  in  New  England 
were  long  jjersevered  in.  Within  a  very  few  years  its  inereasing  foreign 
commerce  nlforded  a  cheaper  and  readier  means  of  snj)i)ly.  Its  exports  of 
fi.sh,  lumber,  {lipc-staves,  bread-stulVs,  ami  other  produce,  to  the  West 
Indies,  to  Portugal  and  Spain  and  the  Wine  Islands,  had,  by  tlie  year 
1G45,  become  so  considerable  as  to  furni.sh  the  principal  supplies  to  some 
of  them,  and  to  enable  the  traders  to  be  amply  supplied  with  the  peculiar 
products  of  those  countries  as  profitable  return  cargoes.  The  importation 
of  Wine,  in  particular,  had  recently  become  excessive,  and  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts,  in  that  year,  deemed  it  jiroper  to  impose  a  duty 
of  ten  shillings  upon  every  butt  of  Spanish  Wine  landed  there.  The 
revenue  was  for  the  support  of  government,  fortifications,  and  the  harbor 
defenses.  In  the  following  spring  several  ships  arrived,  bringing  eight 
hundred  butts  of  Wine.  Having  lost  much  by  leakage,  and  meeting 
with  a  bad  market,  they  refused  either  to  pay  the  impost,  or  to  give  an 
account  of  a  portion  which  had  been  already  landed;  in  consequence  of 
which,  the  latter  was  forfeited.  As  the  importation  had  been  made  in 
ignorance  of  the  taritf,  the  Court,  on  petition,  remitted  the  forfeiture  and 
one-half  the  duty.  But  the  merchants  still  refused  to  submit  to  the  im- 
post, and  their  best  Wines  weie  seized  to  satisiy  the  demands  of  the  law. 
This  act  they  conceived  to  be  a  gross  wrong,  as  the  balance  of  the  invoice 
became  unsaleable  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  better  qualities,  and  they 
thrp''ened  to  obtain  redress  in  some  other  way,  but  with  what  success 
we  are  not  informed. 

"  But  too  much  indulgence  in  that  way,"  says  the  historian,  "  opened  a 
door  to  encouragement  to  Wine  merchants,  who  have  since  filled  the  coun- 
try with  that  commodity,  to  the  overflowing  of  luxury  and  other  evils ; 
whereas,  had  there  been  a  greater  impost  laid  thereon,  it  might  have 
turned  the  stream  of  traffic  into  another  channel,  that  might  have  been 
much  more  beneficial  to  the  place.'" 

(1)  Ili^rsiii!'"'!.  >■'"■'  "*" '''"  I'liritnfi  Coile,  wliicli  decreed  that 

(2)  Iluliliiird's  New  Kngliind.— Tlie  cv;1«  'Mriink(>iinc«i',  ns  trnn.-furiniiis  (Jii.l's  iniiige 
Kern  hinli'd  iit  very  cnrly  dii'turbcd  tliu  g"oa  into  a  benst,  is  to  be  purii.''liu't  willi  tlio  pun- 
order  and  enfecbliMl  tlie  industry  oC  nil  llie  ishmont  of  bums  ;  n  whip  for  tlio  hori'O,  and 
colouius.     It  WHS  not  reproseed   by  the  tcr-  u  rod  fir  the  I'uule'ii  bucko."    It  wuB  greatly 


270 


COUiNIAt,   WINE-MAKINO. 


A-incs  were  sent  in  1642,  to  New  Xetl.erlan.l.s  by  Van  Ilenssolaor,  tor 
the  use  of  his  Colony  on  the  llnclson,  wl.cre  he  wished  to  introduce  tho 
cnltivation  of  tlnit  phu.t  and  of  n.adder.  The  v.nes,  as  his  eopan.ssary 
^vrote  him,  were  all  killed  by  the  frost,  "like  others  brought  to  the  coun- 

^''^Thc  propagation  of  the  grape-vi.ie  was  also  enjoined  upon  Colonel 
John  Prim.,  who  arrived  the  sa.ue  year,  wiih  a  connuission  from  Queen 
Christina,  as  Governor  of  the  Swedish  Colony  on  the  oast  side  uf  the 
Delaware,  for  the  support  of  whieh  she  made  large  appropriations  out  of 
her  revenue  from  tobacco.  Campanius  mentions  a  number  of  places  m 
that  Colony  where  native  grapes,  white,  red,  brown,  bine,  and  black,  grew 
in  great  profusion,  and  that  the  inhabitants  only  needed  to  be  mlormed 

bow  to  press  them.'  .     t^  ,  x 

A  letter  in  I'lantairenet's  Description  of  New  Albion  (m  Delaware), 
from  Robert  Evelin,  who  had  resided  several  years  in  the  country,  de- 
seribes  (1618)  a  valley,  called  Uvedale,  where  the  vines  ran  upon  tho 
mulberry  and  sassafras  trees,  and  bore  four  sorts  of  grapes,  which  he 
qnaintly  describes  as  follows  :-"  The  Inst  is  the  Thonlonse  Muscat 
sweet-scented;  the  second,  the  great  Foxe  and  thick  grape,  alter  5 
moueths  reaped,  being  boyled  and  salted,  and  well  fined,  it  is  a  strong 


incrofljoil  hy  the  iioouliiir  nntnro  of  their  (irst 
roiniuereial  pursuits.   Tho  In.lian  nmi  Afri- 
fan   trade,  on   tho  one   haml,   rofiuircJ,  as 
they  were  conducted,   l»r(,'o  qnantitiei   of 
Rum.     Tho  commerce  with  tlic  West  India 
iiilandfi  and  tho  Wine  countries,  on  tho  other, 
gave  them  faeililies  for  obtaining  rum,  bran, 
dy  and  Wine,  and  mohisse?,  whieh  they  con- 
verted into  rum.     Many  efforts  wcro  made 
to  circumscribe  tho  uso  of  those  articles  by 
confinin);  tlieir  "ale  to  licensed  dealers,  ro- 
etrietedhycertiiinUmihitioni?.   Inl'139,John 
Cliarles,  of  Norwich,  Connecticut  was  for- 
bidden to  draw  Wine,  "because  there  hath 
been  much  disorder  by  it."    The  prccnt 
arts  of  ftdultcra(i(in  seem  to  have  been  quite 
early  known.     Johnson,  in  1645,  numbers 
among  the  trades  of  New  England  "  divers 
fhoii-keepers,  and  some  who  have  a  mystery 
beyond  others,  as  biive  tho  vintners." 

(1)  Campniiius  is  lielicvod  to  have  had  no 
personal  knowledge  of  tho  country,  and  is 
prone  to  relate  extraordiiinry  things.  Ilo 
tuys  the  fJwc.lrs  found,  at  Christina,  a 
grape   vine  two   ells   in    thicluiess,    whieh 


thickness  had  not  been  lound  in  :i  grape  vino 
any  where  else.  Among  the  gigantic  vege- 
table  growths  of  Califoruia,  however,  a  vino 
is  said  to  exist  near  Santa  Uurbiir.n,  in  Los 
Angelos,  the  main  stock  of  whieh  is  ten  feet 
in  diameter.  Seven  thousand  clusters  of 
grapes  vere  counted  upon  it.  That  State 
promises  soon  to  bo  tho  most  proiluctive  in 
Wiuesof  any  other  in  the  Union,  and  to  equal 

her  gold  mines  in  the  value  of  tho  product 
ofhervineyards.Theincrease  of  vines, fortho 
last  few  years,  has  been  over  fifty  per  cent, 
annually,  and  at  its  present  rate,  will,  in 
twenty  years,  produce  Wines  of  the  value  of 
fifty  millions  of  dollars  n  year.  The  largest 
vineyards  are  in  tho  county  above  mention- 
ed, where  some  already  contain  over  forty 
ochres.  Los  Angelos  produced,  in  1857, 
.•^jO.nOO  gallons  of  Wine.  Tho  number  of 
grape  vines  in  the  State,  in  ISofi.  was 
1,510,1.14;  in  ISfiS,  3,!);i4,51S,  if  whieh 
1,650,000  were  in  Los  Angelos  alone.  The 
aggregate,  this  year  will  exceed,  it  is  sup- 
posed, six  millions. 


ATTEMPTS   IN    CAROLINA    BV    THE    I'ill.Nl  !1    i;i'.I  liiKKS. 


271 


lleiissL'laer,  for 
•  iutrodiico  iho 
his  colli missary 
;ht  to  the  coiui- 

1  upon  Colonel 
on  from  Queen 
east  side  of  the 
[)rialions  out  of 
ber  of  i)laccs  in 
and  black,  grew 
.  to  be  informed 

I  (in  Delaware), 
the  country,  de- 
es ran  upon  the 
grapes,  which  he 
oulouse  Muscat, 
;  gra[;e,  after  5 
d,  it  is  a  strong 


foiinil  in  a  grape  vino 
If;  tlie  ciirantio  vcge- 
ruia,  liowevor,  ii  vine 
anta  Uurbiira,  in  Los 
k  of  wliicli  is  ten  feet 
hou?anil   eliisters   of 
upon  it.     Tliat  State 
10  nrnst  proiluetive  in 
lie  Union, and  to  equal 
I  value  of  tlio  proiluct 
icrease  of  vines,  fur  the 
m  over  fifty  per  cent, 
present  rate,  will,  in 
Wines  of  tlic  value  of 
s  n  year.    The  largest 
lountyaliove  mention- 
ly  contain  over  forty 
produced,    in    1><57, 
inc.     Tlio  number  of 
State,    in    18,")6.   was 
:!,!);)(, 5(8,   if   wliich 
I  Anpelos  alone.     Tlie 

will  exceed,  it  is  sop- 


red  Xcrcs  ;  the  third,  a  light  claret;  the  fourth,  a  wliite  grajtc,  creeps 
on  the  land,  makcth  a  pure,  gold-color  white  'Wine.  Tunis  Tale,  the 
Frenchman,  of  these  four  made  eight  sorts  of  excellent  Wine;  and  of 
tlie  Muscat,  acute-boyled,  that  tlie  second  draiiglit  will  fo.K  a  reasonable 
pate  four  monetlis  old,  and  here  may  be  gathered  and  made  two  hundred 
tun  ill  the  vintage  moneth,  and  replanted  will  mend."  lie  speaks  of  two 
other  valleys  above  Uvedale,  likewise  abounding  in  the  same  grapes.  A 
duty  of  3(/.  jicr  gallon  was,  in  1715,  laid  on  Wiuc  and  rum  imported  into 
Maryland,  except  from  England,  and  such  as  was  imported  in  vessels 
built  and  owned  in  the  colony. 

The  cultivation  of  the  Wine-grape  was  a  prominent  object  in  the  set- 
tlement of  Carolina,  about  the  year  1G70,  under  the  grant  from  Charles 
the  Second  to  the  Earl  of  Clarendon  and  others.     The  proprie- 

Viiinvanis  •  p  n 

iu  lb;- ciiio-  taries, -lour  years  after,  sent  over  vines  and  other  plants,  with 
persons  qualified  to  manage  them.     IJut  there  are  few  records 
preserved  of  the  6rst  settlement  in  the  province. 

In  1070,  a  second  unsuccessful,  because — like  all  others  at  that  period 
— a  premature  attempt  was  made  by  the  King  to  introduce  into  that  pro- 
vince the  manufacture  of  wine,  oil,  silk,  and  other  southen;  produc- 
tions. Two  vessels  were  fitted  out,  in  which  were  sent  a  number  of. 
French  Protestant  llefugces.  The  present  city  of  Charleston  was  founded 
the  following  year. 

The  commencement  of  the  attempt  to  make  Wine  seems  to  have  been 
encouraging.  "  Some  of  the  Wine,"  says  a  writer  in  1082,  in  reference 
to  it,  "  has  been  transported  for  England,  which,  by  the  best  palates,  was 
well  approved  of,  and  more  is  daily  expected.  It  is  not  doubted,  if  the 
planters  as  industriously  prosecute  the  propagation  of  vineyards  as  they 
have  begun,  but  Carolina  will,  in  a  little  time,  iirovc  a  magazine  and 
staple  for  Wine  to  the  whole  West  Indies."  The  vines  sent  by  the  pro- 
prietors, he  states,  embraced  the  llheiiish,  Claret,  Mnscadel,  Canary,  and 
other  kinds.  Additional  emigrations  of  Dutch,  French,  and  other  Euro- 
pean people,  some  of  whom  were  skilled  in  the  grape  culture,  engrafted 
their  industry  upon  the  Colony.  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson,  who  settled  in 
the  Province  in  1G80,  made  an  essay  in  vine-growing,  and  succeeded  in 
making  some  small  quantities  of  AVine.  About  the  year  1090,  King 
William  sent  large  numbers  of  the  persecuted  French  refugees  into  "Vir- 
ginia. Others  of  the  same  class,  possessing  both  projierty  and  industry, 
jiurchased  land  of  the  i>roprieto!s  of  Carolina,  and  settled,  some  on  the 
Santee  river,  and  others,  who  wtre  mechanics,  in  Charleston,  Renewed 
elVorts  were  made  by  them  to  manufacture  Wine,  in  which  they  were  par- 
tially successful.  In  1696,  they  were  naturalized  by  an  Act  of  the  Caro- 
lina Legislature,  ns  were  those  of  Virginia  by  a  law  passed  in  1080.     lu 


219 


COLONIAL   VINK-MAKINO. 


iutelligence.  industry,  and  good  conduct,  these  cxucs  were  among  ihejnost 
valuable  accessions  made  to  the  population  of  the  Province.   But  Carol.ni^ 
Tow  b    r     i I  her  family  names,  ampler  trunks  of  the  Huguenot  vace  and 
i„r„!  7  an  she  does  in  the  richness  or  the  antiquity  of  her  vu.ta.e 
Her  Sti  e  savannahs  were  destined,  ere  Ion,,  to  furnish  a  more  valuaWe 
Btaple  than  even  Wine  and  oil  for  the  food  of  mankind,  and  her  uplands, 
n  proc  s«  of  time,  to  whiten  with  a  richer  product  than  sdk  for  its  cloth- 
'         r  uccess  attended  the  early  efforts  to  cover  the  country  with 
,  La  ds  to  the  extent  which  the  present  shows  to  be  practicable    t    s 
Zoss  b     to  say  how  far  it  might  have  affected  the  econom.cal  condition, 
noro       0    Ca  olina  and  the  South,  but  of  the  world.  Oy  re  ardjng    h 
hitroduction  of  rice  and  cotton,  which  were  then  considered  of  little  value 

'"  wZve'the  Huguenots  settled  in  America  they  bore  along  with  them 
their  cuntiVs  vine,  and  sought  to  clothe  the  fertile  bottoms  and  sunny 
Is  of  tlfeir  wiiderness-home  with  the  purple  of  their  a-stral  va,e. 
Between  eleven  and  twelve  thousand  acres,  in  the     -"f  '     f  j^f,  ^f 
iu  Massachusetts,  was.  in  the  year  1684,  set  apart  for  the  u  e  o    Uiirjy 
families  of  that  people,  who  had  escaped  from  the  persecutions  of  Lous 
xTy      He     the'y  set  ip  mills,  planted  vineyards  and  ore  ards  of  which 
Ills  still  remain,  and  were  invested  with  the  ^leetn.  f^aiic  use  by  an 
Act  of  the  Legislature.     But  the  settlement  was  broken  up  in  1696,  by 
Uie  Ind  a.^,  a.^  some  of  them  settled  in  Boston.     The  names  of  Bond  - 
not  and  Faneuil  appear  among  the  number,  and  rank  with  those  of  Lau- 
ens        South  Carolina,  and  Jay,  in  New  York,  as  public  benefactors ; 
whne  not  a  few  among  the  less  distinguished  are  still  recognized  through- 
L    the  country      The  tribute  of  Mrs.  Sigourney,  a  name  of  the  same 
espe  tab     oS  n,  to  the  memory  of  the  Huguenots  of  Oxford,  on  visit. 
Tg  a te  of  thdr  ;ianting,  was  merited  by  the  virtues  of  a  people  to  whom 

"  Full  many  a  son 
Among  the  noblest  of  our  land  looks  back 
Tlirougli  time's  long  vista,  and  exulting  claims 
These  as  their  sires." 
P,  William  Penn,  the  hope  of  successfully  introducing  the  manufac- 
ture of  Wine,  appears  to  have  been  warmly  cherished.     The  following 
extracts  from  his  description  of  the  Province,  addressed  to  the 
l%lt    ..'Free  Society  of  Traders,"  in  London,  dated  16th  of  8th  mo., 
wicf """  1683,  and  from  his  other  correspondence,  will  show  his  ideas  on 
the  subject  :— 

..The  ereat  red  .r.pe  (now  ripe)  called  by  ignorance  the  fox  grape,  because 
of  the  LS  it  h«a.  wUh  unskilful  palates,  is  in  itself  an  extraordinary  grape. 


PENNSYLVANIA.      PENN    ATTEMPTS   THE    WINE   CULTURE. 


273 


among  the  most 
!.  But  Carolina 
nenot  race  and 
of  her  vintage. 
a  more  valuable 
uid  her  uplands, 
ilk  for  its  cloth- 
lie  country  with 
practicable,  it  is 
mical  condition, 
jy  retarding  the 
ed  of  little  value 

along  with  them 
Xovas  and  sunny 
r  ancestral  vales, 
iship  of  Oxford 
the  use  of  thirty 
icutions  of  Louis 
■chards,  of  which 

franchise  by  an 
n  up  in  1696,  by 
names  of  Boudi- 
th  those  of  Lau- 
iblic  benefactors ; 
•ognized  through- 
lame  of  the  same 

Oxford,  on  visit- 
a  people  to  whom 


aim3 

cing  the  manufac- 
d.  The  following 
,  addressed  to  the 
J  16th  of  8th  mo., 
I  show  his  ideas  on 


e  fox  grape,  becanse 
estraordinary  grape. 


and,  by  art,  doubtless  may  be  cultivatod  to  an  excellent  Wine,  if  not  so  sweet, 
yet  little  inferior  to  the  Frontinac,  as  it  is  not  much  unlike  in  taste,  ruddiness 
set  aside,  which  in  such  thiiics,  as  well  as  mankind,  dilfers  the  case  much. 
There  is  a  white  kind  of  Muscadel,  and  a  little  black  grape,  like  the  cluster- 
grape  of  England,  not  yet  so  ripe  as  the  other,  but  tlu-y  toll  me,  wlien  ripe, 
sweeter,  anil  that  they  only  want  skilful  viyiiproim  to  make  good  use  of  them. 
I  intend  to  venture  on  it  with  my  Frenclunan.  this  season,  who  shows  some 

knowledge  in  these  things It  is  disputable  with  me,  whether  it  be 

best  to  fall  to  fining  the  fruits  of  this  country,  especially  the  grape,  by  ths 
care  and  skill  of  art,  or  send  for  foreign  stems  and  sets  already  good  and  ap- 
proved. It  seems  most  re;isonable  to  believe  that  not  only  a  thing  growetli 
best  where  it  naturally  grows,  but  will  hardly  be  eijualled  by  another  species  of 
the  same  kind  that  doth  not  naturally  grow  there,  liut,  to  solve  the  doubt, 
I  intend,  if  God  give  me  life,  to  try  both,  and  hope  the  consetiuences  will  be 
as  good  Wine  as  any  of  the  European  countries  of  the  same  latitude  do 
yield."     *     *     •     * 

"  Whatever  tends  to  the  promotion  of  the  Wine,  and  to  the  manufacture  of 
linen  in  these  parts,  I  cannot  but  wish  you  to  promote  ;  and  the  French  people 
are  most  likely,  in  both  respects,  to  ensure  that  design.  To  that  end  I  would 
advise  you  to  send  for  some  thousands  of  plants  out  of  France,  with  some  able 
vignerons,  and  people  of  the  other  vocation." 

Tlie  French,  of  whom  he  speaks,  were  probably  from  Carolina,  where 
they  had  long  been  bitterly  persecuted  by  the  Anglican  population.  It 
was  not  until  1696,  that  their  singular  forbearance  and  worth  to  that 
Colony,  procured,  from  the  Assembly,  in  answer  to  their  petition,  the 
tardy  justice  of  an  Act  of  incorporation  with  the  freemen  of  the  province. 

The  soundness  of  Penn's  reasoning  upon  the  habitudes  of  plants,  and 
the  doubtful  expediency  of  attempting  to  supplant  the  indigenous  vine  by 
the  accliniatiou  of  foreign  species,  has  been  almost  uniformly  attested  by 
the  subsequent  experience  of  vine-growers  in  ditferent  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. French,  German,  and  other  experienced  and  skillful  cultivators  of 
the  vine,  have  repeatedly  failed  to  introduce,  en  any  extensive  scale,  the 
culture  of  the  European  plant;  and  the  conclusion  to  which  science  and 
observation  seem  equally  to  have  led  is,  that  American  vines  only  can  be 
profitably  cidtivated  on  American  soils. 

To  the  Marquis  of  Halifax  he  writes,  9th,  12t.h  mo.,  1683,—"  The  Ger- 
mans are  fallen  npon  (lax  and  hemp ;  the  French,  on  vineyards.  Here 
grow  wilde  an  incredible  number  of  vines,  that  tho'  savage,  and  so  not  so 
excellent,  besides  that  much  wood  and  shade  sower  them,  they  yield  a 
pleasant  grape,  and  I  have  drunk  a  good  clarett,  though  small  and  green- 
ish, of  Capt  llappe's  vintage  of  the  savage  grape." 

His  intentions  were  afterward  carried  into  execution  npon  his  Spring- 
etsljuiy  estate,  in  Penn  Township,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  present 
City  of  Philadelphia,  toward  the  Schuylkill,  where  a  vineyard  was  planted 
18 


274 


COLONIAL    WlNK-MAIUNtl. 


l.y  his  direction,  upon  an  eminence  afterward  known  as  "Vineyard  IIill.'' 
To  condnct  the  business,  he  sent  to  France  for  a  i>crson  qualified,  and 
sustained  him  at  considerable  expense.     He  sul)sequently  wrote,  in  refer- 
once  to  it,  as  follows :-"  I  writ  that  regard  should  be  had  to  AndreAV 
Doze  about  the  vineyard.     I  know  it  is  a  charge,  but  if  Wine  can  be 
made,  it  will  be  worth  the  Province  thousands  by  the  year,  for  many 
Frenchmen  are  disheartened  by  the  Carolinians.     In  seven  years  there 
would  be  hundreds  of  vineyards,  if  the  experiment  takes  ;  and  I  under- 
stand, by  Patrick  Lloyd  and  Dr.  More,  that  he  produced  ripe  grapes  the 
98'"  of  the   5'"  month,  '86,  when  the  roots  were  but  fifteen  or  sixteen 
months  planted.     'Tis  an  high  character  of  the  country,  and  Andrew 
Doze,  I  am  told,  say'd  he  deserved  the  place,  paying  me  only  an  acknow- 
ledgement in  Wine."     He  afterward  writes,  "  All  the  vines  sent  in  this 
vessel  am  intended  for  Andrew,  on  the  Schuylkill,  for  the  vineyard.     I 
could  have  been  glad  of  a  taste  last  year,  as  I  hear  lie  made  some."     It 
is  not  known  how  long  he  persevered  in  the  enterprise ;  but  it  is  believed 
not  to  have  been  rewarded  by  any  success,  and  to  have  been  abandoned 
as  early  as  his  second  visit,  in  1695.     The  vintage  probably  never  war- 
ranted the  advice  of  Pastorius,  who,  in  view  of  the  attempt,  wrote  his 
friends  that  they  had  better  send  along  a  supply  of  Wine-barrels  and  vats 

of  various  sizes. 

In  the  absence  of  the  proprietor  from  the  country,  it  is  not  very  sur- 
prising that  an  undertaking  beset  with  ditficulties  should  have  failed  not- 
withstanding the  pecuniary  ability  of  the  projector  to  sustain  it. 

An  English  writer,  sometime  resident  in  the  Province  after  this  time, 
speaks  of"several  excellent  native  grapes,  from  which  good  Wine  had  been 
frequently  produced  by  skillful  vignerons,  and  of  the  encouraging  prospects 
of  ample  supplies  of  Wine,  for  their  own  use  and  for  exportation.     The 
Wines  as  being  more  pure,  were  more  wholesome,  and  the  trade  of  sophis- 
ticating liquors,  as  practiced  in  England  and  Holland,  he  vainly  believed, 
would,"from  the  nati  ;c  honesty  of  the  people,  long  remain,  as  it  then  was, 
unknown  in  the  Province.     The  excellent  cider  of  Pennsylvania  and  New 
Jersey,  which  then  sold  at  from  ten  to  fifteen  shillings  per  barrel,  is  also 
mentioned.     Peach  brandy  and  perry  were  made  in  both  Provinces. 

The  amount  of  Wine  and  spirituous  liquors  consumed  in  the  Province, 
within  twenty-five  years  after  Penn's  arrival,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
importation  of  those  articles.  In  the  first  ten  months  of  the  year  1711 
upwards  of  68,000  gallons  of  Winp,_of  which  59,000  gallons  were  direct 
from  the  Wine  countries,  and  383,000  gallons  of  rum  were  imported  into 
Philadelphia.  The  rum  was  chiefly  from  the  West  Indies,  and  was  mainly 
for  the  support  of  the  contraband  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  shows  the 


CIEOIIOIA.       rALATlXns    AITEMri     WINK. 


276 


'•iiieyanl  Kill." 
1  qiialilleil,  and 
wrote,  in  rt'fer- 
laJ  to  Andrew 
f  Wine  can  be 
year,  for  many 
ren  years  there 
;  and  I  under- 
ripe grapes  the 
teen  or  sixteen 
•y,  and  Andrew 
)n!y  an  acknow- 
ncs  sent  in  this 
he  vineyard.     I 
aade  some."     It 
Kit  it  is  believed 
been  abandoned 
)ably  never  war- 
empt,  wrote  his 
-barrels  and  vats 

is  not  very  sur- 
have  failed  not- 
itain  it. 

!  after  this  time, 
)d  Wine  had  been 
iraging  prospects 
xportation.     The 
le  trade  of  sophis- 
le  vainly  believed, 
in,  as  it  then  was, 
sylvania  and  New 
per  barrel,  is  also 
h  Provinces, 
d  in  the  Province, 
inferred  from  the 
I  of  the  year  1711 
rallons  were  direct 
vere  imported  into 
es,  and  was  mainly 
ins,  and  shows  the 


extent  to  wliich  tlie   Province  was  already  engnged  in  both  species  of 
trafiic. 

On  the  settlement  of  Georgia,  the  last  colonized  of  the  original  thirteen 
States,  in  1732,  similar  attempts  were  made  to  produce,  nt  the  outset, 
Wine,  silk-,  and  oil.  Foreign  vine-dressers  were  sent  thither  by  the  trus- 
tees of  the  Province,  who  attempted  the  cultivation  of  vines  and  other 
southern  products.  The  injudicious  restrictions  imposed  by  its  humane 
founder  upon  the  industry  and  trade  of  the  Colony,  long  operated  unfa- 
vorably to  the  progress  of  improvement,  notwithstanding  the  liberal  ap- 
propriations of  the  British  Parliament  in  aid  of  their  enterprise.  The 
spot  selected  for  the  e.xperiment,  near  Savannah,  called  the  Trustees' 
Oarden,  was  also  unwisely  chosen.  The  soil  proved  too  dry  and  sterile, 
and  notwithstanding  the  care  of  an  experienced  cultivator,  Thomas  West! 
both  vines  and  mulberry  trees  proved  a  failure.  The  project  war,  aban- 
doned, and  the  settlers  sought  homes  under  fewer  restraints  in  neighboring 
Provinces.  ° 

Abraham  De  Leon,  a  Jew,  who  had  acquired  experience  in  the  busi- 
ness in  Portugal,  cultivated  grapes  in  his  garden,  in  Savannah,  where  he 
was  a  freeholder.  The  Oporto  and  Malaga  gnpcs  were  raised  with  great 
success  by  him.  He  solicited  a  loan  from  the  trustees  in  England  of 
two  hundred  pounds  sterling,  without  interest,  for  three  years,  pledging 
himself  to  employ  it  and  an  additional  sum  of  his  own  in  bringing  from  Por"- 
tugal  vines  and  vigrie-  ns,  and  to  return  t'le  money  within  the  tii.>"  men- 
tioned, and  to  have  gru.ving  in  the  Colony  forty  thousand  vines,  which 
he  would  supply  to  the  freeholders  at  a  moderate  rate.  The  proposal  wai 
accepted,  but  the  remittances  were  never  made,  and  the  project  was  aban- 
doned. 

In  1764,  two  ship-loai's  of  Palatines  were  sent  to  America  by  George 
III.,  and  were  landed  at  Charleston.  The  Assembly  of  the  Province 
voted  five  hundred  pounds  to  be  distributed  among  them,  and  assigned 
them  lands  adapted  to  the  culture  of  silk  and  Wine,  with  which  they  were 
acquainted,  and,  it  was  hoped,  would  attempt. 

The  efforts  to  introduce  successfully  the  Wine-manufacture  in  the  Colo- 
nies was,  at  this  period,  when  her  dependencies  had  become  of  immense 
value  to  Great  Britain,  regarded  with  much  interest.  It  was  a  favorite 
policy  of  the  nation  to  become,  by  means  of  the  Colonies,  as  independent 
as  possible  of  all  foreign  countries  in  regard  to  articles  she  was  compelled 
to  import.  The  vast  sums  yearly  paid  to  France  for  Wines  and  liquors, 
were  paid  reluctantly.  All  the  valuable  staples  of  the  American  Pro- 
vinces were,  moreover,  secured  to  her  markets  by  the  provisions  of  lur 
Commercial  Code.  The  Navigation  Act  gave  England  the  exclusive 
right  of  supplying  Wines,  among  other  articles,  to  the  Colonies.    But  the 


216 


COT.0NIAT.   WINE-MAKINO. 


,,U  „r  o.,..i„.  „o„«er,t..d  „Uc,e.  .0  ports  ^^^^J^- 

'^"':'  '""';':;'J  u.:;" : ;::"  x,:r::::ra»;o"^v,„c';  >.po«.4 .... 

vent.on  of  the  tiade  ^'^^^-  was  drawn  back,  still  further  cUmm- 

from  Englan  .  -'y;.  ^J^^:    f  ^    V„d  and  her  Colonies.     On  the 
ished  the  trade  m  W.nes  ^^^w    "        .^  ^^^.  ^^  ^.,.^,  ,,,  .^eers 

termination,  m  1 .  63,  of  \'^;  J'     '    ^  ^  j^^  ^yine  in  the  Pro dnces,  all  the 
found  an  almost  universal  taste  foi  Madeira  vy  ^^^ 

daties  were  allowed  to  be  drawn  baeU,  except  ^^"l^;;;;;  _;;.;;  ,,,,,,. 
,„.  French  Wines,  whidj  it  was  -  ^^^^  ^  ^  ^  ^^^  ..a  Sherry, 
tationto  the  Colonies,    f  ^'^'^''^    ^  ^J^^^  ^,f,,,  ,^,  Ucvolution. 
were  the  kinds  vrincrally  7.  "f  •;''\'^'='"2i  „  ^,,  ,,e  encouragement  of 
la  Ur.^,  the  Society  instituted  at  London  tor  t  ^^^  ^^^ 

Arts,  Manufactures.  ^^  ^^-!:::^^:^  :^^JjLc^..  ..  it  wa. 
advantage  of  the  North  Amencan  ^/^^^Z  were  premiums  of  £300 
Uoped  might  be  produced  there      Among  the.  1  ^^  ^^^^^_ 

''-'-'.  ''  '"'  ;'r  r^  i;:  :  tl^C  1^::  of  North  America,  south- 
tation  in  any  of  the  '^"•"'"'i^  !'";  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^ber  of  vines  (not  less 

ward  of  the  Delaware,  consisting  of  ^'^^  ^   ;^^J  ^^^  ^^j^j^,  .  ,,a  £50 

than  fifty)  aetunl'y  producing  ^^'^^^^^Zl^^  kind  of  phmts. 
for  a  vineyard  of  not  l-^/'^"  ^^  ^^f 'imium  £200  for  the  greatest 
The  Society,  at  the  same  tune,  orte    d  a       -    um  ^^^  ,^_^^ 

„..^r  (not  >;-^j;  -  '-:^1  :^::  K-eat  Britain ;  and  £50  ^r 
duced  those  sorts  ot  >  nies  u.  »  „„„  i,„n,ired  ulants.     These  last 

*e  next  grea.«t  »"»;'';,;;-2:„  ^rt   l   I  »eU.a-e  con.a..,t  „ 

t,..  annom.cemcnls  of  rewards  ,„  otl.er  1^™  l>    •  ;;"  ^      ^|,,  .,^.„,i„„ 

,  „e  seen  n.  nceonnt  ot  »«y  .wards  "'•^;  "     ^^^";""*  „„;,„,,  „„„„g 

ot  man,  intelligent  person,  was,  ''7.  "  ■    ."^    ""g,  ;j;  '„  „,  'Edward 

^ftiio  A  mnrican  1  hilosop'Mcai  ootitij. 
„bo,n  were  ».,n,e  ot  .1  e  An  en  an  11  ^^^  ^^^^  ^.^^^^^^^  ^, 

Anlill.  a  mc  nber,  and  one  of  M.s  ""■;'>';  ,  ,,,„  ,i„e  ,nd  ih. 

New  ..erse,,  prepared  an  ^.,  -.       J    J    Z™.  ,,i,„a,es  of  North 

T"""  ""  t":Z::5  fl    ri  i;  dl  tan.  «» t,.  .moeet  „f  tl.  .ia..ard 
Amencu.    It  emtMaciu  lu.i,  i  communicated 

and  the  manufacture  of  Wines,  and.  ^^^^^.^  ,,;  h.d  in  the  first  volume  of 
^     \u  P   Thompson  to  the  Society,  and  publislied  in  vue 


CtJRUANT  WINE— AVINE  IN  ILMNUIS,   VIIIGIMA,  PENNSYLVANIA.       277 


of  Cape  Finis- 
(Wth,  ill  contra- 
import,;d  direct 
[  furllier  dimin- 
lonies.     On  the 
lich  the  oflicers 
♦roTinces,  all  the 
per  tuP,--on  oil 
•age,— on  expor- 
eriffe  and  Sherry, 
.evolution, 
ncouragement  of 
aremiums  for  the 
articles  as  it  was 
ireniiunis  of  £300 
vincytird  or  plan- 
li  America,  south- 
r  of  vinos  (not  less 
f  raisins  ;  and  £50 
lie  kind  of  plants. 
JO  for  the  greatest 
e  vines  wliieh  pro- 
:itain ;  and  £50  for 
(lants.     These  last 
ware  considered  as 
)iie  district,  and  to 

followed  the  Socie- 
ire  not  aware.    We 
nch.    The  a'.tcnlion 
the  subject,  among 
oty.     Hon.  Edward 
for  the  rrov..iee  of 
of  the  vine  and  the 
jnt  climates  of  North 
l.jcct  of  the  vineyard, 
it  was  communicated 
II  the  first  volume  of 
ins  a  memoir  on  the 
k  letter  from  Ikthle- 
ines,  which  had  been 
issfully,  by  the  Mora- 


vians. Its  cost  was  about  M.  the  quart.  Hod  turrai..s  a'otc  considered 
preferable  to  the  white.  In  the  domestic  manufacture  of  currant  Wine 
from  the  red,  white,  and  black  currant,  which  was  made  to  a  considerable 
extent,  Mr.  Coxe,  in  1810,  considered  each  family  in  the  United  States  could 
on  an  average,  easily  make  two  barrels,  or  sixty-three  gallons,  annually, 
which  would  yield  sixty-three  millions  of  gallons,  or  nearly  twelve  times 
the  quantity  of  wine  imported,  and  twenty-three  times  the  amount  con- 
ouuied  in  the  country.  It  was  recommeiidec  ps  a  more  profitable  busi- 
ness, to  be  pur.sued  on  a  large  scale  north  of  the  Chesapeake,  than  the 
cultivation  of  the  European  AVine-grape. 

The  early  French  writers  gave  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  vines  of 
Louisiana,  and  two  valuable  varieties,  the  Viti-s  ca^livalh  and  V.  riporia, 
are  indigenous  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi.  In  17r.9, 
the  French  on  the  Illinois  river  made  one  hundred  and  ten  hogsheads 
of  well-tasted  and  strong  Wine  from  the  native  grape  of  that  region. 
In  the  same  ye?s,  Richard  Henry  I.ee,  of  Virginio,  sent  a  cask  of  Wine  of 
the  last  year's  vintage,  with  a  few  bottl""  of  older  Wine,  "  from  our  native 
grope,"  as  a  present  to  Dr.  Fothergill  of  London.  Some  of  the  French 
people  who  had  settled  in  Virginia  and  Carolina  at  an  earlier  period,  kept 
-■"Mie  manufacture  of  Wine  on  a  smuU  scale,  until  the  Revolution  put  an 
ti.d  to  the  business,  which  gave  promise  of  becoming  increasingly  valu- 
able. A  red  Wine,  little  inferior  to  Burgundy,  was  mentioned  by  a 
writer,  in  1774,  a.^  the  product  of  Carolina.  The  fir.st  overt  act  of  the 
revolutionary  drama  was  the  seizure,  in  June,  1708,  of  the  sloop  Liberty, 
belonging  to  Mr.  Hancock,  in  the  ^larbor  of  Xewport,  Rhode  Island, 
for  a  violation  of  the  revenue  laws,  in  landing  a  cargo  of  Wines  from  Ma- 
deira without  having  entered  the  whole.  A  large  part  of  the  Wines 
co.isumed  in  the  Colonies— except  those  from  Madeira,  which  for  a  long 
time  camo  free,  but  then  jiaid  about  £7  per  tun  duty- hud  been  thus 
obtained  by  evasions  of  the  customs.  But  Ooverntuent  was  now  vigor- 
ously enfi  rcing  the  Trade  Acts,  and  American  merchants  deemed  it 
their  duty  .  s  resolutely  to  resist  them. 

A  few  yei  rs  after  the  Peace,  a  joint-stock  com])ttny  was  formed  in 
Pennsylvania  to  e\dtivate  the  grape,  for  Wine,  on  a  more  extended  scale 
than  had  been  done  before.  The  society  was  incorporated  in  1802,  with 
a  president,  treasurer,  and  sccretar,  and  five  managers,  and  a  stock  of 
one  thousand  shares  of  twenty  dollars  each.  They  purchased  Inn  1  und 
planted  a  vineyard  ot  Spring  Mill,  on  the  Scliuylkill,  thirteen  miles  from 
Philadelphia,  where,  in  1811,  they  had  thirty  thousand  vines  growing 
with  good  prospect  of  success. 


CnAPTEK    XIII. 

,„B  MANliPACTlKE   OF   SAW  U  THE  COLONIM, 

A.  common  S.H,  like  .on,  |s  »  "^'1^::^^:'^''^ 
ta  various  dietetic  and  economical  «l»  '""»•  '^»'°;'  "'^j  „„  J„  ,„,  pro- 
„„e  as  widely  dimmed  *'»''«;°";;t;;r;      a  different, it!  of 

jr:;r:,::tr:;::r::rXea.oearr.on,nti,c 

bays  and  on  the  coa.ts  of  America  ^  ,_^^^„  commenced 

as  early  as    517   by  Id  an  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^_^^^^^_^  ^^^^^  f,,^ 

of  Normandy.  In  1»'«.  tl>e  tormtr  hundrod 

sels  there  ;   the  Spanish,  about  one  .^-;   -;; ^^    T  fe  frst  Aet  of  the 
and  thirty,  and  the  En,!ish  from  th.r.y  t     .  .y   -'^  „^,^j„  ,, 

,,,H,U  rar.iament  ^1''^,.     ad  any  .  ^^^^Uast'from  the  exae- 

ir.48,  for  the  protection  of  Lnfjh.h  l.sl.  n  cohM.izntion. 

tior.s  of  the  Admiralty.     At  the  tune  ot  the  Nov  1    .  ^^^ 

,.  British  fisherie.  were  risin.  >"';-;-  'J^:;,,!:    ;«  ...a.e 
thirty-nve  r.uglish  shi.-s  sa,  ed  for    h       -         Nc  U         ^^^ 

^"  '''  T';  " td  ;r  ;  :^1 1"    .;:ted';;l  th;  American  H^hery. 
thousand  8.x  hundred  tons  ot  coa  w  i  ,_,,,-.,(>d  the  rivers,  harbors, 

Ti,e  cvly  voyaeer,  to  ,i,.  new  -^  ;:,,»,     la!;  ren,.rU.i„e  exeel- 
a„d  bay,  to  .Lonnd  u,  t,.h  o   ete.    ''     '"  „,„,      ,„ai,,a,.  „,„|,le 

lenee,  laTilin,.  ti.e  line  «nd  tl"  »'''"' '''\™'';™s,„.,,|  „„  ,1,.  e,.».t  of 

New  l-]np:land,  m  K.li,  was  convtiu  .  ..,„„.-i,eted  on  those  shores 

,„.  .„ e..y in ''■•;*r;::ra;;  r-cvr:,;  "s^>u  „ s,,,, 

for  the  purpose.     Ho  then  recon  they  be  pro. 

°'?  r  ■;  .I'T.::-  ''X  '-"■  -l^ '*-*™'  •"«  '■■-- "  "^ 

v.ded,  this  m,n  It     .  .,         y  comn,enced  in  our  waters  wero 

::;:■;:;:::::  i^ ;;;'"-;»"-- <^"'°»-' "-'''"  ^™'"'-' 

C278) 


FIRST  SALT-WOUKS.      USE  i»F  SALT  BY  TnK  NATIVES. 


2T9 


IE8. 

cessity,  being,  in 
idisiicusable,  fttid 
jn  was  very  pro- 
diffLTent  ptirts  of 
modern. 

laken  and  prose- 
to  carry  on  in  the 

I  been  commenced 
■icny  and  tlie  coast 
dred  and  fifty  ves- 
ty  to  one  liiindrod 
he  first  Act  of  tlie 
rica,  was  made  in 
oast  from  the  cxac- 
[Umd  colonizntion, 
I,     In  IG2>2,  ai)oiit 
JnRland,  to  en^'ano 
j,  about  twenty-fivB 
le  American  fishery, 
tlie  rivers,  harbors, 
f  remarkable  excel- 
nd  promisinn  ample 
nith  on  the  coast  of 
ivo  search  for  ijolil 
(ited  on  those  sliores 
I  :  "  Salt  up""  ^"''' 
yet,  till  they  be  pro. 
ant  the  makinff  it  by 
ed  in  our  waters  were 
•s,  and  that  branch  of 


the  national  industry  has  steadily  grown  to  the  present  day.  Plymouth 
early  cngiifjjcd  in  the  business,  so  far  as  the  limited  means  of  the  Colony 
would  permit.  Isaac  Allertou,  one  of  the  original  emigrants,  and  after- 
ward a  merchant  among  the  Dutch  at  Manhattan,  is  commended  by  the 
early  historians  for  his  enterprise  in  the  lishing  business  at  Marblehcad, 
which  has  ever  since  been  a  nursery  for  that  hardy  and  useful  class.  The 
business,  however,  is  represented  by  Governor  Bradford,  as  "a  thing  fatal 
to  that  Coloiiy."  The  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  in  1G39,  exempteil 
from  all  duties  and  public  taxes  men  and  projierty  employed  in  catcliing, 
curing,  or  transporting  fish. 

As  an  auxiliiM'y  to  the  fisheries,, therefore,  the  Plymouth  Colony,  and 
about  the  same  time,  a  fishing  settlement  on  the  site  of  the  present  city 
First  Salt-  of  Portsmouth,  in  New  Hampshire,  commeneed  the  first  manu- 
*"'■'"■         facturc  of  Salt  in  the  Northern  Colonies.' 

This  business  vas  <irst  begun  at  Cape  Charles,  in  Virginia,  sometime 
previous  to  the  year  10-20.  IJut  having,  from  some  reason,  been  suffered 
to  fall  into  decay,  the  works  were  that  year,  under  the  new  hopes  inspired 
by  the  grant  of  a  Constitution,  ordered  to  be  restored  upon  a  .scale  which 
it  was  hoped  would  not  only  serve  the  Colony,  but,  in  a  short  time,  the 
"great  fi.diings"  on  tlie  American  coast.  It  wa3  ordered  to  be  made  "  in 
abundance,  and  after  the  manner  of  those  hot*er  climates  which  may  jirove 
u  great  heipe  to  enrich  the  plantation."  In  1G33,  Salt  appears  to  have 
been  exported  from  Virginia  to  Massachusetts. 

Under  a  grant,  made  by  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  in  IC21,  to  Captain 
John  Mason,  the  partial  colonization  of  New  Iliimiishire  was  two  years  after 
commenced,  for  the  purpose  of  proseruiing  the  fur  trade  and  the  fisheries. 
Salt-works  were  accordingly  erected  by  a  company  which  settled  at  the 

(I)  Ndtwitliftiiniling  it.i  iinivors.il  n?e  i\s  Mnile  nmlati' Pall  pri'piiroil  froir  .*^iiU-;'|)riiigs 

A  ci^uliiiiciit  mid  iin  niiliseplic,  Suit  appenrs  neiir  the  ancient  eity  nt  Cu/.en.  Tlio  I'lorida 

to  have  been  little,  i(  nt  all,  ui-ed  in  either  Indian!)  niiide  Salt  iieurtho  linnks  of  the  Ar- 

vray  l.y  tlie  North   ADierlcaii  Indians  until  kansas,  from  the  wjitcra   of  iialino  spring's 

they  were   tannht  liy  the  Europouna.     The  which  theycvaporalcil  in  i-urthen  pans  mailo 

trihes  of  South  Auierion,  with  a  few  cxcep-  for   that    purpiL-e.       The    historlnni    of    I'n 

tionii,  it  i?  said,  on  the  authority  of  Ilcrrera,  Soto's   oxpediiion    freiiuently  ullin'e   to   thu 

Huniliolilt    and    other   travelers,   preserved  Salt   thus    made   and    inouMed  in  earthen 

their  meat  and  O.^h  without  itii  aid,  hy  s'icing  moulds,  into  small  8c|unrc  cakes,  which  they 

k.id  dryin);  the  flesh  in  the  smoke  ami  hent  occhnngeil  for  skins  and  mantles.    Salt  wan 

of  Iheir  llri's.     From   them   is  ?lerived  the  brought   by  the    Indians  of  Western    New 

method,  slill  employed  in    Snulh    America,  York  IVutn  the  Salines  nl' Onond:i);a  to  Allni- 

of  preparing  t\\t>  jrikeil  lurfui  that  country,  ny  and  Quebec,  wilh  Iheir  Curs,  long  before 

The  m-inniicanol' the  northern  Indiansisiire-  the    in  innfaetiiro    was    coinincneed    by    the 

pared   in  «  similar  way :  sometimes  without  while  settlers  in  I'SS.    Heverly  rclutos  that 

thtuieofflro.     Salt  was,  however,  made  by  In  place  of  salt  for  seasming,  the  Imlian* 

icrorul  tribes  ufth')  natives,  and  was  an  ar-  used  the  ashes  of  hiekory,  itickwced,  ami 

tide  <if  traile  aniung  them,     The  I'erutiani  other  plants  yielding  a  iapid  ash. 


■■ 


ggO  COLONIAL  .ALT-MANL'FACrUllE 

,..enco.uo..t  of  the  ^-'-'Vl^^' "  ^  ^",  ^y  of  Plymouth,  >vlntUer  a  Sa  t- 
Salt-making  was  ntlcmylea  u.    he  ^^^  ^  ^  ^  ,,,,,r.  of  which  he 

u,aker  was  sent  fro.u  Kngland  for  '^'fj'^^.s  ■  "  The  salt.aan  is  a  skilful 
"as  the  bearer,  fro.  one  of  the  co.,a     ,^  -^  ^  ,^  ^. 

«.a  industrious  man-,  l->^ -"^;;j;r  "LveMrcely  possessed  the 
,uisterie  of  it."  He  -^^^'  '^^:^J^,  ,Hh  which  he  was  aeeredited, 
.qualities  or  the  knowledge  of^J^  ;"^\.  jj^,  ^^  ,,Uom  they  sent  to  make 
for  Governor  Bradford  ^  ^^^^^^^  ,^,^ ,  he  bore  them  in  hand 
suite  was  an  ignorante,  fool  .h,  sel  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^.^^^ 

he  could  doe  great  matters  m  mak  ug^aR  w  ^^^^_^^^  ^^^  ^^,,,,  y. 

out  fitte  ground  for  his  purpose  ^'^y'  with  a  good  bottome  to 
:;:vernor  that  he  had  found  a  ^^^^^^^^^^t  doubted  not  but  in 
hold  water,  and  othen..  vcj  ^^^^^^  ,  ^.eld  them  great  profit, 
,  short  time  to  brmg   o  go  a  .^_^^^^,^^  ... 

but  he  must  have  e.ght  o   Uu  •"«  ,^^,^^  ^hem  to  send  car- 

IU.t  he  was  after  some  trml  so        '^  ^  ;- ^„^^  ,,  ,,,eive  f  sal.e  and 

pcnters  to  -^ '^  f"  J:','  j  proved  vaine For  he  could 

such  other  uses.     But  u  >   tnde   u  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^.^^^  y,  ^^„., 

uot  doe  any  thing  but  boy  e  -^  «  "  /      ;  ^  „,,,;«  in  it,  as  was  not 

joynedwith  him  beleeve  ^^         ^^^         ,  „,,eeessary  things  to  blind 

asie  to  be  attained,  and  nuule  th  ,m  ">  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^,„,  ,, 

their  eys  till  they  discovered  »'- ;>  ^' ■,;^^,  '   ...e  the  fishery  was.  but 

Cupe  Ann,  and  y'  l^^  ;^-^'-';;;  /    „t  a  d  the  fire  was  so  vehementc 

:r;:^rr;r,^:;r:o::::...,- 

,ettlen.ent  of  the  colony  of  M-  ^^    ^^  ;  J^^,,,  ,y  ,,.0  attention 
of  the  n>ost  needful  classes  of  Uad     pco,  ^^^^^^^_^^^_^^  ^^^^._  .^,,^^ 

of  its  managers.     ^;-"«;^;^;;trth     business,  and  several  whose 


TdXM)  the  .ecouaaudlUUa  year,,     t.  be 


„t  charge,  .ithal."     A  rcRanl  for  the  good 
,  er   la   i.a«..ry   of  .he  ccu.nun.y  o^ 
,hic.h  they  «er.  the  K«ara,Bn,.c«u«el. hem 

to  aiMuUMwo  fishermen  for  i.m«or.Uty      - 

foretho.amn«oftheeh-,p.      ,""-/; 

of  inMrudion^  to  (iovernnr  '■■-'-'"•'J'^y 

Loot   eco.Uannu«l  report,   to     e  .-';;;. 
U.oUhorofeachper,on,andfor     .     P 

ventionofimene.B«n.nrreKul«r,.y..t«as 

clmendcathatahou,cofcorro,.uo„bo 


r 


ANCIENT   IMPORTANCE   OP   SALT   WORKS. 


asi 


;h  was  Uie  corn- 
following  year 
whilUer  a  Salt- 
tcr,  of  wbiiili  he 
Itinan  is  a  skilful 
ly  appvcheiide  y' 
,y  possessed  tho 
le  was  accredited, 
liey  sent  to  make 
,re  them  in  hand 
was  sent  to  sceke 
jrche  he  tould  f 
good  bottome  to 
,oubted  not  but  iu 
them  great  profit, 

doyed 

them  to  send  car- 
i;ceive  y*  salte  and 
For  he  could 
made  them  y"  were 
e  ill  it,  as  was  not 
;sary  things  to  blind 
year  lie  was  sent  to 
the  fishery  was,  but 
re  was  so  vehementc 
,  was  the  end  of  that 

ned  in  1C29  for  the 
idicious  intermixture 
jred,  by  the  attention 
r  fishermen,  furnished 
8,  and  several  whose 
The  company  after- 

l."    A  rcgarJ  for  tlie  good 
stry  of  the  coinmiinity  of 
the  KUiinlinns.  cnused  thcra 
.l.ermen  for  iimi.oriilily  he. 
of  the  ship.     In  their  lottir 
to  Oovernnr  "Inaieott.  thoy 
lUBl  reports   to  ho  ...nile  of 
•h  person  ;   nn.t  for  tho  pre- 
„c»s  nnJ  irreRularlty.  it  «n« 
bat  a  b.-usc  of  currcrtion  bo 


ward  sent  out  Thomas  Graves,  an  engineer,  as  one  sk'licd  in  salt  works. 
The  action  of  the  Court  of  Assistants,  at  their  meeting  in  Marcli,  1028-29, 
was  as  follows :  "  Touching  making  of  salt,  it  was  conseued  ffytt  tliat 
commodetty  should  be  resorued  for  tiie  general  Stocks  bcr.efitt,  yeet  with 
this  proviso  that  every  planter  or  brother  of  the  company  should  haue  aa 
much  as  he  might  aney  way  haue  occasyon  to  make  use  of,  at  as  chuape 
rate  as  themselves  could  make  it :  provided,  if  the  company  bee  not 
sufficiently  provided  for  themselH's,  their  particular  men  may  haue  liberty 
to  make  for  their  own  expeuce  and  use  aney  way,  but  not  to  transport 
nor  sell.'" 

The  manufacture  of  Salt  has  now  become,  through  the  aid  of  modern 
science  and  skill,  so  much  improved  and  extended,  and  its  supply 
80  constant,  abundant,  and  cheap,  that  we  ar^  scarcely  prepared  to 
understand  why  so  much  importance  was  then  attached  to  it,  and  its 
manufacture  and  sale  inhibited  to  private  enterprise.  But  in  the  fiscal 
and  comiiiercial  regulations  of  most  nations  of  ancient  and  modern  times, 
Salt  has  held  a  very  prominent  place.  In  many  it  has  been  the  subject 
of  monopolies,  duties,  and  taxation,  often  of  a  most  injurious  kind.  The 
salt  works  of  Ostia,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber,  were  estubli.shed  about 
130  years  after  the  founding  of  Rome;  and  a  hundred  years  later,  on 
account  of  the  high  price  demanded  for  salt,  the  right  of  vending  it  was 
transferred  from  private  hands  to  the  Roman  State.'  The  mnnufacture 
and  the  ducy  levied  upon  salt  is  supposed  to  have  been  an  important 
source  of  the  revenue  and  commercial  power  of  Rome.  Much  of  the 
maritime  influence  of  Venice,  in  more  recent  times,  has  been  ascribed  to 
her  salt  works.  One  cause  of  the  revolution  in  France,  in  the  lust  cen- 
tury, is  believed  to  have  been  the  oppressive  nature  and  enforcement  of 
the  salt  code  formerly  existing  in  France.  The  commercial  prosperity  of 
both  England  and  France  has  been  stated  to  bear  a  constant  relation  to 
their  salt-producing  ca|)abilities.  In  the  last  named  country,  in  Austria, 
and  some  other  countries,  the  manufacture  of  Salt  is  at  this  day  a  govern- 
ment monopoly,  as  are  the  Saline  Springs  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  amount  annually  paid  by  the  United  States  for  imported  salt — which, 
notwithstanding  its  constantly  increasing  production  for  ninny  years  past, 
and  the  ample  facilities  which  exist  for  meeting  the  entire  home  demand, 

let  up.     They  afterward  renew  thoir  coun-  to  one  cnllinR  or  other,  nnd  noo  idle  drones 

Belli  iiftiiinsl  idleness,  in  these  prudent  terms:  he  permitted  to  live  among  us;    wliinh   if 

"We   mtiy   nut  oinitt,  out  of    7.011I  for  tho  you  take  care  now  at  the  first  to  Cftubli.«h, 

gcncriiU    Rood,  once   more   to  putt  you   in  it  will  bo  an  undoubted  means  to  prevent  » 

mindo  to    beo  very  circumspect  in  the  in-  world  of  disorder,  and  many  grievous  ainni 

fancie   of   tho    Plantation,    to    settle   some  and  .dnners." 
(jood   order   whereliy   nil    persona   resi<lent        (1)  Fell's  Annals  of  Salem,  162. 
upon  our  Plaulaliua  may  apply  themaelvet        (2)  Livy,  lib.  i.  33,  ii.  9. 


282 


COLONIAL   SALT-MANUFACTLUE. 


and  a  largo  export  trade  in  addition,  still  amounts  to  more  than  half  ihe 
tota'  consumi.t.on  of  the  country-renders  it  deserving  of  more  attention 
than  it  receives.  Tlie  manufacture,  moreover,  offers  an  invitmg  held  for 
the  employment  of  capital  and  of  invention. 

EKi.'encies  have  repeatedly  arisen,  in  the  history  of  this  country, 
through  the  constraints  of  trade  and  the  privations  of  new  settlements, 
when  the  want  of  this  great  essential  has  been  severely  felt.  Its  price  has 
occasionally  risen  to  three,  five,  and  even  twelve  dollars  per  bushel.  Any 
general  interruption  of  the  foreign  trade  of  the  country  would  even  now 
cause  much  distress,  by  suddenly  arresting  the  supply  of  Salt.  Con- 
siderablv  nore  than  oue-half  of  that  imported  into  the  United  States  is 
derived 'from  Great  Britain,  where  the  Salt  manufacture  and  trade  is  very 

At  the' time  of  which  we  are  writing,  mines  of  rock  salt  had  not  beea 
discovered  in  that  country.  The  principal  supply  of  salt  was  obtained 
by  boiling  sea-water,  which  was  commenced  at  Lyme  over  800  years 
before  •  but  the  product  was,  until  a  comparatively  late  period,  quite 
impure'  A  better  article  was  obtained  from  France,  where  the  makmg 
of  salt  by  solar  evaporation  was  earlier  practiced.  This  process,  as 
conducted  on  the  opposite  coast  of  France,  enabled  the  manuf\icturers. 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century-according  to  Dr.  Campbell'-  o 
make,  in  two  weeks  of  a  dry  summer,  a  sufficiency  of  salt  for  the  supply 
of  the  home  and  foreign  markets  of  the  kingdom.  In  England  the 
article  was  subject  to  a  duty,  which  formed  a  branch  of  the  f  ^P  -•'^^«""«; 
The  amount  of  this  duty  in  1694  was  3s.  4d.  per  bushel  of  56  lbs.  13u 
by  numerous  statutes  regulating  its  manufacture,  sale,  and  taxation,  it 
was  increased  in  1798  to  5s.,  and  eventually  to  15s.  a  bushel,  or  forty 
toes  its  original  cost.     This  exorbitant  tax  at  length,  in  1823.  procured 

'''tIiIs  brlnch  of  industry  which  the  government  of  Massachusetts  reserved 
for  the  future  emolument  of  the  Company,  appears  to  have  been  placed, 
after  the  transfer  of  authority  from  London  to  the  Colony,  upon  the  same 
footing  as  others.  It  was  commenced  in  the  town  of  Salem,  in  1636, 
apparently  by  private  enterprise,  under  leave  from  the  General  Cour 
lu  June.  1631,  some  French  people  arrived,  as  mentioned  in  Prince's 
Chronology,  in  an  English  ship,  at  Piscataway,  to  carry  on  the  salt-mak^ng. 
This  we  suppose  to  have  been  at  the  mouth  of  th«  Rar.tan,  in  New 
Jersey,  although  there  was  a  place  anciently  of  the  same  name  in  Mary- 

^""samuel  Winslow,  in  June.  1641,  obtained  from  the  General  Court  of 


(I)  Campbell's  PuUtical  Survey  of  Oreiit 
Briiaiu. 


(2)  MoCulloeh's  Commorcial  Dictionary. 


Hr««i 


PRIVILEGES  FOB  SALT-MAKINQ  IN   MASSACHUSETTS. 


283 


than  half  the 
(lore  attention 
'itiug  field  for 

this  country, 
w  settlements, 

Its  price  has 
bushel.  Any 
uld  even  now 
f  Salt.  Con- 
ittd  States  is 
i  trade  is  very 

had  not  been 
t  was  obtained 
yer  800  years 
I  period,  quite 
re  the  making 
lis  process,  as 
manufacturers, 
Campbell'— to 
for  the  supply 
1  England  the 
Royal  revenue, 
f  56  lbs.  But 
nd  taxation,  it 
(ushel,  or  forty 
1823,  procured 

liusetts  reserved 
ve  been  placed, 

upon  the  same 
Siiiem,  in  1636, 
General  Court, 
icd  in  Prince's 
the  salt-making, 
aritan,  in  New 

name  in  Mary- 

sncral  Court  of 

aercial  Pictionary. 


Massachusetts,  the  exclusive  right  for  ten  years  of  making  salt  by  a  new 
method,  provided  he  set  it  up  within  a  year.  The  same  yoar  John  Jenny, 
an  enterprising  citizen  of  Plymouth,  was  al'owed,  at  Clark's  Island,  "the 
first  land  that  received  the  footsteps  of  the  Pilgrims,"  certain  privileges 
to  make  salt,  which  he  was  to  sell  to  the  inhabitants  at  two  siiillings  per 
bushel.  With  him  were  associated  four  partners,  and  the  grant  embraced 
tliirty  acres  of  land  and  the  sole  privilege  for  twenty-one  years. 

Tliese  attempts  were  inadequate  to  the  supply  of  the  community,  and 
the  scarcity  of  salt  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  outlying  settlements  a  few 
years  later,  was  a  cause  of  much  anxiety.  It  could  scarcely  be  otherwise,  sio 
long  as  the  country  was  dependent  upon  distant  and  foreign  sources  for 
the  supply  of  an  article  so  important,  and  liable  to  all  the  contingencies 
of  mercantile  speculation  and  uncertain  navigation.  Hence  we  find 
Governor  Win''irop  writing  in  Kovembcr  IGth,  164G,  to  his  son  at 
Fishers  Island,  near  Pequod  Iliver:  "Here  arrived  yesterday  a  Dutch 
ship  of  three  hundred  tons,  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  salt,  sent 
by  Mr.  Onge,  from  Lisbon,  so  as  salt  was  abated  in  a  few  hours  from 
thirty-six  to  sixteen  a  hogshead.  We  look  to  it  as  a  singular  providence 
and  testimony  of  the  Lord's  care  of  us.'" 

The  importance  of  an  increased  domestic  production  of  salt,  induced 
the  younger  Winthrop,  soon  after  to  come  forward  with  a  proposition  to 
manufacture  the  article  by  a  new  method.  It  was  therefore  enacted  by 
the  General  Court,  in  March,  1G47-8,  that  "upon  treaty  with  Mr.  Win- 
throp, touching  the  making  of  salt  out  of  meer  salt  water,  for  the  use  of 
the  country,  it  is  apprehended  and  assented  by  both  parties,  that  for 
incouragment  of  the  said  worke,  being  of  so  general  concernment,  it  is 
enacted  by  authority  of  this  Court,  that  for  so  many  families  or  house- 
h'^'.ds  as  are  resident  within  this  jurisdiction,  Mr.  Winthrop  shall 
be  paid  after  the  next  harvest,  so  many  bushels  of  wheate  or  of  other 
come  and  wheate  to  the  value  of  wheate,  yet  so  as  the  one  half  of  it 
be  in  wheate  certaine  upon  the  delivery  of  so  many  bushels  of  good 
white  salt  at  Boston,  Charles  Towne,  Salem,  Ipswich,  and  Salsbury,  to 
be  received  and  paid  for  by  the  Commissioners  for  public  rates  upon  two 
months'  notice  given  by  Mr.  Winthrop — the  constables  shall  have  power 
to  levy  it.  The  second  year  the  commission  shall  receive  and  pay  for  two 
bushels  of  salt  for  each  family,  at  the  price  of  3s.  a  bushel,  and  for  other 
two  years,  the  commission  shall  take  of,  and  make  payment  for  two  hun- 
dred tons  of  salt  at  2s.  per  bushel,  at  such  Salt  worke  as  said  Mr.  Winthrop 
shall  appoint,  and  he  shall  have  leave  to  erect  works  in  any  place  or  places 
in  the  jurisdiction  not  appropriated,  etc."  In  the  following  May,  the  Court 
granted  Mr.  Winthrop  three  thousand  acres  of  land  at  Paquatuck,  the 

(1)  Savage's  Winthrop  Appendix. 


284 


COLOSIAL   SALT-MAN V VACTb'UE. 


grant  to  be  voi,l,  "  providea  that  he  sot  not  up  a  considerable  sa   e  work 
fv^  „.eaue  to  >nako  one  hundred  tun  per  annum  of  salt  between  the  Capes 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  within  tliree  years  next  commg." 

Wo  are  not  informed  what  success  attended  this  cnterpr.se      It  wa 
probably  encouraging,  since  the  same  authorities  in  May   lOo     gran  o^d 
Ihe  proprietor  for  twenty-one  years,  the  exclusive  privilege  of  mak.n„ 
Salt  "after  his  new  way."  „*  Po^a 

A-ain  in  May,  1C52,  Salt-works  were  ordered  to  be  set  up  at  tape 
Ant:  :;;ich  hai'been  included  in  the  grant  to  Mason,  but  was  now 
reunited  to  Massachusetts.  A  proposition  was  made  by  Edward  Bu  t 
to  manufacture  Salt  at  that  place  by  a  new  method,  for  which  he  as.ed  and 
received  permission  of  the  Court,  "  provided  he  make  it  only  after  his  own 
new  way."     Mis  grant  was  made  for  ten  years.  e  i       f^- 

He  .as  at  the  same  time  refused  the  use  of  two  islands  neru-  Salem  for 
that  nuroose.  "  as  prejudicial  to  the  town  in  divers  regards. 

It  was  ab^ut  this  dote  that  the  rich  Salt  Springs  of  Western  ^e^ 
York,  one  of  the  principal  sources  of  domestic  supply  at  the  present  time 
were  first  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  European  settlers  through 
rr";7„s^:  the  French  Jesuits,  who  were  prosecuting  their  perilous  missions 
'"  "■  '^°'''-  in  the  country  of  the  Onondagoes  and  the  Iroquois.    Father  Lal- 
lemont  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  to  mention  them.     But,  on  the 
16th  August,  1654,  ten  days  after  his  arrival  among  the  Onondagoes 
they  were  observed  by  Pere  Le  Moyne,  who  carried  back  to  the  Governor 
of  Canada,  a  sample  of  the  curious  product  of  the  Springs,     llis  dis- 
coN.rv  is  thus  recorded  in  his  journal  of  that  date  :  "Le  16,^ous  arriuons 
a  I'entrec  r^'vn  petit  lac,  dans  vn  grand  bassin  a  demy  seche ;  nous  gous- 
tons  de  I'eau  u -ne  demon  qui  la  rend  puante ;  en  ay  ant  gonste  le  trouvay 
que  c'estoit  vne  fonv-.'ne  d'eau  salee,  eten  effet  nous  en  fismes  du  sel  aussi 
naturel  que  celny  de  la  m.r  dont  nous  portons  une  montre  a  Quebec,    te 
lac  est  tres  poissonneaux  en  vmites  saulmonnees  et  autres  poissons 
Father  Le  Moyne,  four  years  after,  communicated  a  kno^^^edge  of  the 
existence  of  these  salines  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  jr.fijapolonsis  at  New  Amster- 
dam,  who,  in  conveying  the  intelligence  of  so  .Vr.nge  a  discovery  to  his 
cla.sis  at  Amsterdam,  reservedly  adds,  "  whether  this  l-  true,  or  whether 
it  be  a  Jesuit  lie.  I  do  not  determine.'"     Though  previousV;^»sed  by  the 
Indians,  to  a  small  extent,  the  springs  were  not  turned  to  any  nec.'mt  m 
the  manufacture  o."  Salt  by  the  white  population  until  near  a  century  av,c 
a  half  after  they  were  ilr^t  noticed  by  the  French.     About  the  time  of 
this  discovery  also  (1657),  during  the  Directorship  of  Stuyvesaut,  Salt- 


(1)  Colnny  Record?,  ii.  229. 

(2)  Colony  Kecords,  iii.  275. 


(?-\  O'Callaghan's  New   Nothcrlauds,   il, 
808. 


w 
? 


e  salle  worke, 
Hill  the  Capes 

irise.  It  was 
1056,  gvaiitpd 
ge  of  making 

t  up  at  Cape 
but  was  now 
Edward  Burt, 
h  he  asked  and 
y  after  liis  own 

near  Salem  for 
s."' 

Western  New 
ic  present  time, 
settlers  tliroiigh 
erilous  missions 
is.    Father  Lal- 
1.     13nt,  on  the 
le  OnonUagoes, 
to  tlie  Governor 
■ings.     His  dis- 
j,  Nous  arriuons 
;he ;  nous  gous- 
onsto  ie  trouvay, 
snies  du  sel  aussi 
e  a  Quebec.    Ce 
utres  poissons." 
nowledge  of  the 
at  New  Amster- 
discovery  to  his 
true,  or  whether 
lUsV;  "sed  by  the 
;o  any  aio^'mt  in 
jar  a  century  ti,\\<i 
bout  tlie  time  of 
Stuyvesaut,  Salt- 
Jew   NotlicrlauJs,  il. 


SALT-MAKIXa   JN    NKW   YOIIK. 


285 


works  are  mentioned  as  existing  in  the  Dutch  Province  within  a  day's  sail 
of  New  Amstel  (New  Castle),  on  tiie  Delaware,  at  which  ships  stopped 
to  complfte  their  lading.  As  early  indeed  as  1C49,  it  wm  charged  against 
the  West  India  Company's  servants,  by  delegates  sent  to  the  States 
General,  that  they  Iiud  made  useless  expenditures  of  the  public  money,  by 
the  erection  of  Salt  works  and  in  other  manufacturing  enterprises  in  the 
Troviiicc.  In  1G61,  Dirck  de  Wolll",  an  Amsterdam  merchant,  obtained 
for  seven  years  the  exclusive  right  of  making  Salt  in  New  Netherlands. 
lu  aid  of  the  undc.-taking,  he  r  -eivcd  a  grant  of  Conyen  (now  Coney) 
Island  from  the  Dutch  authorities.  But  the  island  being  claimed  by  the 
English  inhabitants  of  Gravesend,  on  Long  Island,  who  were  then  in 
rebellion  against  the  Dutch  sovereignty,  the  agents  of  De  Wolfl'  had  no 
sooner  erected  their  i)ans  and  commenced  operations,  than  all  their  im- 
provements were  laid  waste  by  the  Yankees.  Their  threats  of  as  summary 
punishment  of  the  intruders  in  case  they  attempted  to  restore  them,  were 
only  silenced  by  the  presence  of  a  military  force.  The  outlays  of  the 
proprietor  were  lost,  and  his  project  was  not  revived." 

Salt  was  in  1654,  subject  to  a  duty  in  New  Netherlands  of  twenty 
stivers  (forty  cents)  per  bushel,  but  the  duties  on  imports  were  the  next 
year  reduced  to  ten  per  cent.  Its  price  between  the  years  1630,  and 
1646,  in  the  patroonery  of  Van  Rensselaer  on  the  Hudson,  as  shown  by 
the  account  books,  was  seven  florins  thirteen  stivers  per  ton  for  imported 
white  Salt,  or  two  florins  twelve  stivers  per  half  barrel,  the  florin  of  twenty 
stivers  being  equal  to  forty  cents.  In  1060,  William  Beekman,  Vice- 
Director  on  the  Delaware,  in  a  letter  to  Stuyvesaut,  complains  of  the  price 
of  Salt  being  "exceedingly  tough,  asking  three  to  four  guilders  for  a  single 
Rchepel,"  (three  pecks.)'  The  year  following  was  one  of  great  scarcity 
in  New  Netherlands,  and  Salt  was  sold  at  twelve  guilders  (four  dollars 
and  eighty  cents)  the  bushel  at  New  Amsterdam.  The  high  price  of  the 
article  was  probably  the  inducement  which  De  Wolfl"  found  to  attempt 
the  manufacture  in  that  year. 

In  the  Navigation  Act  of  1663,  which  prohibited  the  importation  into 
the  Colonies  of  any  of  the  manufactures  of  Europe,  except  through  the 
ports  of  Great  Britain,  an  exception  was  made  in  favor  of  Salt  intended 
for  the  fisheries  of  New  England  and  some  other  places,  and  of  wines 
from  Madeira  and  the  Azores.  These  might  be  carried  direct  in  ships 
nafigated  according  to  the  laws  of  trade.  The  provisions  of  this  clause 
were  afterward,  by  an  Act  of  Parliament,  in  1127,  extended  also  to  Penn- 
vsylvania,  and  subsequently  to  New  York. 


(1)  IIiiuMvI's  Annnlsof  Pennsylvanin,  239. 

(2)  O'Callag'tiw/'s  New  Netherlands,  ii.  452. 


(3)  Iluzard'a  Annuls  of  Pennsylvania. 


286 


COLONIAL   SALT-MAN  I.  FACTLllE. 


The  General  Court  of  Virginia,  in  1C62,  enuctecl  U.at,  "  ^^r  the  Ur  t 
September  1683,  no  Salt  shouM  be  ::.rortca  into  the  couuly  of  Nort  - 
alton' under  penalty  of  confiscation  of  ship  and  goods,  to  tl>.e  end  that 
Ts.   who  llatheLted^a  Salt-worU  in  those  parts  .ay  ^e  .--.ed  . 
his  endeavours  to  promote  the  good  of  the  country."     The  works  were 
1^  proper  y  of  Colonel  Scarborough,  and  were  situated  at  Accomack  o 
;;;:  ^Im^hore  of  the  Cl-peaUe  where^he  ma..^^.e  of  S>..J^^ 
been  commenced  over  forty  years  before.     But  not  «"^^     '"^      J 
expectation,  the  Act  was  repealed  four  years  after,  and  the  free  importa 

'^;:J 't;:™tVnited  state,  from  its  warmth  and  dryness,  and  the 
clea    e     of  t  e  at,„osphere,  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of 
S      by  sola   evaporation.     This  hygrometric  adaptation  was  early   nf  r- 
t  «♦  ted  from  the  fact  that  the  fishermen  of  Cape  Cod,  in  1629, 
;:i:U       k  Jrortbtelore  portions  of  good  Salt  spontaneously  pro- 
re      by   1  e  e  aporation  of  wnter  left  by  the  tide  upon  the  rocks  and  m 
the  marshes      The  latter  were  so  encrusted  that  the  salt  adhered  to  the 
eTo     ht  fishermen  as  they  crossed  them.>     "Here,"  wntes  P  anta^e- 
Jt    nl648   "the  glorious  ripening  Sunne.  as  warm  ns  Italy  or  Spa.n 
J^^l  br  ng  rare  fruits,  wines,  and  such  store  of  Aniseed  and  Ltcoras,  a 
Tdl  a   Bay  Salt,  made  without  boiling,  only  in  pans  wnh  the  Sm  tl  a 
lacl  labc:er  ma;  make  six  bushels  a  day,  worth  in  these  three,  twelve 

^' Thf  sl^^^^^^  Government,  which,  in  1642,  resuscitated  its  expirhjg 
colo';  on  the  Delaware,  instructed  Governor  Printz  to  engage  m  the 

"irVcriSirS^:^:^^"  October  of  ^  P-ious  .ar  ^ 
the  Conr   of  Massachusetts,  to  confer  with  llichard  Wharton,  of  Boston 
pe       g  bis  mode  of  making  Salt  by  if.e  sun,  reported  f-orably  and 
advTsed  the  Court  "  to  encourage  a  Company  for  that  purpose,  wh.ch 
return  the  Court  approved." 

Salt  was  in  early  times,  made  by  the  solar  method  on  the  shores  ot 
T  otirnd  by  exposing  sea-water  in  shallow  vats  to  the  action  of  the 
^:  '  n  w  ;''  Mines  of  Bock  Salt,  of  which  valuable  fossil  depostts 
hi"  1  years  been  found  in  some  of  our  western  States,  were  ab^t 
this  t  me  (1670)  first  discovered  in  Englana,  The  foUowmg  descnpOon 
b  se  In  he  P  pors  of  the  Boynl  Society,  will  enable  us  to  judge  of  the 
^^L  maiufactnre  in  England  about  the  period  of  the  revolut.on 

''^''•Z'^.i  bed  of  Rock  Salt  had  been  discovered  not  long  after  the 

(1)  Higginjon's  New  England  Plantation. 


,  aficr  tlio  first 
luuty  of  North- 
,  to  tl'.e  end  that 
e  ciicouraged  in 
riie  works  were 
it  Accomack,  on 
are  of  Suit  had 
ering  the  public 
he  free  i  in  porta 

dryness,  and  the 
;  manufacture  of 
1  was  early  infer- 
ipc  Cod,  in  1629, 
)ontanoously  pro- 
,  the  rocks  and  in 
It  adhered  to  the 
'  writes  Plantage- 
is  Italy  or  Spain, 
i  and  Licoras,  as 
ith  the  Sun,  that 
hese  three,  twelve 

tated  its  expiring 
to  engage  in  the 

!  previous  year,  by 
harton,  of  Boston, 
•ted  favorably,  and 
liat  purpose,  which 

I  on  the  shores  of 

0  the  action  of  the 
able  fossil  deposits 
States,  were  about 

Uowing  description, 
!  us  to  judge  of'the 
)A  of  the  revolution 

1  not  long  after  the 


BALT   BY   SO[,AR   KYArORATION. 


287 


Restoration,  in  Clieshire,  but  does  not  appear  to  have  been  worked  in 
that  age.  Tlie«6ait,  which  was  obtained  by  a  rude  process  from  brine- 
pits,  was  held  in  no  high  estimation.  The  pans  in  which  the  manufacture 
was  carried  on  e.xiialed  a  sulphurous  stench  ;  and  when  the  evaporation 
was  complete,  the  substance  which  was  left  was  scarcely  fit  to  be  used 
with  food.  Physicians  attributed  the  scorbutic  and  pulmonary  complaints 
which  were  common  among  the  English,  to  this  unwholesome  condiment. 
It  was  therefore  seldom  used  by  the  ujtper  and  middle  classes ;  and  there 
was  a  regular  and  considerable  importation  from  France.  At  present, 
our  springs  and  mines  not  only  supply  our  own  immense  demand,  but 
send,  annually,  seven  hundred  millions  of  pounds  of  excellent  Salt  to 
foreign  countries.'" 

The  several  grants  which  we  have  mentioned  of  exclusive  privileges  for 
Salt-making  in  Massachusetts,  emanating  from  the  same  legislative  body, 
and  covering  the  same  periods,  must  be  supposed — although  the  specifi- 
cations have  not  come  down  to  us — to  refer  to  processes  sufficiently  dis- 
tinct from  each  other  and  from  that  of  Mr.  Winthrop,  as  not  to  conflict. 
They  are,  at  the  same  time,  an  evidence  that  a  spirit  of  enterprise  and  of 
improvement  was  already  awake  in  regard  to  the  supply  of  an  important 
commodity. 

Mr.  Winthrop,  at  least,  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  acquainted  with 
all  the  latest  improvements  in  the  Salt  manufacture,  both  in  England  and 
on  the  Continent,  where  he  had  traveled  much.  He  was  a  man  of  learn- 
ing and  geniu.s,  of  an  active  and  inquisitive  mind,  and  beside  being  himself 
a  chemist,  was  the  intimate  friend  and  correspondent  of  Robert  Boyle — 
then  engaged  in  investigating  the  properties  of  sea  water  and  kindred 
subjects — and  of  many  of  the  first  chemists,  naturalists,  and  philosophers 
of  the  age.  With  several  of  these  he  was  associated,  in  1600,  in  the 
formation  of  the  Royal  Society,  of  which,  the  published  Transactions 
contain  several  of  his  contributions.  IHj  enterprise  and  love  of  experi- 
ment, as  well  as  many  other  considerations,  would  lead  him  to  adopt,  in 
the  new  home  of  himself  and  family,  such  recent  improvements  as  be- 
longed to  a  manufacture  in  which  he  was  interested.  The  encouragement 
given  him  by  the  local  authorities  was  a  judicious  one.  But  of  the  nature 
of  those  improvements  we  have  now  no  means  of  judging. 

About  the  year  1689,  Sir  Xathaniel  Johnson,  who  had  been  scTeral 
years  Governor  of  the  Leeward  Islands,  "  being  fond  of  projects,"  as  we 
are  informed,  took  up  his  residence  in  South  Carolina,  as  having 

In  addition  to  the  cultivation 


Saltworkii  ... 

in  soiui.      a  climate  favorable  to  his  views. 

Carolina.  -.,,..  ,         ,  ,  ,  .  .  , 

of  Silk,  rice,  wine,  etc.,  he  there  turned  his  attention,  also,  to  the 


(I)  Macaulcy's  Hist.  England,  cb.  iii. 


288 


COLONIAL  SALT-MANUFACTURE. 


manufacture  of  Salt.  He  named  the  place  selected  for  his  experinicnt3 
on  the  Sewce  l?av,  the  "  Salt  Ponds."  But  what  success  attended  his 
efforts  i3  not  known.  TliC  Legislature  of  that  Province,  in  1725,  enacted 
two  laws  to  encourage  the  making  of  Salt  in  the  Colony.' 

In  1746,  John  Jerom  and  Stephen  Jerom,  Jr.,  proposed  to  set  up 
"  evaporating  pans  for  the  making  of  Salt  in  Connecticut." 

Similar  attemrits  continued  to  be  made  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
with  more  or  less  encouragement  from  local  authorities,  to  produce  a  sup- 
ply  of  this  great  essential,  until  after  the  Revolution.  Small  Salt-works 
Ure  erected,  and  existed  for  a  time,  along  the  seaboard,  for  boilmg  sea 
water  which  the  cheapness  of  fuel  rendered  more  common  than  that  of 
evaporation  by  solar  heat.  The  consumption  of  Salt  was  always  large 
in  the  country.  Ihe  extent  of  the  fisheries,  the  large  amount  of  sa  ted 
provisions  consumed  and  exported,  and  the  practice  of  dispensing  it  to 
cattle,  created  a  large  demand. 

The  principal  supply  of  Salt,  before  the  Revolution  was  olrta.ned  by 
the  numerous  lumber,  provision,  and  tobacco  ships,  which  traded  to  Spain, 
Portugal,  France,  the  Wine  Islands,  and  other  Salt-producing  countries 
in  Europe,  and  to  the  West  Indies.     The  provincial  exports  being  bulky, 
and  the  return  cargoes  much  less  so.  Salt,  for  the  fisheries,  was  nsimlly 
taken   in  as  ballast,  or  as  a  part  lading.     Although  the  article  did  not 
pay  as  a  full  cargo,  its  high  price,  and  its  supposed  benefit  to  the  ship 
timbers,  rendered  it  acceptable  and  profitable  as  part  freight.    Fine  Salt, 
of  a  hi-her  price,  for  culinary  use,  was  obtained  in  small  quantities  from 
England,  but  was  not  well  suited  to  the  fisheries.     For  some  time  pre- 
ceding  the  War  much  was  brought  from  Liverpool  in  sacks  of  four  bush- 
els each      Some  of  that  obtained  from  the  American  islands  appears  to 
have  been  of  a  very  inferior  quality.     The  Legislature  of  Massachusetts 
found  it  necessary,  in  order  to  sustain  the  character  of  the  fish  sent  from 
the  Province,  to  decree,  in  Maf,  1670,  that  "  fishing,  being  advantageous 
and  likely  to  be  Impaired  by  using  Tortudas  Sale,  which  leaves  spots  on 
fish  by  reason  of  shells  and  trash  in  it,  that  no  fish  saUed  wUh  Tort^.das 
Salt  and  thereby  spotted,  shall  be  accounted  merchantable  fish.'      Much 
of  the  Salt  obtained  from  these  islands  was  the  product  of  spontaneous 
Tvstallization,  and  was  gathered  and  sold  in  its  impure  state  at  a  low 
price  by  the  inhabitants,  or  was  collected  by  American  crews  without 
other  expense.     Nor  had  the  domestic  manufacture,  at  this  date,  made 
anv  progress  toward  supplying  a  better  article,  Ht  least  by  the  solar  me- 
thod     Randolph,  the  Collector  of  Customs  iu  1673,  reported  that  in 


»rl)  Ramsay's  Hist.  S.  Carolina. 


experimcnta 

ntUnided  his 

1725,  enacted 

ed  to  set  up 

if  the  conntry, 
roduce  a  suj>- 
ill  Salt-works 
br  boiling  sea 
1  than  that  of 
always  large 
ount  of  salted 
jpensing  it  to 

s  obtained  by 
•aded  to  Spain, 
cing  countries 
ts  being  bulky, 
is,  was  usually 
article  did  not 
fit  to  the  ship 
ht.    Fine  Salt, 
quantities  from 
ome  time  pre- 
s  of  four  bush- 
nds  appears  to 
'  Massachusetts 
e  fish  sent  from 
g  advantageous 
leaves  spots  on 
I  with  Tortudas 
ie  fish."     Much 
of  spontaneous 
!  state  at  a  low 
I  crews  without 
this  date,  made 
by  the  solar  me- 
eported  that  in 


nnST  ATTEMPT   AT   MAKING    SOI.Ail  SALT. 


289 


New  England  there  was  "no  Allum,  nor  Copperas  nor  Salt  made  by  their 
sun."  ' 

The  interruption  of  the  foreign  trade  by  the  War  of  Independence 
occasioned  a  distressing  scarcity  of  Salt,  and  called  into  existence  many 
small  establishments  along  our  shores  from  C;ipe  Cod  to  Georgia.  In 
these  the  water  was  pumped  from  the  sea  by  hand  or  by  the  aid  of  wind- 
nulls,  and  was  boiled  in  largo  kettles,  often  in  the  open  air,  yielding  an 
inferior  article  of  Salt,  imperfectly  purified  from  the  lime  and  other  foreign 
constituents  of  the  brine.  The  apparatus  wa.,  ill-constructed  for  its 
l)urpose,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  gallons  of  water  wore  required  to 
make  a  bushel  of  Salt. 

The  expense  of  labor,  time  and  fuel,  was  great,  and  the  product  crys- 
tallized  in  fine  grains,  was  small  and  defective  in  quality.    About  the  year 
1774,  or  1775,  an  observation  similar  to  that  which  has  been  mentioned, 
of  saline  particles  left  by  the  sun  and  air  in  the  clam  shells,  lying  upon 
the  beach,  was  made  by  the  salt-boilers  at  Harwich,  on  the  Peninsula  of 
Cape  Cod,  where  one  of  the  first  essays  in  Salt-making  in  irassachusetts 
had  long  before  been  attempted.     This  hint,  led   to  some  experiments 
and  soon  after  to  the  first  attempt,  in  this  country,  on  any  extended  scale,' 
to  make  Salt  by  solar  evaporation.     Mr.  Ammiel  Weeks,  of  Harwich' 
succeeded  in  making  a  sufficiency  for  his  own  use,  and  about  the  same 
time  the  manufacture  was  attempted  without  success  at  the  Isle  of  Shoals. 
A  year  or  two  after,  John  Sears,  a  mariner,  conceived  the  idea  of  making 
Salt  more  economically  than  by  the  boiling  process,  and  in  association 
with  Edward  Sears,  Christopher  and  Edward  Crowell,  erected  Salt-works 
on  Quivet  Neck,  in  the  town  of  Dennis,  in  Bnrnstable  County.     They 
constructed  a  vat  one  hundred  feet  in  length  and  ten  in  width,  with  a 
flooring  of  white  pine  on  oaken  sleepers,  with  planked  sides  and  ends,  and 
a  curiously  constructed  roof.     The  "  bottom,"  originally  all  on  the  same 
level,  was  afterward   divided  to    obtain  a   crystallizing  vat.     For  two 
years,  all  the  water  was  conveyed  to  the  works  in  buckets  from  the  sea 
shore.     Toward  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Sears  obtained  from  the  Britisli 
ship  of  war,  Somerset,  stranded  on  the  Cape,  a  pump,  which  he  set  up  and 
used  until  1790,  when  he  erected  a  wind-mill  for  the  purpose.     This  mill 
he  is  said  to  have  constructed  in  secret,  upon  the  plan  then  in  use,  on 
account  of  the  ridicule  with  which  he  was  assailed.     The  manufactory  of 
the  ingenious  and  enterprising  owner,  which  was  the  original  of  those  now 
generally  in  use,  was  denominated  "John  Sear's  Folly,"  so  often  does  the 
fancied  wisdom  of  his  cotemporaries  withhold  from  its  author,  the  full 
credit  or  the  benefit  of  a  sagacious  innovation. 

At  this  time  there  were  many  small  manufactories  in  that  and  other 
parts  of  Massachusetts  for  making  Salt  by  artificial  heat.     It  was  carried 
19 


ggO  COLONIAL   gALT-MANCFACTVRE 

on  in  Harwich,  for  about  twenty  years,  by  Messrs.  Obed  E^Smith  and  Job 
Case,  and  throughout  the  Revolution.  In  Fahnont  ,  Ban.  ab  .^^^^^^^ 
other  parts  of  the  Peninsula,  were  similar  establishments.  The  exan  plo 
o  Air  Sears  however,  induced  others  to  construct  works  upon  lus  i^lan. 
U  Broad  Pint,  iu  Brewster,  Mr.  Scott  Clark,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Dunster, 
before  1  t  liaatioa  of  the  war,  erected  works  of  that  kind  with  three 
vats  They  had  -o  pump  for  several  years,  but  were  afterward  prov.ded 
:  h  a  ha  d'pump.  Iu  thJ  same  town,  Nathaniel  Free.nan  had  Salt-wor  s 
lut  the  same  Le;  aud  in  1779,  the  first  on  the  new  plan  were  budt 
in  Barnstable,  by  Messrs.  Ilinckly  &  Gorham.  ,      ^.  ,       .  , 

St  at  thai  tfmo  sold  for  six  dollars  per  bushel.     Its  h.gh  pnce,  and 
the  proximitv  to  the  fisheries,  led  many  others  into  the  manufacture  upon 
Air  Sears'  method ;  but  on  the  revival  of  foreign  trade,  after  the  peace,  a 
Urge  number  of  the  works  were  abandoned.     The  business  has  ever  snico 
been  conducted  upon  the  shores  of  the  bay,  nnd  the  numerous  wind-m.lls  for 
raising  the  brine,  which  thickly  lined  the  beach  in  almost  every  town  on  tlje 
I'eninsula,  twenty  years  ago,  gave  it  quite  a  unique  appearance.     In  17  J», 
J     u  Sea  s  took  out  a  patent  for  a  machine  for  mannfaeturmg  Sa  t,  and 
IU  ToUowing  year  another  was  given  to  Ilattil  KiUey  for  a  method  of 
ove      g  Sal-vats  from  the  weather  by  the  plan  adopted  on  the  Cape. 
This  contrivance,  by  which  the  roofs  of  two  vats  were  connected  by  a 
i   ;;  CI  tur-'n. ',  upon  a  upright  post  in  the  centre,  enabling  them  to 

ea'ly  removed  and  replaced,  was  an  essential  improvement  upon  tl 
,  d  Item  of  maki.g  Salt  in  uncovered  boilers  or  vats.  T'-.S'.l  ma  e 
by  tl  s  systen.  was  of  u  good  quality,  white  and  pure,  and  we.ghed  f  m 
sev  nty  to  sevontyfive  pounds  per  bushel.  The  process  be.ng  conducted 
by  te'use  of  three  or  four  rooms  on  different  planes  e«^ected  e  separa- 
tion of  the  various  sulphates  aud  other  eontam.natu.g  impunUes  of  he 
b'Irn  and  was  more  economical,  by  yielding  Epsom  and  Glauber  sSats, 
a'residri  prodacts  of  the  operation-the  latter  being  crystalhzed  during 

'' A^rrtivc  effort  to  make  Salt  by  the  sun  was  made  by  General  Pal- 
„.et  on  U.e  Marshes  in  Boston  Neck,  about  this  time.  The  manufacture 
of  Salt  was  also  carried  on,  in  small  establishments,  in  many  places  al  g 
1  shores  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  the  more  sc.thern  S  ates,  dur- 
g  th  levolution.  A  number  of  those  in  New  Jersey  were  burned  c 
dcmol  shed  by  the  British  troops  dun.g  the  war.     Several  Salt-works  o 

,e  south  Sid 'of  Squam  Inlet,  in  Monmouth  County,  wen   -^^^T^^ 

in  n7S.    A  large  Salt-making  establishment  was  owned  by  a  D-  H  niis. 

.  r  Townsend's  Sound,  in  Cape  May  County,  which  wa«  threatened 

w  h  a  like  fate,  because  the  proprietor  was  in  the  habit  of  selling  gun- 


^m 


SCARCITY   OF   SALT.      ANECliUTE   OF    WASHlNUTuN. 


291 


.  Smith  and  Jcb 
Barnstable,  and 
The  example 
s  upon  his  plan. 
!V.  Mr.  Dunster^ 

kind  with  three 
erward  provided 
,  had  Salt-worka 

plan  were  built 

;  high  price,  and 
lanufacture  upon 
ifter  the  peace,  a 
ess  has  ever  since 
ous  wind-mills  for 
every  town  on  the 
trance.     In  1199, 
cturing  Salt,  and 
J  for  a  method  of 
ited  on  the  Cape, 
e  connected  by  a 
,  enabling  them  to 
ovcment  upon  the 
;.     The  Salt  made 
and  weighed  from 
33  being  conducted 
iffected  the  separa- 
impurities  of  the 
md  Glauber's  Salts, 
crystallized  during 

le  by  General  Pal- 
The  manufacture 
many  places  along 
-ithcrn  States,  dur- 
■soy  were  burned  or 
vcral  Salt-works  on 
wen  .h;i3  destroyed 
led  by  a  Dr.  Harris, 
lich  was  threatened 
abit  of  selling  gun- 


powder.' The  manufacture  being  carried  on  near  the  seashore  was  more 
exi)osed  to  hostile  attacks  than  operations  conducted  in  the  interior.  So 
insecure  were  (he  owners  of  such  works  tiiat,  in  September,  n77,  David 
Forman  and  partners  memorialized  Congress  for  a  guard  of  one  hundred 
men  to  protect  a  Salt-works  they  propo.sed  erecting.  The  extreme 
scarcity  of  this  article  induced  the  Continental  Congress,  on  June  3d,  of 
the  same  year,  to  appoint  a  committee  of  three  to  devise  ways  and  means 
of  supiilying  the  United  States  with  Salt;  and,  ten  days  after,  acting 
upon  tiieir  report,  passed  a  resolution  advising  the  several  States  to  ofi\r 
such  liberal  encouragement  to  persons  importing  Sait  for  the  use  of  the 
said  Slate,  as  should  be  effectual.  Each  State  was  also  recommended  to 
employ,  at  the  public  charge,  one  or  more  vessels  to  import  Salt  for  its  own 
immediate  use.  The  agents  of  the  United  States  in  Europe  and  the  West 
Indies  were  to  be  directed  by  the  Secret  Committee  to  effect  the  impor- 
tation of  Suit  in  all  vessels  bound  to  America  on  account  of  the  United 
States;  ail  masters  of  vessels  taking  in  cargoes  for  America  on  account  of 
the  United  States,  were  to  be  instructed,  if  possible,  to  ballast  with  Salt ; 
and  the  several  States  were  recommended  to  erect,  and  encourage  iu  the 
most  liberal  and  effectual  manner,  i)roper  works  for  the  making  of  Salt.' 

But  the  scarcity  and  high  cost  of  Salt,  produced  in  the  Atlantic  owns 
by  the  suspension  of  foreign  trade;  by  the  absorption  of  labor  into  the 
army ;  and  the  insecurity  of  capital  invested  in  such  works,  was  rendered 
the  normal  condition  of  the  frontier  settlements,  by  the  imperfect  means 
of  communieation  between  them  and  the  seaports.  After  the  termination 
of  the  old  French  war,  iu  1763,  emigration  took  up  its  march  toward  the 
fertile  regions  of  the  West,  aud,  in  different  directions  from  the  principol 


,  (1)  The  loUnwing  is  related  in  Thatcher's 
Military  Jouriml,  1st  Jntiuiiry,  1780,  during 
the  oaiitoniuent  iit  Morristown,  New  Jer.ioy, 
the  diirkcst  period  of  tlio  eunflict,  when  the 
ivriny  aeldom  had  fix  chryB'  provicions  on 
hand,  and  the  Continental  money  was  «o  de- 
preciated that  "  four  months'  pay  of  a  pri- 
vate wou'd  not  procure  f"r  hia  family  a  tin- 
gle bushel  of  wheat."  "  Wo  have  nothing 
hut  tho  nilinns  to  cook,  pir,"  fnid  Mrs. 
Thompson,  a  very  worthy  Irish  woman  and 
housolioi'pcr,  to  (.ieneral  WachinKton. 
"  Widl,  Mrs.  Thompson,  you  must  then  conk 
the  rations,  fur  I  have  not  aOirthin^  to  give 
you."  "  If  you  please,  fir,  let  one  of  the 
gentlemen  give  nic  nn  order  fur  six  bushels 
of  fall."  "  Six  bushels  of  salt  I— for  what  ?" 
"  Xu  (jrv5«rve  the  frutb  beef,  tir."     One  of 


tho  aids  gave  the  order,  and  tho  next  day 
his  Excellency's  table  was  amply  (irovided. 
Mrs.  Tliompson  was  sent  for,  and  tidd  that 
she  had  done  very  wrong  to  expend  her  own 
money,  for  it  was  not  known  when  she  could 
bo  repaid  :  "  I  owo  you,"  said  his  Excel- 
lency, "  too  much  already,  to  permit  the 
debt  to  be  increased,  and  our  siluatiun  is 
not,  at  this  moment,  such  as  to  induce  very 
strong  hopes."  "  Dear  sir,"  said  (he  gmid 
old  lady,  "  it  is  always  darkest  just  before 
daylight ;  ami  I  hope  your  iixcellency  will 
forgive  mo  fur  bartering  the  suit  for  other 
necessaries  which  are  now  on  tho  table." 
Palt  was  eight  dullars  a  bushel,  and  cioild 
always  be  cxclianged  with  ll^-  eminlry-peo. 
pie  for   arlieles    <d'  prnvisious. —  lluibtir    <fe 

ih'Kt't  Jiitt.  Cull.  11/  y,  J, 


m 


292 


COLONIAL   SALT-MANUFACTUEE. 


centres  of  popnlation,  puslied  across  the  Alleghanies  to  the  bus.n  of  tb^ 
Oh  o  Ind  t'>e  great  lakes.  Lands  were  appropriated  and  la.d  under  cul- 
^  io  and  population  augmented  with  unexampled  rap.d>ty.  But  for 
J^^e  t  an  tw  nty-Cve  years,  during  wideh  the,  rc.ewed  the  scenes  of  pr  - 
^  on  and  suffeHng.  through  which  the  iirst  colonisers  had  won  a  loot- 
;:  c  lunicatio.;  with  the  older  settlements  was  most  ted.ous  and 
uelus  I3y  one  or  other  of  the  two  principal  routes  through  Pennsjl- 
V  a  by  L  .caster  and  Cluwubershurg,  or  thr.  ,h  Virg.n.a,  by  way  o 
W    cheLr    and  llager.stown,  and  Cumberlund,  the  settlements  be>-ond 

tl^  ™  u      in    were  r:aehcd.  Fro.n  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  or  those 
teruudiate  places,  all  the  Sal.,  iron,  sugar,  and  other  necessar.es  were 

.'a'^d"  by  rough  and  precipitous  pathways,  at  an  expense  o    three 

do  ars  per  lundnd-weight,  and  much  risk,  to  their  dest.nat.on  beyond 
dollars  per    u  .  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^^^  ^.^^^  transmitted 

I'l    "rc'r    ng  each  about  two  hu,.drcd  pounds' weight  slung  on 
ae    saddCfW^led  the  tedious  route  in  charge  of  a  single  driver,  and 
rvlTl  panics  of  these,  combined  for  mutual  protection,  made  up  a 
aral  w   1  mercha..dise  for  the  western  posts.     The  Qrst  wayon  loa, 
oflo  Is  is  said  to  have  crossed  the  southern  route,  through  Vi.'g.n.a,  to 
ro  V    vine     t  nsylvunia.  in  178...    With  four  horses,  the  wagoner  took 
cTt    lu    'red-we  ght,  and  made  the  trip  from  Hagerstown  and  back, 
abo     0  e  buKlrcd  and  forty  mile,  in  a  little  less  than  a  month,  rece.v.ng 
thr?e  dol  ars  per  hundred,  freight.     U-.dcr  the  packh.g  syste.n  a  horse 
e^d  t  1     bu   two  bushels  of  alum  salt  weighing  eighty-four  pounds  p.. 
r      1  Id  the  price  b-  consequence,  wa.  usually,  at  an  early  period,  a  cow 
.  'if  uertu  The  salt  -vas  measured  into  the  bushel  by  the  hand. 

wil        e    rto     d        tlir  favorite  "licks."  to  taste  t  ,e  gratefd  brine. 

:      1 1  it  I  or  enterprise  was  wanting  to  tur.i  the  discovery  to  account 

A  Sa  t-wo^ks  is  said  to  have  been  erected  somewhere  on  1  .g  Iku  er 

Kif     lout  the  year  1784.  by  an  association  of  Pittsburg  and  Plnladc  - 

I  a  merchants.     But  many  years  elapsed  before  a  cheaper  source  fo 

tr  "u      i-s  was  found  i.i  the  product  of  the  .O.iondaga  spr.ng,  and 

1     g    'b^'fore  a  nearer  provision  was  made  by  boring  t  e  alluv.un 

of  tie  adjacent   valleys  of  the  Kiskimb.etas.  Alleghany  and  KanavM.a 

'"'Ihe  manufacture  of  Salt  was  commenced  at  the  Onondaga  Salines 


iic  basin  of  the 
laid  under  cul- 
idity.     But  for 
le  scenes  of  pri- 
ad  won  a  foot- 
Dst  tedious  and 
rough  Peimsyl- 
;inia,  by  way  of 
leuienls  beyond 
limore,  or  those 
lecessaries,  were 
xpenbfi  of  three 
ilination  beyond 
vere  transiuitt-^d 
»ne  to  nnolhcr  m 
weight  slung  on 
ingle  driver,  and 
ulion,  made  up  a 
irst  Wivjon  load 
lugh  Virginia,  to 
the  wagoner  took 
■stown  and  back, 
month,  receiving 
J  systeu)  a  horse 
y-four  pounds  per 
arly  period,  a  cow 
isbel  by  the  hand, 
vcd  upon  the  Hour 
itials  of  life,  Salt 
I.     But  although, 
hidden  reservoirs 
a  valleys,  and  the 
le  grateful  brine, 
;overy  to  account, 
■re  on  Big  Beaver 
burg  and  IMiiladel- 
;lieaper  source  fi)r 
ndaga  springs,  and 
oring  the  alluvium 
any  and  Kanawha 

Onondaga  Suliucs 


ONONDAGA   SALT-WOKKS  — GEN.  O'iIARA'S   ENTERPRISE. 


293 


about  the  year  1781,  when  about  ten  bushels  were  made  in  a  day.     In 

that  or  the  following  year,  the  lands  of  that  part  of  the  State  were 

or(iii"ii,ii.>;a  ceded  to  New  York  by  thn  Oneida  Indians,  and  the  portions  in- 

Salt-works 

eluding  the  Salt-fountains  were  reserved  by  tlie  Slate.  The  boiling 
process  was  first  employed  in  the  manufacture  near  tht  present  city  of 
Syracuse,  and  much  tiie  larger  proportion  of  the  Salt  since  made  there  has 
been  j)roduced  in  the  same  way.  Coarse  or  solar  Salt,  of  better  quality 
than  the  fine  salt  made  by  boiling,  is  also  manufactured  there  to  a  less 
extent,  in  long,  shallow  vats,  upon  the  plan  early  adopted  at  Cape  Cod, 
and  around  New  Bedford,  in  Massachusetts.  In  1797  the  State  first 
legislated  up  the  subject  of  Salt-works.  It  now  opens  and  keejih  in 
repair  all  the  wells,  builds  and  keeps  in  repair  th^^  pump-houses,  reser- 
voirs, ivud  distributii\g  aqueducts,  by  which  it  is  conveyed  to  the  lessees, 
who  pay  a  duty  of  one  cent  per  bushel  of  lifty-six  pounds,  and  a  nominal 
rent  for  the  land.  The  duty  was  formerly  twelve  cents  per  bushel.  The 
mainjfacture  at  once  proved  an  immense  benefit  to  the  whole  western  coun- 
try, and  the  extent  of  territory  to  be  snpjtlied,  including  Canada,  with  the 
extensive  water  communication  o^  the  region,  soon  caused  the  saliferous 
marshes  to  be  pierced  in  difi^erent  directions,  and  an  active  business  to  bo 
carried  on  in  the  production  and  distril)ntion  of  Salt.  In  1791,  Salt 
from  Onondaga  could  be  purchased  at  the  distance  of  sixty  miles  westward 
for  half  a  dollar,  where,  a  few  years  before,  it  had  cost  many  dollars.  The 
product  of  the  springs  in  1797,  when  lots  were  first  leased  by  the 
State,  was  25,474  bushels.  In  1858,  it  was  7,033,219  bushels  produced 
at  un  average  cost,  we  believe,  of  C  cents  per  bushel.  The  yield  of  the 
various  wells  is  a  bushel  of  salt  for  every  30  to  50  gallons  of  brine  evapo- 
rated— that  of  sea  water  being  a  bushel  for  about  300  to  350  gallons. 

The  following  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  access  was  opened 
up  to  these  salt  regiops  from  other  portions  of  the  West,  and  a  new  mar- 
ket furnished  for  the  article,  is  from  a  communication  by  Judge  Wilkins 
to  the  American  Pioneer.  It  is  a  conspicuous  example  of  early  and 
sagacious  enterpri.se,  and  of  the  benefits  of  improved  means  of  t  nnspor- 
tation  tliroughout  an  extended  territory,  which  has  done  so  much  for  the 
country. 

"  Among  otlicrs  wli.. so  altpntion  was  drawn  to  tlio  now  field  of  entnrpriHe 
opened  on  the  LnkoN,  nfter  Wayne's  treaty,  wan  General  Juines  O'llara,  a  dlg- 
tiMk'iii(*lied  oitizeii  of  Pittsliarij.  He  enfcrcMl  into  a  contract  with  the  Oovernmeiit 
to  Hopply  Oswego  with  prdvisions,  which  could  then  he  furnished  from  I'itts- 
burg  ciieaper  than  from  the  settlements  on  tho  Mcdiawk.  General  O'llara  was 
a  far  slothed  calculator;  he  had  ohtained  correct  information  ns  to  the  manu- 
facture of  Salt  at  Salina,  and  i>i  his  contract  for  provisicpuiiii;  the  garrison,  hu 
bad  in  view  the  suj-plying  of  the  Weittern  Country  with  Salt  from  Onondaga. 


294 


COLONIAL   SALT-MANIFACTIRE. 


•     ♦  th.t  fo^  tnon  wonl.l  have  thought  of,  and  fewer  mulertaken. 
Tins  vas  a  project  that  fe^  men  w  ^^^^^^  ^.^^  .  ^^^^^  ^^^ 

The  mean,  of  transpoHat.on  ^^^J>^^^  ^,^  ,„.,,,  ,„  oswego  ;  a  vessel 
tean.  had  to  he  J--^;'  ^  ''^ f^^.^J  ^^  „,  the  falls  ;  wagons  procured  to  carry 
built  to  transport  it  to  the  l^^^i'^S  "^  ^„  ui.^,k  u^.k.     There  an- 

H  to  Sohlosser  ;  there  boats  --^-"f  ^/^Ifj,  The  road  to  the  head  of 
other  ves.el  was  required  to  ^--i'"' \  \V;g;;"  „Hed  in  wagons  across  the 
French  Creek  had  to  be  improved    and  ^^-J^  \^;;  \,  ..^^Ued  no 

ponage  .  and,  finally,  hoats  l-^^^^^;"  J  f„    j    l^^,,  .peculation.    Gene- 

rdinary  sagacityand  perseverance  to  6--~/"        packed  his  provisions 
.al  0-Hara.  however,  could  execute  ^  ^  ^J^ 'J^/i.^.o.uract.     Arrange- 

ia  barrels  suitable  for  Salt.     Ihe  e  ^-«  ^^  ^^^  ^,,,,„ees  paid  to 

secure  a  supply  of  S  dt.     1    o  „  ^^  ,u  the  various  sect.ons 

on  Lake  Ontar.o,  and  the  "-  ^  ^f^^^^^;  ^„^^,,,,,,  and  Salt,  of  a  pretty  fa>r 
of  the  line  were  secured.     Ihe  P^'^"  '"    ^  bushel.-just  half 

quality,  delivered  at  Pittsburg  --^' ^^'^^l^^l  the  mountains.  TAe  vocation 
.Ue  price  of  the  -^^;'^^^^:!:^Z  U  whose  success  was  e.ual 
ofth,  packers  was  gone.     '^''«  '^•■'"^  °J  ^  ^  enterprise  of  the  day,  was 

to  his  merits,  and  ^  -^-1  the  w  y  .u  '^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^.^^^^  ,,,,  ,„,,,,«d  iu 
extensively  prosecuted  by  •^^''J'^;;  ^  '^  ';^j„„  ,„  g,,atly  increased,  that  iu  a 
::;r  tirii^^:--^  Cn^a  w^^  Onondaga  salt,  at  twelve 
dollars  per  barrel  of  five  bushels." 

•„„„,  of  .,,1.  »«u.,,  .1  .uc  depth  of  '-Y'';;;     ^  1 1  « 1.  sui.- 

Ki,kh.,1„c.»,  or  Co„e,nnn,U.  ' ''3'      ''™  '^    J  Ij   ,^,u  Viu^bur* 
siss.pp.  an.l  the  >.>rt  Mississii.i.i,  Suit  was  made 

11,  Um».     So  .o.ivo  .a.  ihc-  comi-e.iUo,,  llml.  .»  Ui«  ^^«»l.  '^o  l>r..^ 


SALT   DVTY — PATENTS  FOR  THE   MANUFACTURE. 


295 


ewemiiflertRken. 
le  line  ;  boats  and 
Oswego ;  a  vessel 
procured  to  carry 
Hock.     There  an- 
ad  to  the  head  of 
wagons  across  the 
5.     It  required  no 
peculation.    Gene- 
uked  his  provisiona 
ontract.     Arrange- 
■y  advances  paid  to 
^ake  Erie  and  one 
he  various  sections 
salt,  of  a  pretty  fair 
•  bushel, -just  half 
tains.      The  vocation 
ie  success  was  equal 
ise  of  the  day,  was 
jital  was  invested  in 
increased,  that  in  a 
daga  Salt,  at  twelve 

supply  of  Salt  for 
the  snnie  way  until 
0  compete  with  that 
rof  1812.     In  that 
in  reaching  a  strong 
,  by  horing  near  the 
lie  Alleghany.     Salt- 
iiled  until  Pittsburg 
the  same  time,  other 
ircred  commnnicating 
he  Ohio  and  its  tribu- 
lowcr  Ohio  and  Mis- 
L'linessee,  on  the  lUi- 
sijipi,  Suit  was  made 
le  last  century.     The 
tired  and  thirty  thou- 
iilt  for  more  than  half 
se  of  New  York  wcro 
les,  tliirty  miles  below 
imall'-r  wmks  near  the 
,  the  West,  the  price, 


in  the  last  war,  avora{;:ed  only  eighty-seven  and  a  half  cents,  while  it  was 
tive  or  six  dollars  on  the  seaboard. 

The  manufacture  has  received  many  improvements,  and  its  extent  and 
economy  have  been  much  promoteu  by  the  progress  in  collateral  branches, 
as  the  iiianiifacturc  of  soda-ash,  and  other  articles  used  in  agri-julture  and 
the  arts,  and  has  more  than  kept  pace  with  the  progress  in  popula- 
tion, Imt  still  falls  fur  short  of  an  adequate  supply  for  the  country,  and  of 
the  maxinmm  profit  attainable  in  the  business. '  The  first  Congress,  for 
the  encourageuient  of  this  industry,  and  for  purposes  of  revenue,  laid  a 
duty,  in  1781),  of  six  cents  per  bushel  on  imported  Salt,  which  was 
increased  to  twelve  cents  in  the  following  year,  and,  in  1797,  to  twenty 
cents.  It  was  made  free  of  duty  in  1807.  The  imports  of  Salt,  in  1790, 
amounted  to  2,337,920  bushels. 


(1)  In  Pepteml)or,  1794,  James  Fennel 
took  out  a  patent,  tlio  firflt  in  this  branch, 
fitr  a  new  mode  of  making  Salt,  which  wo 
bolievo  lie  al'terwanl  unsuccessfully  attempt- 
ed to  put  into  prnetice.  In  179S,  he  pub- 
lishril,  in  Vhilailolpliin,  a  treatise  descriptive 
of  "  the  priiicipk'L'  and  plan  of  proposed  es- 
tftblieliMients  of  Salt-works,  for  tho  purpose 
of  supplying  tl-  United  States  with  h<jmo- 
niade  Salt."  This  eccentric  charactc,  who 
wa.",  by  turns,  a  student  of  law,  an  actor,  a 
writer  of  play»  and  other  works,  a  preacher, 
manufucturor,  and    spendthrift,   was  from 


London,  and  was  probaldy  a  descendant  of 
Fennel,  a  plate  of  whose  Salt-works  was 
given  in  tho  Theatrum  Machinarum  Uni 
versalo,  publi.shed  in  Amsterdam  in  1734. 
He  once  figured  extensively  in  Edinburg  and 
Paris,  and  ali-o  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
still  has  descenilants.  He  published  an 
apology  for  his  life,  in  two  volumes.  In 
addition  to  those  of  Sears  &  Killey,  before 
mentioned,  one  or  two  other  putcnts  were 
givenlicforc  the  clo«u  of  the  ccntiiry,  includ- 
ing one  to  .John  Nazrr),  in  1797,"  for  making 
alkali  from  marine  Suit  and  kelp." 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

OF  THE   MANM:FACTUUK   of   cloth   and  MATKUIAT.S  FOB  CLOTHING. 

DISHING  the  twenty  ycurs  which  followed  the  settlement  of  Plymonlh, 

fnr  ihc  shores  of  New  England.  - 

Nw  parents  were  obtained  and  colonies  were  planted  in  other  pari  .  o 
the    ou"^   and  were  quickly  reinforced  by  fresh  arrivals  from  abroad. 
Not  es       an  four  thousand  i.o  hundred  and  fifty  families  and  twent,  .ne 
ul  Tnd  Iwo  hundred  souls  h^l  already  arrived  in  New  ^n.  and.      h 
l>ad  employed  in  their  transportation  nearly  two  hundreU  sl'-P^I.^'-i  J  « 
;hol      OS    of  the  conveyance  of  themselves,  their  goods,  and  l.ve  sto 
Te,  Httle  short  of  one  million  of  dollars.     As  lands  were  ^es.red  by  a 
settlements  were  speedily  formed  at  the  most  invU.ng  pomts.     Ihe  I  «r. 
ta    Fathers,  unfortunately  practiced,  in  turn,  the  relig.ous  coercion  from 
which       y  had  (led,  and  Ihus  drove  numbers  from  their  midst  to  make 
le      n     ts  in  plae  s  remote  from  the  arm  of  power.    Towns  and  villages 
.re       this  way  multipled  over  an  extended  surface  of  territory.    A  pro- 
ti table  trade  in  furs  had  boen  carried  on  with  the  Indians.     The  mannfac- 
e  of  ships  and  of  lumber,  the  production  of  grain   and  some  tore.gu 
trlde.  had  secured  a  good  measure  of  prosperity.     The  reports  of  the, 

rghening  prospects  were  not  lost  upon   the  multitudes  m  England 

"ho  watcl'ed  with  interest  the  fate   of  their   friends  in   Amenca,  and 

longed  for  the  civil  and  religious  freedom  there  enjoyed,     '^l'"  7";  ""^ 

departure  of  useful  and  intluential  citizens,  and  the  evcs.on  of  royal  antho- 

ity  by  emigration,  led  to  one  or  two  ineffectual  attempts  on   he  par 

the  King  to  stop  the  transportation  of  passengers  to  NewEnglan  1.     Ih.s 

cn-l  was,  however,  brought  about  in  quite  a  different  way.     It  has  been  I.c- 

(206) 


CHECK   TO   IMMIORATION— t.MON   OF   THE   COLoMKS. 


297 


OR  CLOTHING. 

cnt  of  Plymouth, 
iig  around  Boston 
if  new  settlements 
spirit  of  religious 
Bach  of  intolerance 
■  fitted  out  in  the 
ts  of  Puritan  non- 
and  the  Arabella, 

d  in  other  paW  ,  of 
•ivals  from  abroad, 
lies  and  twenty  one 
iw  Encland.   These 
Ired  ships,  and  tho 
ods,  and  live  stock 
^ero  desired  by  all, 
points.     The  Puri- 
gious  coercion  from 
lieir  midst,  to  make 
Towns  and  villages 
of  territory.    A  pro- 
ians.     The  mnnufac- 
II,  and  some  foreign 
rhc  reports  of  their 
lUitudes  in  England 
ds  in  America,  and 
oyed.     The  constant 
vTsion  of  royal  antho- 
jmpts  on  tho  part  of 
New  England.     This 
vay.     It  has  been  fic- 


quenfly  asserted  tliat  Oliver  Cromwell  ind  John  Hampden  had  embarked 
for  the  new  world  in  a  ship  wliose  sailing  was  prohibited  in  1637.  Their 
subsequent  efforts,  however,  led  to  the  subversion  of  the  misused  power 
of  the  King,  and  secured  that  liberty  at  home  which  so  many  had  beeu 
compelled  to  seek  beyond  the  seas.  On  the  assembling  of  the  Long  Par- 
liament,  in  1G40,  persecution  ceased,  and  many  who  had  prei)ared  to  emi- 
grate,  found  the  occasion  removed,  and  their  prospects  more  inviting  at 
home.  Either  from  this  cause,  or,  as  Chalmers  supposes,  from  the  effects 
of  an  ordinance  passed  in  1637,  "which  enacted  with  signal  folly,  'that 
'•one  :  lall  entertain  any  stranger  who  should  arrive  with  an  intent  to  re- 
side, or  shall  allow  the  use  of  any  habitation  without  liberty  from  the 
Standing  Council,'"  but  probably  from  tho  two  causes  combined, 
emigration  now  entirely  ceased.  The  tide  even  set  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion, and,  for  twenty  years  after,  the  emigration  to  America  did  not  more 
than  equal  the  numbers  who  returned  to  enjoy  tiieir  estates  and  former 
privileges  in  England.  Tiiis  arrest  of  the  infiux  of  population  had  au 
important  innueuce  on  the  future  welfare  of  the  Colonies. 

During  this  time,  the  French  had  beeu  gradually  extending  their  settle- 
ments on  the  north  and  east,  and  the  Dutch,  on  the  west,  were  menacing 
the  plantations  on  the  Connecticut  river.  The  Indians,  moreover,  whose 
friendship  had  never  been  reliable,  exhibited  symptoms  of  a  general  con- 
spiracy to  exterminate  the  entire  English  population.  In  view  of  these 
circumstances,  and  the  small  acce-'^i.-.  of  strength  to  be  looked  for  from 
abroad  during  the  civil  war,  and  the  general  insecurity  arising  out  of  the 
dispersed  situation  of  the  towns,  the  four  principal  Colonies— Massaehu- 
setts,  Plymouth,  Connecticut,  and  Xew  Haven—in  1643  entered  into 
articles  of  confederation  for  mutual  aid  and  protection,  under  the  name  of 
The  United  Colonies  of  New  ENaL.\ND.  This  league,  which  had 
been  proposed  several  years  before,  marks  an  important  ei)Och  in  the  his- 
lory  of  the  Colonies,  and  has  been  regarded  as  aii  early  step  toward  their 
ultimate  independence. 

But  other  consequences  grew  out  of  the  check  given  to  the  tide  of  emi- 
gration,  which  hud  a  favorable  effect  upon  the  industry  of  the  Colonists, 
and  contributed  to  lessen  their  dependence  upon  the  parent  country.  The 
New  England  people  had  now  arrived  at  a  prosperous  condition,  i.irongh 
incredible  hardships  surmounted  in  the  beginning.  They  had  been 
harassed  by  the  Indians,  had  encountered  famine,  and  had  been  nearly 
decimated  by  disease.  But  their  energy  had  conquered  the  greatest  diffi- 
cullies,  and  they  were  now  enjoying,  in  some  measure,  the  fruits  of  their 
industry.  This  consisted  principally  in  agriculture  ;  and  tho  lislieries  and 
the  rearing  of  cattle  was  an  important  branch  of  their  husbandry.  Live 
Btock  were  even  exported  to  the  West  Indies,  with  which  trade  had 


298  COLONIAL  CLOTU   >L\NtFACTURE. 

already  opened,  and  was  fostered  by  U.eir  enterprise  in  ship-building^ 
mlUfe:;   nuion  continued  active,  cattle  were  want^  ^^[:^^2:Z 
farms,  and  rearing  them  was  a  source  of  much  profit.     ^     ^  J^;^;  J 
Goveinor  Hutchinson,  that,  as  early  as  1G32.  "no  man  now  ^1'    'f  ^  '^^-^"^J 
live  except  he  had  cattle,  and  a  great  deal  of  ground  to  ^««P  ^l^^™  ;/'^ 
striving  to  increase  their  stocks."     About  the  same  t.me  we  are  told   a 
;lt  o'f  miik  could  be  bought  for  a  penny.     He  ^^^-^^^'^::^^ 
cows  rose  to  the  price  of  twenty,  twenty-five,  and  even  twent)  e  g  t 
Z  ul      cow-calves  to  tea  pounds,  and  milk-goats  to  three  and  four 
pounds  eac^ At  these  rates  they  continued  for  several  years,  wh.ch  ena- 
C  try  of  the  old  planters  to  grow  rich.     For  some  -son  or  o^  e. 
cattle  at  the  same  time,  bore  an  unusually  high  price  among  the  Dutch,  m 
N  w  Ne  1   r  ands,  and  both  there  and  in  New  England,  other  products  were 
f:;I^:ndingly  dear.     A  fall  in  the  price  of  stock  ^^d  been  fearea  .^^ 
some  time:  but  it  came  more  suddenly  and  with  worse  effects  than  had 
ZZ  airici  ated.    It  was  "  greatly  to  y-  damage  of  many^^an    y"  undown 
of  some."     The  stoppage  of  emigration  caused  an  ^"^^^^^^'l^^'^l^ 
the  price  of  cattle-which  had  become  extremely  numerous- to  less  than 
half  their  former  prices,  and  as  suddenly  cut  off  a  principal  source  of 

"mTm'inished  intercourse  with  England  which  at  the  same  tune  en 
sued,  caused  the  greatest  difficulty  and  uncertainty  m  the  -^     ^ ;/  f    '^^ 
ing  mid  other  necessaries  for  which  they  were  wholly  dependent  upon   hat 
country      Through  impaired  means  of  purchase,  and  an  interrupt  dsup- 
;     ^clothing  f^r  the' twenty  to  thirty  thousand  people  wh^  uiab^^^^ 
New  England,  the  attention  of  the  Colonists  was  turned  to  the  manutac 
fulo    their  iwn  linen  and  woolen  cloth.     To  this  determimUion    h^ 
were  also  strongly  urged  by  the  opportunity  which  their  t-^^   ^;f  f 
of  obtaining  a  cheap  supply  of  cotton  from  Barbadoes.     The  m*^  >"<^^ 
Jhich'- necessity  at  first  introduced  what  their  jurisprudence  afterward 
cultivated."  is  thus  narrated  by  Hubbard  :— 

..  Now  the  country  of  New  England  was  to  seek  a  way  to  provide  Jl-n^^jjj*' 
.ittfl'tul;  which  they  could  not  obtain  hy  selling  -;;le  as  he..re  wU  h 
now  were  fiiUeu  from  that  huge  price  forementioned,  firs    to  XU  «t«;""«  « 

.1  .«    I.d  all  ...y  oul  «r  tl..lr  ,»c1..    To  U.lp  lU.n,  h.  Um,  H.el-  e.,g..   ,  b. 
after,  another  door  was  opened  by  way  of  traffic,  first  to  lue 


FIKsr   LAWS  IIESPECTINU   CLOTH   IN   MASSACHISETTS. 


299 


ship-building. 
,r  slocking  new 
It  is  stated,  by 
honght he  could 
keep  them  •,  all 
,  we  are  told,  a 
i  iufonus  us  that 
en  twenty-eight 

three  and  four 
^ears,  which  ena- 

reason  or  other, 
jng  tlie  Dutch,  iu 
ler  products  were 
d  been  feared  for 

effects  than  had 
,  and  y"  undowing 
iiediate  decline  in 
■ous— to  less  than 
iucipal  source  of 

ihe  same  time  cn- 
le  supply  of  cloth- 
pendent  upon  that 
m  interrupted  sup- 
,j)le  who  inhabited 
ed  to  the  munufac- 
Jeterrainution  they 
icir  traffic  afforded 
s.     The  manner  in 
orudeuce  afterward 


)  provide  themselves 
tie,  as  before,  which 
t  to  X14  sterling  ami 
hin  the  year— to  £5 
jnt  for  them  neither, 
persons,  the  contrary 
his,  their  exigent,  be- 
ilar  persons  upon,  for 
le  General  Court  made 
ich,  with  God's  bless- 
gap  in  part,  and,  soon 
,  the  West  Indies  and 


Wine  Irtlaiids,  whoreliy,  among  other  goods,  much  cothn  wool  was  brought  into 
tiie  country  from  the  ladies,  which  the  inhabitants  learning  to  spin,  and  breed- 
ing  of  slice i>,  and  saving  of  hemp  and  llax,  they  soon  found  out  a  way  to  sup- 
ply themselves  of  (cotton)  linen  and  woolen  cloth." 

From  tliat  day  to  the  present,  throughout  this  country  and  British 
America,  it  has  been  the  custom,  in  the  farm-houses  and  rural  districts, 
for  tiio  pi'opie  to  manufacture  a  portion  of  their  coarser  clothing,  and,  at 
some  periods  and  in  some  places,  nearly  the  whole  of  their  api)arel  aud 
household  linen  in  their  families,  from  cotton,  flax,  or  wool,  either  sepa- 
rately or  combined,  according  to  the  taste  or  wants  of  the  family. 

The  earliest  order  of  the  Court  which  we  find  on  the  subject,  was  made 

by  the  Massachusetts  Assembly,  on  May  13th,  IG40,  when  the  matter  was 

Fir8t  Linou   ^^^^^^  "''  '"  °'  '''''termined  spirit.     It  appears  to  have  had  refer- 

cml"""      ''"'^^  °"'^  ^^  ^'''^  manufacture  of  lineu  aud  cotton  cloth,  or  the 

product  of  those  materials  combined. 

"  The  Court,"  they  say,  "  taking  into  serious  consideration  the  absolute 
necessity  for  the  raising  of  the  manufacture  of  linen  cloth,  doth  declare 
that  it  is  the  intent  of  this  Court  that  there  shall  be  an  order  settled  about 
it,  and  therefore  doth  require  the  magistrates  and  deputies  of  the  several 
towns  to  acquaint  the  townsmen  therewith,  and  to  make  enquiry  what  seed 
is  in  every  town,  what  men  and  women  are  skilful  in  the  braking,  spin- 
ning, weaving,  what  means  for  the  providing  of  wheels  ;  and  to  consider 
with  those  skilful  in  that  manufacture,  and  what  course  may  be  taken  for 
teaching  the  boys  and  girls  in  all  towns  the  spinning  of  the  yarn,  and  to  re- 
turn to  the  ne.xt  Court  their  several  and  joint  advice  about  this  thing. 

The  like  consideration  would  be  had  for  the  spinning  and  weaving  of 
cotton  wool."' 

The  description  of  Cloth,  for  the  manufacture  of  which  this  action  of 
the  Court  was  designed  to  prepare  the  way,  was,  as  will  presently  oppear, 
the  kind  which  then  formed  the  principal  apparel  of  the  English  people, 
a  mixture  of  linen  and  cotton,  under  the  name  of  fustians,  dimities,  etc. 
On  the  seventh  of  October,  in  the  same  year,  an  order,  previously  made, 
offering  a  bounty  of  tiiree  pence  on  every  shilling's-worth  of  linen,  woolen, 
and  cotton  Cloth,  "according  to  its  valewation  for  the  incurngment  of  the 
the  manufacture,"  was  declared  to  apply  only  to  Cloth  made  in  that  juris- 
diction, and  of  yarn  spun  there  from  materials  raised  within  the  same, 
"or  else  of  cotton."  This  was  to  continue  for  throe  years.  The  order 
was,  however,  repeiiled  on  the  2d  June  following,  "  becun.se  too  burthen- 
some  to  the  country."  But,  previous  to  its  repeal,  there  was  grunted, 
April  29,  1G41,  to  Goodman  Nutt,  Martin  Vaderwood,  John  Whitney, 

(1)  Records,  i.  p.  294. 


3QQ  COLONIAL  Cl-OTII-MANVfACTUBE. 

ITenrv  Kimball  and  Jolm  WitLoriage,  allowance  for  elgl.ty-U.rec  and 

llir  vards  ''vaLved"  at  12-/.  per  yard.'     This  appears  to  have  been 

r  fiflp-e  oTcioth  .nade  in  L  country  of  which  there  is  any  .en- 

.w?r  i   1  abonVnine  months  after  the  Court  of  Massachusetts  had  first 

'  r  hematte    the  General  Court  of  Connecticut  turned  its  attention 

rie  ^e  sub^^^^^^        onlained  that  skins  should  be  preserved,  attaehn.g 

l;:y    0        neglect  of  it;  and  hemp  and  flax  were  ordered  to  be  sow. 

l:    u:b2- or  towns  ^provides,  also,  for  the  introduction  of  cot  on 

the  manufacture  of  clothing.     "  Whereas  it  .s  ^'^f^V;    ;^  ^^^^J,/^ 

n„,f  wtnblo  «u.M>ort  of  those  plantations,  that  a  trade  in  coUen  tiooU  oe 

tT  «     0   a,;     U  :l  ted.  an/for  the  furthering  thereof  it  hath  pleased  the 

Govern  r  that  now  i.l  (Edward  IIopKins.  Esq.)  to  undertake  the    u.slung 

and  seUng  forth  a  vessel  with  convenient  speed  to  those  parts  where  the 

d  comodity  is  to  be  had.  if  it  be  phesable.  etc."     The  pl-tat.ous  we 
ordered  on  h  s  return,  to  take  each  its  proportion  of  the  cotton,  to  be 
"td  or  i    English  c'orn  and  pipe-staves;  and  for  the  better  proserva- 
on  of  timber  for   pipe-staves,  as   an  article  of  exchange   for   cot  on, 
Ha    0  red  that'n!.  timber  should  be  felled  outside  the  plantations 
wialt  licence  from  the  Court,  nor  any  pipe-staves  sold   out  of  the 
riv'rwit  0      permission.    To  maintain  their  n^arketable  quality  no  pipe- 
taves  were  to  be  exported  until  they  had  been  inspecte^.     These  ord,- 
a"es  slow  that  soL  importance  was  thus  early  attached  to  the  pro- 
ving     cotton  for  the  use  of  the  Colony.    Over  eighteen  months  appear 
have  elapsed  before  a  supply  of  cotton  was  received.     It  was  agreed 
on  the  eighth  of  September.  1642.  that  the  ^-^^  / '°";\^^^;/  .^^^ 
llonkins'  cotton  wool  in  the  following  proportions  :_Windsor,  ninety 
ItlXol:  Wethersfield.  one  hundred  and  ten  pounds'  worth,  aivd 
Zld,  two  hundred  pounds'  worth,  with  liberty  "  to  Pjopor  .^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
the  first  two  within  a  month  desire  it."     In  June.  1644  two  .nspectors 
of  linen  and  woolen  yarn  were  appointed,  in  each  town  m  Connecticut, 

chusctta  Court  by  three  months,  whereas  it 
(1)  RecorcU,  i.  p.  310.  ^^„j^,  „f,„^  j„a 

iug  time,  antedate,  the  order  of  the  Massa-    began  on  the  25th  March. 


SAD   CONDITION    OF   THE    PILGRIMS. 


801 


rl.ty-lhree  and 
•s  to  have  been 
iVG  is  any  men- 
fore  the  above 
usetls  hail  first 
led  its  attention 
jrved,  attaitbiug 
eivil  to  be  sown 
lUive  supply  of 
3  same  date — at 
tliree  towns  of 
n  Colony  of  tho 
n  of  cotton  for 
iccessai-y  for  the 
1  coUen  icooll  be 
hath  yilcased  the 
ake  the  liuishing 
!  i)arts  where  the 
plantations  were 
he  cotton,  to  bo 
better  proserva- 
inge   for   cotton, 
}  the  plantations 
sold   out  of  tho 
i  quality,  no  pipe- 
;ed.     These  ordi- 
ched  to  the  pro- 
en  months  appear 
1.     It  was  agreed, 
ould  take  of  Mr. 
-Windsor,  ninety 
ounds'  worth,  and 
0  proportion  it  if 
44,  two  inspectors 
n  in  Connecticut, 


with  power  to  judge  and  determine  the  rate  or  price  the  weavers  should 
receive,  by  the  yard,  for  yarn.  Weavers  were,  at  the  same  time,  em- 
powered to  retain  their  work  until  tlipy  received  pay  for  it.' 

The  spinning-wheel  and  the  loom  thus  appear  to  have  been  already 
domesticated  in  two  of  tlie  future  Slates,  and  were  fostered  by  the  care  of 
the  rulers. 

Although  a  tolerably  regular  communication  was  kept  up  between  the 
parent  country  and  its  dependencies,  the  state  of  navigation  at  that  time 
sometimes  caused  disappointment  in  the  arrival  of  supplies.     Jn  a  climate 
80  rigorous  as  that  of  New  England,  any  i.rotracted  delay  of  tho  usual 
consignments  of  materials  or  clothing  would  bo  severely  felt.     All  the 
miseries  of  such  a  situation  had  been  already  experienced  I)y  the  old 
Colony  of  Plymouth.     From  their  firs^  landing,  sick  and   destitute,  in 
December,  1G20,  to  midsummer  of  1623,  owing  to  the  non-arrival  of  sup- 
plies which  were  captured  by  the  French,  the  burning  of  their  common 
store-house,  and  the  failure  of  their  crops,  the  Pilgrims  were  left  in  almost 
utter  destitution  L.ch  of  food  a:id  clothing.     Their  only  food  during 
much  of  the  time  were  the  scanty  gleanings  of  tlie  forest  and  the  sea 
shore,  and  their  small  supply  of  clothing  was  exhausted.     Tiie  meeting 
with  their  wives,  children,  and  other  friends  who,  on  their  arrival,  found 
them  in  this  condition,  was  a  painful  one.     "It  is  impo,ssible  to  describe 
that  strange  composition  of  chagrin,  sorrow,  sympathy  and  joy  which,  at 
this  meeting,  presented  themselves  in  the  most  lively  colors.     The  first 
planters  had  received  no  supplies  of  clothing  since  their  arrival,  they  were, 
therefore,  not  only  pale  with  famine,  but  they  were  miserably  clothed.' 
When  the  passengers  came  on  shore  and  saw  their  extreme  poverty,  they 
were  filled  with  sadness  and  dismay.    Some  burst  into  tears,  and  passion- 
ately wished  themselves  again  in  their  native  country.    In  the  poverty  and 
distress  of  this  poor  people,  they  imagined  they  foresaw  their  own  future 
miseries."     There  were  those  among  the  settlers  of  Plymouth,  from  the 
first,  who  were  acquainted  with  the  arts  of  the  clothier  ;  but  the  materials, 
and  the  opportunity  for  their  exercise,  were  altogether  wanting.    Neither 
sheep  nor  iieats  cattle  had  been  then  introduced,  and  their  knowledge  of 
the  Cloth-manufacture,  which  some  of  them  obtained  in  rojl.ind,  was  ex- 
changed, as  in  the  case  of  later  adventurers,  for  the  practice  of  other  occu- 
pations.'   The  Colony  was  visited,  in  1627,  by  a  deputation  from  the  Dutch 


ee  months,  whereas  it 
jral  months  after,  and 
ir,  as  will  bo  apparent 
t  the  legal  year  then 
arch. 


(1)  Colonial  Reeords,  i.  p.  104.  rcprcoente.l  to  have  lenrned  tho  silk   busi. 

(2)  Tho  Americin  Miniater  at  tho  Hague  ncs.i  in  Hollana  was  a  fustinn  maker  of 
has  recently  furniahed  some  partioulnrs  of  Austorfield,  England.  Siimnel  Fuller  the 
the  personal  history  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  future  physician  of  the  Colony,  and  Stephen 
from  tho  Record.-  at  Leydcn,  in  which  it  is  Tnieey  wore  ,ny  or  silk  makers  nl.-o.  Wil- 
shown  that  Mr.  Bradford,  who  is  generally  liam  While,  Robert  Cushman,  and  Richard 


gQ2  COLONIAL  CLOTII-MANLFArTl'KE. 

the  people  were  suppl.e.l  from  that  qiiarar  Colonies. 

exohan,e  for  tohaeco,  etc.,  to  the  ^^^^'^;^^'^^^^^^^^^^  A.ns.er- 

Isaac  Allerton  afterward  became  ^  F«-  ";;\;;~^^^^      the  country 
dan,.     Under  these  circumstance.,  therefo  e,   l'«    "J"     Js       precarions 
.as  wisely  directed  to  an  ^^-^^.;^'^':;^l^^ 

I„  apprehension  f  ^ ^^f  ^"^  l^ln...,s^  June, 
dnring  the  next  winter,  the  General   ^«"^^  <^  directed,  as  a  means 

1641,  following  the  award  of  premiums  fo    1    en^  ^     cte  ^^ 


Master.on,  were  wool-oombera  or  cttrilers, 
and  I.a.cAllerUm.  a  tailor.  Mr.  ^\  u.^low 
was  iv  rrinter,  John  Jenny,  a  brewer,  Moses 
Fletcher,  a  smith.  Many  others  of  the  early 
.e.tlers  >vere  weavers  from  Yorkshire,  ^ot. 
tingham,  etc.,  and  brought  their  looms  wUU 
them.     (See  Hist.  Mag.  for  Sept.,  lbo9) 

Their  sufferings,  on  the  occasion  referred 
to  in  the  text,  inspired  one  of  those  lyrical 
effusions  in  which  a  primitive  people,  when 
touched  by  a  common  calamity  and  a  com. 
luon   sentiment,  so   often   find   expression, 
and  which  sometimes  contain  more  of  the 
genuine  ore  of  history  than  any  elaborate 
statements,  because  they  are  the  spontaneous 
language  of  the  popular  mind  and  heart. 
The  traditional  verses  known  as  "The  Fore- 
fathers' Song,"  taken  down  some  years  be- 
foro  the  Revolution  from  the  lips  of  a  cen- 
tenarian  female,  and  preserved  by  thowulow 
f;f  Governor  Bowdoin,  commomorate  the.r 
,.,.fly  hardships.    If  the  rhymes  have  some- 
vhat  of  the  uncouthnoss  they  describe,  they 
have  also  much  of  the  moral  comeliness  of 
an  heroic  patience  which  enabled  nnen  like 
Bradford,  and  Winslow,  and  Standish,  to 
bear  unusual  privations  with  cheerfulness, 
and  to  transmit  their  iron  energy  and  exam- 
ple to  a  posterity  called  in  the  hour  of  the 
country's  greatest  need  to  sustain  similar 
hardships  In  its  defense. 


If  we  can  got  garments  to  cover  without. 
Our  other  in-g«rments  are  cl.mt  upon  clout. 
Our  clothes  we  brought  with  us  are  apt  to  b. 

torn — 
They  need  to  be  clouted  soon  after  they  a»« 

worn —  . 

But  clouting  our  garments  they  hinder  us 

nothing ;  .     ,       .    i. 

Clouts  double  are  warmer  than  ..ngle  whole 

clothing." 


"  And  now,  too  our  garments  begin  to  grow 

thin. 
And  wool  is  much  wanted  to  card  ond  to 

spin; 


(1)  The  wild  hemp  here  mentioned  was 
doubtless  the  Apocnn,m  Cmnabimm,  or  In- 
dian hemp,  an  indigenous  plant  growing  in 
all  parts  of  the  United  States,  from  Canada 
to  Carolina.    Its  tough,  fibrous  bark  affords, 
when  macerated,  a  tolerable  substitute  for 
hemp.    The  Indians  made  much  use  of  it 
for  summer  clothing,  and  for  cords,  whence 
it  derives  its  popular  name.     It  is  a  very 
different  plant  from  the  Indian  hemp  which 
furnishes  the  intoxicating  haaheenh  of  the 
Arabs.    The  latter,  like  the  common  culti- 
vated  hemp  (Cannabis  mtlva),  of  which  it  is 
only  a  variety,  is  a  native  of  the  elevated 
plains  of  central  Asia,  and  the  flax-plant  !i 
from  the  same  regions,  or  from  Egypt.  The 
Indian  hemp  of  America  is  mentioned  by 
many  of  the  early  writers  as  a  valuable  na- 
live  commodity,  and  its  cultivation  has  been 
recommended  as  a  substitute  for  flax  and 
hemp.     It  is  probable  that  it  might  be  ren- 
dered  valuable  by  careful   cultivation,  but 
wo  are  not  aware  that  it  has  ever  been  at- 


tempted. 


CULTIVATION  OP   HEMP  ENCOURAGED — FIRST  FULLINa-MILIi.       303 


or  sevci'iil  years 
other  st\itTs,  in 
both  Colonies. 
t  New  Amsler- 
,  of  the  country 
!8  SO  precarions. 
be  experienced 
usetts,  in  June, 
ted,  as  a  means 
hemp  should  be 
be  instructed  in 
all  over  the  coun- 
1,  as  for  making 

to  cover  without, 
arc  clout  uiion  clout, 
;  with  us  arc  apt  to  b« 

id  soon  after  tbey  af« 

icnts  they  hinder  us 

ner  than  iingle  whole 

here  mentioned  was 
,m  Citnnabhmm,  or  In- 
10U9  plant  growing  in 
d  States,  from  Canada 
h,  fibrous  bark  affords, 
olerable  substitute  for 

made  much  use  of  it 

and  for  cords,  whence 
ir  name.  It  is  a  very 
the  Indian  hemp  which 
eating  hatheeih  of  th» 
like  the  common  culti- 
,ia»nlha),  of  which  it  is 

native  of  the  elevated 
in,  and  the  flax-plant  v, 
m,  or  from  Egypt.  The 
nerica  is  mentioned  by 
fritcrs  as  a  valuable  na- 
1  its  cultivation  has  been 

subatituto  for  flax  and 
)le  that  it  might  be  ren- 

cnreful  cultivation,  but 
hat  it  has  ever  been  at- 


clothing,  nets,  mats,  lines,  etc.  From  them,  the  people  first  learned  the 
use  of  this  material.  It  was  further  "  dchired  anu  expected  that  all 
masters  of  families  should  sec  that  their  children  and  servants  shonld 
bee  industriously  implied,  so  as  the  mornings  and  evenings  and  other 
seasons  may  not  bee  lost,  as  formerly  they  have  beene,  but  that  the  honest 
and  profitr.ble  eustome  of  England  may  oe  practiced  amongst  us ;  so  as 
all  hands  mny  be  implied  for  the  working  of  hemp  and  lllaxe  and  other 
needful  things  for  clothing,  without  abridging  any  such  servants  of  their 
dewe  times  for  foode  and  rest  and  other  needful  refreshings." 

In  the  same  year  the  town  of  Salem  was  called  together  on  the  subject 
of  the  hemp  culture,  the  seed  of  which  was  first  sent  in  1029.  An  acre 
of  ground  was  set  apart  to  Samuel  Cornhill  for  its  cultivation.  The 
ponds  in  which  the  early  cultivators  rotted  their  fla.v  we  believe  still  bear 
the  name  of  the  Flax  Fonds.  The  manufacture  of  cordage  was,  the 
same  year  begun  in  Boston,  by  John  Harrison,  and,  in  1CC2,  John  Uey- 
man,  of  Charlestown,  received  liberty  to  make  ropes  and  lines. 

In  March,  1042-3,  a  memorable  Act,  intended  as  a  special  favor 
to  the  New  England  plantations,  passed  the  House  of  Commons.  It 
exempted  from  duties,  subsidies,  and  ta.xation,  all  merchandise  intended 
for  their  nse,  and  all  Colonial  produce  thence  exported  to  England.  Al- 
though this  ordinance  had  its  intended  effect  in  stimulating  the  industry 
of  the  colonists,  it  probably  rather  obstructed  than  promoted  the  domestic 
manufacture  of  clothing  and  other  staple  articles  of  English  export.  It 
furnished  facilities  for  p.  cheap  and  constant  supply  of  English  manufac- 
tures, and  rendered  the  colonists  simply  producers  of  raw  materials.  The 
confirmation  of  the  law,  in  a  modified  form,  became  a  few  years  after,  the 
foundation  of  the  famous  Act  of  navigation. 

In  the  following  year,  the  first  regular  or  systematic  attempt  at  an 
improved  manufacture  of  Cloth — particularly  of  woolen — was  made  by  a 
First  sys-  Company  of  Yorkshiremen,  who,  in  1G38,  settled  at  Rowley,  in 
tcmi'i'to'"''  Massachusetts,  nearly  midway  between  Ipswich  and  Newbury. 
woXu"'""^*  They  consisted  of  about  twenty  families  of  industrious  and  pious 
go"''*-  people,  under  the  direction  of  thtir  minister.  Rev.  Ezekiel  Rogers, 
one  of  the  proscribed  no:;- 'conforming  ministers  of  England,  and  a  descend- 
ant of  the  first  Protestant  uartyr,  John  Rogers,  who  suffered  at  Smithfield, 
in  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary.  The  town  was  incorporated  in  1639,  and  the 
people  soon  after  commenced  the  manufacture  of  Cloth,  which  had  been 
the  occupation  of  many  of  them  in  England.  Here  they  built  the  first 
Fulling-mill  erected  in  the  North  American  Colonies.  The  mill  is  said 
to  have  been  erected  by  John  Pearson,  about  the  year  1643.'     It  stood 


(1)  Merchant's  Mag.  vol.  xxziit.  p.  601. — In  several  cotemporaneous  and  later  writers, 


gQ4  COLONIAL  CLOTn-MANUFACTrBE. 

*,     I  on^  nf  ihP  tide  on  Mill  river,  where  it  was  still  in  opera- 

''"'°l'°      i       .,      p,„.   i.™„  o,„l  cotton  had  previously  bom 
°"""  u  ■  'irlMlf     t  «U«  "'  b  ™  e  weave,,  of  Rowley.  0,  in  tallies 

z:' ; ;  :nerj;"«r  ap  lied  ..y  ...c  ^,1.-..,  „i,iei, .. « 

:rsel^;,    roduced  two  ye...  before  several  *;-»  ^"'^  ;, '^    * 
doe,  not  ....-^  j;>: -'-;:  ;r  oTStp  o^rnSrirjlp.  aL.,! 

,„!„  „„d  woven  into  linen  eloth.  (and  in  short  time  may  serv, 

i::i:;  l/usJ::  «;  t^t  aoa  is  ,eadi«g  ..  .y  ...  hand  int.  a  way 

''  luhS' tl-  people  of  Rowley  were  from  the  woolen  districts  of  Eng- 
,a,fd_"Fcially  the  seat  of  the  broadcloth  manufactnre-  ax  and  cotton 
a,  well  a    wool,  appear,  at  first,  to  have  formed  a  cons.derab  e  part  of 
e"ra  V  .ateiiaR     Bnt  although  after  the  introduction  of  f«ll.ng-.n,ns. 
„  .   h  of  the  woolen  Cloth  of  household  mannfactnre  was  wort,  in   ts  uu- 
S  and  unfinished  state,  the  mention  of  Mr.  llo.ors'  people  as  t  e    r^ 
C  oth-n  akers   must  be  understood  to  imply  the  first  manufacture  of  fulled 
a  d  dr    sed  Cloth,  or  Cloth  wholly  of  wool,  of  which  none  was  prcvmusly 
made  aw   may  infer  from  the  last  cited  passage.  The  industry  of  the  R.w. 
Tey  wca  er   is  ^-eqaently  commended.     "  These  people  bemg  very  .udus. 


who  refer  to  this  a«  tho  beginning  of  the 
Cloth-manufiiclurc,  wo  ilo  not  find  the  pro- 
eiKe  dtito  of  the  erection  of  the  fulling-mill 
stated.  Hut  It  could  hardly  have  been 
earlier  thiin  l(>«.t. 

(1)  Compondion  Iliit.  of  N.  Eng.  by  Dr.' 
Mome  and  Parriah. 

(2)  11  itphinKon  (jivefi  tho  number  of  ehoep 
in  MasBarhusell..  in  If,  10,  a«  three  thoujan.l. 
Bheep  were  flrH  introduced  into  the  Colo, 
nieii  by  the  Lm.doi,  Company,  at  Jnmoi.. 
town,  in  Virginia,  in  IDHt,  where,  in  1019, 
thty  had  inerea»«tl  lo  aoout  thro*  thoumnd 


They  were  first  brought  to  Mnsfaohusetts 
about  tho  year  lfi3.1,  and  wore  kopt  on  th« 
ifland  in  BoBlnn   Harbor,  to  proltct  them 
from  tho  wolves  and  Indians.   Charlestown, 
in  1652,  had  four  hundred  fhcep,  and  Lynn 
had  conBitlcrablB  flocks  which  wore  kept  on 
Niihunt   under   a   common   shepherd.     The 
Dutch  West  Indian  Company,  in  10'25,  flrst 
introduced  sheep  into  Now  Nolhorlands.and 
..thcrs  were  imported  in  l«3tf.    Hut  in  Wi, 
there  were  not  over  sixteen  shoep  in  thai 
Colony,  and  ewes  were  worth  eight  *nd  t«n 
dollars  vach. 


mm 


ROWLEY    WEAVERS — WOOLENS   I.V   ENGLAND. 


306 


IS  still  in  opera- 
from  England, 

oolen  Cloth  was 
previously  been 
;y,  or  in  families 
re,  which,  as  we 

for  the  bounty. 
Fruits,"  writing 
itiiil  help,  among 
it  it  is  fre'-iuently 

time  may  serve 
onable  rates  from 

and  fustians  for 
jep,"  whieh  pros- 

to  have  woollen 
ig  now  very  fre- 
lier  for  boots  and 
hand  iuto  a  way 

I  districts  of  Eng- 
— flax  and  cotton, 
sidcrable  part  of 
m  of  fulling-mills, 
as  worn  in  its  un- 
people as  the  fir*it 
nufacture  of  fulled 
>ne  waa  previously 
duslry  of  the  Row- 
I  being  very  indus- 


ight  to  Mnssaoliusatti 
and  were  kept  on  the 
»rbor,  to  prolucl  them 
IndianB.   CharlcBtown, 
ndrod  nhccp,  iind  Lynn 
•kK,  which  wore  kept  on 
iminon   shepherd.     The 
Ciimpivny.  in  1fi25,  Rrri 
oNow  Nolherliinds,  and 
1  In  1031).    Hut  iti  Ifl^it, 
r  »ixieun  siioep  in  thai 
ere  worth  eight  And  ten 


trious  every  way,  some  built  many  houses  to  the  number  of  threescore 
families;  and  were  the  first  that  set  upon  making  Cloth  in  this  western 
world ;  lor  which  end  they  built  a  fuiling-mill,  aud  caused  their  little 
oues  to  be  very  diligent  in  spinning  cotton  wool,  many  of  them  having 
been  clothiers  in  England,  till  their  zeal  to  promote  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
caused  tliem  to  wander."  Governor  Wiuthrop  also  mentions  their  use 
of  cotton  :—"  Our  sui)plios  from  England  failing  much,  men  began  to 
look  about  them,  and  full  to  a  manufacture  of  cotton,  whereof  we  had 
store  from  Barbadoes,  and  of  hemp  and  flux,  wherein  Rowley,  to  their 
great  commendation,  exceeded  all  other  towns." 

The  woolen  manufacture,  to  which  they  were  bred,  was  au  this  time 
immeasurably  the  most  important  branch  of  English  production,  and  was 
the  greatest  support  of  British  commerce.  It  had  long  existed,  and 
had  been  encourged  by  numerous  statutes,  some  of  which  were  rather  an 
evidence  of  the  public  regard  for  it  than  of  any  real  advantage.  The  export 
of  wool  and  the  wearing  of  foreign  woolens  were  prohibited  us  early  as 
I2t')l.  But  a  century  later,  English  wool,  which  was  the  best  in  Europe, 
formed  fourteen-fifteenlhs  of  the  entire  exports  of  the  kingdom.  The  first 
considerable  impulse  was  given  to  the  woolen  manufacture  by  Edward  III., 
who,  in  1331,  invited  over  weavers,  dycis,  and  fullers,  from  Flanders.  A 
fulling-mill  and  a  mill  for  dyers  existed  at  Manchester  in  1322.  But, 
for  a  long  time  after  that,  woolens  were  sent  across  the  Channel  to  be 
dyed  and  dressed.  The  manufacture  made  no  great  progress  until  the 
time  of  Elizabeth,  when  great  numbers  of  skillful  artisans  fled  from  the 
Low  Countries  to  England,  where  they  were  welcomed,  and  some  oppres- 
sive  statutes  were  modilied  to  favor  them.  From  this  time  the  woolei. 
manufacture  of  England  first  became  really  important 

"Our  day  .irose 
Whrtn  Alv.iM  tyranny  tlm  weaviuK  arts 
Drove  from  the  fertii«  vallyys  of  the  SchuM. " 

A  remonstrance  'o  the  Hanse  Towns,  in  1582,  represented  to  the  iHvX 
of  the  empire  that  England  exported  two  hundred  thousand  pieces  of 
cloth.  In  the  reign  of  James  1.  woolen  goods  were  supposed  to  const!- 
t'lte  nine-tenths  of  the  commerce  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  Dutch  to  gain 
i)'i  00,000  yearly,  by  dyeing  and  dressing  the  raw  cloth.  The  exportation 
of  und.ved  cloth  was  now  prohibited,  whieli  the  States  General  met  by 
prohibiting,  in  turn,  the  importation  of  English-dyed  Cloth.  The  tra.le 
fell  off,  and  the  iroclamation  was  recalled.  But  an  eflVct  of  these  nieii- 
sures  wiis  liie  introduction  of  niixtd  or  nied'ey  Cloths  of  differeiit-colori'd 
yarns  dyed  iu  tiie  wool,  which  much  extendi'"!  and  improved  th(^  Knjflish 
manufiiclure.     In  1022,  a  Board  of  Trade  was  formed  "  to  remedy  the  low 

au 


30g  COLONIAL   CLOT.I-MANVFACT'  .IE. 

of  ,1,«  Amcricau  C»lon,«  .»  »  "'"'"'    '"J,  ^„  „„  continent,  bcf.n 

to  be  felt,  »n'l  the  policy  arose  of  p.cservm     _  j, 

the  mother  connlry,  both  by  the  exelns.on  ot  fotetgnel.,  ■>, 

co„r.B»ment  of  Coloni.l  ">.'-';'*-";  ,.      ,  „,  ,^,  i„a„,„i,,  „u,, 

Religioos  intolernnoe,  so  fatal  to  tl. ,  pro      mj  . 

h.,  ever  been  next,  perhnp,  to  eomme^..^  „„„.„  of    very  n.tlon  furnish 

"".■':  ""^z^zrz^t  re:ir;e" '::., ;™ «,» very  i.,,.. 

""I         e       r        ■.,re|,en.c.llyto«.Hl  the  most  .eenre  .^)  ■"".  "^  » 

:,;;;;;';rme  for, heir  ,,,,,ifp  be,;.... ;.;»»;. -^^^^ 

''Itf  v";,  earl,  effort  of  n  yonn,  eom ity  to  beeomc  .«'M«r-^"' 

,„  iTmanufaetifre  of  e.o,hi„K  derive,  '■'■'''^^^jj':::":'    ^E  ^X 

,. ,..,.">•' "  "'"'"V"" ":'':'::  ::i:ilsrgro.ti;  and  mUn. 

,yofCoti>,n.  nopulat  on  in  America,  of  a  in.ittriai  wn  jst.  t  „„„,„„.- 

.,  „,„  „,.,„e,  seems  from  its  remoteness,  to  be  „;.olve>.  i;  '  ^^^  ^L 

r '"  ':r  'C'"::  ss ,"  .irat  ,:H';d,  ii:r;ii,ni.ed 
i:;rn^;rvXi:irx^^ 

llnfeeinre  of  elothin..     The  bir.i,.,..nee  -f^ -^'21^:22 
.„i«„ed  to  Iniiia.  n,nl  «»  "risi,"  ,»  »  dalenntern.,  to  the  a,  wn 
,:hl.t„ry.     It  1.  mentione.,  in  the  snered  ;'''^"^:' Ij     'V.'^''^  ,  ,1       . 
ten   nearly  throe  thousand  years  ago.     TUo    th.nese  ha.t  em,    J 


m 


EARLY    USE    0"   COTTOX    IX    ASIA    AXl)    AMIUUCA. 


307 


0  years  after  the 
fthich  ]ireviously 
le  lime,  the  fine 
t  was  commenced 
th  had  fallen  off, 
)0  pieces ;  where- 
jrently  forbidden, 
)wing  importance 
voolens  and  other 
Continent,  began 
ket  exclusively  for 
s,  and  by  the  dis- 

Ihe  industrial  arts, 
trument  in  causing 
?ery  nation  furnish 
rom  the  very  land 
cure  asylum,  and  a 
cause  should  have 
»  become  in  a  very 
sy  and  of  repressive 

:!ome  self-depcndont 
crest  from  the  fact 
se,  by  the  European 
>  growth  and  manu- 
article,  the  commer- 
lonstitutesonc  of  the 
t  of  iuodern  nations. 
r,ci  \w''    us  the  origin 
,..(  i;  ?    le  obscurity. 
ION    '  ^•inctnes3  than 
criod,  its  very  limited 
preparatory  to  a  re- 
tiuie.     This  valuable 
us  varieties,  is  a  spon- 
I'ft,  and  America,  and 
latives  of  each  in  the 
cotton-mannfacturo  is 

0  the  dawn  of  authrn- 

1  of  the  Hiiwl  OS,  wril- 
linese  have  employed 


it  in  the  nianufaclure  of  paper  from  time  immemorial.  It  is  mentioned 
by  Herodotus,  in  the  fiftii  century  before  Ciirist,  and  plain  and  figured 
cottons,  by  Xearciius,  a  century  after.  Its  cultivation  and  manufacture 
in  Persia  are  spoken  of  by  Strabo,  and  in  Egypt  by  I'liny,  early  in  tiie 
Christian  era.  That  calico-printing  by  blocks,  and  even  by  tiie  use  of 
mordants,  or  mineral  dyes,  was  known  to  the  Egyptians,  there  remains 
scarcely  a  doubt.  In  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  cotton  stud's 
from  India  are  first  mentioned  as  an  article  of  commerce,  and  it  is  re- 
markable that  modern  travelers  give  nearly  the  same  description  of  the 
business  as  was  given  in  the  Periplus  of  Arrian  at  that  day.  It  still 
flourishes  in  the  same  districts,  and  the  "webs  of  woven  air,"  which  the 
Hindoos  fabricated  with  the  simplest  and  rudest  instruments,  are  still 
made  there  with  nearly  the  same  machinery,  of  a  delicacy  and  beauty  of 
texture  which  all  the  appliances  of  modern  invention  camiot  surpass.  So 
true  it  is,  as  affirmed  by  a  Hindoo  writer,  that  "the  fust,  the  best,  and 
the  most  perfect  of  instruments  is  the  hunmn  hand."  Modern  machinery 
has  rather  served  to  muUiply  the  power  of  production  than  to  excel  the 
native  cuuPM.g  of  thac  divinely  contrived  machine.  The  Saracens  intro- 
duced the  culture  and  manufacture  of  cotton  into  Europe especially  into 

Spain— where  Bacelona  was  famous  for  the  extent  and  excellence  of  its 
cotton  .stulls.  A  degree  of  .sacreihicss,  attached  to  cotton  fabrics  by  the 
Mohammedans,  is  suppo.sed  to  account  for  the  lute  introduction  of  the 
use  of  cotton  omong  the  Christian  nations,  who  abhorred  the  customs  of 
the  infidel.  From  Spain  it  gradually  spread,  however,  through  Italy, 
France  and  Flanders,  and  also  entered  Europe,  by  way  of  Turkey,  into 
Greece,  Germany  and  the  Venetian  States,  arriving,  latest  of  all,  in  Eng- 
land. 

The  recent  explorations  of  Dr.  Livi.igston  in  the  interior  of  Africa 
Lave  discovered  large  tracts  of  country  under  cultivation  with  cotton, 
which  is  extensively  manufactured  into  cloth  iiy  the  natives.  Columbus 
and  t;;e  Spaniards  who  first  visited  America  found  cotton  growing  wild 
ill  several  uf  the  West  India  Islands— whence  our  first  spinners  obtained 
it— and  our  Southern  cultivators,  more  recently,  the  seed.  In  the  hotter 
regions  of  America  both  continental  and  insular,  cotton  at  the  time  of 
the  Spanish  conquest  constituted  the  principal  clothing  of  the  nalivcs.  The 
more  civiliz'.-d  tribes  of  Mexico  and  Peru  through  the  matchless  skill  which 
habit  gives  to  manual  execution,  aided  by  even  ruder  inipleineiits  than  were 
used  by  the  primitive  Gcntoo,  spun  and  wove  textures  which  are  represented 
as  little  inferior  ill  beauty  and  fineness  to  the  product  of  oriental  looms. 
Some  gnrmcnts  sent  home  by  Cortez  after  his  comjiiest  (»f  Mexico  were 
icmarkal  Ic  for  the  excellence  of  the  workniaiship.  Ilcrrara  said  of  the 
Nicaraguun  women   "they  spin  as  fine  as  hair."    The  iribes  of  Ceiiliul 


308  COLONIAL  CLOTII-MANUFACTliUE. 

•  1      1 1„  *r,.,lr.  in  Hotton  raw  and  manufactured. 
America  even  drove  a  considerable  trade  "Co  ton  ^^^^  ^^^^^ 

I.M.0  plants  are  indigenous  in  fr:Z:::^::^^::!:i^^.s,..o. 
of  spinning  and  weaving  were  Pf 'f  ^^.^^  ;  J,,  ,,,,  peopled.  The 
ever  they  ma,  have  been,  by  -^^^^^"^^^^^  ,,  ^e  coeval  with  the 
,nannfactnre  of  Cotton  must  therefore  l»^  «  PP«J  „uch  divided  as  to  the 
.,gi„al  seUlement  of  America  but  ^^^^l^,^^^,^  ,„a  others 
date  of  this  event,  some  -;"-y'"^  ."'"'^^  ^  ^  J,,,,,  manufacture  may,  at 
contending  for  a  much  later  1^"^^  .  '"  T  Ti.ere  seems  to  be  no  ue- 
all  events,  claim  a  high  degree  of  an Uc  uUy^       1  ^^^  ._^^^ 

cessity  for  supposing  the  textile  arts  t«  -J^^-'  «  ^^  ^  J^  J,,,,,^  an- 
America.  The  general  opera  ions  ^^  '--;^™  ^,  ,„,„  ;„  Us  lowest 
.Uogous.  There  is  ample  ev.den  -^  ^  '  f^  ^  ,,^  ,,,.,f  „f  .ress- 
state  of  development  is  capab  e  of  dcviMig  me  ^j^. 

i„g  wants,  which.  "»^- J'''^^"-^^;  ^^  av  g  o We  the  same  princi- 
i!ar.  The  operations  ot  spinning  and  J«  "^^^  .^  .,  ^e  the  simple 
pies  whatever  may  be  the  machmery  ''^^f  «^;  ™;;,  ,,^  complicated 

r:  =  :^:e  ;:^;:raifferent  from  those  of  the  Eastern  continent 
to  entitle  the  art  to  be  considered  of  indigenons  growt  •  .  ^^^ 

The  precise  date  of  the  "'"^•^^"f  1  "  ^^j,  '^..j^    „ew  auspices,  is  not 
England,  whence  America  received  J^     «;-  "'^^^      ^        !„„^,  „,,„, 

known.     Its  existence  f  ^  ^^.^  J^^^Js  ^t   J^od  and  for  a  long  time 
tion  to  the  woolen  manufactu  e.    Cotton  was  mentioned 

almostexclusively,forthemau,gofcanlew.    uw^^^^^^^ 

,„  the  records  of  Bolton  Abbey  u  1293      The  e'l  ._^ 

of  its  use  in  the  manufacture  of  cloth  in  ^^"f  ,"^l'  'f^J;'",,,,,  u.e  man- 
,,  ..  Treasure  of  Traflio,-  a  small  book  V^^2T'  ''he  town  of 
ufaetnre  is  supposed  to  have  ^7-?  J  J^^  ^^red  and  worthily 
Mancheste^  in  Lancashire,  must  b       -    ^    ;  ,,  ^le  Irish  in 

for  their  encouragement  commended,  who  »^"y^' «  ^  ,    ,j  ^,  ,,„. 

,reat  quantity  and  weaving  it.  return  ^-^^^X^^'^^^'^^  '"  ^""■ 

(,)   „i.,o,.yof  theCollouM..n..fa.-turoinOroatn.iU.i,.. 


,d  raanufactured. 
loth  of  the  same 
iry  figmed  iu  the 

t  the  Cotton  and 
idia,  but  the  arts 
3  wanderers,  who- 
rst  peopled.  The 
le  coeval  with  the 
1  divided  as  to  the 
delugC;  and  others 
mufacturc  may,  at 
ecms  to  be  no  ne- 
lally  imported  into 
[  ure  uniformly  an- 
,f  man  in  its  lowest 
the  relief  of  press- 
here  strikingly  sim- 
■e  the  same  prinei- 
er  it  be  the  simple 
or  the  complicated 
d  by  the  aboriginal 
e  Easteru  continent 

.h. 

,n  manufacture  into 
lew  auspices,  is  not 
n  the  general  utten- 
1,  and  for  a  long  time 
eh  use  it  is  mentioned 
;st  authentic  mention 
jy  Lewis  Roberts,  in 
1G41,  when  the  man- 
nuy.     "  The  town  of 
.'inhered  and  worthily 

yarn  of  the  Irish  in 
n  into  Ireland  to  sell. 
\f  coHdii  wool  in  Lon- 
it  home  work  the  same 

and  other  such  sluffs, 
iid  sold  and  not  seldom 

gat  Di'ituiU" 


FlUST    fSE    OF   COTTON    IX    E.VuLANI)    AND    TIIK    COI.OMKS. 


309 


Bent   into  forrain  parts,  who  liavo  iiu'uii.s  at  far  easier  terms  to  provide 
themselves  of  tiie  said  lirat  materials."     Mr.  IJaines  is  of  the  opinion  that 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  iiad  obscurely  commenced  and  iiud  been  insen- 
sibly and  slowly  growing  up  for  some  time  before  its  first  distinct  recog- 
nition in  the  work  of  Roberts.     The  "fu.slians,"  "  cotton  velvet "  and 
fabrics  called  "  Manchester  cottons  "  mentioned  by  earlier  writers,  like  the 
Kendall  and  Welch  "cottons"  of  a  later  period,  he  states  were  wholly 
made  of  wool,  and  he  adverts  to  the  curious  circumstance  "  that  a  manu- 
facture, destined  afterward    to   eclip.se    not  merely  the  glory  of  the  old 
•  Manchester  cottons  '  I)ut  that  of  all  other  manufactures,  should  thus  imve 
existed  in  name  long  before  it  existed  in   fact."     The   ti-rm  fualiaiu^, 
which  denoted  a  species  of  woolen  and  worsted  goods  made  at   Norwich' 
and  in  Scotland,  he  believes  to  have  been  adopted  from  the  foreign  Collous, 
of  which  they  were  an  imitation  in  woolen.     "Fustians  and  other  wool- 
ens "  had  long  been  spoken  of  among  the  manufactures  of  Xorwieh.    Rut 
Mr.  Raines,  whose  inquiries  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Cotton 
manufacture  was  probably  introduced  about  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  cites  a  passage  from  Fuller's  "Worthies  of  England,"  written  iu 
IfiC'i,  in  which  he  sneaks  of  Manchester  as  the  seat  for  souie  time  past  of 
the  Cotton  mai.ufacturc,  and  Rolton  in  the  same  country  as  the  chief  mar- 
ket for  fustians,  which  were  "then  in  almost  general  use  throughout  the 
nation."     The  fustians  herp  spokei'  of  are  understood  to  belong  to  the 
manufactures  of  Cottun  referred  to  by  Lewis  Roberts.     However  this  ma^ 
be,  it  is  certain  that  the  first  humble  essa-  of  our  spinners  and  Cloth-makers 
required  Cotton,  which  it  was  the  care  of  the  rulers  to  provide  for  their 
use.     Many  of  the  early  tradespeople  of  the  colonies,  as  iu  the  case  of  the 
Rowley  people,  were  from  the  principal  manufacturing  centres  in  Englund, 
and  not  a  few  from  Norwich ;  they  were  doubtless  instructed  in  the  man- 
ner of  making  the  fustians  and  similar  fabrics  then  iu  general  use  among 
the  English  people      The  fustians  a-  1  dimities  made  by  them   as  before 
mentioned  were  doubtless  composed  in  part  of  Cotton.     As  linen  warp, 
mostly  imported,  continued  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  to  be  used  in 
England  in  the  fabrication  of  Cottons,  no  muslins  or  other  goods  wholly 
of  Cotton,  and  none  but  strong,  coarse  fustians  and  dimities  of  any  kind 
having  been  made  there  previous  to  the  year  17G0,— we  may  assume  from  the 
testimony  before  adduced  that  the  use  of  Cotton  in  textile  fabrics  has  exist- 
ed in  this  country  from  nearly  as  early  a  date  as  in  England.     The  system 
pursued  in  the  two  countries  also  and  the  description  of  cloth  nmde  were 
not  dissimilar.     Until  the  introduction  of  improved  machinery  toward 
the  ch'so  of  the  lust  century  the  weavers  were  accustomed  to  provide  tliem- 
M'lves  with  the  linen  warp  and  the  -aw  Cotton  each  on  his  own  accouiu. 
It  was  then  carded  and  spun  by  their  wives  and  children  and  aflvrwurd 


310 


COLONIAL   CLOTU-MANUFACTCai!. 


.„„,. ,,  .0  „»„  or .,.  r.™  y. «  ;  ■         r:    If  aL!"'  "if^ 

i,  »a.  «o>c.„  ,t  was  can,      to  t       ,^       ^__^  _^^^_^^^^_^,^^^  ^^^^ 

Bi.a  csposcl  for  sab.     A  siiocics  ^     .^^  ,||„ 

„,a„„er  «,„eh  "N-''  ^'^'^  ^ „„aiBcaion  of  th.  .ysUn,  ia,ro<lncea 

It  was  'illl.  i,»a).'i.,cJ,  however,  at  that  l,mc  '  »•'  -  „  „,,,. 

„„t  Co.t„uclotM„B  "-'^  r«  ""TMe  Couol  .rlL  „a.  not  over. 
B,i,»te  for  wooKn,  !'»«".  ""Y;""  "  te,l  ccouragement,  the  calti.alioo 
,„„te,i,  a„.l  Bilk  r.ce,vea  ™  'y  »;''  ^^  ^Xa.e  d;nandea,_th.  growth 
:ir::::i::e  :'»^r:;:::^-.a,,,  e,,force.  or  reco..e,,... ^ 

''TT,  :[h^T« 'I'ctr'two  vea,.  after  the  ereetioa  of  .he  Br,.  f„hh,g. 
Oat,el4lh>lay     C  M      j  „„j„  ,he  followinB  order, 

„,ill,  the  General  Conrt  ol   Ma  „.5„„„,il,ir,ties  as  legislators 

whleh  exhibits  a  l,eeo,n,ng  se,„e  of  H      J^'P°"  i„„„,ting  as 

,..,h  to  tl,.  rising  and  '?  J-'-J™"  ',,,;,  "„,:ething  tnore  than 
,,„.l„g  .ha.  «"»     ™      f  Tv    1    ,„el,  II  woolen  clo.h  i.  =-  nsefnl  » 

""■""",",:"I      M  „■  of  .he  eold  win.ers,  and  bein,  a.  prese,^ 
c,)ininodity,  A-c,  Dy  rcaso  i  vvhcnce  we  can  expect 

.earce  and  deare,  a,„l  likely  soon  to  he  so  ^'  PJ«»  »";  „,  3|,„,,,.,, 

.„  «e.  i.,  „y  reason  of  .he  ^^^ -,  '^    „t    3,  .""'  ""^  '»»"  '""" 
and  killing  and  Inndenng  the  t,a.le  <"  "">  ,,„  ,,„„ 

,0  .hat  end,  and  a.  for  .-an.  of  «»*"*;,  I,  .„!  L.arded 
s„l,ered  cold  and  hardship  nnd  „n,..,re  d  tUir  he.  ,, 
.heir  live.,  and  .hose  who  had  prov.ded  ^  '«"''^-;  "J^^^,  „,  ,„„„ 
(no.  heing  ahle  to  got  the  oth,.)  ^  ^^^^Zl  death  ,  this  Court, 
children  ,n«ch  aeorehed  by  S"'/™' "'''",'  .„ji,i„„  in  tha.  narllcn- 
therefore,  (.aking  into  '--'•^""""'Z '^t^:;^.o.  us'et,,!  and 

„„„,s.ry  woolen  ehrths  and  .mft  7"'  , .";,"',  ,°     ,7be  <o  (r.»»p..-' 

•^•■•t'"^::::  ^itri:;:;*^::;!  r::  r;:.t:..  .nd  .very  o„e 

;:::iS:w^rL,.ri:dl.ion,ser..ly.j;^^ 

:;:::;:^::e^r::t::.-':^^-"--^ 


W^OL   GROWING    ENCOURAGED — SPINNING  ENJOINED. 


311 


iig  a  part  of  the 
;r  affuir".     After 
en  it  was  finished 
uro  thus  grew  up 
he  country  in  the 
e  early  orders  of 
ystem  introduced 
ghout  the  country 
t  stated  times  and 
great  an  improvc- 
5s,  and  to  procure 
otton  manufacture, 
igland  or  America, 
it  has  done,  a  sub- 
efore  was  not  over- 
cnt,  the  cultivation 
nded,— the  growth 
)r  recommended  by 

I  of  the  first  fulling- 
le  following  order, 
lilies  as  legislators, 

also  interesting  as 
jmething  more  than 

cloth  is  ?.'y  useful  a 
,d  being  at  present 
ucnce  we  can  expect 

the  flocks  of  shecj)e, 
skill  and  labor  tend 
y  poor  people  have 
1,  and  some  hazarded 
es  with  cotton  cloth, 
IS  had  some  of  their 
to  death  ;  this  Court, 
dition  in  that  particu- 
lowing  how  useful  and 
our  more  comforuble 
like  to  be  to  trnniipyvt 
eneral,  and  every  one 
igh  the  premises,  and 
ution  and  increase  of 
re  more  with  all  cou 


venioiit  spped  into  tlie  several  towns  by  all  such  lawful  ways  and  means 
as  God  siiaii  put  into  tlieir  hands,  and  for  the  better  effecting  thereof,  we 
thirike  meet  it  be  aiipointed  to  each  several  town,  being  assembled  to- 
gether to  know  who  will  buy  ewe  shcej)e  at  the  rate  of  40s.  apiece, 
under  tliree  years  onld,  «S:c.  ;  and  appoint  one  in  each  town  to  take  the 
names  and  return  them  by  the  Uh  next  month  to  Mayor  Gibson,  his 
house  in  IJoston,  and  further  it  is  desired  that  those  having  friends  in 
Engliuid  desiring  to  come,  would  write  them  to  bring  as  many  sheepc  as 
convenient,  with  them,  which  being  carefully  endciivoured,  we  leave  the 
successe  to  God."  In  fi-ther  aid  of  this  object,  an  order  was  made  in 
1648,  for  the  pasturing  of  sheep  upon  the  commons,  and  another  offering 
bounties  for  the  killing  of  wolves,  which  were  exceedingly  destructive  of 
the  live  stock  of  the  farmers.  For  every  wolf  killed  during  the  ne\t  four 
years  an  Englishman  was  entitled  to  receive  at  least  30  shillings,  and  an 
Indian  20s.  Premiums  of  less  amount  had  been  previously  offered  and 
paid  for  several  years,  and  were  renewed  at  different  times  down  nearly 
to  the  present  century.'  Six  years  after,  the  Assembly  prohibited  the 
exportation  of  sheep,  and  even  the  killing  of  any  for  food  under  two 
years  of  age,  save  for  the  use  of  the  owner's  family.  In  1675  it  adopted 
the  more  questionable  policy  of  prohibiting  also  the  exportation  of  wool, 
of  which  some  had  already  been  sent  to  France  from  Nantucket,  where 
sheep  husbandry  was  very  early  and  successfully  jiracticed. 

Among  several  regulations  for  the  encouragement  of  manufactures, 
made  by  the  same  authorities  in  1656,  was  one  passed  in  May  of  that 
year  in  regard  to  spinning,  which,  in  some  respects,  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  any  relating  to  the  subject,  on  the  colonial  statute  book.  It 
was  systematic  in  the  enforcement  of  that  industry,  and  left  no  class  of 
the  community  at  liberty  to  neglect  it.  In  view  of  the  present  scarcity 
and  probable  decrease  of  supplies  from  abroad,  and  "for  the  improving 
as  many  hands  as  may  be  in  spinninge  woole,  cotton,  flaxe,  Ac,"  it  or- 
dered "  that  all  hands  not  necessarily  employed  on  other  occasions,  as 


(1)  In  1783,  MiiHsncliiisctts  was  compelled 
to  offer  four  pouiuU  for  every  wolf's  head, 
and  oiu)  pound  for  every  whelp  brouglit 
to  the  selectmen  of  any  town.  Nearly 
erery  one  of  the  Colonial  Asnoniblias  found 
it  neeessftry  to  give  large  premiums  for  tho 
destruction  of  wolves  and  other  animals 
which  uiiido  dreadful  havoo  amonf{  their 
herds  and  flocks.  No  less  than  3125  guild- 
cri  (!H2.')fl)  were  levied  in  flio  little  Dutch 
"uloiiy  on  the  Dcluwiire,  in  1C77,  as  boun- 
ties oil  wolves'  lieuds.     Many  towns  in  nddi- 


tion,  paid  premiums  for  tho  mmo  purpose 
In  some  of  these,  captured  wolves'  heads 
wore  in  early  times  re(|uired  to  he  nailed  to 
the  mecting-bouso,  and  notice  given  to  the 
constables  before  the  bounties  were  paid. 
A  mode  of  capture  early  practiced  in  .Massa- 
ohusetts,  was  by  binding  the  shanks  of  four 
flsh  hooks  together  with  the  biirbs  outward, 
then  wrapping  them  in  raw  cotton,  and 
dipping  in  melted  tiillow  until  a  ball  was 
formed  the  size  of  an  egg,  which  was  gree- 
dily iwalluwed  by  the  hungry  vermin. 


812 


COLONIAL   CLOTU-MANUFACTVRK. 


women   girls  and  bov«,  shall  and  hereby  are  enjoined  to  s,nn  accord  ng 

toTir'kill  and  ability,  and  that  the  selectmen  m  every  town  do  con- 

derL  condition  and  capacity  of  every  family,  and  -coru.ngly  to 

siuer  me  i-uuu  r  hocause  severfd  families  are 

l::: rl    «;    ulSo;.  ,.,««  or  >  .„>«„»,  aocordin^  ^  the. 

.roroL  pe„aHic»,  impend  "PO"  s.Kh  as  -  -^'^    '>',,:  IL 

me„t  of  lUose  lUat  .re  dilietnt  m  tl.sir  labour     ^  '.^  "  ' ' ' 

U,at  .1,0  ..icctn,.,,  ia  all  towa.  »l.l.in  .h.  juns  ^t  ou  'I-       -«    ' 

.„  ™u  .aoh  order,,  la  tbeir  "^^''^'^'^J^  Z'lTl .»  «r 

™„n,,  for  kee,.i..g  of  sl.eep,  a.  also  for  l,e     »' J  P"     /,,,,j  ,,,3  d„,,„. 

fl„ck,,  a,  .1,0.  shall  jadse  o,ce.  ;  aad  ,.  o^^^^^^^,  i„„„„H.'„., 

.,e,  in  the  several  towas  irapart  the  n™d    1 0  .=,  Co  rt  .0  ,U   ^^^ 

ooaceraiag  the  s„.lag  of  -f  J»;''  f,;      J  ,  1°„,,  ,„  abided  .» 
se.re.ly  eo,apa.lhle  »,.h  «»r  ideas  o       «■'»;»'  ;,„„„  „,,„ti„„ 

expression  of  .he  legislati.e  ».  1  was  ^-'Ij  '»  '""    '  ,      s.„„,  „( 

,„on„y  in  *«-'""'™f  ;j=';r;e'::  :  ,:rdl  et.s\o  ...rodac 
.he  .owns  ap,.ear  abon.  .h.s  ""»'»'  ,„  Chelmsford, 

.he  weaviag  .r.s  in.o  .he,r  nr.ds  .  1  «  "  'J  ,,  „j  „„,  ,„„t,ed 
William  How,  was  the  same  year  .dm.tted  »"  '"7"  ^  „  ijed 
,„  the  town  .wel,e  aeres  of  meadow  aad  ^  ''«  °  »[ J™:„t%  The 
h'e  set  np  his  trade  of  wca-ing,  and  P«*r»  *«  ^^^.^^  „„  .„„„ 
«.„„.a  "«t  "■"■"S  '"■"  r'Z'^    a  M       16gV  Thomls  Agar,  . 

"""•""■  «""■  ""■"  °M!:rof"T  moCy    I»kin=  rtree-fourth.  of  an 
fniler  ot  Kolbnry,  purehascd  of  ^ ""»»'»  ,„      ,„„,  .t  Water- 

ner.  of  land  for  the  ereetion  "^  >"  '*    ^^^''j  Z  following  year  to 

;:„asrei';:r:t;f;^^^^^^^^^^ 

(1)  Rocordf,  vol.  iii,  p.  30«. 


FULLING    MILLS   IN   MASSACHUSETTS  AND   CONXBCTICUT.  313 


spin  according 
•y  town  do  con- 
accoriiingly  to 
erfil  families  are 
other  business, 
spared,  at  least 

shall  therefore 
!ording  to  their 
led  for  a  whole 
eks  every  yeare 
roportionally  for 
or  every  ponnd 
ixecuting  of  this 
veral  towns  into 
Llfy  the  selectmen 
lall  improve  the 
or  the  encourage- 
is  farther  ordered 
shall  have  power 
clearing  of  cora- 
,ing  rams  to  their 
•ed  that  the  depu- 
0  their  inhabitants 
Qaxc.'"     Though 
am,  so  decided  an 
3  public  attention 
thing.     Several  of 
forts  to  introduce 
er  in  Clielmsford, 
lit  and  was  allotted 
upland,  "  provided 
Avn's  work."    The 
Rowley,  was  soon 

Thomas  Agar,  a 
three-fourths  of  an 
ling  mill  at  Water- 
3  following  year  to 
e  county  of  Essex, 
iid  in  1669-10  was 
and  Benjamin  Gar- 


field. A  second  fihling  mill  was  built  in  the  town  on  Mill  firook,  ad- 
joining the  first  water  mill  erected  about  thirty-five  years  before  by 
Edward  How  and  Mr.  Cradock,  and  which  was  now  owned  by  How, 
Thomas  Danforth,  and  others,  who  erected  the  fulling  mill  previous  to 
November,  1686.  A  fulling  mill  was  built  in  Dedham  in  1681,  by  Messrs, 
Draper  and  Fairbanks.  It  stood  on  Mother  Brook,  an  artificial  canal, 
3^  miles  long,  which  conducted  a  considerable  portion  of  the  waters  of 
Charles  river  into  the  Nepouset,  and  has  long  furnished  water  power  to 
numerous  factories.  It  was  con.strncted  for  that  purpose  in  1639  by  the 
enterprise  of  the  town,  and  like  the  Mill  Brook  at  Watertown,,  is  claimed 
to  be  the  oldest  canal  in  this  country. 

Few  attempts  appear  as  yet  to  have  been  made  in  other  parts  of  New 
England  to  produce  their  own  clothing.  Connecticut  had,  as  early  as 
1640,  made  some  useful  orders  respecting  the  cultivation  of  hemp  and 
flax  for  cordage  and  clothing,  the  importation  of  cotton  from  Barbadoes, 
and  the  improvement  of  sheep.  In  1660  those  animals  were  freed  from 
the  taxes  paid  by  other  cattle,  and  grounds  were  the  same  year  ordered 
to  be  cleared  for  their  pasturage.     Ten  years  after,  every  male  over  four- 

Iteen  years  of  age  was  required  to  work  one  day  in  June  of  each  year  in 
clearing  away  the  underwood  for  that  purpose.  The  Town  Book  of 
Waterbury  in  that  colony  contains  an  order  passed  Jan.  20,  1692-3, 
stating  that  "  tharc  was  seiuesterd  the  great  brook  from  edman  scots 
lot  down  to  sarauell  hickox,  Jr.  lot  for  to  build  a  fulling  ml."  There 
is  no  evidence,  however,  that  such  a  mill  was  built  there  before  the  year 
1728  or  1730.'  A  fulling  mill  was  built  on  Nahantic  River  in  1693,  by 
Peter  Iteckley,  of  New  London,  which  was  the  first  in  that  town.  The 
same  town  in  1713  granted  Lt.  Col.  John  Livingston  of  that  place, 
what  right  it  had  to  Saw-mill  brook  to  erect  a  saw  mill  and  fulling  mill 
thereon  ;  and  in  1721  Thomas  Smith  obtained  leave  to  erect  fulling  and 
grist  mills  at  Upper  Alewive  Cove.'  Until  near  this  time  manufactures  had 
made  but  slow  progress  in  Connecticut.  Dr.  Trumbull  stales  that  in 
1713  there  was  but  one  clothier  in  the  colony,  and  the  most  he  could  do 
was  to  full  the  cloth  which  was  made.  Much  of  the  cloth  was  worn 
unsheared  and  unpressed.  In  this  statement,  derived  from  the  official  re- 
ports to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  the  venerable  historian  is  believed  by  a  late 
writer  to  have  been  in  error,  and  that  there  were  probably  many  clothiers 
and  fulling  mills  at  that  date.  Some  particulars  respecting  the  colonics, 
furnished  to  Edward  Randolph,  the  parliamentary  collector  of  customs  in 
New  England,  include  the  statement  that  about  the  year  1673,  "  a!'  cord- 
age, sail-cloth  and  nets  came  from  England.     No  cloth  is  made  there 


(I)  Bronson'g  Hlit,  Watorbury. 


(2)  Caulkin'a  Hist.  New  London,  p.  404. 


COLONIAL   CLOTH-MANV FACTUUE. 


3U 

.orth  fo«  shillings  a  prd.  and  no  linen  above  two  shilling,  and  .1.- 

P^"'^  '"  .  „f  tha  useful  arts  was  not  a  primary  object  with 

The  enco.Kagcmcn  to     he  u-    1^ 

tUemercant  econ,^^^^^^^^ 

Netherlands.      Ihe  ^^^^^"^''^  ,5^^  j„  .^ehange  for  the  furs  and  peltry 

famished  ample  supplies  of  >"«  '^^"^  l*^'*'  "  '  J^^.^  manufactures.  Yet 
of  the  colony.  -^1  took  away  te  — ^^^^^^^  ™  ,,  ,  ,,.,  general 
the  characteristic  industry  o  the  D«teh  P'omi  ^^^^^^^^^ 

household  manufacture,  P^'-^''="^'^'-'yf  ]'"';""  fl^rand  the  wool  of  their 
their  native  country  had  long  excelled^     The  flax  -d    ^-      ^^  _^^^^^^^^ 

f.nns  were  ^^^  ^-^^^irZ^I^  ol  L.,,  smooth,  and 
on  fitting  occasions  to  display  tiieir  ami  ^  „ 

wopBtcJ.  Dc»lon,  the  cattot  »nler  °"  '""  j„f  ,„»„  „„olen  cloth 
••Every  one  .».U.  the.  own  l.en  «;-  '  /  :\;,,  „„,.  „,  ,,..„. 
for  their  ordinary  wearing."     Ihe  natives  ga  ■        -.^  the  art. 

Uc«  An,ster,la,r  b,  Ant--»  Ita™™-  ^^^^  ,„  „„  j,„^„,,,  ., 

Bjlhe,.roi.r,etanraofNewJirM)  aler  ^^,,,„, 

"T'  :;rptsrb;:;cr.r  iirurou.  .0....  An„™. 

seclionof  the  pro\  nice,  uy  B  fi.p  nniture  and  manufacture 

of  hemp  and  tiax.     l^eiiers  uun  .^^ 

of  a  p>.,„  of  materia,  '»'    ■"»;,''::Vl  'waVc      p.  b»t  labor  ex- 

beckW  »old  for  „,ae  peace  ^^^    ;      Je"  .  ma.on..  .eavers,  tailor. 

,  ceediasly  Maree  and  dear.    ,»"""»• '"P"  „.•„„,,.„,  ,„„  Yorkshire 

.„d  L°"fVw  ■,"';;;.  .'''jre.n.o,  need  the  maaaracture  of  eloth 
Other  parts  of  West  jers.y,  suy»  ^  ^ 


(1)  Chiilraor!  in  Holmes'  Annals,  A.  D. 
1673  These  facts  nre  softrcoly  more  in 
contrast  with  the  prosent  than  others  with 
which  they  stand  in  juxta-position,  as  for  ex- 
ample that  there  were  no  beggars;  not 
three  persons  put  to  death  annually  or 
theft;  there  were  no  musicians  by  trade; 


that  ft  dancing  school  had  been  set  up  but 
put  down,  but  that  a  fencing  school  was  al- 
lowed  \u  BoHon.  Among  the  solid  men  of 
the  town  were  15  merchants  worth  about 
£50,000 ;  or  £500,  (probably  should  be  £5000) 
one  with  another;  500  persons  with  £3000 
ouch. 


E8TABIJSHMENT  OP  FAmS. 


315 


Uings  and  six- 

lary  object  with 
rivIlegesiiiNew 
orce  of  Holland 
e  fnrs  and  peltry 
lufactures.    Yet 
;o  a  very  general 
1  winch  branches 
the  wool  of  their 
)  Dutch  matrons 
3ng,  smooth,  and 
e,  red  and  green 
nee  says  (1670) 
neir  woolen  cloth 
le  name  of  Atfsy- 
eriors  in  the  art. 
of  silk  there,  and 
racoa.     Wild  In- 
jusselaer  and  near 

to  the  English,  ar- 
ally  in  the  eastern 
;  to  them.    Anura- 
3  and  manufacture 
in  Scotland  speak 
684.      Flax  twice 
iheap,  but  labor  ex- 
[)s,  weavers,  tailors, 
jrs  from  Yorkshire 
em,  Burlington,  and 
uiufacture  of  cloth, 
art  hair)  and  good 
lien,"  are  mentioned 
er  who  professed  to 

ool  had  been  set  up  but 
n  fencing  school  was  al- 
Amopg  tlie  solid  men  of 
incrnhnnts  worth   about 

probably  shoalJ  be  £5000) 
5U0  persons  with  £3000 


speak  I'rdm  personal  L-nowledge.  English  hemp  and  flax  was  successfully 
cultivated,  and  wild  hemp  was  used  to  some  extent.  Fairs  were  held  two 
or  tiirco  times  in  the  year  in  each  town,  and  were  well  attended.  In  Feb- 
ruary,  1703,  John  Clarke  received  a  grant  of  twenty  acres  of  iand  on  the 
Southern  bninehes  of  the  Rahawack  "  for  his  encouragement  in  filting  a 
fulling  mill "  in  that  part  of  the  province.  It  is  the  first  erection  of  the 
kind  of  wliich  we  find  any  mention  in  that  province. 

The  charter  granted  by  the  Court  of  Sweden  in  1640,  for  the  establishment 
of  a  colony  on  the  Delaware,  permitted  the  company  to  engage  in  all  manu- 
factures, and  in  all  commerce,  domestic  and  foreign.     Printz,  who  was  sent 
out  soon  after  as  Governor,  was  instructed  to  encourage  the  propagation  of 
sheep,  with  a  view  to  a  large  export  of  wool  to  the  parent  state,  and  also  to 
make   trials  as  to    the    practicability  of   raising    silk.     A  letter   to    a 
Swedish  otheiiil  in  1693,  after  they  came  under  the  proprietary  govern- 
ment of  runnsylviinia  speaks  of  their  hapi)y  condition  ;  they  were  export- 
ers of  hrc-i,   grain,   flour,  and  oil;  "our  wives  and  daughters  employ 
themselves  in  s[)iiiniiig.wool  and  flax,  and  many  of  them  in  weaving,  so 
that  we  have  good  reason  to  thank  the  Almighty  for  our  daily  suijport.'" 
They  had  80  sheep  in  1663,  and  were  now,  probably,  well  supjilied  with 
wool.     Among  the  first  branches  of  industry  that  Penn  sought  to  engraft, 
upon  his  new  colony  was  the  manufacture  of  linen  and  woolen  cloth. 
One  of  his  first  legislative  acts  after  his  arrival  in  1682  was  to  invest 
with   all  the  rights  of  citizenship,  the  Dutch,  Swedes,  Finns  and  other 
foreigners; — amounting  to  about  3000 — then  in  possession  of  the  country. 
The  proclamation  of  similar  privileges  and  full  religious  freedom  to  all 
others  not  of  ill  fame  who  should  arrive,  induced  numbers  of  the  indus- 
trious and  persecuted   classes  from  different  parts  of  Europe,  and  from 
other  colonies,  to  settle  in  the  province.     Ind;;ed,  the  wisdom  and  liber- 
ality of  the  laws  framed  by  the  founder  in  England,  and  regularly  enacted 
after  his  arrival,  are  universally  conceded  to  have  been  honorable  to  the 
legislation  of  the  period  and  to  have  been  favorable  to  emigration  and 
that  character  for  industry  which  the  State  has  ever  maintained.     To 
furnish  a  ready  market  for  the  domestic  products  of  his  people  especially 
woolen   and  linen,  fairs  were  at  once  established  to  be  held  at  stated 
times,  in  several  of  the  towns,  where  the  i>eopIe  were  brought  together  for 
the  purposes  of  trade.     The  first  appears  to  have  been   held  about  the 
year  1686,  when,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  money  only  about  ten  dollars 
worth  was  sold.*     His  charter  to  the  city  in  1701  provided  for  holding 

(1)  Camrnnius,  chap.  ix.  Netherlnnda   in  1041.     Uut  those  in   Thila- 

(2)  rastorius.  Fairs  wore  curly  cstab-  delphia  appenr  to  liavo  been  thf  •■iirliest  •1b- 
lished  in  New  England,  and  for  the  sale  of  signiMl  prineipully  or  exc'niMvely  for  the  di»- 
CBttle,  by  the  Director  and  Council  of  Now  posal  of  manufactured  articles. 


316 


COLONIAL   t'LOTII    MANLFACTUllE. 


two  markets  in  each  week,  and  two  se.ni-anmml  Fairs  on   ti.e  lOlh  and 
two  following  days  of  May  and  November  in  eacl)  year.     These  afierward 
became  famous  occasions  for  the  exhibition  and  sale  of  every  descrmt.ou 
of  domestic  goods,  the  excellence  of  which  attracted  visitors  from  distant 
provinces      Their  influence  was  favorable  to  the  industry  of  the  commu- 
„ity      These  periodical  gatherings  were  at  that  time  popular  in  England, 
and  ori-inated  in  the  Church  festivals  or  wakes  held  upon  the  anniversaries 
of  certah.  Saints,  when  it  was  customary  to  make  merry  with  ale,  whence  that 
termination  became  synonymous  with  festival,  as  Whitsunale,  bndal  or 
b-ide-ale      But  it  was  only  a  few  years  previous  to  this  time  that  they  had 
assumed   that  gross  and  riotous  feature,  and  the  commercial  character 
which  caused  them  to  be  banished  from  the  sacred  precincts  in  which  they 
were  ori-inally  held,  to  the  village  green  where  they  were  more  complete- 
ly given  "up  to  the  purposes  of  trade.     Several  of  the  early  laws  of  the 
province  against  the  drinking  of  healths  and  drunkenness,  may  have  been  m 
part  designed  to  countervail  the  tendency  of  these  popular  gatherings  to 
promote  excess  and  irregularity. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Free  Society  of  Traders  in  1683,  Penn  bespeaks 
their  favorable  attention  to  his  project  for  the  production  of  wine  and  the 
manufacture  of  linen,  both  which  branches  he  '<oped  the  French  attracted 
thither  from  Carolina  would  be  a  moans  of  -icing.  Uis  expectations 
in  this  respect  were  not  realized.     But  the  character  of  his  govern- 

ment  and  his  personal  repute,  induced  a  considerable  number  of  Germans 
from  Cresheim,  in  the  Palatinate,  to  settle  in  his  princi;:nlity,  and  also  a 
number  of  Welsh,  Irish  and  Dutch,  all  of  an  industrial  class.     The  Ger- 
mans principally  settled  at  Germantown  near  the  city,  which  they  founded 
soon  after  Philadelphia  was  laid  out,  and  were  presently  joined  by  other 
Palatines,  including  the  ancestors  of  the  American  Philosopher,  David 
llittenhoiise,  Christopher  Saur,  and  others  whose  names  are  identified 
with  the  early  enterprise  and  science  of  the  country.     So  great  indeed 
was  the  influx  of  Germans  during  succeeding  years,  that  Governor  Keith, 
in  nn,  recommended  Parliament  to  prohibit  any  from  coming  without 
a  license  from  the  English  or  colonial  governments,  lest  so  many  should 
endanger  the  allegiance  of  the  province.     A  tax  of  5  shillings  per  head 
was  indeed  injudiciously  laid  by  the  Assembly  in  1729,  but  was  soon  af- 
ter canceled.      The  Germans  who  first  arrived  soon  became  noted  for 
their  linen  and  hosiery,  and  were  the  first  to  introduce  in  this  country 
some  branches  of  industry  noticed  elsewhere.    Penn  wrote  to  the  Marquis 
of  Halifax  in  Feb.  1684,  that  the  Germans  had  already  fallen  upon  flax 
and  hemp,  and  the  French  upon  vines.     To  quicken  their  exertions  in  the 
production  of  Cloth,  he  appears  about  the  same  time  to  have  ofl'ered  a 
premium  for  the  first  piece.     On  the  17th  9th  mo.,  1686,  the  petition  of 


OERMAXTOW.V   AND    ROXnOROUGII   MAXUFACTURES, 


3IT 


lie  lOlh  and 
L'se  iifieiWiU'il 
y  descriptiou 
from  distunt 
F  the  eonimu- 
f  ill  Eiiglatiil, 
annivcrsiiries 
i,  whence  that 
ale,  bridal  or 
that  they  had 
L'ial  character 
in  which  they 
ore  complete- 
ly laws  of  the 
ly  have  been  ia 
gatherings  to 

?enn  bespeaks 
f  wine  and  the 
ench  attracted 
is  expectations 

■  of  his  govern- 
ler  of  Germans 
ity,  and  also  a 
iss.     The  Ger- 
;h  they  founded 
ioiued  by  other 
osopher,  David 
3  are  identified 
.0  great  indeed 
iovernor  Keith, 
coming  without 
so  many  should 
illings  per  head 
lut  was  soon  af- 
icame  noted  for 
!  in  this  country 
B  to  the  Marquis 
fallen  upon  flax 

■  exertions  in  the 
3  have  ofl'ered  a 
,  the  petition  of 


Ai)rn1iam  Opdengrnfe  was  read  in  thconncil  "  for  (he  Governor's  promise 
to  hini  wlio  should  make  the  first  and  finest  piece  of  linen  cloth."*  Wigart 
Leverin-  one  of  the  Germantown  settlers,  and  soon  after  one  of  the  fir.st"et- 
vlers  of  Iloxl)orough,  was  a  weaver  l.y  trade  and  his  descendants  are  among 
the  most  enterprising  manufacturers  of  the  iiresent  day.     Matthew  IIoul- 
gate,  who  purchased  land  in  1698  of  one  of  the  original  patentees  of  Kox- 
})oronMh,  erected  upon  the  Wissahickon,  between  that  year  and  1720,  a  full- 
ing mill,  the  ruins  of  which  were  lately  visii,le.     A  variety  of  linJu  and 
woolen  stufls  are  mentioned  as  the  manufactures  of  these  and  others  in  the 
province  in  1 698,  as  druggets,  serges,  camblets,  etc.,  which  daily  improved  in 
quality.     Among  the  tradesmen  who  had  remunerative  employment  were 
dyers,   fullers,  combmakers,  cardmaker.s,    weavers,  spinners,  etc.      The 
price,  in  1688,  for  spinning  worsted  or  linen,  we  are  told,  was  usually  two 
shillings  the  pound,  and  for  knitting  coarse  yarn  stockings,  half  a  crown 
a  pair.     The  price  for  weaving  linen  of  half  a  yard  in  width  was  ten  or 
twelve  pence  per  yard.     Wool  combers  or  carders  received  twelve  pence 
per  pound,  the  pay  of  journeymen  tailors  was  twelve  shillings  per  week 
and  "  their  diet."    The  first  in  this  line  mentioned  in  Philadelphia  was 
Charles  Blackman,  who  enjoyed  the  governor's  patronage.     Fulling  mills 
are  mentioned  as  in  operation  on  Darby  river,  near  the  town  of  that 
name,  about  five  miles  f.om  Philadelphia.     The  German  linen  of  the 
Province  is  described  to  be  "such  as  no  person  of  quality  need  be  ashamed 
to  wear.'"    The  progress  in  the  arts  of  the  clothier,  if  the  writer  may  be 
credited,  appears  to  have  been  considerable  for  so  short  a  time. 

In  respect  to  Clothing,  as  in  some  other  things,  the  first  settlers  of 
America  were  content  to  receive  from  the  customs  of  their  barbarous 
neighbors  suggestions  which  were  not  without  use  to  them  in  their  pecu- 
liar circumstances.  The  principal  Clothing  of  the  rude  northern  Indians, 
before  they  became  acquainted  with  the  woolens  of  Europe,  were  the 
furs  and  skins  of  the  wild  animals.  These  they  dressed  in  different  ways 
and  formed  into  garments  variously  ornamented  and  often  with  remarka- 
ble skill.  Elk  and  deer  skins  in  particular  were  much  valued  for  that 
purpose,  being  converted  into  good  untanned  leather,  which,  according 
to  an  early  emigrant,  they  made  "soft  and  plume,  and  as  white  as  milk." 
They  were  worn  in  cold  weather  with  the  hair  next  the  person.  They 
were  even  traded  off  for  furs  to  more  distant  tril)es,  where  these  animals 
were  less  plentiful ;  and  until  the  purchasers  had  learned  the  relative  value 
among  the  Europeans,  of  their  finer  peltry,  two,  three,  and  even  four  beaver 
skins,  worth  several  pounds  each  in  the  towns,  were  given  for  a  good 
fallow  deer  skin  killed  in  the  proper  season.     The  colonists  made  much 

(1)  Hazard's  Register  of  Penna.,  i.  p.  16.    (2)  G.  Thomas,  Hist.  Penna.,  Lond.  1698. 


gjg  COI-ONIAL   CXOTII-MANVFACTURE. 

nf  those  materials  which  comported  well  with  their  vng^od  iu^kIo  of 
2  :!' U:  :r;  of  t,.  .i  J.  mdeea  they  wore  not  .^e.... 
to  the  use  of. similar  materials  in  their  native  country  foi  m  l^-f^f^ 

Iv  d.  le-her  dressed  as  buff  and  in  other  styles,  and  worn  as  doubletts, 
L  etl  o  est  ,  formed  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  Cloth.ng  o  so.e 
class      ud  for     untin,.  ridin,,  or  traveling  costumes,  of  even  the  no- 

i  t  The  Puritan  severity  of  the  ^'ew  England  fathers,  wh.eh  rowned 
o  dl  red  .  daney  and  variety  of  dress,  doubtless  contributed  to  the  cur- 
"n  this  sty  e  of  Clothing  and  material  as  more  s,nted  to  Amen  aa 

I'tLn  t'^e  velvets,  silks,  and  lace  of  England,  under  Charles  the  Second, 

!;i        successors.-     These  sober  and  frugal  materials  cont.uued  m  us 
u  i    vft       1  e  era  of  independence,  and  garments  wholly,  or  m  par  .  o 

L      sUn  or  other  kinds  of  leather,  could  be  found  in  the  -rdrobes  of 

:^"r::\:;r:nS:rr:l:;lf  tl'i^  and  s.rdy  .10.  than 
o  ho  n       ex  erior  of  American  soldiery.     Beauchamp  P  antage,.  . 

1  to  Le  been  ;egal  in  lineage  as  in  name,  writing  of  New  Al- 
3,:  m  o::::n;:'hissemi.^original  dress  as  "H  that  was ^ 
Irl  "But  surelv.-'says  that  extremely  quaint  writer,  "wc  may 
«^  ri..h  if  w"e  will  buy  no  clothes,  for  a  good  weaver  brought 
;;t  iTnil  ^f  olr  .L  nine  sorts  of  Linens,  tufted  Iloliands. 
V  trsv  vets.  Tuftaffetaes  and  Plushes,  and  for  winter  a  good  Glove, 
wi'  me  onel  of  our  own  elk  skins  maketh  the  best  buffe  coats  ;  our  own 
:  g  auTdeer   kins  make  best  gentile  and  soldiers'  clothes,  fittest  for  our 

odt  doeskin  breeches  with  the  fur  inside  in  o-;»>-^  "^  " 
W  r  ban  ...o  broadcloths  and  warmer,  so  we  need  no  English  Cloth 
T    1     he  says;  would  yield  a  half  ton  of  flax,  and  a  ton  of  hemp,  worth 


(1)  The   nu^tere    rrinciiileo   of  i\\e   New 
Knsla.i.l  falluT.  M,iiu>time«  led  tbom  to.iis- 
flgure   .ho   Hi"»to   luiok    with    sumptuary 
n-gulailoiiB'.ikothor.llowinK:    In  Oolobcr, 
ltl;;;t,  it  wua  "  "rdered  that  no  person,  oitlier 
innn'  -r   wiimi.n,   M.ull   mnlio   or   buy   any 
tlu-hcil  Clclhco,  other  tlmn  one  fU»h  in  each 
,H.i.v(S  un.l  riothiT   in  tlie  hnok ;  «l«o  nil 
Ciitt    worl(«,    imhroi.loro.l    or    neo.llo-worljt 
c«p.,  bunds.  vnylo»,  are  forbidden  horc«lter 
to  bo  tnii.lo  nnd  worn  under  tlio  i.foro««id 
|.i.ti,.lty-i.l«o   nil   Rold  or    filvcr    pirdlos, 
M.dUnd*  holt',  K>'IT^  '""••'■'•  '"""•  """  I"""" 
1,11. ;iod  to  bo  b"U^;hl  or  worn  bprfnft.-r  iin- 

.wr iho «foP-"i'i r'""iiy-"  I" !"■"'" *'"""■■ 

dired  thai  Udlci'  UrcKos  nhouM  not  l.«  uudt 


with  short  fkcves;  thiit  the  firm  should  be 
covorod  down  to  the  wrist,  nnd  that  women's 
.U-evcH  should  never  exceed  hnlf  «n  ell  in 
width.  (Felt's  Snlein.  Thnehor's  IMymouth.) 
In  lft53  the  wife  of  lIuRh  Mnrch,  of  New- 
berry, wns  prosecuted  (with  two  other  wo- 
men) for  wenring  a  silk  hood  nnd  sonrf.  but 
wns  disohnrpod  on  proof  thnt  her  hu»hai.d 
nni  worth  £200.    (Coffin's  Hist.  Newberry.) 
The  yenr  previou«  the  wife  of  .loseph  .Iynk«, 
Jr.,  of  Lynn,  wns  presented  for  wenrinf?  sil- 
ver liwe  alonn  with   Robt.   liridiret  for  bad 
oornurindin.-',  and  others  for  woMviiiK  (Treat 
bo,.ts   and   i.ilk  hoods,   4c.     (l.e«i,'  Hi»U 
bynu.) 


^L\RYLAND   AND    VlUaiNlA. 


319 


jTcd  111^  kIo  of 
iiiiaceustoiued 

I  Eng;lviid  at 

II  as  doubletts, 
thing  of  some 

even  the  no- 
ivhich  frowned 
;cd  to  the  cur- 
to  Ainericaa 
cs  the  Second, 
iitinued  in  use 
or  in  part,  of 
wardrobes  of 
dress  was  con- 
^-as  no  less  sig- 
irdy  valor,  than 
p  Plantagenet, 
ig  of  New  Al- 
ii that  was  de- 
•iter,   "wc   may 
weaver  brought 
ufted  Hollands, 
a  good  Glover, 
coats ;  our  own 
s,  fittest  for  our 
short  winter  is 
Knglish  Cloths." 
of  hemp,  worth 

t,  tlic  nrm  slioulil  >ie 
st,  nml  tlint  women'a 
'xpceil  hnir  «n  ell  in 
:iini'lior'3lMymouth.) 
ugh  Miirch,  of  Ncw- 
(witli  two  otlicr  wo- 
(  liodd  nncl  jonrf,  but 
of  thnt  licr  husliRi.J 
In's  Hint.  NVwlicrry.) 
wif«  "f  .Joseph  .Iynk«, 
BDteJ  for  wmirinn  k11- 
obt.   liriiltfet  for  bail 
?ri)  for  weiiiltiB  (t""'' 
!,   4c.     (l-«wi»'  HinU 


£12  to  the  acre  and  a  profit  of  C«.  a  day  to  the  laborer.  lie  mentions 
Cotton  River  "so  named  of  Six  hundred  /.  of  cotton  wild  on  trees  grow- 
ing," wiiich  article  there  was  no  doubt  would  thrive  well.  Of  another 
portion  (lax  was  one  of  the  staple  products,  the  others  being  corn,  rice 
and  tobacco.  We  may  infer  from  his  remarks  that  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  which  corresponded  with  a  portion  of  Delaware  and  Maryland, 
and  contained  already  8000  people  and  a  trade  employing  140  ships, 
there  was  yet  no  home  manufacture  of  Cloth.  A  further  evidence  that 
the  arts  were  not  yet  introduced  in  Maryland,  is  the  pn,ssage  of  a  law  the 
same  year  "providing  for  the  Smith,"  one  of  the  first  requisites  of  a  new 
community.  There  was  little  attempt  at  manufactures  for  nearly  fifty 
years  after,  the  supplies— except  homespun,  of  which  most  families  made 
more  or  less — being  derived  from  England  in  return  for  tobacco,  or  from 
New  England  in  exchange  for  grain  and  provisions.  A  murrain  among 
the  stock  in  1694-5,  which  cut  off  over  25,000  neat  cattle  and  upwards  of 
62,000  hogs,  and  proportionally  diminished  their  resources,  together 
with  an  increasing  dilBculty  in  getting  supplies  for  England,  threw  the 
colonists,  in  a  measure,  upon  their  own  abilities  for  Clothing.  An  effort 
was  made  in  1G97  to  introduce  the  manufacture  of  linen  and  woolen 
Cloth  in  the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Dorchester.  But  the  attempt  ap- 
pears to  have  had  no  permanent  success,  but  nevertheless  occasioned 
some  complaints  in  England.  The  mineral  riches  of  the  province  more 
Buccissfnlly  attracted  the  indu.stry  not  already  absorbed  in  agriculture. 

In  Virginia,  in  1650,  there  was  a  sufficiency  of  materials  of  wool,  flax, 
and  hemp,  as  well  as  of  the  native  silk-grass,  regarded  by  many  as  of  nearly 
TexincMnn-"l"aI  value  with  the  cultivated  fla.x.  But  it  seems  to  have  been 
Vi'X'ia'! '"  '''''*^  "'^cd,  although,  as  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  its  textile 
'^'"^'-  qualities  had  been  tested  and  approved  in  England,  and  even  a 

suit  for  royalty  had  been  made  of  it.  A  Captain  Matthews,  over  thirty 
years  a  resident,  and  now  a  member  of  the  Council,  is  highly  commended 
at  this  period  for  his  enterprise  in  manufactures.  Ho  was  a  great  cultivator 
of  hemp  and  flax,  which  he  also  manufactured,  having  n  large  househol.I 
of  weavers  and  other  tradesmen  employed  in  different  brandies,  and  many 
slaves  also  trained  to  mechanical  pursuits.  Silk  and  cd.ion  had  already 
been  attempted  there,  and  recommended  to  the  attention  of  4hc  planters. 
Madder,  indigo,  and  several  other  native  vegetable  dye-stuffs,  had  also 
liecn  tested.  Abundance  of  cotton  might  have  been  obtained  by  the  ex- 
jiortclion  of  cattle  and  other  produce,  of  which  the  former  were  already 
60  numerous  as  to  be  suffered  to  run  wild  in  the  woods.  Hut  these  facili- 
ties were  disregarded  for  the  cultivation  of  tobacco,  which  it  was  now 
hoped,  by  those  who  favored  a  wiser  policy,  would  soon  yield  to  that  of 
Bilk.     This  article,  the  culture  and  manufacture  of  which  had  been  slowly 


320  COLONIAL   CLOTU-MANUFACTUUE. 

extending  in  England  for  upward  of  a  century,  had  been  espemUy  eu- 
c^arat  d    n  Virginia  from   its  fir.t  settlement.     The  supposed  fitness 
72T1U  a'evidenced  by  the  abundance  of  native  ^^^^^ 
silk-worms,   turned  the  attention  of  the  English  people    nt  tins  tme 
toZy  toward  the  cultivation  of  silk  in  Virginia  and  Caro  u,a      Ihe 
a  to?  weaving  it  was  introduced  in  England  some  years  be  ore.     1  he 
Sk  throw  rs  of  London  were  incorporated  in  1 629,  and  the  trade  now  cu- 
rved many  thousands,  while  the  manufacture  in  France  was  deemed  worth 
^'Zt:t,:re:andfourmilUonsster.ingannuaHy.Seve.lwn^^^^^^^ 
now  discussed  the  subject  of  iti  cultivation  ,„  V.rgmm  some  of  «hose 
;;  s  :L  printed  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  a-^  -.e  c.rc.^^^^^^^^^^ 
u  manuals.    Williams,  the  author  of  a  tract  on  V.rg.n.a,  .n  16o0,  labored 
to  how  the  profits  of  silk  and  wine-growing.     Two  or  three  jears    uter, 
«         ^      Ltl  b   an  enterprising  merchant  of  London,  to  whom  M.lton 
r  le^::  tr «:  Ucln.  pubU^ed  two  -US  on  t^Virgin. 
silk-worm.    Governor  Edward  Digges,  of  Virginia,  Mr.  John  Fe  rar  ana 
o  Lr   ISO  did  much  to  excite  an  in.ere.t  in  the  subject  among  the  plaiU- 
p      bv   nstructions  in  .he  business,  the  distribution  of  silk-worm  seed,  and 
:;;  .0  •    g       Veat  profits  of  the  culture.     Mr.  Ferrar,  in  particular 
7oi      d    ut  a  means  of  overcoming  the  gummy  hardness  of  the  Mrg.n  a 
o^^it  by  steeping  them  in  strong  soap-boiler's  liquor,  instead  o    warm 

water  wl'ie'>  «"^-'^  -^"  ^"^"^''"'  '"'"  '''  '  •"  '^^^r'^'f '  ^^t 
Te  of  k   "ce  for  f.-eding  the  worms.     By  a  comparison  of  the  profit     . 

:::  lot  U^at  sUk-worms  would  yield  the  plant.,  f.r  about  two  mon  s' 
labor  in  the  year,  £60;  while  tobacco,  at  2d.  per  pound  as  ,  then  so  d, 
won  d  e  nU.ut  £14  or  the  sane  amount  of  labor  during  nine  months. 
;     lnweresofarsucces.fulthatso.nes,nalllotsofVirg.niasilkw^^^^^ 

set  to  Enplund.     As  a  mark  of  his  favor  for  the  staunch  loyalty  of  t  e 
P    V    ce   Charles  II..  a  few  years  after,  added  Virginia  to  t  ^  ^u  e  o. 
dominions  and  particularly  recommended  the  Governor  of  the  1  rovu.ce 
toT      u  age  silk-growing,  stating  that  he  had  formei^-at  his  corona, 
tlon  asL'tradition  is  J' worn  some  of  the  silk  of  Virginia,  which  he 
found  not  inferior  to  that  raised  in  other  countries. 
''''St  Assembly  of  Virginia,  in  1C62,  enacted  -eraHaws  for  t  c  F^^^^^^ 
tion  of  industry,  and  particularly  in  relation  to  Cloth  and    ts  materials^ 
Flax-^eed  was  ordered  from  England,  to  be  distributed  to  each 
J:r::X:.V.  county,  and  bounties  offered  for  raising  ^'^^^'''^^ '';;,"• ''[^^t 
?:,!?r;-rr-.  two  p..unds  of  tobacco  were  offered  for  every  p.un.d  of  flax  or 
•-  emp'prepared  for  the  spindle,  three  pounds  for  every  yardf 

linen  Cloth  a  vnrd  wide,  and  five  pounds  for  every  yard  of  wooh-n  Cloth 
1.  , he -province.     Every  ti.hable  person  was  required,  un  er  « 
"^  al.y  of  lir.v  pounds  of  tobacco,  to   produce,  yearly,  two  pounds  of 


MM 


MANUFACTURES    EXOOU RAGED   IN    VIRQINIA. 


321 


especially  eu- 
ipposed  fitness 
mnlbenies  and 
,  ot  this  time, 
Carolina.  The 
3  before.  The 
e  trade  now  era- 
is  deemed  worth 
riters,  therefore, 
some  of  whose 

were  circulated 
in  1650,  labored 
iree  years  later, 
[O  whom  Milton 
,  on  the  Virginia 
fohn  Ferrar,  and 
among  the  plant- 
L-worm  seed,  and 
ar,  in  particular, 
3  of  the  Virginia 

instead  of  warm 
ecoraraended  the 

of  the  profits,  it 
bout  two  months' 
d,  as  it  then  sold, 
ring  nine  months. 
Virginia  silk  were 
iich  loyalty  of  the 
,  to  the  title  of  his 
r  of  the  Province 

y at  his  corona- 

rirgiiiia,  which  he 

awa  for  the  promo- 
nnd  its  materials, 
distributed  to  each 
lit  and  hemp-seed. 
7  pound  of  flax  or 
s  for  every  yard  of 
nl  of  woolen  Cloth 
required,  under  n 
•ly,  two  pounds  of 


dressed  flax  or  hemii.     Premiums  were  also  offered  of  ten  pounds  of 
tobacco  for  every  good  hat  nmde  of  wool  or  fur,  and  for  every  dozen  pair 
of  woolen  or  worsted  stocliings.     A  liberal  bounty  of  fifty  pounds  of 
tobacco  was  declared  due  for  every  pound  of  wound  silk  produced   and 
for  every  hundred  acres  of  land  owned  in  fee,  the  proprietor  was  required 
to  plant  and  fence  twelve  mulberry  trees.     The  exportation  of  sheep  from 
the  Colony  had  been  prohibited  five  years  before,  and  it  was  now  ordered 
that  no  wool  should  be  exported   under  a  penalty  of  fifty  pounds  of 
tobacco  for  every  pound  so  exported.    The  bounty  on  silk  was,  two  years 
after,  claimed  by  several  persons  engaged  in  j)roducing  it.     One  of  these 
was  Major  Walker,  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  who  then  had  growing 
upwards  of  seventy  thousand  mulberry  trees.     All  acts  for  the  encour- 
agement of  silk  were  repealed  in  166G,  along  with  that  for  planting  mul- 
berry trees,   "which  now  every  one  voluntarily  propagates."     In   that 
year  the  commissioners  were  required   by  tl.c  legislature  to  establish, 
within  two  years,  a  loom  and  a  weaver  in  each  county  in  the  Province,' 
except  Rappahannock,  Xorthamplon,  Westmoreland,  and  Stafford,  which' 
were  allowed  four  years  wherein  to  effect  it.     Each  county  was  to  bear 
the  expense  of  its  own  establishment,  and  the  erection  of  a  private  loom 
did  not  excuse  the  county.     The  law  was  repealed  in  1C84. 

Governor  Berkeley  in  his  answers  to  the  Committee  of  Plantations  in 
1671,  states  that  "of  late  we  have  begun  to  make  silk  and  so  many  mul- 
berry trees  are  planted,  that  if  we  had  skilful  men  from  Naples  or  Sicily 
to  teach  us  the  art  of  making  it,  in  less  than  half  an  age,  we  should  make 
as  much  silk  in  a  year  as  England  did  yearly  expend  three-score  years 
since."     The  demand  for  that  article  in  England,  where  it  was  then  sup- 
posed to  employ  forly  thousand  persons,  and  the  bounties  and  other  leg- 
islativc   measures   in   the   province,    gave  a  temporary  imj)ulse   to    tlio 
business.     Hut  it  declined  again  on   the   withdrawal  of  the  premiums 
The  cultivation  of  hemp  and  flax  was  again  enforced  by  heavy  pemiltie? 
in  1G73.     About  the  year  1684  another  law  was  enacti-d  in  Virginia  for 
the  encouragement  of  the   manufucturu  of  linen  and  woolen  Cloth,  ami 
"for  the  advancement  of  manufactures  of  tlifl  growth  of  the  colony."' 
which  Chalmers  says  "was  disallowed  by  the  Committee  of  i'lautaiions 
because  it  was  deemed  contrary  to  the  Acts  of  Navigation"     "And 
thus,"  he  adds  in  relation  to  this  and  other  useful  regulations  made  dur- 
ing the  same  session,  "did  the  Assembly  sow  the  seeds  of  future  pros- 
perity which  Virginia  reaped  abundantly  at  a  happiiT  period."' 

The  first  fulling  mills  in  Virginia  were  built  about  the  year  1602,  dur- 
ing the  Administration  of  Andros,  who  was  an  encourugtr  of  uiiiiiufac- 


21 


(1)   Politi.ul  Atiriiil.,  I.  p   Mt. 


COLONIAL   CLOTII-MANUKACTUBE. 

advised  Parliament  to  T^^^^^^^,^  .^.llendation  of  that  poUcy  on 
This  appears  to  have  been  the  ^^^'^'^^  ^,,,„,„t8  tlie  prcsnmpt.on 

the  part  of  a  colonial  Goverucn^  a  d        1^^  ^^^^^^^  .  ^  ^^^^  ^,,,„„ 

that  at  this  time  the  -'3];  ,^  ^  "J  1'  tation  of  English  goods.     Bota 

the  imports  and  expor  s  ot  ^  'g  "^  "  ^^98  the  two  provinces 

,™e  greater  than  of  ^  ^l^^;^^^,,^  BrUain.  a  larger  amount 
i„,ported  to  the  value  of  ^•^l^'\^f'  ^^^^  f^,.,    years, 
than  they  received  during  any  «  ^J^^^  ^^J^^^^  were  the  direct  re- 

These  efforts  for  the  '^^--^  "^"^.  ^.,7  ,,,e,  and  of  the  duty  upon 
,ult  of  the  restrictions  upon    he  V.g     a    -  ^  ^^  ^^  ^^^  ^  ^^^^,  ,f  ,,,1 

tobacco.  The  price  of  that  -^-^^^^^^     ^  ,,,,.  ,,,«  dependence.  Maiiy 
distress  to  a  people  .ho  had  m  de         aUy  ^.  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^ 

planters  were,  at  this  time,  ""'^'f  ;°;^  i,,,,,,,d,  in  1G7G.  upon  Virginia 
oftheircrops.     TlK--"«|o,ns  col     ted  u      ,^^^^  ^^  ^^^^_^^^ 

tobncco  (that  of  Maryland  pr      b,^    - ^^  ^^  j^,.,,,,,,  (159O), 

,,,,nng.     The  f  «'-^^^^^^  to  about  £700,000 

amounted  to  only  £50  000      ihoy  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^  „,„y  ^.e- 

sterling.     If  a  ^-^^^'^T'^'^rwh"!  chiefly  centred  in  London,  causing 

Ueved)to  the  ^^^^^^^^'"'iX'^^^^^^^  '''"'  '" 

a  corresponding  growth  «       ^t  ^^  ^'^       ,,,,,,  ,  commerce. 

nation  desired  to  ^^-^^Xf^^^  I,  ,aUing  place  at  this  time,  an 
In  the  settlement  of  Caol.na,wi  j,„v,j;o,  and  cotton.     Wilson, 

attempt  was  made  to  cuH.vo^^  Mlk         1 ,     ^^  ..^^^^^,,  ^, 

in  his  account  of  the  1  rovi  ^^^       ^^^^^^  ^^ 

S;^:,i-r' cypress   and    Sn>yr-    -t,  ^     |>ow  _^^_^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^ 
-ca.«i.u..  ^,^  ,,,,  5,  «eiit    huh    .       2J^y       ,,,,eutions  in  Europe, 

„ade.     The  recent  ^'^^^^^^^  ^'"^^  an  Lmense  impulse  to  the 
which  drove  so  many  to  l.ng  ana  t     g  ^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^  .nercliants, 

manufactures  of  that  -""try,  al      sup,!  4     j,  ^^^  _^^      ^,^^^^  ^^^^^^^^,^^  ^ 

.nsbandmen,  and  nrtific^  ^^  \,t ^o  l>cr  branches  of  industry,  and  in 
knowledge  of  the  l;-"'^"'-;;  ;,  F,,„eh  settled,  through  the  gcnerouB 
Carolina,  where  a  large  body  of  the  i^  ^^  ^^^^  ^,^,^^   j^,^y„,,, 

aid  of  the  «"ti^h/  o-n.  e^.t    tW    n  ^^^  J^  ^^  ,.«  p.,vince  wit 
informs  us,  a  new  kind  «    ^'^yy"^'.,,  J,,„,,i„a,  was  early  attempted. 
its  wool..    The  cnU.vatio^  o^     k,  in^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^  .^  ^^^^  „^^^„^ 

without  much  sue"     ..  by  tiic  ivmb 


on,  which  was 
icholson,  who 
ares,  and  even 

the  colonies.' 
thiit  policy  on 
le  presumption 
he  colonies  was 

goods.  Both 
ler,  were  at  this 
le  two  provinces 

larger  amount 

re  tV.e  direct  re- 
f  the  duty  upon 
)e  ft  cause  of  real 
pendence.  Many 
•om  the  proceeds 
[6,  upon  Virginia 
ted  to  £135,000 
Elizabeth  (1590), 
,  about  £700,000 
due  (as  many  be- 
i  London,  causing 
irprising  that  the 
mnierce. 

:e  at  this  time,  an 
I  cotton.     Wilson, 
,s,  "Cotton  of  the 
11,  and    plenty  of 
ijTo  had  also  been 
putions  in  Europe, 
nse  impulse  to  the 
libers  of  merchants, 
s.     They  broutrht  a 
,  of  industry,  and  in 
hrough  the  generous 
the  Abbe   llaynal 
jf  the  I'rovince  with 
fus  enrly  attempted, 
ar  1693,  it  was  again 


SILK  ANr>  INDIOO  CULTIVATED— MANUFACTURES  NEGLECTED.         323 

introduced  by  Sir  Xithatiiel  Jolmsuu,  upon  a  plantation  in  the  parish  of 
St.  Thomas,  which,  one  hundred  years  later,  still  bore  the  name  of  "  Silk 
Hope.'"   He  made  considerable  quantities  of  raw  silk,  and  induced  many 
others  to  ezigage  in  its  production.    But  Hewatt,  who  blames  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  Province  for  not  giving  suitable  eiicourugcment  to  silk,  cotton, 
and  other  crops,  which  would  have  proved  more  profitaI)le  than  rice,  ob' 
(serves  that  v...vernor  Johnson,  "after  all  his  pains,  rather  showed  ivhut 
might  have  been  done  toward  the  cultivation   of  silk  in  that  Province, 
than  made  such  progress  in  it  as  to  render  the  commodity  of  national  id- 
vantage.'"    Indigo  was  somewhat  later  introduced,  from  Antigua  and 
while  encouraging  trials  were  being  made  with  it,  attention  was  drawn  to 
the  wild  plant  found  there,  which  was  immediately  cultivated  with  such 
success  that,  upon  the  export  of  a  considerable  quantity  to  England,  in 
1747,  the  attention  of  Parliament  was  attracted  to  an  article  so  important 
to  her  manufactures.     In  the  following  year,  a  bounty  of  M.  per  pound 
was  offered  upon  plantation  indigo,  and  the  manufacture  was  pro.sccited 
with  profit  until  it  eventually  gave  place,  like  other  crops,  to  the  cultiia- 
tion  of  cotton.     This  plant  had  for  several  years  been  occasionally  culti- 
vated in  gardens,  and  after  the  year  1702,  "cotton  patches"  became  com- 
mon in  Carolina.     Tobacco,   rice,  indigo,  and   stock-husbandry  ciiiefiy 
employed  the  Southern  Provinces  at  this  time,  and  skillful  workmen  were 
too  scarce,  and,  their  labor  too  dear,  to  admit  of  much  progress  in  the 
mechanic  arts. 

The  quantity  and  quality  of  labor  in  all  stages  of  society  and  of  the 
arts,  govern  in  a  great  measure  the  amount  and  kind  of  production.    This 
whyM.ott-  was  more  particularly  the  case  at  a  period  when  manual  labor 
werUToV     was  tlic  chief  dependence.     Its  scarcity  always  operated  as  a 
hindrance  to  manufactures  in  the  Colonies.     While  other  forms 
of  industry  afforded  the  means  of  purchasing  foreign  merchandise  on  easy 
terms,  few  inducements  existed  to  undertake  them.     While  cmigratioti 
was  brisk,  the  Colonies  were  well  supplied  with  English  goods,  and  its 
arrest  supplied  the  first  motive  for  home  manufactures.     During  the  civil 
wars,  also,  the  commerce  and  industry  of  the  Northern  Colonies  were  left 
perfectly  free  to  seek  their  most  profitable  channels.     The  sympathy  of 
New  England  with  the  Republican  cause  even,  j.roduccd  special  marks 
of  favor  from  the  Protector,  l)y  an  exemption  from  all  customs.     The 
Colonies  had,  conscquensly,  engaged  in  the  most  lucrative  Ijranches  of 
business,  sought  the  most  profitable  markets,  and  procured  their  supplies 
in  such  ways  as  they  deemed  most  favorable  to  their  interests.     They  hud 
progressed  iu  wealth  and  inCuenco  with  a  rapi<lity  quite  unexampled   iu 


(It  Raunay'g  Ilia,  of  S.  C,  ii.  47J. 


(2)  Hilt.  S.  C.  aui  Uourgiii,  i.  I J7. 


COLONIAL   CLOrU-aiANLFACTUBE. 

ArrricuUure  cmploved  the  majority  of  the  people. 
80  short  a  time  ^g'"="7^  '  I'creat  iucrease  yielded  by  a  virgiu 
Abundauce  and  cheapness  oi'^-^,^^  EJ^  profits  arising  out  of  the 
«oil.  the  extent  of  pasturage  f  7\';'3;;';f  „,,,i  .tores  and  other 
export  of  the  various  P-^»f  ^  .'^  ^^f  .^J'  ^  ^  British.  Colonial  and 
products  of  the  forest;  and  of  ^.^^.f;;  ;';;;^,„  ,in,bor  from  meehan- 

u,.  --^;;f  — ^:;i!:r;:r'.a  .ept  up  ti.  pn.  of 

ica  pursuits.     lUih  uiey  iu"b  .  ^^   position  ot  au 

;.  J  by  en.bling  the  ^^^Z:'J]:Xi  halt  century  of  their 
independent  planier.     Before  '^''^'l^']^  ,  ,o  u  degree  scarcely 

Ui«tory.  the  older  Colo">es  were  rch  and  pros^e  ^^  ^^^^^  ^^. 

exceeded  during  the  time  ^'^^  ^^  ^t  "sheries  were  the  arms  of  their 
tain.     But  agriculture,  commerce  and  tl'^  b^  «  subordinate 

Lngth.     Ti.  Mechanic  arts  an^l—^  ^^  ^,  ,,,,, 

interest,  and  their  ^^^ ^/j^r^^^.t  the  enactment,  or  subsequent 
remained  unrestrained,  kep   them  so  ,.,,tricting  the  choice  of  a 

enforcement,  of  the  laws  of  ^J^^^'  '';  ^,,4  ^_^^  value  of 

^r.rl  market,  and  limiting  the  1-^^-  -J  ^.^  and  capital 
-  -'-•  Colonial  producfons.  for  ed  '^  P"'^^^;;  ^^^,^,  fi.ia  of  domes- 
,eretofore  employed  in  o' -^^^ ^^^^^^;^^;  ^'  J^  ,„,,cement  of  her 
tie  manufacture.  From  the  ;'-'  ^^^^^^  ^  !  j'^  ^^eat  Britain,  we  shall 
commercial  statutes  became  U.e  ^^^^^^  ,^^,  ^manufactures,  and 
find  an  increased  attention  to  ^» «  «"^  «^^  development, 

efforts  of  the  national  Gov-J^  ^^^^e  .Vs  ate  to  a  monopoly  of  the 
The  assertion  of  the  "f  ;  ,f  ,  '7;;  j^uies  I.,  who  attempted  to 
Colonial  trade,  was  as  ^^^f^^J^^',^^,,,,  to  Holland,  where  the 

1a»tl-  ,  .  1       .     P,nite  the  King's  hostility  to  it.  ren- 

The  increasing  use  of  tobacco     e  pile    he  Kg  ^^  ^^^^^^^^  . 

dered  the  duty,  prospectively  at  ^^^Z^^::^,,^^  country,  it  was 
,nd  in  the  attempt  to  P-^^^^''^'^^'"''"'  ""  j  i,,  right,  be  landed  in  Eng- 
declared  that  all  Colonial  P-^f  ^^^  ;S;o  .'pri-iple  quite  in  ac 
iand,  to  which  the  trade  of  t  «  ^o^^^^^^^^  „;,.eLtile  nations  of  that 
cordance  with  the  doctrine  -«<^  P  J^^  ^^  ^^  ,  t  tobacco  to  a  foreign 
day.  Virginia,  however,  claimed  »'«;  ^j^^  ^^  .^^  ,,,,,er,  that  of  carry- 
^Jrket,  in  virtue  of  the  P"v.lege jn  ^ed  b^^^^      ^  ^^^^^^^^^^  ^^ 

^lo^r:.;:;::^^^^ 


M 


NATURE   AND   DESIGN   OF   THE   NAVIGATION   ACTS. 


325 


f  the  people, 
ed  by  a  virgiu 
ing  out  of  tlie 
)rei>  anii  other 

Colonial  and 
•  from  mechan- 
ip  the  pi'ice  of 
position  of  au 
•entnry  of  their 
degree  scarcely 
8  of  Great  Bri- 
he  arms  of  their 
rery  subordinate 
,  long  as  trade 
.t,  or  subsequent 
r  the  choice  of  a 
uid  the  value  of 
iibov  and  capital 
d  field  of  domes- 
forcement  of  her 
Britain,  we  shall 
oanufactures,  and 
opiuent. 

monopoly  of  the 
who  attempted  to 
.Hand,  where  the 
0  evade  the  duties 
ore  extended  mar- 
isumption  of  Eng- 

hoslilily  to  it,  ren- 
lource  of  revenue ; 
sign  country,  it  was 
,,  be  landed  in  Eng- 
inciple  quite  in  ac- 
itilo  nations  of  tliat 
tobacco  to  a  foreign 
arter,  that  of  curry- 
A.  monopoly  of  the 
currence  of  the  civil 
luced  Parliament  to 
r  tobacco  of  foreign 


growth,  and  by  imposing  a  duty  on  tobacco  grown  in  England,  so  as  to 
render  its  cultivation  there  uiiprolitable.     Tlie  Navigation  Acts  of  1650 
and  1651,  by  conBning  tiie  phmtution  trade  to  British  ports  and  British 
shipping,  extended  this  exclusive  policy  to  the  whole  of  the  now  valuable 
trade  of  the  Colonies  and  all  Colonial  productions  whatever.     As  a  com- 
pensation to  Virginia  for  this  limitation  of  her  market,  tobacco  was,  in 
1652,  forbidden  to  be  cultivated  in  England,  and  the  Act  was  confirmed 
on  the  Restoration,  when  all  tobacco  plantations  in  England  were  ordered 
to  be  destroyed.     By  the  Act  of  1661,  no  sugar,  tobacco,   cotton-wool, 
indigo,  ginger,  or  woods  used  in  dyeing,  of  the  growth  or  manufacture  of 
the  Colonies,  could  be  shipped  to  any  other  country  than  to  England.     All 
other  articles  were  left  free,  but  these  embraced  the  most  important  Colo- 
nial products.     To  these  enumerated  articles  others  were  added,  from 
time  to  time,  as  they  severally  became  of  importance  in  the  Colonial  trade, 
as,  for  example,  coffee,  hides,  skins,  iron,  corn,  lumber,  etc.     This  mono- 
poly of  the  Colonial  commerce  was  completed  by  the  Act  of  1663,  wliieh 
prohibited  the  importation  of  any  commodity,  the  growth,  production,  or 
manufacture  of  Europe,  into  the  British  plantations,  but  what  was  laden 
in  England,  and  in  vessels  navigated  according  to  previous  Acts.     The 
Preaiuble  to  this  Act  avows  the  motive  to  its  enactment  and  the  prevail- 
ing policy  of  European  countries  to  be — "  the  maintaining  a  greater  cor- 
respondence and  kindness  between  the  subjects  at  home  and  those  in  the 
plantations;  keeping  the  Colonies  in  a  firmer  dependence  upon  the  mother 
country  ;  making  them  yet  more  beneficial  to  it  in  the  further  employment 
and  increase  of  English  shipping  and  seamen,  and  in  the  vent  of  Engii.sh 
woolen  and  other  manufactures  and  commodities;  rendering  the  naviga- 
tion to  and  frbm  them  more  safe  and  cheap  ;  and  making  this  kingdom 
a  staple  not  only  of  the  commodities  of  the  plantations,  but  also   of  the 
commodities  of  other  countries  and  places  for  their  supply;  it  being  the 
usage  of  other  nations  to  keep  their  plantation  trade  exclusively  to  them- 
selves."    Salt,  wines,  and  a  few  other  articles,  wire  excepted,  nnd  draw- 
backs were  allowed  of  the  duties  on  goods  shipped  to  the  Colonies. 
Though  doubtless  favorable  to  the  growth  of  English  commerce  and 
navigation,  at  the  expense  of  the  dominant  maritime  power  of  Holland, 
their  injurious  effect  upon  Colonial  prosperity,  by  fettering  the  freedom 
of  trade  in  respect  both  to  buying  and  selling,  was  an  unfavorable  issue — 
by  no  means  intended,  but  rather  overlooked  or  postponed — to  the  more 
vital  consideration  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  parent  State.     The 
Acts  were  regarded  with  the  highest  dissatisfaction  in  America,  jiarticu- 
hirly  in  Virginia,  the  value  of  whose  staple  was  ruinously  affected  by  them. 
The  first  statutes  were  oppressively  enforced  in  that  Colony  l)y  the  agents 
of  Cromwell,  on  account  of  its  disaffection  to  his  government,  while  New 


326  COLONIAL   CLOTIl-MANUFACTtBE. 

,  r  li,i..nl  reasons  was  suffered  to  disregard  Uicm  allogether. 
England,  for  r'^l'^'^'"^'^^";"  \;"  „;„  ^,.a  after  the  imposition  of  duties, 
Resistance  -^ -^^l^jr^:  ^^f  ;.:  e  officers,  the  resent„,env  against 
and  the  aprou'tnienl  of  Colonial  re  province  and  in 

,,,,  return  for  its  loyaty  rose  to  o,eurc^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^^_^.^^  ^^ 

Maryland.     To  the  Ac    ^^  l/^J^^^^^^^^^^    ^^^   u.  inability   to    add 
the   trade   and   navigation   of   tl  t  ^«'«"y'  ^  ^„^  ,i„es,  or 

to  procure  any  bWiIIW  .»»  W  li  ^  ^^  ^^^^  j.|„j,,  j„„„. 

:r»rilt;:.;FLe,»a  other  c„uU,,e»t..po^^^^^^^^ 

th.  ™.riU.ne  code,  ,„oa«ccd  P-' ■"'«''  [f.^'t'd^t;^^^^^^^  l<«» 
„e,tic  revolutions,  pointed  ont  to  the  C»^    '"  ^^    ' ^^^  „  „,„a 

„t  interests  .mong  themselves  and  otiMtu^t  mate  I  ^^  ^^^^ 

to  ali  nceessarie,  ti,.  eost  and  '""n'  J  «';".;  ''j  ,,  J„„,  „,„1„. 

^'•"'  "-::;. ".at::.::";:  interl  or  «..,..  co,nmer«  ar.  U. 

New  stttnti-  ^""  ,        1  trovernment  were  confided  to  tiia 

i„«B.mrti      affa  rs  of  Colonial  trade  ana  goviuui  ^  ,,    «•  j^i 

taV.  ,od.  »,.ie„  t„enee.r»ard  .«ame  Ute  'J^^^^:^ 

inteiiigenee  npoa  those  s.ilijeels,  an     '''«  "  ™'""'  y,.,,    „port» 

:;\::-eTrrrr.er^^^^^^^^^       «— '-  •»■ 

cia.  intereonrse,  b,  iimiting  trado  between  Lngl.nd  «-  j^ 

Eng,is„.  ,ris,„.nd  C;;-i«<     ^^Cd^   s'^.i:!     A.f  .aw-,  b,- 
produce  from  going  to  the  polls  ol  """  ,    f        ;„  „„y 

Ls,  usages,  or  custom,  in  P-'™  ^^^^  gltul  U-e  ..ws  ofEng- 
„f  ,l,e  plantations,  t.h,cl,  were  lu  any  »'»';■'=.'«  ^    „,     .,  „„i,, 

Und  relating  to  the  plantation  "^«';2;;t"rc  mm.ndi,^  a  tax 
""  '°'\rtbe'Tol  "s:;lir^.  :.:rde's:;'bad  ye.  be.,  ., bitted 
:ru,r;.  .t  M;;:.ry,and  .«,  a„swer.d  bytwo  o.ber,  deny.ng 


LAW  PROHIBITINQ   EXPORTATION   OF   WOOLENS. 


327 


em  allogether. 
ition  of  duties, 
ntmeni  against 
rovince  and  in 
destruction  of 
ibility   to    add 

and  vines,  ov 
f  silk,  or  to  ex- 
ile King's  domi- 
Colonies.     Tlie 

growing  out  of 
iid,  aided  by  do- 
of  a  closer  union 
ndeuce  in  regard 
e  subject  to  the 
f  internal  revolu- 
diate  occasion  of 
ing,  and  of  sinii- 

cil,  or  Board  of 
isioners  for  Trade 
ommerce  ar,d  the 
•e  confided  to  that 
itory  of  all  official 
mininnication  with 
3.  Yearly  reports 
Governors,  in  an- 

restricted  comraer- 
iid  her  Colonies  to 
rohibiting  Colonial 
md.     AH  laws,  by- 
.  be  in  force  in  any 
to  the  laws  of  Eng- 
to  be  illegal,  null, 
ecomraending  a  tax 
d  yet  been  exhibited 
two  others  denying 
itation. 

portion  of  their  own 
1  unnoticed  in  Eng- 
5  received  complaints 


from  English  merchants  and  manufacturers,  that  'he  wool  and  woolen 
manufactures  of  Ireland  and  the  North  American  plantaJons  began  to  be 
Woolen-  exported  to  foreign  markets  formerly  sup[)lied  by  England — 
flr"t'rec'!!K-"a'i  Act  passod  the  British  Parliament,  in  which  the  existence 
Srohibiuii,  of  such  a  manufacture  in  the  Colonies  is,  for  the  first  time,  re 
'«»»•  cognized  in  the  Statute  Book.  This  statute  (10  and  11  \Vm.  III. 

c.  X.)  was  dictated  by  that  sleepless  vigilance  which  guarded  the  staple 
manufacture  of  England.  It  prohibited  the  exportation  of  any  wiol  or 
woolen  manufacture  from  Ireland,  excei)t  to  certain  ports  in  England  • 
but,  by  way  of  compensation,  virtually  surrendered  to  Ireland  the  linen 
manufacture,  then  little  regarded  in  conipiirison  with  the  woolen  interests. 
In  reference  to  the  Colonies,  it  was  enacted  that  "After  the  first  day  of 
December,  1699,  no  wool,  woolfels,  yarn,  cloth,  or  woolen  manufactures 
of  the  English  plantations  in  America  shall  be  shipped  in  any  of  the  said 
English  plantations,  or  otherwi.se  loaden,  in  order  to  be  transported  thence 
to  any  place  whatsoever,  under  the  penalty  of  forfeiting  .ship  and  cargo, 
and  £500  fine  for  each  offence;  and  the  Governors  of  the  Plantations 
and  Officers  of  Customs  and  Revenue  thure,  are  to  see  this  Act,  as  it 
relates  to  the  plantations,  duly  executed.'" 

The  population  of  the  American  Colonics,  at  this  time,  was  estimated 
at  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand. 

This  prohibition,  under  which  they  were  laid,  was  a  violation  of  the 
plainest  rights  of  the  Colonist  to  employ  his  industry  in  such  way  as  he 
might  find  most  profitable.  But  it  was  probcbly  less  instrumental  in 
checking  the  disposition  to  manufactures  at  that  time  than  it  would  have 
been  in  an  advanced  stage  of  the  business.  On  account  of  the  remote- 
ness of  the  Colonies  from  the  sovereign  state,  and  the  great  extent  of 
their  sea  coast,  it  woidd  have  proved  no  more  effectual  in  preventing  an 
exportation  for  which  they  were  prepared,  than  the  laws  of  Parliament 
then  were  against  the  exportation  of  wool  from  Great  Britain.  It  was 
thought,  a  few  years  later,  that  about  five-eighths  of  the  entire  English 
wool  crop,  in  defiance  of  the  laws,  found  its  way,  surreptitiously,  into  the 
markets  of  France  and  the  Continent.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the 
liberality  of  Great  Britain  toward  he  Colonies,  in  permitting  one-half 
and  often  the  whole  of  the  duties  paid  on  foreign  linens  and  other  goods 
imported  into  England  to  be  drawn  back  upon  their  exportation  to  the 
Colonies;  and  still  more,  the  giving  of  large  bounties  for  the  importa- 
tion thence  of  naval  stores  and  certain  materials  of  manufacture,  had  more 
influence,  at  this  period,  in  diverting  them  from  manufactures  with  a  view 
to  exportation,  than  any  prohibitory  enactments.     The  system  of  draw- 

(1)  Abridgement  of  the  Statutes,  vol.  iv.  p.  3U. 


528  COLONIAL   CLOTH-MANLFACTURE. 

backs  which  was  continued  until  the  year  1763.  favored  Uvrge  i'^P"^;';^*-^' 
a  d  Lny  kinds  of  foreign  goods  could  eonsecjuenty  be  purchased  . 
Colonie/as  cheap,  and  sometimes  cheaper  than  m  England      By- 
Acts  of  Navigation.  English  merchants  had  the  monopoly  of  the  Colo  y 
uade  and  bo^h  English  manufacturers  and  the  customs'  revenue  suBc.ul 
;  an  id     nee  which  furnished  the  Colonial  market  at  the  clj-pest  ra 
pLsible  except  by  direct  exchange  with  the  producng  count.-.es^    By  a 
Act  passed  in  1704,  "  For  encouraging  the  nnportal.on  of  ,Navai  S  ores 
tl'her  Majesty's'plantations  in  America."  ^^^f^^^^^^^^^^ 
the  first  time,  of  four  pounds  per  tou  upon  tar  and  p.tch;  th.ce  pounc 
u  on  t  entine.  and  lix  pounds  upon  water-rotted  hemp ;  an    upon  . 
raasts    yards,  and  bowsprits,   one  pound  per  ton  of  forty  feet      ihe.e 
ZnUe    Idiaed  from  time  to  time,  and  sin.ilar  ones  upon  other  pro- 
ducts luld  a  tendency,  by  raising  the  price  of  timber,  and  rendermg  pro- 
fiate  the  branches  so  encouraged,  still  further  to  turn  the  labor  and 
Tui  al  not  employed  in  agriculture  from  nnumfactures  to  those  more  re- 
Z     at"::  cllnels,  and  tl  open  facilities  for  an  a".;nented  unportat.ou 
of  English  and  European  goods.     The  bounty  on  hemp    f^med    o me 
attention  to  its  culture,  particularly  in  Virgin.a  '-^'^Tt^^^ 
hemp  of  the  former  Province  was,  a  few  years  after,  said,  by  Joshua  Uee, 
to  be  equal  to  the  best  of  European.  .  .      r  ,i.„ 

The  remarks  of  Lord  Cornbury,  in  his  report  upon  the  state     fth 
Province  of  New  York,  made  in  the  following  year  are  -^^'»    -«• - 
showing  the  views  of  British  statesmen  and  oflicud.,  and  pel- 
r- ^  "■  haps  the  source  of  many  of  the  ideas  entertained  by  the  mnus- 
i?oTmo?''  J,t  that  time  in  regard  to  Colonial  manufactures  and  the 
means   .f  suppressing  them.     They  exhibit  not  less  distinct  y  th.  spint 
rJtemper  o7the  Colonists  on  the  subject  of  Parlian.entary  >nter^^^^^^^^^^^ 
and  furnish  some  information  upon  the  state  of  manufactures  in  tl  a   1  ro- 
V  „c       He  strongly  urges  that  the  Colonies  should  be  encouraged  to  fur- 
Ti  h  nav^.1  stores-flax,  hemp,  and  .'milar  productious-as  a  means  of 
Taki  g  returns  for  the  large  purchases  of  English  -""f-;--  "'    ^ 
Inner  contemplated  by  the  statute  already  referred  to.     As  a  furth  r 
Taso     he  obse  ves.  "  besides  the  want  of  wherewithall  to  make  re  urn  to 
I    gh";     puts  them  upon  a  Trade  which,  I  am  sure  will  hurt  England  .u 
a  liUle  t  nie;  for  I  am  well  informed  that  upon  Long  Island  and  Con- 
e  tfcut  :i.e    are  setting  upon  a  woollen  Manufacture,  -^  I  n.sc^r  have 
,een  Serge  made  upon  Long  Island  that  a.,y  man  may  wear.     Now    f 
hey  begin  to  make  Serge,  they  will,  in  time,  make  coarse  Cloth,       d 
then  fine  ;  we  have  as  good  fullers'  earth  and  tobacco  p.pe  clay  n.  thm 
province  is  any  in  the  world  ;-  how  far  this  will  be  for  the  serv.ee  of  Eng- 
0)  The  fullers-  «arth,  so  valuable  ia  tbo  fulling  proce»,  on  account  of  its  dcler.iT, 


BEPORTS  OF  aOVER.NOKS  OORNBURY,  IIEATHrOTE,  AND  IIUNTEH.      329 


I  importations, 
rchased  in  the 
land.     By  tlie 
of  the  Colony 
jvenuc  suffevcd 
B  cheapest  rale 
ntries.     Hy  an 
•  Naval  Stores 
tre  offered,  for 
;  three  ponuds 
i;  and  upon  all 
Ly  feet.     These 
ipon  other  pro- 
rendering  pro- 
.  the  labor  and 

I  those  more  re- 
ited  importation 
p  secur(id  some 
irolina,  and  the 

by  Joshua  Gee, 

the  state  of  the 
•e  instructive,  as 
flicials,  and  per- 
led  by  the  minis- 
ifactures  and  the 
stinttly  thti  spirit 
itary  interference, 
lures  in  that  Pro- 
iicouraged  to  fur- 
— as  a  means  of 
mufactuies  in  the 
.0.     As  a  farther 
to  make  return  to 

II  hurt  England  in 
5  Island  and  Con- 
and  I  myself  have 
ay  wear.  Now,  if 
coarse  Cloth,  and 
0  pipe  clay  in  this 
the  service  of  Eng- 
iccouDl  of  its  dctcrsiTS 


land,  I  snbniit  to  better  judgments ;  but,  however,  I  liope  I  may  be  par- 
doned if  I  declare  my  oi)inion  to  be  that  ail  these  Colloiieys  which  are 
but  twigs  belonghig  to  the  main  Tree  (England)  ought  to  be  kept  en- 
tirely dependent  ujjon  and  subservient  to  England,  and  that  can  never 
be,  if  tliey  are  suflured  to  goe  on  in  the  notions  they  have,  that,  as  they 
are  Englishmen,  soe  they  may  set  up  the  same  manufactures  here  as  peo- 
ple may  do  in  England  ;  for  the  consequence  will  be,  if  once  they  can  see 
they  can  cloathe  thenKselvcs,  not  only  comfortably,  but  handsomely  too, 
without  the  help  of  England,  they,  who  are  already  not  very  fond  of  sub- 
mitting to  government,  would  soon  think  of  putting  in  execution  designs 
they  bad  long  harbourd  in  their  breasts.  This  will  not  seem  strange, 
when  you  consider  what  sort  of  people  this  country  is  inhabited  by." 

In  August,  1708,  previous  to  the  arrival  of  Cornbury's  successor.  Col. 
Heathcote,  a  member  of  the  council,  and  an  applicant  for  the  contract  to 
supply  naval  stores,  wrote  to  the  Board  of  Trade  that  he  had  labored  to 
divert  the  Americans  from  going  on  with  their  linen  and  woolen  manufac- 
tures, lie  says  they  were  already  so  far  advanced,  that  three-fourths  of 
the  linen  and  woolen  used  was  made  amongst  them,  "  especially  the  coarse 
sort,  and  if  some  speedy  and  effectual  ways  are  not  found  to  put  a  stop 
to  it,  they  will  carry  it  on  a  great  deal  further,  and  perhaps,  in  time,  very 
much  to  the  prejudice  of  our  manufactories  at  home.  I  have  been  dis- 
coursed with  by  some  to  assist  them  in  setting  np  a  manufactory  of  fine 
stuffs,  but  I  have,  for  the  present,  put  it  by,  and  will,  for  my  own  part, 
never  be  concerned  in  it,  nor  any  other  of  that  nature,  but  will  use  all 
the  little  interest  ami  skill  I  have  to  prevent  it."  Governor  Unnter,  in 
1715,  recoramend.s  the  same  means  as  his  predecessors,  to  divert  the  peo- 
ple from  the  manufacture  of  Cloth,  of  which  the  country  people  chiefly 
wore  the  product  of  their  own  looms;  but,  as  it  war  well  known  that 
imported  goods  were  accounted  cheap,  at  an  advance  of  one  hundred  per 
cent,  on  the  cost,  to  compel  them  to  wear  such  would  be  too  severe  an 
expedient.  lie  had  never  known  the  homespun  to  be  sold  in  the  stores. 
A  letter  from  New  England  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  on  the  same  subject, 
and  in  thi^  same  year,  reiterates  the  necessity  of  employing  the  NewEng- 


"  Oil-irabibing  earth, 
The  fullers'  mill  anaisting,  safe  defies 
All  foreign  rivals  in  the  clotiiier's  art." 


jiropcrtiea,  was  long  regarded  as  almost  ex- 
clusively the  iirii'Iiu'tion  of  Kngland,  and  os 
one  of  the  mont  prooious  of  her  fossil  trea- 
eures.  Tho  exportation  of  that  and  pipe- 
clay was,  therefore,  prohiliited,  along  with  And  after  remarking  (in  a  note)  that  it  wai" 
that  of  wool  and  other  materials  used  in  tho  found  in  no  other  country,  cites  the  opin'  a 
woolen  manufnoturus,  as  early,  at  least,  as  of  Dr.  Woodward,  that  it  was  of  more  value 
1630,  and  by  several  later  statutes.  Dods-  to  England  than  the  mines  of  Peru  would 
ley,  in  his  "Agriculture,"  written  many  be.  It  is  mentioned  among  the  native  pro- 
years  after  the  date  in  the  text,  claims  that  ductions  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  in 
this  1669. 


ggQ  COLONIAL   CLOTII-MANtrACTIJ.VE. 

Und  people  in  nroaueing  naval  stores,  to  tarn  them  iVom  mann  ictures.  It 
^itlT^ltlix  thouLd  barrels  of  tar.  ,ite..  a..d  -r;;-;^--- 
home  that  year  by  one  fleet.  But  that  nine  years  before  the  great  scaiuty 
a  d  IrneL  of  woolen  goods,  which  sold  at  two  ^-^-d  ijer  cent  ad- 
vance, had  forced  them  to  "  set  up  a  very  --^"^^  !  "L°;;/;    ^2;  Z 

I.  ,c*Z  1  ..owed  policy  or  the  government,  and  three  ,ea.  1«    , 

*e  Bill  ,>rohil,iti„B  tl,e  ereellon  of  forje,  .„d  '^°»  ^'^  "°    'T^tTw 
and  deeWed  tl»t  the  creeling  of  Manataetortes  m  Ih.  Co.ome.     tend,  to 

%rrertsre;rr'.rr^^^^^^ 
-' "trii^rof^rririr^^^^^^^^^ 

Kitidsof      coarser  KMm« «  rr,ttnn  was  regular  y  imported 

L;::  anrri^^t^o  :^^  U...  emended,  and  was  made  into  fus- 

''-n:^:r^^:X^  -purposes  .r  Which  cotton  is 

vod  and  hence  the  attention  given  to  the  cultivation  of  the  flax 
now  emploj  d  and  henc    th  k         ^.^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^ 

^fX""ar        "texlre      TLkersey..linsey-woole^ 

of  .  .„  te  ^!^^l''ll'll  ,    ^,„,i3i„,d  with  flax  or  tow,  and  formed 

gets,  consisted  of  wool  various  y  ^^^.^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^^ 

the  outer  '^^^^/j^Zl  linen  of  diire'rent  degrees  of  fineness  from 
rrarses!   ow    loth      the  finest  Osnaburg  or  Holland,  constituted  the 

.    2    V  arbg  apparel  outward  and  inward  at  other  times.     The  inner 
prmcn^alweanng  appare  ^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^^ 

SfsuTp  i     fl'  ttfseTvilble  products  Jf  the  household  industry^ 
A     til    mplments  of  manufacture  were  then  comparatively  rude,  and 
^  ny  m  Zn  p  oeesses  of  manufact-VtC  and  finish  were  as  yet  unknown 
r  a^r  1  made,  whether  woolen  or  linen,  were  more  r^™-'-" 
Zn  for  c'eeance.     The  material  was  mostly  grown  upon  the  farms 
rf^Lpltade  breaking  and  heckling  being  done  by  the  men 
Jhi^^  the  car  ing.  spinning,  weaving,  bleaching,  and  dyeing,  were  per- 
Irmed  bv  the  wiv  «  and  daughters  of  the  planter,  the  beauty  and  abund- 
ire  of  the  stores  of  househofd  lineu  were  an  object  of  laudable  pnde  and 
emulation  with  all  thrifty  families. 


THE   DRESS   OF  AMERICANS   IN    LAST   CENTURY. 


831 


inn  ictures.     It 
entine  were  sent 
le  great  scarcity 
ed  per  cent  ad- 
lanufactory,  still 
Buttons,  &c.,by 
Based  fifty  thou- 
irable  to  British 
liii  arise,  and  the 
1  English  goodtf. 
his  time,  became 
:hree  years  later, 
i  was  introduced, 
olouies  "  tends  to 

>rica,  were  chiefly 
ily  the  stout  and 
or  hempen  thread 
■egularly  imported 
sionally  also  from 
was  made  into  fus- 

6r  which  cotton  is 
tivation  of  the  flax 
J  for  the  most  part 
5,  serges,  and  drug- 
)r  tow,  and  formed 
during  the  colder 
ics  of  fineness  from 
md,  constituted  the 
r  times.     The  inner 
classes  were  almost 
household  industry. 
)aratively  rude,  and 
jre  as  yet  unknown, 
lore  remarkable  for 
rown  upon  the  farms 
ig  done  by  the  men, 
id  dyeing,  were  per- 
le  beauty  and  abund- 
)f  laudable  pride  and 


The  dress  of  apprentices  and  laborers,  early  in  the  last  century,  almost 
invariably  comprised  shirts  of  this  home  manufactured  "  Ozenbrig,"iuadu 
of  hemp  or  flax,  and  varying  in  price  from  one  to  one  sliilling  and  sixpence 
per  yard,  and  vests  and  breeches  of  the  same,  or  of  coarse  tow-cloth. 
Coats,  or  doublets,  and  breeches  of  leather,  or  enduring  buckskin,  and 
coats  also  of  kersey,  drugget,  duroy,  frieze,  etc. ;  felt  hats,  coarse  leather 
shoes,  with  brass  buckles,  and  often  wooden  heels ;  and  coarse  yarn  or 
worsted  stockings,  were  the  common  outer  habiliments  of  that  cla.ss,  and 
were  principally  of  home  manufacture.  The  distinctions  of  rank  were 
pretty  clearly  defined,  and  the  dress  of  the  middle  and  wealthier  classes 
corresponded  to  the  tastes  and  abilities  of  each. 

With  the  former,  domestic  fabrics  were  much  worn,  particularly  the 
finer  kinds  of  Osnaburgs  and  Hollands,  and  Cloths  of  mixed  or  unmixed 
wool,  such  as  tlicy  possessed  the  means  of  making,  or  of  purchasing. 
They  also  made  considerable  nse  of  imported  broadcloths,  which,  however, 
were  often  worn  white  or  undyed.  With  the  rich,  imported  goods  were 
used  almost  exclusively,  and  consisted  of  the  woolen  manufactures  of 
England,  and  the  linens  of  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  the  continent.  Even 
silks  and  velvets,  then  much  in  vogue  in  England  for  male  as  well  as  female 
attire,  formed  a  considerable  part  of  their  clothing,  where  it  was  per- 
mitted, and  the  price  of  a  good  farm  was  sometimes  given  for  a  fash- 
ionable outfit. 

India  cottons  were  first  brought  to  England  in  1630,  and  in  1690  the 
art  of  printing  them  was  introduced  there,  after  which  they  found  their 
way  to  America.  Cottons,  or  calicoes,  were  for  a  time  rendered  very 
cheap  in  this  country  by  an  Act  of  Parliament,  passed  in  1121,  at  the 
instance  of  the  woolen  manufacturers,  prohibiting  the  wearing  of  printed 
or  dyed  Cotton  goods,  except  blue  calicoes,  muslins,  or  fustians.  The 
English  fabrics  of  cotton  and  linen,  since  cal!ed  "  Unions  ;"  and  still  larger 
quantities  of  woolens,  helped  to  swell  the  enormous  amount  of  British 
manufactures  regularly  imported. 

About  the  year  1719,  a  considerable  improvement  was  made  in  the 

linen  manufacture  in  this  country,  by  a  number  of  Protestant  people  from 

the  Xorth  of  Leland,  who  introduced  a  better  knowledge  of  the 

Scotch  Irish  " 

introduce     cultivation  and  manufacture  of  flax  and  the  linen  or  foot  wheel 

the  liineii 

WHuufac-  for  spinning  flax.  To  those  people,  called  Scotch  Irish,  from 
having  originally  emigrated  from  Scotland  to  Ireland,  with  the 
art,  to  escape  persecution  which  once  more  drove  them  to  America,  we 
are  said  to  be  indebted  also  for  the  common  Irish  potato,  the  most  val- 
uable esculent  of  their  native  or  adopted  country.  The  principal  body 
of  these  immigrants,  who  were  from  Londonderry,  in  Ireland,  settled  to 
thb  number  of  sixteen  families  in  New  Hampshire,  at  a  place  which  they 


i 


gga  COLONIAL  C1.0TI1-MANVFACTVRE. 

>  ..„  il.pv  soon  after  comniencca  the  raising  of 
called  by  the  same  name.  ^  ^  f  ^J  ^  ;1,  ,u.ers  to  follow  their  ex- 
flax  and  the  mannfacture  of  I  nu..  ^^'^J^^  ^,„  ,^,,,ay  thousand, 
ample.     Their  descendants.  -^^^^^Z^^,^,^,.,  Mass.-husetts. 

;;:r::r;.r^l-c:-:d:..e.theindnstrionsh^^^^^^^ 

settled,  and  engaged  in  the  .men  indni^ivy,  and  soon 

been  brought  up.  they  made  -P'^P-^^^^    ,f  ,,,;,  Unen  proenri-^.,  a 
acquired  wealth  and  nnpo..^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  of  the  art,  and  the 

larg.  demand  for      "      ^f,lh\,V  eame  provided,  gave  an  impulse  o  the 
impr  >ved  implements  ^^  .th  ^  ^  ^  "^^  ^  i^^.,,„,  ,„  appendage  to  almost 

business,  and  the  fluK  wheel  tl'C"     o^va^^  ^^.,,^^,  ,„,  ^r  many 

every  farm-house  and  eottage  m  ^^^.^^  ^,,  ,,,  ,,,^,  ,,,.,,  the  other 
purposes,  and  espeemlly  for  flax,  much   ui  ^^^^^^  ^.^^^^^  ^^^^^ 

L.  of  the  old  one-U>read  spnn  n^  wl  ^^^^^^^  ^y  ^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^,^,^^. 

before  the  settlement  o   ^^^^    ^     ,^^  „,,terial  improvement  in  sp.n- 
sede  the  ancient  sp.ndle  and  J'|      ;;  ^  ^,,  , ,  C7,  introduced 

„i„,„pparatuswasmadeunt  n^^^^- 

r5y:;:"S.ar:ledoLnanti,ne.rmof 

"*"      J^  _      .       ., i,:.ii,„.r,in,llc  iisthoy  walk; 


(1)  Twenty  fumilies  from  tins  -took, 
.l.ro>  gU  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Alox.uKler 
il^utt,  settle,  in  1761.  at  Lon.onaerry. 
Nova  Scotia,  where  tl>ey  reemved  a  jrn 
of  on.  million  acres  of  lana.mueU  of  UM>U 
ocupied  by  their  po.t.ri.y.  who  are  a.u<.« 
the  moH  lnda.trious  and   wealthy  .u  that 

(2)  We  have  been  surprised  to  meet  with 
„o  bin,  more  than  a  rh.-lorio«l  allusion  to  ho 

^,e  of  the  ai.taff  and  .p->"'ll«  »'»""«   '"'*^^" 
"tiers  in   An,eri<-a.     Tho.e  prim  ..ve  and 
X.lie  instrnments  were  far  fr.„nbe.n«  out 

ofu,einthata,,y.andwere,mterocen,ly 
If  they  are  m.t  -till,  to  be  fuund  in  parts  of 
Pp»ni.h    Peninsula.     For   the  snmo  reason 
that  Theocritus,  two  thousand  years  bro 

Inouncodthedlstalf"  friend  to  warp  and 
^oof."  the  anthnr  of  "The  Fleece,"  publ.hed 
Tn  the  same  year,  that  tb.  .Jenny  eamont,, 
ioand    l:ay f-er  the  New  En.Und 

..ttloment.   .penU.  of  it.  -;«'-;";;;; 

Norwich,  KHd  the  county  of  Suflolk.  t.ng- 

La,  whence  many  of  the  roh,n,s..  came: 

And  m.iny  •H"  "Jl"-'" 
To  th-  ancient  di.Uff,  .t  th.  bo.om  fixc4, 


Casting  the  wbirli.«  spindle  as  tbcyw.alk, 
Mhonu.,orinthesbcepfuld.rth..mart, 
Alike  the  work  proceeds.    This  nu  (hod  et.U 
N„rvic«m  favors  and  the  Iconian  towns. 
It  yields  their  airy  slufl's  an  aptcr  thread. 


But  if  the  New  England  matrons  did  not 
,„y„,„ir  bands  to  the  spinaie,  or  hold  the 
rtiLo.  it  was  not  that  they  aid  no,  look  well 
.„U.e  ways  of  the  household,  for  the  pater- 
„.l  regard  of  their  rulers  n>ade  that    hu. 
.,..,e,aswebaveseen.     There  can  bo  Utt. 
doubt  thai  those  imp'.ments  were  considered 
„.o  slow  for  their   >.se,  and   tho  spinnins- 
wheel   was    used   w^th   better   etlect.     Ihe 
flax    spinuin,  whee'.  was   such   a   ga.n   ,n 
,.,„,!  over  the  primitive  mode  as  to  be  re- 
presented in  Anglo  Saxon  and  lr>.htradl. 
i„„.„,asupcrnatur,.lgif..     nrlayo-of 
Dublin,  in  his  liana  nook  of  .1.0  ^>1U.  Cotton. 

„„1  Wo.  Icn  Manufactures,  hn.  given  an  in- 
...resting  version  of  the  Irish  Ic^'cnd  as  bo 
t„>,kitrromth»r,psofanlrishpca.an.wo. 

,„an,  ana  which  ho  printea,  as  he  says,  for 

the  first  time. 


ESTABLI8UMENT   OP   SPINNING   SCU00L8. 


333 


i  the  raising  of 
follow  their  ex- 
weiity  thousand, 
,  MassiU'husetts, 
itrious  hiibits  of 

the  Scotch  Irish 
lost  of  them  had 
dustry,  and  soon 
linen  procnri'^,;  a 
the  art,  and  tlie 
snnimiiiilsetothft 
icndago  to  almost 
heel  was  for  many 
ifjr  wheel,  the  other 
ibout  ninety  years 
Jermany,  to  super- 
[irovement  in  spin- 
ir  nCIiiiitrodnecd 
e  in  America,  were 
■  the  common  haud- 

fpimllc  as  they  walk  ; 
ccpfulJ  :<r  til.'  iimrt, 
,e.l8.    Tlii'  im  Ihod  etiU 
1  tho  Icon'mn  towns; 
luOa  uu  apwr  thread. 

iiglnnd  matrons  did  no! 
lio  Bpindlo,  or  bold  the 
nt  they  lUa  ni't  look  well 
,„u«i'hold,  lor  t\iu  pivter- 

rulurs  niado  that  thcii 
<.n.  Tlierc  can  bo  little 
plrineiitsweroci.nKidercd 

i.KO,  and   tho  ?pinning- 
w'th   hotter   eflict.     The 
c',  wan   Mieli   a   gain   in 
iiiitive  mode  as  to  he  "<- 
I)  Saxon  and  Irish  tradi- 
iural  Kif-     Dr.  Taylor,  of 
il  Hook  of  tho  SilU,  Cotton, 
iructures,  ha.,  ijiv.n  an  In- 
,f  Iho  Irish   li'tjciid  as  he 
p,  of  an  Irish  poa-ani  wo- 
10  printed,  ft»  ho  f»yi>,  (of 


loom  ;  and  after  its  invention,  about  the  year  1670,  probably  of  tho  Dutch 
or  weaver's  loom  in  its  present  form  ;  hand-cards  and  combs  for  preparing 
Implements  tlic  material,  and  a  primitive  form  of  the  shuttle.  Stock  cards, 
early  times,  the  drop  Dox,  and  flying-shuttle,  and  the  whole  series  of  later 
improvements  in  carding,  spinning,  and  weaving,  were  not  then  in- 
vented '  Nearly  all  the  processes  of  manufacture  were  manual  opera- 
tions, and  the  appliances  few  and  imperfect.  Even  the  dressing  of  woolen 
Cloth,  with  a  tolerably  good  supply  of  fulling-mills,  was  imperfectly,  and 
laboriou.-ly  performed.  Gig-mills  for  raising  the  nap,  so  saving  of  labor 
as  to  have  been  twice  jealously  prohibited  in  the  reign  of  Edward  the 
Sixth,  were  scarcely  used  here  at  the  elo.-=e  of  the  last  century  ;  and  the 
operation  was  accomplished  by  the  use  of  hand-cards.  Much  of  the 
woolen  Cloth  was  worn  without  shearing,  pressing,  or  other  finish. 

The  example  of  the  Scotch  Irish  led  to  a  public  efl'ort  in  Boston,  where 
some  of  them  settled  to  establish  a  linen  manufactory.  A  public  meeting 
was  called,  nt  which  Judge  Sewall  presided,  anti  a  committee  of  seven 
w^s  appointed  to  report  on  the  propriety  of  estal)lishing  "  a  spinning  school 
or  schools,  for  the  instruction  of  the  children  of  the  town." 

It  resulted  in  the  erection  on  the  east  side  of  Long  Acre,  now  Tremont 
street,  near  the  j)resent  Hamilton  place,  of  a  large  handsome  brick  building, 
bearing  on  its  front  wall  the  figure  of  a  woman  liolding  a  distaff,  as  em- 
blematic of  its  future  u-'e.  The  general  enthusiasm  which  sometimes  takes 
possession  of  the  public  mind  when  a  new  hope  dawns  upon  it,  appears 
to  have  pervaded  the  town  on  this  occasion.  At  its  ojjening,  an  immen.«e 
concourse  assembled,  and  the  women  of  Boston,  rich  and  poor,  appeared 
on  the  common,  with  their  spinning-wheels,  which  were  tho  hobby  for  the 
time,  and  vied  with  each  other  in  the  use  of  the  instrument.  Subscrip- 
tions were  raised  for  the  support  of  the  project,  and  an  Act  of  the  Assem- 
bly, was  obtained  in  1T37,  laying  a  tax  on  carriages,  and  other  luxuries 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  institution.  I*,  was  s|iiritedly  conducted  for  a 
few  years,  but  was  soon  abandoned,  and  the  building  which  stood  until 
after  the  Revolution,  was  afterward  used  as  a  niannfactory  for  worsted 
hose,  metal  buttons,  etc.*  The  Hon.  Daniel  Oliver,  u  principal  merchant 
of  Boston,  also  erected  about  tho  same  time,  at  an  cvpense  of  XfiOO,  a 
"  Spinning  School,"  for  the  employment  of  the  ])oor,  wlijch  he  becpieathed 
at  his  death,  in  1731,  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  that  class.    This 

(1)  Ohartos   T.awrcnce  "  lately  come  from  178ft,  by  a  Scolrhinan,  Joseph  Alexander. 

Carollnii,"  notified  the  pnlilio  of   I'lilladel-  Ahcoit     tho    year    17t»;l,    the     niannfactura 

phin  in  May,  1721,  tlmt  he  made  at  hia  place  of    thefa    was    romnieiicoil    at     KonsinK- 

in  Chentniit  street,  very  good  tiri/i,  Icmhtn,  ton,  (I'lilladilphia,)  but  did   not  meet  with 

and  iihutlln,  for   weaveui,     The  fly-sliutile  aopport.  niid  llie  niniiufueturer  rernoved  tat 

appoars  to  have  heun  (Irst  inlrodiieed  in  thi«  Nova  Poolia. 

ciiuntTjr   at    I'rovidenoo,  Rhode  Iiland,  in  (2)  Drulte's  Anll(|uitieit  of  Duiton. 


334  COLONIAL   CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 

V  1.  on  nt  tlmt  timo  a  favorite  mode  of  providing  for  the 
appears  to  tave  ^^ ^^^^,,,  ,„,ae  its  first  public provi.i.u  -for 
,,oor.     Ill  n34,  tie  ck,  ^^^^  .^,,g  vagabonds, 

^^^^^'T'^^'^'^'ZIZ^ZZ^U  comunt  great  depreda- 
and  sturdy  beggars,  and  otheis  wno  ii  4        J  „  ^.^j. 

imnce  was  passed  for  the  erection  oi  a  i  „-^n,o„8  where  the  courts 

and  two  stories  high,  which  was  bu.   -  ^^ -— ^^^         ,,,,,er  and 
are  now  held,  and  was  furnished  w.th  four  sp  nn    g  ^^  ^^ 

tools  for  shoemakers,  knitting-needles,  Bax,  etc.,  tor  l     J 

.„,.g.d,  if  .uiUbly  "T""/;'' Vnd  h«n"b,  the  ar.t  .hip  for  «ork- 
men  and  Utensils,  w  men  wuui         i  „  f,„.„  pnnh     Acommtteewas 

„„d  »o,d«B.,  .or,l„  »'"™""'-77  •  :^l*ir„c     to  B«..on  i»  her 

"-  A'^e ie».  ,,f;,^:x  "f  oitt ;:  rA«.«.,  n..  „™.u.d 

commerce,  and  the  As>cmbl3  oi  ua  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^_ 

William  Borden,  a  ^'''"''^y  "^  *^^    \    '^^^j  f/:,  a  equal  in  quality  to 

'''Tu  'n   ";";,:  kUeTo"  'l  t  :  r^^sive  ^.njoyme^t  of  the 
pood  Holland  duck.     He  ^^•»''  ^«  "  .„  o,^^,,er  extended  to 

bounty  for  five  y^^^^'^^'^  ^;'^t'^^  received  on  petition,  a 

the  term  ot  ten  y""«-    j"  ''^^  J  .^ 

grant  for  three  years,  of  £500  from  tne  gtn  ;„  1,23,  and 

Lch  to  spare."     Ho  was  aga.  an  ;;PH-'  ^^  «    "^  \^^^^,  ;,  ,, 

the  General  Court,  ordered  £3000  m  bills  01  trtu  , 


LINEN   MANffACTUllE   ENCOLRAGED   IN    NEW  ENGLAND. 


335 


ividiiig  for  the 
provirtiim  "for 
die  vagabonds, 
great  depreda- 
sh."     An  ordi- 
by  twenly-fonr, 
?hfcre  the  courts 
els,  leather  and 
employment  of 

duck  and  linen, 
ary,  1726,  John 
)dy  representing 
well  adapted  to 
or  Ireland.     He 
I  at  work  within 
St  ship  for  work- 
)0  for  each  loom, 
A  committee  was 
16,  recommending 
I  treasury  for  each 
hirty  inches  wide, 
or,  being  wrought 
le  growth  of  New 
pounds,  each  bolt, 
,nd  elsewhere,  and 
rity  as  your  Court 
sand  when  he  has 
the  survey."    Tlie 

time,  rendered  the 
:  and  hemp  for  duck 
ved  from  several  of 
xt  to  Boston  iu  her 
gust,  1722,  granted 
bolt  of  duck  manu- 
equal  in  quality  to 
e  enjoyment  of  the 
)ctuber  extended  to 
eived  on  petition,  » 
nry,  "  if  there  be  so 
istancc  in  1723,  and 

to  be  struck  off  at 


bis  expense,  and  loaned  to  him  without  interest,  on  his  giving  sufficient 
security  to  repay  it  at  the  expiration  of  ten  y^-ars.  He  was  required  to 
manufacture  every  year  one  hundred  and  fifty  bolts  of  good  merchantable 
duck.  Still  unable  to  carry  on  the  business,  without  further  aid,  the 
legislature,  determined  if  possible  to  sustain  it,  confirmed  the  grant  iu 
1731,  and  relieved  the  petitioner  from  the  obligation  to  produce  the  stipu- 
lated quantity,  while  it  continued  the  bounty  upon  such  quantities  as  he 
might  make.  Bounties,  which  in  1728,  had  been  paid  to  several  persons 
for  hemp  raised  according  to  a  previous  Act,  were  this  year  renewed  for 
hemp  and  flax;  and  again,  by  a  special  Act,  in  1735,  premiums  were 
allowed  for  flax  raised  in  the  Province.  Legislative  patronage,  whether 
judiciously  bestowed,  or  really  beneficial  to  the  industry,  appears  not  to 
have  been  wanting  to  the  linen  branch  in  Xew  England. 

The  Assembly  of  Connecticut  was  also  appealed  to  in  1724,  by  Richard 
Rogers  of  New  London,  who  asked  for  the  exclusive  right  of  making 
canvas  for  shipping,  of  which  he  produced  excellent  samples.  A  patent 
was  given  him  the  following  year,  and  in  1735,  he  applied  for  like  privi- 
leges for  making  "  fine  linen  Cloth,"  and  a  bill  authorizing  a  bounty  upon 
every  yard  of  fine  linen  made  in  the  Province  was  introduced,  but  the 
measure  did  not  pass.  In  view  of  the  general  want  of  such  an  article, 
John  Bulkly,  of  Colchester,  Connecticut,  proposed  to  import  a  flax- 
dressing  machine  from  Scotland.  In  consequence  of  the  interest  which 
had  for  several  years  been  taken  in  the  siibject,  Daniel  Henchman,  a  prin- 
cipal bookseller  of  Boston,  about  the  year  1735,  reprinted  a  work  pub- 
lished in  Dui)lin,  iu  1724,  entitled  "Instructions  for  the  Culti 'ating  and 
Raising  of  Flax  and  Hemp,  in  a  better  manner  than  generally  practised 
in  Ireland,  bj  Lionel  Slutor,  Flax  and  Hemp  Dresser."  So  general 
was  the  cultivation  of  these  articles,  that  two  years  after  they  were 
ordced  to  be  token  at  the  public  treasury  in  payment  of  taxes,  hemp 
at  id.,  an  1  flax  at  C'f.  per  pound.  The  excise  on  carriages,  was  in  1753, 
renewed  in  MasMichusetts,  for  the  support  of  spinning  schools,  and  each 
town  was  allowed  to  send  at  least  one  person  to  be  instructed  in  the  art 
free  of  expense.  In  1762,  pnl)lic  notice  was  given  that  the  spinning 
school  in  the  "  Manufacturing  House,"  was  again  opened,  where  any  who 
flit  disposed  might  learu  to  spin,  gratis,  and  after  the  first  three  months, 
be  paid  for  their  spinning.  A  premium  of  £18,  (old  tenor),  was  at  the 
Bame  time  offered  !o  the  four  best  spinners. 

The  (!ultivation  of  hemp  and  flax  was  much  attended  to  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, where  they  wrre  wrought  up  by  the  German  and  Irish  population, 
and  a  duty  was  very  early  laid  on  their  importation.  Flnx-seed  was  always 
a  considerable  article  of  export  from  the  Province  to  Ireland  and  Scot- 
land.    In  1729,  as  stated  by  a  Comraittooof  the  Assembly  on  the  Sluto 


^g  COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTfRE. 

.,  Traae  and  t.e  T^e.  ^--^.rrt^^^.^.'-^iw  J 
hundred  and  fifty-five  bogsheads  of  seven  b  ^^^^  .^  ^^^^ 

per  cask,  were  exported.     J^«  ^7:,V3TJ ,  ^,263.    In  the  foUow- 

Lounted  to  6,361  hogsheads.  ^«^^' '  «^/.\  ^^  j ,  ^^  2,  Dr.  Franklin,  one 

i„g  year.  9.895  hogsheads  were  «;;P;;f  ;;'^';    ,  ],  Commons,  that  ten 

oAhe  above  comnnttee  stated  ^;J> ^^^^if;';  ,„  exported  from  Thila- 
thousand  hogsheads  of  fiax-seed  had  that  )ear.        J^^^^^  ^^^^  ^.^^  .^ 

deiphia,  maku.g  10.000  bushels,    nd  ^^-^^^  ^^^  ,,„ibcd  to  the 

was  manufactured  into  -^^^.^r  committee,  in  1752.  attributed  also 
paper-money  issues,  to  wh.ch  a  imU     co  ^^,^^f^,,„res  which  had 

the  great  increase  in  the  ^P^^^^  ';;;;\;,  ,f  ,,edit  in  1723.  when  they 

-^-^'r1r5  99V"l^n       ti:^--  ,S,404.     Thirty  thousand 
amounted  to  ^15,99  ■     I"  ^^^J  .„  ^-^bin  twenty  years.      Yet. 

laborers  were  estunaled  to  have  c  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^^ . 

owing  to  the  facilifes  for  F-  "^^  ^  ;^^^  °f  ...^^h  Franklin  was  also 
':^^::::^^^  S  -  arti^ers  or  interfere  with  the  Trade 
,„d  Manufactures  of  o.Kmotl.rc^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^_^^^  ^^^^ 

The  Assembly  m  1730,  Pa«««^  »  ,„„,  manufacturing 

„ent  for  raising  hemp,  and  unpo.mg  P-^^  >- ^.^         ,,„  ,,„„,y  ,Uowed 
unmerchantable  hemp  '"^o  corda  e  ^^^     ^^^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^ 

hy  Parliament  on  hemp,  three  '^^  ^'P      ^^  ^  ^  ,,,,  ^ime  to  make  nine- 
General  Court.     The  farmers  wer     "VF^ed  a  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^ 

tenths  of  their  own  --;  "^^^  ^^1    /  ^  atin'hexameters.  writteu 
their  farms.     A  ^^-"-'P  •"";;      Jjl'Te  farmer  to  be  in  the  happy 

^r:^f::r:ar:;j;::m  the  products  Of  i.is  own  fieid^ 


E«uria«  dulo«s  epulas  Aeprotnit  inempta., 
Etpropriovesti9vellerete:cta  placet. 


Wool  and 


The  Irish  m.de  =on«i,!e,-...l.  q'-'M-  'f  «"";"  '"'" 

1„  ,l,e1.«t  „...n.»l  l"- ■■"-■'. '"'''"'i;  "'„„„,  „,„l  council  of  An,,.- 
,„co»r.B.  ll>«  n,.nar»*,rc  of  Im.".     '  '  j,,.  |.,„o,t 

,1)  Vot«.  of  th.  Ammbly.  v.l.  Iv.  p.  274. 


r 


ruly,  1154,  two 
1  worth  £1  138. 
,  and,  in  1150, 
In  the  fo'.low- 
ir.  Franklin,  one 
nmons,  that  ten 
rted  from  Thila- 
lat  grew  with  it 
I  ascribed  to  the 
2,  attributed  also 
ctures  which  had 
1123,  when  they 
Thirty  thousand 
ity  years.      Yet, 
Ls  dear  as  before ; 
franivlin  was  also 
e  with  the  Trade 

ig  the  encourage- 
)ns  manufacturing 
,he  bounty  allowed 
as  granted  by  the 
time  to  make  nine- 
flax,  ond  wool  of 
lexaraeters,  writteu 
0  be  in  the  happy 
his  own  fields  : 


or  sale.     Wool  and 

[iken  up  in  1731,  to 
lid  council  of  Anna- 
ould  bring  the  finest 
laryland,  to  the  next 
le  third  best  pieces ; 
were  offered  in  Bulti- 
(come  general.     Flax 

274. 


PARLIAMENTAUY   HOUNTIES   ON   HEMP. 


33T 


and  hemp  were  grown  in  tlie  I)ack  settlements  of  Maryland,  and  the  pro- 
vitiees  south  of  it  in  considonible  quantities;  upward  of  sixty  wagon 
loads  of  (lax-socd  came  into  J5altimore  from  the  country  parts  for  ship- 
ment ill  October,  1731.  T!io  first  exportation  of  hemp  from  the  Ame- 
rican Colonies  was  made  in  the  jtrevious  year,  and  consisted  of  fifty 
hundred-weifflit  raised  in  Xew  Enj^Iand  and  Carolina,  and  three  hundrcd- 
weiglit  from  Virginia.  Tlie.se  siiipincnts,  though  small,  along  with  three 
hundred-weight  of  raw  siilc,  some  iron,  copper  ore,  and  beeswax,  from 
Virginia,  some  iron  from  St.  Christofiher,  and  seventy-two  bags  of  wool 
also  from  the  West  Indies,  are  represented  by  Anderson,  as  entirely  new, 
and  mostly  unexpected  products. 

The  Act  ofParliament  granting  a  bounty  on  hemp,  whicli  expired  in  1741, 
may,  in  part,  have  caused  an  increased  attention  to  its  cultivation,  although, 
probably  no  great  amount  was  ever  exported,  tlie  domestic  consumption 
being  equal  to  and  even  beyond  the  supply.  The  Act,  passed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  merchants  and  manufacturers  of  England,  who  dictated  much 
of  the  commercial  policy  of  the  government,  had  the  three-fold  object  of 
securing  a  cheap  and  permanent  sujiply  of  raw  material,  independent  of 
foreign  powers,  of  furnishing  the  Colonies  with  linen  and  other  fabrics 
in  exchange,  and  above  all,  of  diverting  them  from  attempts  to  manu- 
facture for  themselves.  The  linen  manufacturers  of  the  kingdom,  ob- 
tained a  bounty  for  the  exportation  of  British  sail  Cloth.  This  by  a 
later  statute,  was  required  to  be  stamped,  as  was  all  foreign  sail  Cloth, 
which,  like  other  linens,  was  subject  to  a  heavy  duty,  and  this  duty  ren- 
dered it  considerably  dearer  to  the  American  consumer,  than  if  it  had 
been  imported  directly  from  Holland  or  Russia.  In  1740,  it  was  enacted, 
that  no  sails  should  be  made  or  repaired  in  Great  Britain,  or  the  planfa- 
tioiis,  with  foreign  sail  Cloth,  unstamped  under  penalty  of  X5t),  and  every 
vessel  built  in  either  country,  was  required  under  a  like  penalty,  to  have 
her  first  suit  of  sails  made  new  and  complete  of  British  uninufaetured  sail 
Cloth, 

The  several  measures  thus  adopted  for  engrossinfr  the  Colonial  mar- 
ketfl,  hy  a  monofioly  of  the  export  u>id  import  trade,  by  prohiiiiiions  of 
manufactures,  by  bounties  on  raw  materials  and  upon  the  exportation  of 
English  manufactures,  jrave  a  vast  impulse  to  the  productive  industry  of 
the  mother  country.  The  result  demonstrated  the  value  of  the  i>hinta- 
tion  trade,  and  of  the  policy  pursued,  and  led  to  renewed  recomnienda- 
tions  of  the  same  system,  and  increased  monifcstntions  of  jealousy  and 
vipihinee  in  regard  to  (:;olonial  attempts  at  manufiiclure. 

In  1728,  Sir  William  Keith,  previously  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  hail 
presented  to  the  king  a  srheme  of  government  for  the  Colonies,  whieh 
was  referred  to  the  Lords  Commissionorfi  of  Trade.     After  recommending 


338  COLONIAL   CLOTH-MANf  FACTURE. 

,l,eu  took  ol  and  consumed  «''°'  °"  '  ™  ^^.j  ,„|„e  of  the  lloen,  and 
,„,e,  of  Gr,at  Brifi..  ..h'  "7'  ;:",*„  Ime  exported  to  to,.igo 
cdieoe,  of  the  Kingdom,  -""'-'X"  wihd.il,  increased,  consnmed 
eountric.  The  '"-'f  "'J  .^tSashery,  furniture,  and  trinket,  of 
great  quantities  of  Engli^U  siius,  ""  •'  ^       ^       ^t  revenue 

^U  sorts,  and  a  considevable  va  ue  «J  ^a^^  "^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ,,, ^o,  which  en- 
resulted  from  the  produce  of  the  Col»"'«  ■  ^J^  J  j,,,,,^ .  and 

..led  England  nearly  to  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^  ^  ^^^-- 
their  shipping  and  seamen  and  West  im  encourage- 

,er  trade  wiUi  SP-"- I'^f  "«'^\'^;  V'nd  in  Tui  with  timber,  naval 
uient.  the   Colonies  could   supply  K"g  J^^^J"  ^,,^        fits  of  the 

stores,  hemp.  Hax.  copper  ore.  pig  and  ^;  ^  '^f  J  ,,,auo'us  cash  and 
trade  returned  in  bullion  to  E"^'^;'  f '  "^  j  j,l  t.eir  present  em- 
riches  acquired  in  ^-"7,;;;;:  -^  ^^         '^  of  England, 

ployments  sufficed,  without  '"^«f ""/;';  ,^„i,,  f.^  which  the  trade 
I  Recommends  that  f^^;;:,^;t:?;nlnt  demand,  be  enu.neratea 
and  manufactures  of  l?r.  ain  ^^' %^  '  . .^^^.^^rted  to  her  markets  be- 
among  the  articles  which  by  law  .m^^-^^  ,^„„,   ,„  the 

fore  going  to  ^  «f  ^•,  ""%7:^,\7^^^^^^ 

Colonies  and  rarely  elsewher  ,  f- ^^  ^^  ^,^  Colonies  be  brought 

that  all  the  linen  and  woolen  «^-»'^'  *^^^^^^^^  recommends  that  a  revenne 

ri!ir':fr^^V'Sr::;:^arr-' 

,„ent  to  all  the  American  ,,lantat.ons  enlightened  views  of 

Thi,  ,c,f„h  polic,  >^;^l^^^::^2Z  ;!  con,„..ih.e  with  th. 
those  times,  was  probably  honestly  .csa  ' ,     ,    ,„„„„ed,  in  sevc- 

best  inleres.,  of  the  two  coontnc,  '  »"»  ^  ,?„„  t  f„„,o  of 
„1  particular,,  l.y  the  ministry  at  a  '»'  ;»"7,^;„„4,  „,  ,Ucir  in- 
the  American  rroviuccs  was  criv  P"c  "^  ™1'„„  adverse  innucnec 
creasing  prosperity  were  -"7;/.,;'^^;  t  th  parent  state.  Th,  di- 
„,sht  alienate  the.r  fr'"';;;'^!  channel,  wa,  U-  ">«'="•«■ 
vergenee  of  the.r  trade  from  It,  V"""'  ,  ,  „.„„ded  1 

,„Jucd  of  h,  the  -"'•»"»  ""''.^tw".  2.  J-lons  of  foreign  con,. 


J 


I  and  followed, 
its  oat  the  ad- 
t  the  Colonies 
ooien  nianufac- 
'  the  linens  and 
3rled  to  foreign 
ased,  consumed 
and  trinkets  of 
1  great  revenue 
jacco,  which  en- 
ith  France ;  and 
I  her  to  balance 
little  encourage- 
h  timber,  naval 
he  profits  of  the 
•fluous  cash  and 
licir  present  em- 
tures  of  England, 
r  which  the  trade 
,  be  eiiwnerated 
)  her  markets  be- 
ies  found   in  the 
■mand  in  Europe ; 
lonies  be  brought 
ds  that  a  revenue 
ii  they  would  never 
ted  that  the  duties 
by  Act  of  Parlia- 

dightcned  views  of 
lompatible  with  the 
y  followed,  in  sevc- 
LMie  great  future  of 
sources  of  their  in- 
0  adverse  influence 
■ent  state.     The  di- 
was  the  more  com- 
nlivo  and  extended; 
lous  of  foreign  com- 
vith  their  goods  by 
the  House  of  Com- 
ade,  au  inquiry  "  with 


ttEPOUT  OF  THE  BOARD  OP  TRADE  ON  AMKRICAN  MANUFACTURES.     339 

respect  to  laws  made,  manvfactures  set  up,  or  trade  carried  on,  detri- 
mental to  the  trade,  naoii/alion,  or  manufactures  of  Great  lirltain  "  The 
report  made  by  the  J5oaul,  in  Feb,  1731-2,  in  pursuance  of  this  order, 
furnishes  the  fullest  particulars  accessible  respectlr  the  manufacture  of' 
Cloth  in  the  Colonies  at  that  time,  and  their  opinion  as  to  the  proper 
taode  of  legislating  upon  the  subject. 

"In  New  England,  New  York,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Penn.sylvania, 
and  in  the  County  of  Somerset,  in  Maryland,  they  have  fallen  into  the  manu- 
facture of  woolen  cloth  and  linen  cloth  for  the  use  of  their  own  families  only  • 
for  the  product  of  these  Colonies  being  chiefly  cattle  and  grain  the  estates 
of  the  inhabitants  depended  wholly  on  farming,  which  could  not  be  managed 
without  a  certain  quantity  of  sheep  ;  and  their  wool  would  be  entirely  lost 
were  not  their  servants  employed  during  the  winter  in  manufacturing  it  for 
the  us«  of  their  families. 

"  Flax  and  hemp  being  likewise  easily  raised,  the  inhabitants  manufactured 
them  into  a  coarse  sort  of  cloth,  bags,  traces,  and  halters  for  their  horses, 
which  they  found  did  more  service  than  those  they  had  from  any  part  of 
Europe. 

"However,  the  high  price  of  labor  in  America  rendered  it  impracticable  for 
people  there  to  manufacture  their  linen  cloth  at  less  than  twenty  per  cent, 
dearer  than  that  which  is  exported  from  home  for  sale.     It  were  to  be  wished 
that  some  expedient  might  be  fallen  upou  to  direct  their  thoughts  from  un- 
dertakings of  this  nature  ;  so  much  the  rather  because  these  manufactures,  iu 
process  of  time,  may  be  carried  ou  in  greater  degree,  unless  au  early  stop' be 
put  to  their  progress  by  employing  them  in  naval  stores.     Wherefore,  we 
take  leave  to  renew  our  repeated  proposals,  that  reasonable  encouragement 
be  given  to  the  same.     Moreover,  we  find  that  certain  trades  carried  on  and 
manufactures  set  up  there  are  detrimental  to  the  trade,  navigation,  and  manu- 
facture of  Great  Britain.     For  the  state  of  these  plantations  varying  almost 
every  year,  more  or  less  so  in  their  trade  and  manufactures,  as  well  as  in 
other  particulars,  we  thought  it  necessary  for  His  Majesty's  service,  and  for 
the  discharge  of  our  trust,  from  time  to  time  to  send  general  queries  to  the 
several  governors  in  America,  that  we  might  be  the  more  exactly  informed 
of  the  condition  of  the  plantations  ;  among  which  were  several  that  related  to 
their  trade  and  manufactures,  to  which  we  received  the  following  returns 
viz. : 

"The  Oovernorof  New  Hampshire,  in  his  answer,  said  that  there  were  no 
settled  manufactures  in  that  Province,  and  that  their  trade  principally  con- 
sisted iu  lumber  and  fish. 

"  The  Governor  of  Massachusetts  Bay  informed  us  that  in  some  parts  of 
this  Province  the  inhabitants  worked  up  their  wool  and  flax  into  an  ordinary 
coarse  cloth  for  their  own  use,  but  did  not  export  any.  That  the  greatest 
part  of  the  woolen  and  linen  clothing  worn  in  this  I'rovince  was  imported 
from  Great  Britain,  and  sometimes  from  Ireland  ;  but  considering  the  exces 
sive  price  of  labor  in  New  England,  the  merchant  could  aflord  what  was  im- 
ported cheaper  than  what  was  made  in  the  country.    There  wuiu  also  a  few 


COLONIAL  CtOTU-MANtlFACXrRK. 


..5  that  the  greater  part  of  the  leather 
Mt  makers  in  the  maritime  towns,  an     ^^^^^^^^/^.^i.e^,  etc. 
^dTn  that  country  wa.  manufactur.    -  ;  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^  , 

^".They  had  no  manufactures  n-  t       Irov'  ^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^.^_  ^.^^^     „, 

H^ention^ng;  their  fade  «-- «*'^'^//;"^?:; jeLy  that  do.ervo  mention, ng-, 
Td  provisions.  No  manafactures  m  ^  w  ^  ^  ^  ^^^  ^,^,.^  ,„,  rennsyl- 
t,'oir  trade  being  chiefly  i^""  !  nil  lav  n  their  exportation  of  prov.s.o,^ 
vania.     The  chief  trade  of  renn^y^--^"  *  \^^^^^,_  ^^^^.^  .i^^hins  and  u.en- 

1:1   umher;  no  manufactures  ^^^Zttl  <^^^^'  Britain.     By  further  a  - 
sLfor  their  houses  being  all  >'"^";^,^„,,f,,ture  appears  to  have  decreased 
Z.  from  New  Hampshire,  ^  -  -^  ^^^^^  ,,,,.  ,eing  now  aPPropruUe  , 
the  common  lands,  on  wh.c    ^^e  «i^«l  f,,^,^  Great  Britain.     The 

and  the  people  almost  wholly  clothed  ^J^"  jv  ^^^^  increased  by 

1       cLe'of  flax  into  linens,  some  coa^^^-^^^^  ^^,,^,  in  that  bu.- 

:;«  great  resort  of  people  fK>m    -;;;;;-  ],,,,  i.  ^ew  England    the  A. 
ness.     By  late   accounts  f.om  Ma  s  f,„  every  piece  of  duck 

embly  Lo  voted  a  bounty  of  ^^-^^^  ^^^^^'^  nianufactures  are  carried  on 
canvass  made  in  the  Province,  ^-ne  f  ^^^.^^  i,,,,„«  tho  importation  ot 
he,  as  brown  hoUand  for  -«--' J^Yi'^^  nods.  They  also  make  some 
calicoes,  and  some  other  sorts  "^  /^^  '7;=;  ^,„Hon,  for  ordinary  sh.rfng. 
smaU  quantities  of  cloth,  made  ot  ^-^^^^^  ,„  ,,.«  value  of  X'iOO  ster- 

liTa  paper  mill  set  up  three  years  .0^7  m  ^^^  ._^^^^ 

liL  yearly.     There  are  also  several  ^"^'f  '  ju  and  a  manufacture 

urnace  for  cast  iron  or  hollow  -^re,  -^  o"  sl.U  g  ^^  ,„,nufaoture,  that  the 
fo  nailB.  The  Governor  writes,  <';"''«'•"  "«  '"J;,  clothing  out  of  their  own 
coun    y  people,  who  used  ^^  -''^'^^^^-^t     1    X -ar,  but  are  mostly  clothed 

land   of  which  the  company  of  hatters  in  Portugal,  and  our  West 

«:::;  quantities  of  these  hats  are  expor^^^^  ^^^^^^^^  ,. 

India  Islands.     They  also  '^^\\^'\J°lll^,,,,^,,,,i  in  New  England, 
everal  still-houses  and  sugar  baker.es  etablu  ^,^^,^^.,„,,,  there  that 

"„y  the  last  advices  from  New  York  ^^^'^J^^  j,„,  New  York  a  very 

can  affect  Great  Britain,     ^here-  .  yeai^y  -P^'^  ^  ,„,  their  cloth- 

large  quantity  of  the  woolen  "^annfactur^B  ^^^  ^_^^^  ^^^,^  ,^  ,,,,,,a 

n.  which  they  would  be  rendered  '""^P^" 'ifj^  ^„o  prohibited  from  re- 
ing,  wn.t  J  f       themselves,  if  tlity  ^m       1      ,„.,iasses,  cocoa, 


t  of  the  lealTier 

X. 

3rk  thot  deserve 
e,  oil,  pitch,  tar, 
Tvo  mentioning  ; 
ork  and  Tennsyl- 
tion  of  provisions 
ilothing  and  uten- 
1.     By  further  ad- 
to  have  decreased ; 
now  appropriated, 
reat  Britain.     The 
daily  increased  by 
tilled  in  that  bu?i- 
r  England,  the  As- 
r  piece  of  duck  or 
reu  are  carried  on 
tho  importation  of 
ey  also  make  some 
•  ordinary  shirting, 
value  of  £-200  ster- 
bar  iron,  and  some 
1  and  a  manufacture 
uanufacture,  that  the 
iug  out  of  their  own 
it^are  mostly  clothed 
His   Majesty's  wooda 
1  nineteen  forges  for 
built  for  the  French 
id  silks,  which  they 
re  made  in  New  Eng- 
complained  to  us  that 
.vtugal,  and  our  West 
shipping.     There  are 
U'W  England, 
(inufactures  there  that 
.nto  New  York  a  very 
iigdom,  for  their  cloth- 
r  and  would  be  reduced 
ro  v'oli'lj'^''*^  f'om  re- 
rum,  molasses,  cocoa, 
„  return  for  provisions, 
of  New  Jersey,  of  which 
halt.     But  tl'"  company 
vts  are  manufactured  in 

,n9ylvania,  he  does  not 

ndered  injurious  to  this 

miinufaclures  ;  all  that 


KEPORT   OF   THE  BOARD   OF  TRADE,    1T31-2. 


341 


they  make,  which  are  of  a  coarse  sort,  being  for  their  own  use.  We  are 
further  informed  that  in  this  Province  they  built  many  britrantines  and  small 
sloops,  which  they  sell  io  tlie  West  Indies. 

'•The  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  informs  us,  in  answer  to  our  queries  that 
there  are  iron  mines  there,  but  not  a  fourth  part  onou.-h  to  serve  their  own 
use  ;  but  he  takes  no  notice  of  any  manufactures  there.  No  returns  from  tlie 
Uovernor  of  Connecticut.  But  we  find  by  some  accounts  that  the  produce  of 
this  Colony  is  timber,  boards,  all  sorts  of  English  c-rain,  li..mp,  flax,  sheep 
black  cattle,  swine,  horses,  goats,  and  tobacco.  Tliat  they  export  horses  and 
lumber  to  the  West  Indies,  and  receive  in  return  sugar,  salt,  molasses,  and 
rum.  We  likewise  And  that  their  manufactures  are  very  inconsiderable  • 
the  people  being  generally  employed  in  tillage,  some  few  in  tanning  shoe^ 
making,  and  other  handicrafts;  others  in  building,  and  in  joiners'  tailors' 
and  smiths'  work,  without  which  they  could  not  subsist.  No  report  is  made 
from  Carolina,  the  Bahama  or  the  Bermuda  Isles. 

"From  the  foregoing  state,  it  is  observable  that  there  are  more  trades  car- 
ried on  and  manufactures  set  up  in  the  Provinces  on  the  continent  of  America 
to  the  northward  of  Virginia,  prejudicial  to  the  trade  and  manufactures  of 
Great  Britain,  particularly  in  New  England,  than  in  any  other  of  the  British 
Colonies;  which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for  their  soil,  climate,  and  produce 
being  pretty  nearly  the  same  with  ours,  they  have  no  staple  commodities  of 
their  own  growth  to  exchange  for  our  manufactures,  which  puts  them  under 
greater  necessity,  as  well  as  under  greater  temptations,  for  providing  them- 
selves at  home;  to  which  may  be  added, 'in  the  charter  governments  the 
little  dependence  they  have  upon  the  motlier  country,  and  consequently  the 
small  restraints  they  are  under  in  any  matters  detrimental  to  her  interests. 
And  therefore  we  humbly  beg  leave  to  repeat  and  submit  to  tlie  wisdom  of 
this  honorable  House  the  substance  of  what  we  formerly  proposed  in  our 
report  on  the  silk,  linen,  and  woolen  manufactures  hereinbefore  recited 
namely-whether  it  might  not  be  expedient  to  give  these  Colonies  proper 
encouragement  for  turning  their  industry  to  such  manufactures  and  products 
as  might  be  of  service  to  Great  Britain,  and  more  particularly  to  the  produc- 
tion of  naval  stores.'" 

The  information  conveyed  in  tills  report  proliably  falls  consiJerably 
short  of  a  correct  statement  of  the  extent  to  wliich  doraeslic  manufactures 
were  carried  on  in  the  Colonies.  The  use  likely  to  bo  made  of  facts 
elicited  under  those  circumstances,  was  well  Icnown  to  the  people  in  the 
Colonies,  and  was  not  calculated  to  favor  a  full  disclosure  of  the  triirh, 
and  the  concealment  was  complained  of  in  England.  Indeed,  Col.' 
Themanu-  Jeremiah  Dunbar,  Surveyor-General  of  His  Majesty's  woods, 
H«u7n°the  '"  communicating  the  facts  above  stated  respecting  the  ex- 
coionie..  portation  of  hats,  informed  the  Board  of  Trade  that  "  it  was 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  they  (the  officers  of  Government)  were  able 
to    procure  true  information  of   the    trade  and    manufactures  of  New 

(1)  Macphcrson's  Annals  of  Commorco,  vol.  iii. 


1 


COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTX^Bi:. 


342 

.         1  Iv  of  the  Massachusetts  r>ay  l^a.l  the  boldness 
England;  that  the  Assembly  «f  ^^'^  ^^         ^,  ,^,,  B,r  of  the  House  o 
to  summon  him  for  ^-"^J^^^^  ranufactures  of  the  l>rovince." 
Commons  with  respect  t^/^^^^.^f  ""    „,  Belcher  respcc-ing  the  manu- 
Much  of  the  information  furn^^u    by  ^-  ^^,^^^^^^^_  ,^j  .^en  ..bstan- 

facturesof  i^-' ^^'^^^•^'' ^'nll  9   since  which,  as  ascertained  by  Col. 

probably  exceeded  the  official  Btate-e,,  s  ^^^,^^,,,  ,„ 

^  The  company  of  F«>\'-^"%  "  "^ro    h  ts  from  the  American  Colo- 
Feb.,  n3l,toprolnbittheexpor      0    of^^^^^^^  ^,^^^^,,^,  ,„,pHed 

nies/representing  that  foreign  r-f^^'^^  Britain.     The  petition  was 
from   thence,  and  not  a  few  .^"t^  ^^^^^^^^  ,,^,^  •„  ^,,  York  and 
referred  to  a  special  committee,  ^»«  J^J     ^  ^^  ^^e  number,  it  was  es- 
New  England,  beaver  hats  were  manu^.  u^e  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^.^^^^^ 
timated.  of  ten  thousand  year  y      In  13    ^    ^^^.^^^^  ,^^^y  ,,„,,  ,  ,eek^ 
one  of  whom  was  ^f^f^^VX^  plantations,  the  West  Indies,  and 
The  exports  were  to  the  ^  "  J  J"     j^„,,^  ,,d  that  furnished  by  t  e 
Irelan        In  consequence  of  this  evme      .  ^^^^^^  „_ 

Board  of  Trade  in  the  same  «--  -  -  ^;    ^^^.J,  ,,  „„,,nshed,  shall 

c.  22)  that  "no  hats  or  ^^^^f '/^>^j^;;,^7,  uhin  any  of  the  British  plan- 
,e  put  on  board  any  vessel  m  a  y  P  -  J_^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ,, 

tations;  nor  be  laden  "?«"  ^J  ^r  P?a«/a^io«,  or  to  any  other  place 

be  exported  from  ^^^^-^^  ^ "/o    of  an  Ahe  offender  shall  likewise  pay 

whatever,  upon  f^t'tnc       Fv-y  P  -n  knowing  thereof,  and  wil- 

£500  for  every  such  «ff^"  «•     J^'/^J  ^  ^very  officer  of  customs  signing 
li„glyaidingtherein.Bhallforf^t  £40     1.        .       ^^  ^^^^^^.^^  ^,  ,,,, 

any  entry,  outward,  or  ^^""'"'^f'  !  .  f^^o  '''  By  the  same  statute,  no 
arficles.  shall  for  every  ^f "  ^J^f  ^d  served  an  apprenticeship 
person  was  allowed  to  make    ats      les^         ^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^,^^^, 

of  seven  years  (a.  m  ^^ff'^  ^,,  permitted  to  work  at  the  busi- 
prentices  at  one  time;  aiid  no  "^^J^  ?\P.^  ^^^  ^,^  continued  in  force 
Lss  of  making  bats.  Tins  --":"  i  mod  at  the  prostration  of  on. 
i„  the  Colonies  until  the  ^«  «\"^  ^^■^,;,  „j,„,e  and  cheapness  of  beaver 
of  the  oldest  and.  on  ^/--^^j/^"  tl^e  branches  of  industry.  The 
and  other  furs,  one  o^ /-  ^^^^ J  ^^  ,een  encouraged  by  bountu.  in 
manufacture  of  fur  and  wool  ^^^tsjiad  ^^  j^^^,^,.^  .„ 

Virginia  as  early  as  ^^e^.  and  ten  y-^^^^^^^^  them 

Massachusetts  asked  for  pecuhar  pn    leg    ,  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^  ,,„,, 

..when  they  should  '"°;^;  »\f '^'^,,^;„,^,^^^  of  Pennsylvaina  also  peti- 
^•"^^'^^rr^al^  ur"  o^  S:  Ihe  exportation  of  beaver  and 
tioued  the  General   Court        I 

(,)  Pope's  U«.  01  the  Oastoms  and  E.xc«e. 


HATS — VIBOIMA  CLOTH. 


343 


iiail  the  boldness 
)f  the  House  of 
'  the  Vroviiice." 
ceding  the  inanu- 
iJ  been  substan- 
ertained  by  Col. 
Other  branches 

d  Tarliament,  in 
c  Ameiican  Colo- 
togelher  supplied 

The  petition  was 
n  New  York  and 
nnmber,  it  was  es- 
Ejre  sixteen  hatters, 

forty  hats  a  week. 

West  Indies,  and 
t  furnished  by  the 
ssed  (5  George  H- 

or  nnfuiished,  shall 
of  the  British  plan- 
ige  to  the  intent  to 
r  to  any  other  place 
.  shall  likewise  pay 
ng  thereof,  and  wil- 
r  of  customs  signing 
)r  exporting  of  said 

the  same  statute,  no 
ed  an  apprenticeship 
e  more  than  two  ap- 
l  to  work  at  the  busi- 
aw  continued  in  fores 
the  prostration  oi  ona 
d  cheapness  of  beaver 
les  of  industry.     The 
uraged  by  bounties  in 
company  of  halters  in 
■h  were  promised  them 
them  as  cheap  as  those 
^ennsylvaipa  also  peti- 
ortation  of  beaver  and 


Other  furs  proper  and  needful  to  be  worked  up,  and  leave  was  granted 
to  bring  in  a  bill  to  that  effect. 

Means  were  found,  however,  to  evade  the  statute,  and  hats  continued 
to  be  exported  to  other  Provinces,  and  not  unfrequently  to  foreign  coun- 
tries. Felts,  which  were  the  unlinary  wear  ..  the  people,  were^ma.le  in 
large  quantities,  and  much  of  the  business  being  carried  on  in  interior 
towns,  where  wool  was  ciieap,  the  manufacture  was  less  exposed  to  ulll- 
cial  scrutiny  than  in  the  seaports.  This  Act  was  followed,  in  1750,  by 
one  for  the  enconragcracnt  of  the  pig  iron  manufacture,  and  to  prohibit 
the  erection  of  slitting  and  rolling  mills. 

Notwithstanding  several  efforts  made  to  encounige  an  attention  to  do- 
mestic manufactures  in  Virginia,  scarcely  any  progress  had  yet  been  made 
virsiuu      toward  the  supply  of  tlieir  own  cjotiiinir.     The  soil  was  well 
adapted  for  hemp  and  flax ;  repeated  experiments  iuul  shown 
tho  ease  with  wiiich  silk  could  be   produced.     But  the  profits  of  lliti 
tobacco  culture  extinguished  nearly  all  other  industry,  and  all  tlieir  cloth- 
ing, as  linen,  woolen,  silk,  hats,  and  even  leather,  were  received  from  Eng- 
land.     Sheep  increased,  and  yielded  good  fleeces,  but  were  only  shorn, 
we  are  told,  for  the  purpose  of  cooling  them.     Hides  were  plentiful,  but 
were  suffered  to  lie  and  rot;  and  he  was  a  rare  economist  who  made  a 
pair  of  leather  breeches  from  the  excellent  deer  skins  which  abounded. 
We  find  mention,  however,  in  1721,  of.  a  coar,se  stuff  for  servants'  wear 
which,  in  neighboring  Provinces,  was  known  by  the  name  of  Virginia 
Cloth.     An  article  of  the  same  name  is  mentioned  after  the  War  as  hav- 
ing been  brought  to  great  perfection  in  that  State.     It  is  described  as 
having  been   made  of  cotton,  and  woven  with  great  taste  by  the  women 
in  the  country  parts,  whence  it  was  brought  to  town,  and  was   much 
sought  after  for  the  use  of  slaves,  being  considered  superior  to  anything 
of  the  kind  imported.' 

The  arts  of  the  clothier  were  as  little  attended  to  in  Carolina  as  in  Vir- 
ginia. Until  its  surrender  to  the  Crown,  in  1729,  industry  was  i;ot  much 
encouraged.  The  removal  of  rice,  the  staple  of  the  Province,  from  the 
list  of  enumerated  commodities,  and  other  marks  of  imperial  favor,  gave 
an  impulse  to  cultivation  and  the  useful  arts  after  that  time.  Georgia 
does  not  come  into  view  as  an  independent  government  until  1732,  and 
scarcely  made  any  progress  in  the  mechanic  arts  before  the  Revolu- 
tion. 

During  the  thirty  years  that  elapsed  between  the  enactment  of  the  law 
prohibiting  the  exportation  of  hats,  which  followed  the  Report  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  in  1732,  and  the  Peace  of  Paris,  in  1763,  we  do  not  find 

(1)  Carey's  Amer.  Museum,  vi.  91. 


34^  COLONIAL  CLOXn-MANUFACTURE. 

tiou  of  the  restraint'  mipos.a  on  i  p„mraerce  fffcw  with 

,.austry  of  the  1'1-tation.ren.uued  free  and  --^^^^^^^^^^       ^^^^^ 

the  rapid  h>creuse  of  popuhxUou  and  of  ^''«  P;*^^  \  ^^,^,,,,,  i,^. 
the  fisherioB.  The  Provincia  P^^^j;  ^  .^^^^l^^^ae  amounted  to 
l.roved  Us  household  .nanutactures,  ^  ''  '^^  ^,  j':;,  ,;,„,f,etures  con- 
L  considerable  value.     But  the  nnportat.on  "  1;'  '^  ^  ^  ,,  ,, 

tinned  to  augu.ent  with  the  growu.g  wealth  ^J^^^^^^  J  J,,,,^ 
the  full  extent  of  their  abihty  ^l^^^^^^'l^Za  twelve  shillings 
consisting  of  broad  and  narrow  ^  "''•;!  ^^^^^^.^  merges,  can>blets, 
u  yard,  duffles  and  frizes,  from  3s  6-Mo  G  .,  ^^''^  „,  ,,,,,eu 
Kendal  cottons,  plains,  half-thieks    «;--'«'  ^;;,'^  ''.i,,  j,,,  and 

hosiery  were  in.ported  ^^^^^^^^ :f'  ';''Zl!^tt^^ .o^^s  and  of 
Dutch  manufacture,  and  a  considendjle  «"-"      ^^  ^^  J^^„^     ^,^„,  f.,r 
,,Us.     The  cheaper  and  coarser  ^^f^^^^^^         Auh  t^-e  better 
the  supply  of  the  Indian  trade  and  ^^  "-'''' l^llnnX  silver  and  line 
qualitL.  which  also  u.clnded   such  -'^^  ^  ^  j'^^        ^^^  ,,.a  ,,i,,,es, 

~'==Ss  Ss--t::::r= 

'°  "       f,°   .    ;«,,U     The  i..M«rt.>io..  of  «"««  «»»  P'-'-"''"  """-■"  .'"• 
'"""  'rr„dT.    dome;  c  ,,ro,l..cHo„  c„rl»ilod  In  .he  ,»mo  pr„,„„uou 

»'  "'"'^t  ,;:;:;:„'«::;,  c1,!:;;l  ;";  o.^-  or «.,.. 

red  to.     A  large  saMU^  »u  Continental  Colonies,  be- 

The  total  exports  from  Great  Britain  \"  ;'^;^  ^    ^  .  ^„,i  j,,  the 

*,o  vp.iv/n'^O  and  1738,  amounted  to  i.4,71-',JJ4  .  »"" 
tween  tl'.e  yeais  ii-o  anu  i"'  -  ,  .     .-gg  ^  ^  mi- 

natural  increase  of  sheep  supplied  of  a  q;"!'\y/"J';       /J.  ,,,„,,  ,on. 
1  •  ^  «f  Plnths  attempted,  but  not  in  sufficient  quantitj  toi  noun. 
X°^r    F.mn;.:i»/.e,e  ™,aU,,Hod  ,n  .U  p.rU  of  U,c  country,  »nd 

(1)  Minot's  Hist.  Mass.  vol.  i. 


r 


liou  of  Uie  ma- 
ure  pi-iiicipiiUy 
hich  the  Colo- 
;  ilh  llie  oxct-p- 
,  Uie  tnule  ami 
erce  gi'ew  witli 
agrieiiltm'u  iiml 

soiuewhat  iiu- 
vle  anuninled  to 
luiufaclures  cou- 
)f  Uio  pyoi)lc  to 
ilies  of  wooU'iis, 
1  twelve  sliilliiigs 
series,  cainl'lets, 
aids,  and  woolen 
Scotch,  Irisli  and 
ia  goods  and  of 
woolens,  were  for 
I,  Willi  the  better 
d  silver  and  fine 
ii'ies  and  chintzes, 

the  inii)oitalions 
lens  were  a  large 
irobalily  niueli  in- 
;  same  proportion 
n  tlie  exportation 
n,   in    the   foUow- 
\\  object  of  which 
a  with  the  descrip- 
Tlie  exportation 
A  by  the  Act  refer- 
from  this  measure, 
cntal  Colonics,  be- 
2,994  ;  and  in  the 
lid  in  1763,  the  im- 
t  three  millions.' 
the  wool,  which  the 
iently  good  for  the 
iitity  for  home  con- 

of  the  country,  and 


THE  FIRST   SOCIETY  TO  ENCOURAGE  FKUGAUTY. 


345 


the  manufacture  of  coarse  linen  proceeded,  particularly  among  the  Scotch- 
Irish,  and  some  of  the  Germans,  the  former  in  New  Enghind,  Vev-.syl- 
vania,  and  Virginia  constantly  jiroducing  a  surplus  for  neigiibm-iiig  Pro- 
vinces. Fia.v  and  wool-growing,  and  the  manufacture  of  these  stai)le3 
into  Cloth,  were  encouraged  by  an  Act  of  the  Assembly  of  llhude  Island 
in  17ol.  ' 

Altiiough,  in  the  main,  the  Colonists  were  eminently  simple  and  frugal 
in  their  habits,  the  progress  in  luxury  was  sufficient  to  alarm  the  more 
prudent,  who  saw  the  difficulty  with  which  their  accounts  in   En.rland 
could  be  balanced,  by  a  drain  of  all  their  specie  and  the  profits  of  "their 
circuitous  and  lucrative  trade.     As  early  as  1724,  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts  prohibited  the  use  of  scarfs  at  funerals,  as  "a  burdensome 
custom."     About  the  year  1748,  the  scarcity  of  money  ;  the  suppression 
of  the  imper  currency  ;  the  failure  of  the  "  Manufacturing  Company  "  or 
"  Land  bank  scheme,"  for  issuing  Bills  of  credit,  called  "  Manufactory 
Bills,"  redeemable  in   produce  or  manufactures,  fur  which  lands  were 
pledged  as  security  ;'  the  complaints  of  the  Sugar  Colonies  against  the 
most  profitable  part  of  their  commerce,  the  conLraI)and  trades  with  the 
foreign  islands;  the  introduction  of  a  Bill  into  Parliament  containing 
some  provisions  deemed  hostile  to  Colonial  rights,  and  the  restoration  of 
Capj5  Breton  to  the  French,  produced  some  irritation  of  the  public  mind 
in  New  England.     As  a  consequence  of  this  feeling,  and  for  p-.  lential 
reasons,  a  society  was  formed  in  Boston,  the  following  rear,  for  promot- 
ing industry  and  frugality,  and  was  probably  the  foreruni.er  of  Uiose  asso- 
ciations  which,  a  few  years  later,  became  the  favorite  mode  throughout  the 
country,  of  sustaining  resistance  to  the  pressure  of  ministerial  authority 
To  favor  this  design,  the  Assembly  purchased  the  factory,  or  "  Spinning 
House,"  in  Boston,  and  granted  four  townships  of  land  for  the  use  of 
foreign  Protestants,  and  the  use  of  the  Provincial  frigate  fur  their  trans- 
portation.    At  the  anniversary  of  the  society,  in  1753,  great  enthusiasm 
was  exhibited.     About  300  young  female  spinners  ai-peared  upon  the 
commons,  seated  at  their  wheels,  arranged  in  three  rows.     The  weavers 
also  assembled,  neatly  dressed  in  cloth  of  their  own  manufacture,  and  one 
working  at  a  loom  upon  a  platform,  was  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  men' 
accompanied  by  music.     A  large  assemblage  was  addressed  on  the  occa- 
sion by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Cooper. 

A  memorial  presented  to  the  Governor  and  Court,  the  same  year  by 
Andrew  Oliver  and  other  members  of  the  association,  states,  that  their 
principal  object  was  the  employment  of  the  poorin  the  manufacture  of  Linen 
of  which  the  imports,  exclusive  of  English  linen,  were  computed  at  £30,000 


(U  Seo  Hazard's  V.  S.  Register,  i.  241. 


34(.  COLONIAL  clotii->l\nufacti;re. 

lu..  11  Lt  flaxseed  which  wouhl  alone  pay  for  the  raising 
r  ::^.i:~  :;  't:^^^.o...  .0.  Connectienuo  the  ...or 
£80  000  Conuecicut  currercy.-the  breaking,  «w.ngling,  etc.,  be.ng 
do,  ;  duHng      -0  tiu,e,  or  n.  the  winter,  and  the  spinning  by  the  wome. 

he.  of  which  there  appears  to  have  been  none  yet  in  -^^    ^JT^^ 
ZX  Orr,  of  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts,  an  ""f --;.'"^»    '  ;^' "f„; 

acre,  £4  ;  for  the  most  auu  ^^^^^  ^j^^,,^ 

tT      ,..v..t   Snnreon   St   George's  Hundred,  Newcastle  county. 

.  L,.l    .r,«-  "Con  „cl,ml  ki.o«l..lB«,  ll"t<'foi-»  »"l'™  """'"» 
S    ,   .       0      »r,ia  .0  ,u„Ul..t  „„..l.,.,.un.V,„„  0,.  mdiir.-onc. 

,  I,    N  w  Cu»»l   New  Vo,k,  0,0  Jor,si,«.  Vmm,\,mi».  m<\  Mary 


CLANDKSTI.N-E  TRADE  TO  BE  STOPPED—TAXATION  PUOPOSED.  34 T 


'or  the  raising 
to  tlie  value  of 
(ig,  etc.,  being 
:  by  the  women. 
:icty,  and  taxed 
fiicturingofflax 
ists  iu  bi-inging 
employed  large 
position  was  that 
ix-dressing  ina- 
iise  in  America, 
machinist,  and  a 
line  of  that  kind, 
lowed  by  others. 
Ir  an  individual 
^,iia_lo  promote 
;st  and  best  piece 
offered ;  for  spiu- 
d,  20.S. ;  for  the 

piece  of  coating, 
it  flaxseed  off  au 
;  for  making  tho 
Iressed  deer  skin, 
le  best  and  great- 
luantity  of  cherry, 

awarded  on  first 
jllowing  years,  by 
;le  county, 
in  a  letter  written 

on  the  "  enlarged 
r  British  woolens, 

clandestine  impor- 
ing  in  these  manu- 
are  too  frequently 
lymcnts  less  detri- 
I  lltmHelves,"  pro- 
5  of  these  northern 
ng  the  indifference 
!  planters  through- 
ylvania,  and  Mary- 
I  jiretendcd),  almost 

that  generally,  tb« 


people  are  sliding  into  the  manufactures  proper  to  the  mother  country 
and  this  not  through  any  spirit  of  industry  or  economy,  but  plainly  for 
want  of  some  returns  to  make  to  tlie  shops;  that  their  trade,  so  valu- 
able to  Great  Britain,  should,  contrary  to  the  policy  of  all  other  nations 
besuflwfd  10  run  ofl- into  clandestine  channels;  aud  that  Colonies,  on  which 
the  fate  of  this  country  will  be  found  to  depend,  should,  without  the  iuast 
regard  to  inducMcc  of  impression  early  made  on  the  human  mind   be  suf- 
fered to  remain  in  this  day  under  these  little,  factious  Democracies  which 
had  their  first  rise  iu  the  republican  ideas  of  licentious  times."     The  clan- 
destine trade  referred  to  in  the  above  extract  had  long  been  a  subject  of 
complaint,  as  •■.  ,11  with  British  merchants  as  with  the  West  India  Colonies 
but  liad  been  to  the  Colonial  merchant  the  chief  means  of  making  returns 
for  Ills  large  indebtedness  for  English  goods. 

But  the  conclnsion,  in  1703,  of  the  wars  which  had  been  long  waged 
between  Great  Britain  and  France  for  supremacy  on  the  American  Conti- 
nent,  opened  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  Colonies.  Indulgence  was 
no  longer  to  I)e  allowed  to  this  lucrative  traffic.  The  design,  of  which 
the  Colonists  had  already  received  distinct  intimation,  of  raising  a  reve- 
uue  to  de'-.iy  the  future  expenses  of  possessioius,  which  tho  nation  had 
incurred  an  enormous  debt  to  extend  and  protect,  was  carried  into  exe- 
cution by  tli«  Ministry  ;  and  a  short  j.eriod  of  misrule  was  terminated  iu 
a  successful  revolt.  But  before  narrating  the  future  course  of  their  industry 
and  legislation  in  regard  to  the  textile  arts,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
incpiire  wliat  ellbrts  were  made  by  the  Colon :e.  to  provide  materials 
which,  in  a  measure,  employed  the  labor  of  several  of  the  southern  Pro- 
TiuceH. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

OF  CLOTH  ANl>  THE  MATERIALS  FOR  CLOTHING  CONTINUED  FROM  THE 
TKACE  OF  1703,  WITH  ESl'ECIAL  REFERENCE  TO  TUB  CLLTURK  OP 
INDIGO,    COTTON,    AND    81LK. 

The  cultivatioi.  of  the  Indigo  plant  and  the  mannfacture  of  the  dye 
w.i'e  very  earlv  reconunended  and  altem-.ted  in  the  Southern  Colonics^ 
As  early  as  ICnO,  Gulian  Van   Rensselaer  also  made  exper.nienta  with 
wild  Irdiiro  seed  near  Albany,  and  An-nstus  Heermon,  near  the  present 
ci.y   Of  New    York.      By  the    Navigation  Act  of   1C61,   it  was  enu- 
meratcd  an.r:,.  the  artieles  which  were  to  be  sent  to  England  alone. 
It  was  intredacd  into   Louisiana  by  the  French  in   1718,  and  w.'h.n 
ten  years  bec-ne  an  article  of  export.     The  manufacture  was  eneour- 
aued  by  bounties  from  the  French  Government.     About  the  year  174(1, 
when  rice  had  become  reduced  in  price,  the  seed  of  the  East  Imha 
pi.v.  ■•   which  had  been  for  nmny  years  extensively  cultivated  m  the  West 
IndiJs,  was  sent,  along  with  that  <.f  cotton,  ginger,  lucerne,  etc.,  from 
Antigua  by  Mr.  Lucns,  the  governor  of  the  island.     His  daughter,  M.ss 
Eliza  Lucas,  the  mother  of  General  Charles  Cotesworth  rinckncy,  was 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  in  charge  of  a  plantation  in  South  Carolina  where 
Fhe  planted  the  seed,  and,  after  one  or  two  attempts,  was  successful.     A 
person  tmmed  Cromwell  was  then  sent  froia  Montserrat  to  instruct  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  dye.     After  erecting  vats,  and  producing  a  quantity 
o<  Indigo  he  iHHv.me  alar.u-d  lest  he  should  ruin  the  manufacture  of  his 
native  countrv,  and  made  a  mystery  of  the  art,  hut  did  not  manage  to 
conneal  the  knowledge  of  it.     Indigo  in  a  year  or  two  began  to  be  ex- 
ported     Soon  after  Mr.  Pinckney,  who  had  married  Miss  Lucas,  re- 
.eive.l  some  plants  of  the  indigen.ms  weed,  and  experiments  having 
Khown  its  fitness  for  making  the  pigment,  the  planters  engaged   in  its 
culture      In   1741,  about  100,000  lbs.  of  Indigo  were  rxix.rted  from 
Charleston  to  England,  and  in  1747,  i;U,118  '.bs.,  worth  2«.  6^/.  sterling 
a  poun.l.     Though  not  so  well  cured  as  the  French,  its  quality  was  ap- 
proved  an.l  the  merchants  in  the  Carolina  trade,  who,  by  the  commer- 
tiul  statutes,  had  ft  monopoly  of  the  article,  petitioned  for  a  small  bounty 
(348) 


mmm^'^ 


qp 


*' 


tw^^ 


lEP     FROM    TH« 
E    CXJLTURK    OP 


itnrc  of  the  dye 
them  Colonies, 
xperiinenls  with 
near  the  prer.ent 
ll,  it  wns  emi- 
Englund  alone. 
718,  mill  wi'hin 
lire  was  cncour- 
t  the  year  1740, 
the  East   India 
ited  in  the  West 
cerne,  etc.,  from 
s  daughter,  Miss 
ll  riiickncy,  wns 
I  Carolina,  where 
LB  successful.     A 
to  instruct  in  the 
uciiifc  a  quantity 
anutacture  of  his 
I  not  manage  to 
began  to  be  ex- 
Miss  Lucas,  rc- 
^)eriinents  having 
n  engaged   in  its 
■0  rxjjortcd  from 
;h  2s.  Gd.  sterling 
8  q\iality  was  op- 
I,  by  the  comraer- 
^or  n  suniU  bounty 


i't^m. 


VjI^}. 


,..-.■    * 


;s^' 


'■fS'i 


«»■ 


n 


T 


r,    X  V" 


...  ^,,t:    ■  ■ 

SI    III. 


,  ..    !lc</r!riM;,.  i.-'ar  tii.    I'l*'  •"  I 

...  ,    •    .tf    i.^fil,    .1    '         ""'• 

..,  ■   .    ,   ■,■    i,.    (•*■;'•   i-i-  "l'-:  • 

1    .ru'j  t.  ''(('crnc,  1 1'-..  ''-    "I 

...    ,    ,u  H'lii-l.  r;.v,i' ,  ■•^lu:-' 

,.  .....  ./»■'<'»'■■''  '"  '""•.■  '     '    ^  ■"  '  P  !        \ 

1     .-,i   .•:,...,„..  ,,r  ;•...  'irt'Mtiifi..,  w.i- eiH^^v';-."'-      -^ 

,<  :■>.  n    .-..t  tV'Mli  M)li!^.-rral  to  i.^"^r.|,;t  m  Uu' 

.\r  r  «r-     M  •••    ■it'-'.  xHCl   pro'im'i'".-  »  qviiviili'y 

•|..t,  if'l  ft      '"  '■•■  ';->■  '■' 
,,r  IV  ■   l-.i'u  to  bv  •  V- 


,,.  ,..t    I  V  !■  I'll  ■'    ■  ''    '• 
,M'.tii/u;i.  !»v   M:-    1  Cfiis  '.  ■ 


V:'>i,r.v        V 


Ihr 


'  ,v.H    ,j.       ■  .'    •..  '^;'-'P  '■        ■'■■■.■•■■'.     ^■'  '    '    -|- 

.     .nAlnSUL  vu,n>MVu  ,.v..rthUA  0,f.  .>.  ^W'" 

....ii      ,  ^  .,r  ■;.•     t  r.T.(ii,  •{<  o'l'Vli'V    "i'  '■"- 

,.    ,,,,    .     :  ,    Mi'.  M-u'lo,  •*!.<,  lis-  U"    .'  )-iai..-:r- 


i,i»" 


if  tnrc  '■'!  lii''  ''>  ' 

Vi.^uf  til  -   I'li-  ••'  I 
(ii.    ,1    '  '  "" 

,    r's'  '  1-1"  "!•'•  <■■ 
I     ■■  J.     ,!;-!   w'.'^t.'f 

,  (••    •,.1-   '  M  ■  nr- 

,;■      ,.    N---  IT"'. 

il...    i:  -!     Ii-'i. 

.oeriie,  it'-..  '    '•' 

^  li;llii;  u<  ''  ^ii  ■■ 
,',  pti;rl..-  ■  ■■  '^  ^^ 
'h   (''..Vit'lh..,  ■ftlit  :'  ' 

,•.1- f!i<"v'.'' .rii'.    -^ 

.  to  i<\"^rn<;t  in  Mlf 
ritu;n-i:  iv  (ivLvuii'V 

,M.,.llf:lCtUri'   •^'     '  '•■ 

.,  \  (,       ill  >r.i}ic   '•• 

••  jvjv.  ■  lie'.'.'.  '     V'i»  Hi;/ 

rw  i:"'.'»':"i'   i"  '■ ' 

4A(T    I  \»i'   ft.  '1     ':  <!''ii 

i!-  qii.Ui'y    "■■'  '■('■ 

M,    !lV    l(>f     r  t'VtSIitC- 


.L_ 


.^^.^.^  i/A'C;'- 


,  '1  i*^. , 


i-  a    r    ■:^  •/ 


f  "•:..■■, 


^imbAi 


INDIGO   CULTIRE   IN   CAROLINA   AND   GEORGIA. 


349 


to  eiicouniffc  its  nifinufacture.  An  inquiry  elicited  the  fact  that  Indigo 
'vas  one  of  the  most  profitable  articles  of  French  colonial  commerce,  her 
inlands  supplying  priiieipally  the  markets  of  Europe  and  not  less  than 
600,000  Ih.'i.  annually  at  a  cost  of  5s.  a  pound  to  England  alone.  The 
manufacturers  and  dyers  now  joined  their  requests  for  a  premium,  and  in 
1748  a  bounty  was  offered  of  Gd.  a  pound  on  all  Indigo  raised  in  the 
British  Xorth  American  Colonies,  and  imported  directly  into  England. 

Iti  1T.'i4,  the  Assembly  procured  the  Guatemala  Indigo  seed,  and  dis- 
tributed it  to  the  different  settlements,  but  the  native  plant  was  found 
most  profitable.  Its  cultivation  now  commenced  with  spirit.  Many 
planters  doubled  their  capital  in  three  or  four  years,  and  American  Indigo 
undersold  the  French  in  some  of  the  markets  of  Europe.  "  It  proved," 
says  Dr.  Ramsay,  "  more  really  beneficial  to  Carolina  than  the  mines  of 
Mexico  or  Peru  are,  or  ever  have  been,  either  to  Old  or  New  Spain." 
Clmrlet^ton,  in  nr)3,  exported  210,924  lbs.,  and  the  two  Carolinas,  in 
1756,  produced  500,000  lbs.  South  Carolina  the  next  year  sold  to  the 
value  of  £150,000  sterling,  and,  for  a  few  years  preceding  the  wnr,  the 
export*  were  over  one  million  pounds  nnnuaiiy,  aliout  one-half  of  which 
was  re-exported  from  England.  The  best  Indigo  in  Carolina  \vik,i  pro- 
duced  on  the  I.sland  of  Edisto. 

Georgia,  in  17.H,  exi»orted  4,508  lbs.  ;  in  1757,  18,150  lbs.  ;  iilld  hi 
1772,  55,380.  T»'.»nty-fivo  negroes  could  manage  a  plantation  of  (ll'ty 
acres  and  complete  tlw  manufaiflure  of  the  drug,  besides  providing  their 
own  Bubsistence  and  that  of  the  {banter's  family.  An  acre  yielded  an 
average  of  50  lbs.  The  apparatus  was  not  very  expensive,  consi.sting 
chiefly  of  vats  and  tubs  of  cypress  wood.  Great  skill  and  care  were  re- 
quired in  the  several  stages  of  the  process,  but,  when  properly  conducted, 
the  raanufactnre  was  an  extremely  profitable  one.  A  premium  for  im- 
provements in  the  manufacture  was  offered  by  the  Society  of  Arts  in 
London.  After  the  Revolution,  the  increased  attention  to  the  manu- 
facture of  Indisro  in  British  India,  and  to  the  cultivation  of  Cotton  in 
the  Soutiieru  States,  caused  a  rapid  decline  in  the  quantity  produced. 
In  1704,  the  whole  Union  exported  1,550,880  fionnds.  But  for  many 
years  past,  Indigo,  which  was  once  the  most  profitHl)Ie  commodity  of 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  has  not  been  taken  into  account  in  the  cen.sns. 
We  annually  import  over  one  million  pounds.  Its  cultivation  could  still 
be  made  a  remunerative  business,  CHpecially  in  Carolina.  But.  Indigo, 
once  the  leading  article  in  the  exports  of  Charleston,  lias  now  wholly 
disappeared  from  the  list,  and  the  loud  call,  said  a  hundred  years  ago  to 
exist  for  the  encouragpment  of  Cotton  in  the  State,  has  been  answered 
bv  a  yearly  export  of  ten  or  twelve  uiilljoiw  of  dollars  worth  of  an 


35(1  COLONIAL  CLOTII-MISUPAOIIHE. 

.,U„1.  then  n,.relj  named  amo„s  ^  "ports,  a,,d  considered  no.  «orth 
'"^::cl„ist,.e.e  not  unprovided  with  other  -«'« 'l^-;;;^;;-". 

:   *;  leif  i„  m.  oftred'  .  pre.ia.  of  £40  <o,  ti,.  '^^^^^ 

Lcm  wrote   "also  hove  be  divers  roots  and  berries  wh  revNUh  the  In 
^i:!:d;:e..e«ent,,«,id.eoWO,.n„.^^^^^ 

;;;:  t  C.  .».  .*„  -  -i.«o,,    X.0»0  ^e.  »„».  ^^  He 
Hack  oak  V..rk  (5«e™»i.  KKtona)  to  the  above  .alne. 


(1)  Among  tbc  miitcrials  for  Br.ACK  Dye, 
U  ennm^rstes  the  juife  of  the  v"^'""  "«'' 
(r/.».  (o^icmh„>lrm,),  l\m  loaves  tti.rt  t'flrr.es 
of  th6  gitU  berry  bu.h  :  Uie  juico  of  tbe  bot- 
ries  of  the  wntur  honflinimil,  or  gip^y  worl 
(Lyrnpu.Enrn,,,,,,.) ;  tbe  .•«|.i..le»  and  hnrk 
of  Ibe  red  oak  (qutrcxu  rtifcrn). 

lii.uE.— Common  InJigo  (luUijofvrit  linn- 
f„ria)  ;  fnl^e  Indigo  {amnrpha  frulicnia)  ; 
the  inner  bark  of  tbe  comtnon  mh  tree 
(.^n,xm.<.  txrr/.M)  ,■  blucBtone  or  sulphate 
of  noppcr  Wii8  also  ui^ed. 

Ylttiow.— Hoots  of  the  common  ncttlo 
( thtica  dioica) ;  the  bark  of  the  blackberry 
liearing  older  {rh:<mmi>  pangul'i)  ;  root  of 
the  berberry  bush  {Derberl,  vulaari,);  bark 
of  common  plum  tree  (pruuu,  chtcam),  and 
•PpU  tree  (i^yru.  molu.) ;  leaves  of  tbe  birch 


tree  (beUil,.)  ;  «aw  wort  {^eralula  tinctona), 
and  common    knapweed  {cnlnura  jacea)  ; 
spotted  arae9mart(j.«(.i/.7''"""'   P'rii'-ana)  ; 
yellow  willow  herb,  or  loose  Blrifo  (/,'/«■»•«- 
chia  t,ilgarh)f    leaves   of  the   devil's   b,t 
(,cal,h,n  iuccUa) ;  the  flowers  of  St.  John  . 
wort  (hiiporicum  pnfornlHm) ;  the  petals  of 
garden    marigold     {oaUndnh    offioi„ali>) } 
American    dodder,   or   love    vln«    (c.c.Ja 
^m«ric„m.);  Ie«»e9  of  horse  laurel,  sweet 
or  yellow  leaf  {hopen  <mc(o. .'..) ;  petals  "f 
the  Jerusalem  .rliHMiM.  "'  •">'"»*"  •"'°- 
n„wer   (hMvUhnt  (ufciro...);   yellow  wort, 
orpnrfloy-leavedrootfMr.(Aor^.>on;).\/'oJio); 

yellow  root  (hydrattii  raiin((i'iili"»). 

KKn.-niossoms  of  the  bastard  saffron 
(carlhcmn,  iinCariu.)  ;  roots  of  common  .or- 
rel  {rumcx  acelo.,lla)j  root,  of  cross  wort. 


CULTIVATION  OP  COTTON — bOTTON  GINS. 


351 


red  not  worth 

dye-stuffs,  and 
other  materials 
in  South  Caro- 
first  settlement 
by  the  Society 
argest  quantity 
also  introduced 
re  plants  which 
e  of  them  were 
Iligginson,  of 
erewith  the  In- 
ihing  can  alter." 
1  yielding  dyers' 
ie  a  conspicuous 
the  profusion  of 
3rangebui^,  ob- 
paste  made  from 
?e  of  the  yellow 
Dr.  Bancroft,  tho 
irmanent  Coiors," 
dye-stuffs  yielded 
per  annum.     He 
to  those  obtained 
irted  and  sold  of 


rt  {teralulit  titietoria), 
eed  (c«n(aHra  jacea) ; 
olyiinuiitn   periicana) ; 
,r  luoae  Blrifo  (',v«i»in- 
res   nf  lliu   ilnvU's   hit 
je  flowers  of  St.  John's 
'■(irfidim) ;  the  petals  of 
ofl/«ii(/ii/(«    njflelnalit)  i 
or   lovo    vimi    {ciiicuta 
of  horso  laurel,  iwecl 
n  lincttitia);  petals  (if 
f|(l|je,  nr  tuhorose  sun- 
i(//irii.(i);   yellow  wort, 
{(tanlhorhha  npii/olia); 
ii  eannili'ntit)' 
of   U)6  busturcl  saffron 
,);  roots  of  common  sor- 
la);  roolb  of  cross  wort. 


The  very  early  introduction  and  cultivation  of  the  valuable  Cotton  plant, 
including  "  the  Cyprus  and  Smyrna  sort,"  with  a  view  to  domestic  u.se, 
has  been  already  incidentally  mentioned.     The  fitness  of  the  soil  and  cli- 
mate for  Cotton,  and  its  occasional  production,  are  frequently  noticed  by 
early  writers  on  America.     Peter  Turry,  in  his  description  of  Carolina,  in 
1731,  says,  "Flax  and  Cotton  thrive  admiraljly,  and  hemp  grows  is'to 
14  feet  in  height ;  but,  as  few  people  know  how  to  order  it,  there  is  very 
little  cultivated."     Cotton  seed,  probably  from  the  Levant,  was  carried 
into  Carolina  by  Mr.  Piirry,  who  settled  a  oolonv  of  Swiss  people  near 
Purrysburg,  in  1733.     The  cultivation  of  the  plant  in  gardens  was  fre- 
quently to  be  met  with  as  early  as  1736  in  the  southern  Provinces,  as  far 
north  as  the  thirty-ninth  degree.     A  year  or  two  later,  Miss  Lucas,  who 
introdticed  the  Indigo  culture,  also  planted  Cotton  seed,  and,  in  her  jour- 
nal, in  1739  and  1741,  speaks  of  the  pains  she  had  taken  to  bring  Cotton 
and  Indigo  to  perfection.     An  exportation  of  seven  bags,  valued  at  £3 
lis.  M.  per  bag,  was  made  from  Charleston,  between  November,  1747, 
and  November,  174S,  but  it  is  not  clearly  ascertained  to  have  been  of 
native  growth.     Among  the  exports  of  Carolina,  in  1753,  and  of  Charles- 
ton, in  1757,"  "some  cotton"  is  mentioned  ;  and  a  London  publication, 
in  1762,  says  "what  Cotton  and  Silk  both  the  Carolinas  send  us  is  ex- 
cellent, and  calls  aloud  for  the  encouragement  of  its  cultivation  in  a  place 
well  adapted  to  raise  both."'     Cotton  was  one  of  the  articles  intended 
Ip  be  cultivated  by  the  founders  of  Georgia,  and  a  paper  of  the  seed  was 
received  by  the  trustees  from  Philip  Miller,  of  Chelsea,  England,  which 
was  planted  in   1734.     It  appears,  alhO,  to  have  been  early  cultivated, 
cmonKin.  OH  the  Very  limited  scale  first  attempted,  by  the  French  inha- 
introdarcd,  (jitg^tg  ^f  Louisiauu.     In  1742,  a  French  planter  of  enterprise 
find  1  \f  Dubrcuil— wlio,  a  few  yenrs  after,  erected  on  Ins  plantation, 

"ow  .  ,,. iy  the  lower  poilion  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans,  the  first 

Hugar-mili  in  I-ouisiana— invented  a  Cotton  gin,  for  M<pui;ifiiig  the  filire 
from  the  seed.  The  invention  greatly  stimiiluled  I  ho  culiuro  of  Cot- 
ton in  that  Colony,  by  partially  removing  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the 


madder  (gali'itm  boreaU),  and  of  other 
spocifs  of  pnlium ;  roofs  of  piieooon,  or 
bustard  tii'  merio  {iinnymunrin  ritiiniieim'e)  ; 
prickly  pear  {cnrtiit  nftunlin), 

CiiiiisoN. — Juice  of  the  poke  berry,  or 
American  nighl-slmde  (iihylntacca  decan- 
drn) ;  with  liiuo  81  •  IBordanf,  it  produces  a 
yellow  color. 

flriKKN  — Li-aves  of  the  common  reed  or 
cune  {ortiii(Jo  phrngmitei). 

Brown,  Goto,  and  Olivb  shades.— The 


bark  of  the  common  maple  {ncer  campeitrii) 
and  fops  of  the  wild  marJMram  {orignnum 
vnhjare)  impart  a  brown  ;  the  inner  bark  of 
red  oak  [querent  rubra)  produces  an  orange, 
a  reddish  brown  with  alum,  and  a  black 
with  copperas;  the  bark  of  bliirk  walnut 
{Jxiglxnt  nii/tii)  a  dark  olive;  eomrnon  hops 
(humiihii  lupulut),  a  good  brown  ;  eon-.mon 
agrimony  (ayrimonin  cii/)(;(ori'a),  a  gold  color. 
(1)  Amer.  Qasetteer,  vol.  iii.,  London 
Art.  CbarloitowD, 


■M«t 


gg2  COLONIAL* CLOTH   MANUFACTURE. 

business   as   a   profitable   industry.     The   separation   of   the   seed   had 
p       ",;Len  eaectea  by  picking  it  fron.  tbe  wool  hy  the  fingcn,^     e 
rate  of  one  pound  a  day.     This  operation,  as  the  eveu.ng  task  of  the 
wonen   children,  or  other  n.embers  of  the  household,  long  conUnue    to 
be  t  eFaeticei    the  Cotton  regions,  until  an  inereasod  prodncuon  called 
^tJhanical  appliances.     The  bow-string,  which  had  ^-  -^ -"- 
moriallvin  India  for  the  purpose,  was  first  introduced  into   Geoigm, 
wh  nig    ated  the  commercial  term  of  "Bowed  Georgia  Cotton. ' 
Ment    n      ma'le,  in  1772,  of  another  contrivance  for  tlie  same  purpose 
S  appears  to  have  been  a  form,  original  or  derived  from  the  Last,  of 
the     Ur  gin,  the  best  contrivance  for  cleaning  Cotton,  until    he  luven- 
t-on  of  the  sa  V  gin,  by  Whitney,  in  1703,  introduced  a  uew  era  in  Cotton 
usba      y.     Tl  is  article  was  used  by  a  Mr.  Crebs,  the  alleged  inventor, 
lon    is  plantati.n,  on  the  Pascagoula  river,  in  West  Florida,  now  Ala- 
bama where  Ihe  owner  grew  Cotton,  which  he  packed  in  canvas  bags 
suTe'nded  between  two  pine  trees,  by  treading  it  down  until  each  bo^g 
contained  three  hundred  pounds,  about  the  present  capacity  of  a  l^e^ 
The  machine  is  described,  by  Bernard  Romans,  as  consisting  of    our 
upriMit  posts,  about  four  feet  high,  strongly  framed  together  a    the  top 
:  d'supportilig  two  polished  spindles  or  rollers  grooved  longitud.ua^^ 
and  by  means  of  treadles,  made  to  revolve  in  opposite  direction  .     Ih 
Cot'ton,  thinlv  spread,  entered  upon  one  side,  and  the  l.nt  passed  betwe 
the  rollers,  while  the  seed  fell  down  upon  one  side  in  a  separate  pi  e.   1  he 
French  improved  upon  the  device,  by  the   use  of  a  large  wheel,  whic^i 
turned  two  of  these  mills  with  such  velocity  as  to  clean  seventy  pounds 
of  Cotton  in  a  day.'     Among  the  documents  in  the  Archives  of  the  Co- 
lonial Department  at  Paris,  there  is  said  to  be  "  a  most  carious  report  on 
Cotton,  in  1760.  of  the  great  advantages  Louisiana  might  derivefrom 
its  cultnre_the  difficulty  of  separating  the  seed  from  the  wool-its  u. tio- 
duction  from  St.  Don.ingo-a  report  of  M.  de  Mauripas  on  that  matter, 
suggesting  the  importation  from  the  East  Indies  of  machinery  to  sepa- 
rate the  seed,  &c."    Early  in  the  Revolution,  Kinsey  Borden,  to  whom 


toijetlior  with  tlie  Cott.m  itself,  they  huvo 
invented  little  Macliines  which,  heing  pliiy- 
ed  by  the  motion  of  ii  wheel,  the  Cotton  f.^lls 
on  one  ei.le  and  the  foed  on  the  other ;  nnd 
thus  they  are  separated."  The  primitivo 
mode  in  Iiulia  was  to  sepiirato  the  seed  by 
the  fingers,  and  another  .-till  used  there,  was 
that  of  bealivg,  by  whieh.  according  to  Dr. 
Buchanan,  a  mm.  ...p:'.rii«d  4i  pounds  a 


ages,  and  the  rollers,  at  first  roughly  con- 
structed, which  are  mentioned  by  Nearchus, 
an  otEcer  in  Alexander's  Indian  cKpe- 
dition.  Tnese  were  made  of  two  rollers  of 
teak  wood,  fluted  longitudinally  with  se- 
veral grooves,  and  revolving  near!,  .  con- 
tact. Tbey  seem  to  have  been  the  .  -'T'uai 
of  tlio  roller  gin  long  used  in  this  coi-  try. 


EAULY   COXTRIVAXCES   FOH   CLEAXINU   COTTON. 


353 


the   seed   had 
J  finger;,  at  the 
ing  task  of  tlie 
g  eoiitimieil  to 
oduciion  culled 
een  used  imnie- 
iiito   Georgia, 
.'orgia  CoUon." 
same  inirpose, 
om  the  East,  of 
until  the  iiiven- 
iw  era  in  Cotton 
illeged  inventor, 
orida,  now  Ala- 
in canvas  bags 
until  each  bag 
pacity  of  a  bale. 
)nsisting  of  four 
;ether  at  the  top, 
;d  longitudinally, 
directions.     The 
it  passed  between 
L'parate  pile.  The 
irge  wheel,  which 
a  seventy  pounds 
chives  of  the  Co- 
curious  report  on 
light  derive  from 
le  wool — its  intro- 
as  on  that  matter, 
lachinery  to  sepa- 
Borden,  to  whom 

jceived  6i  pounds  of 
?i>  tlieso  succeeded  tbo 
s  been  used  tlicre  for 
I,  at  first  rouglily  eon- 
lentioned  by  Nearcbus, 
Bnder's  Indian  espe- 
made  of  two  rollers  of 
mgitudinnlly  with  so- 
evolving  neur'.j  .  con- 
bave  been  tbe  r  ''Tinai 
g  used  in  tbia  cox    try. 


Carolina  ...  indebted  for  the  .silky  Cottons  of  her  sea  islands,  constructed 
u  roller-g,n,  wluch  is  believed  to  have  been  among  the  first  made  or  used 
m  that  State,  and  enabled  him  to  clothe  his  negroes  in  garments  of  domes- 
tic fabnc.    It  was  composed  of  "  pieces  of  iron  gun-barrels,  burnished  an 
h.ved  m  wooden  rollers,  with  wooden  screws  to  secure  them,  and  woodeu 
cranks  to  turn  in  the  manner  of  the  ^leel  corn-mill."   It  was  turned  by  one 
person,  and  fed  by  another.     Mr.  U.sseli,  of  Georgia,  i„  1788,  resorted  to 
tlif  "  simple  plan  oi'ii  bench,  upon  wliich  rose  a  frame  supporting  two  short 
rollers  revolving  in  opposite  directiuus,  and  each  turned  by  a  boy  or  girl 
and  giving,  as  the  result  of  a  day's  work,  five  pounds  of  clean  Cotton." 
This  seems  to  be  nearly  the  same  as  the  earlier  contrivance  of  Crebs     In 
December,  of  the  same  year,  Richard  Leake,  of  ..'eorgia,  who  that  year 
led  the  way  in  Cotton-growing  on  a  large  scale,  wrote  to  Thomas  Proc- 
tor, of  Phihuhlphia,  "  The  principal  difficultjUhat  arises  to  us  is  the  clear- 
ing It  from  the  seed,  which  I  am  told  they  do  with  great  aoxterity  and 
ease  in  Philadelphia,  with  gins  and  machines  made  for  that  p^^po^e.     I 
shall  now  esteem    it  a   singular  favor  your  procuring  me    one,   and  I 
will  thankfully  pay  whatever  the  cost  of  it  may  be.     I  am  told  they 
make  them   that  will  cleau  from  thirty  to  forty  pounds  clear  cotton  per 
day,  and  upon  a  very  simple  construction."     This  passage  has  led  to  the 
inference  that  the  foot  gin,  or  some  equally  efficient  instrument  was  la 
use  at  the  north,  while  only  a  rude  hand-mill  was  employed  in  Georgia, 
lu  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  w;,ere  those  instruments  are  now 
extensively  manufactured,  Cotton  was  grown  at  the  commenceme:<t  of 
the  llevohuion;  in  Cape  May  County,  New  Jersey;  Sussex  County,  De- 
hiware,  and  St.  Mary's  County,  in  Maryland;  and  the  product  being' sold 
in  the  seed,  doubtless  gave  employment  to  such  maihin,;.-.     About  two 
years   after,  Joseph  Eve,  or  Eaves,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  then 
residing  in  the  Bahamas,  introduced  what  was  long  considered  in  Gi.'orgia 
a  great  improvement  on  the  treadle  gin.     It  was  a  double  gin,  with  two 
Itair  of  rollers  placed  obliquely  one  above  another,  ai.d  could  be  worked  by 
horses,  oxen,  or  water-power.     It  was  pa  ented  in  1803,  previous  to  which, 
a  number  of  patents  for  ginning  machi  lery  had   been  issued :  the  first 
being  that  of  Whitney,  in  March,  1794.     The  present  form  of  the  foot 
or  treadle  gin  first  used  in  Georgia,  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  about 
two  years  after  Whitney's,  by  William  Brisbane,  to  whom  several  were 
sent  from  Bahama  by  his  fatlier-in-law.     A^ariou.s  modifications  of  these! 
as  to  mechanism  and  power,  followed  in  rapid  succession.     These  con- 
trivances for  preparing  the  fibre  for  the  spindle,  gave  increased  value  to 
the  crop  for  domestic  consumption,  and  its  importance  was,  at  the  same 
time,  daily  augmented  by  the  train  of  splendid  inventions  going  forward 
in  England  for  couverting  it  into  Cloth  with  a  facility  previously  deemed 
23 


\   ;, 


35^  COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 

unattainable.     Scarcely  an  attempt  had  yet  been  made.  ^«--;;- J^  P^"' 
duce  Cotton  for  exportation.     In  1770,  there  were  shipped  to  Liverpool 
tl  ree  bal     from  N  w  York,  four  from  Virginia  and  Mary  and,  and  three 
r  el  tl  f  om  North  Carolina.     Of  hemp,  flax  seed,  -f  Cotton     oge- 
n    .  the  exports  from  Tirginia.  before  the  War  amounted  to  near  £  ,000 
n  value      The  convention  held  in  Williamsburg,  \  irgu.ia^  Augu    ,  174 
:       ^of  the  altered  relations  of  the  country  with  Great  B-t-,  -0!  ed 
that  attention  should  be  turned  "from  the  cultivation  of  tobaeeo  to  the 
^^UvaUon  of  such  articles  as  may  form  a  basis  for  ^o-uc  n.— 
^vhich  we  will  endeavour  to  encourage  throughout  this   Colony  to    ne 
.       .    f  n„r  nhilitics  "   Cotton  is  uot  mentioned  in  the  resolutions,  which 

vea;  the  Assembly  of  the  &;pvince  adopted,  unanimously,  a  plan  for  the 
e ncourr.ement  of  arts  anrmanufactures.  including  resolutions  0  non- 
mpoTarioT  d,  "  that  all  persons  having  proper  land  ought  to  cu  tivate 
:n  ise  a'quan'tity  of  .lax,  hemp,  and  Cotton,  -ff-^^-; -^/,f-^^ 
use  of  Ws  own  family,  but  to  spare  to  others  on  moderate  terms  The 
pntng  of  Cotton  L  been  also  recommended,  in  the  previous  Januar 
bv  the  first  Provincial  Congress  held  in  South  Carolina.  But  very  htt  e 
at'tenlnt^fpears  to  have  been  paid  to  the  recommendation  of  eUher  body 

"  Tn  m4\nlmerican  ship  which  imported  eight  bags  of  Cotton  into 

^Xt  tation  of  Cotton  from  Charleston  commenced  -^^^^  ;J.en 
"'•""^'-  one  bag  arrived  at  Liverpool,  January  20th,  per  Uiana,  to 
John  and  saac  Teasdale  &  Co.  In  the  same  year,  twelve  a  di  ion 
i  Tom  Philadelphia  and  one  from  New  York  were  received  at  that 
'  D^rin.  t^^^  exTfive  years,  the  receipts  of  American  Cotton  were 
port.  During  ''«  ""^  "  «  J  '  ,,  ..tj^ated  at  150  lbs.  each,  or 
respectively  ^'^^^^'f^']'-  ^^  °„  J^,,,^  ,,,^  1785  to  1790  inelu- 
1441  bag.s  weighing  216.15.  iD,i.,  in  six  y       .  ^^^_ 

Tho  infrease  was  progressive  out  not  uniiorui,  aim  1  ■' 

sive.     The  increase  wab  1     b  ,  ^^^^    ^^  ^y^^,^ 

responded  to  the  nature  of  the  demana.      xi     j 


M)  Cotton,  consisting  of  the  wild  produco 
of  the  country,  and  lampwick  made  by  ,'ho 
natives,  was  first  exported  to  Europe  from 
Bra.il,  about  the  year  1760,  by  the  Company 
of  Maranham,  who  encouraged  its  growth 
from  that  time  so  successfully  that  sugar 
was  abandoned  for  Cotton,  as  indigo  was  in 
our  plantation  States.  A  petition  was  pre- 
lented  against  the  first  shipment,  lest  there 


should  not  be  a  sufficiency  for  the  country. 
As  an  evidence  of  the  limited  demand  for 
Cotton  in  Europe,  it  is  mentioned  that  a 
Portuguese  merchant,  in  1762,  purchased 
ftt  the  compriny's  sale  .300  bags,  at  300  reis 
per  pound,  in  set-off  of  a  debt.  He  sent  .t 
to  Rouen,  then  the  only  Cotton  market,  but 
was  a  loser  in  consequence  of  the  peace  of 
1761     At  the  next  sale  there  were  to  bid- 


,  however,  to  pro- 
)ped  to  Liverpool 
iryland,  and  three 
and  Cotton,  toge- 
ed  to  near  £2,000 
Ilia,  Augu.\  1174, 
t  Britain,  resolved 
I  of  tobacco  to  the 
^-tic  manufactures, 
his  Colony  to  the 
resolutions,  which 
■5hington,  Jefferson, 
h,  of  the  following 
jsly,  a  plan  for  the 
•esolutions  of  non- 
1  ought  to  cultivate 
nt  not  only  for  the 
■rate  terms,"     The 
e  previous  January, 
la.     But  very  little 
ation  of  either  body 

jags  of  Cotton  into 
;;otton  could  not  be 
first  regular  expor- 
iced  in  1785,  when 
20th,  per  Diana,  to 
.r,  twelve  additional 
ere  received  at  that 
nerican  Cotton  were 
I  at  150  lbs.  each,  or 
1785  to  1790  incln- 
[n,  and  probably  cor- 
reen  seed,  or  short 


ufficiency  for  the  country, 
f  the  limited  demand  for 
I  it  is  mentioned  that  a 
iant,  in  1762,  purchased 
sale  300  bags,  at  300  reis 
-ofi'  of  a  debt.  He  sent  it 
e  only  Cotton  market,  but 
nsuquence  of  the  peace  of 
xt  sale  there  were  to  bid- 


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CULTIVATION   OF   COTTON— THE   SAW    aiN. 


861 


staple  Cotton,  was  the  kind  ,,finci,)ally  cultivated  before  the  Revolution. 
Ihe  black, eed,  or  Sea  I.land  Cotton,  now  the  great  article  of  export 
was  introduced  into  Georgia  from  the  Bahamas  about  the  year  ITSg' 
and  in  1^88  the  first  attempt  was  made  in  South  Carolina  by  Mrs  Kin' 
sey  Burden  of  St.  Paul's  parish,  whose  husband,  already  mentioned  a, 
Imvmg  .ntroduced  the  roller  gin  ia  that  State,  had  nearly  ten  vears  before 
clothed  h>s  slaves  in  that  and  the  short  staple  Cotton.     The  first  suc- 
cessful crop  is  said,  by  Mr.  Seabrook,  to  have  been  grown  by  William 
El  ut  on  llilton  Head,  near  Beaufort,  in  1Y90.  with  five  bushels  and  a 
half  of  seed,  purchased  in  Charleston  at  Us.  a  bushel.     The  price  then 
varied  from  IQd.  to  two  or  three  shillings  the  pound.     The  intelligent 
and  well-directed  exi>eri:nents  of  the  two  last-named  planters  so  improved 
the  quality  of  the  Sea  island  Cotto;,,  by  attention  to  the  seed,  that  some 
years  later,  the  silky,  long  fibre  of  their  raising  sold  for  90  cts  to  $1  25 
per  pound,  and  one  lot  at  $2.  the  highest  ever  obtained.     The  culture 
of  .otton  was  so  fo  -successful  in  1786  that,  at  the  Aunapoiis  Convention 
«;i  tiat  year,  Mr.  Madison  said  "there  was  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the 
United  States  wou.d  one  day  become  a  great  Cotton-producing  country  " 
Several  of  t.e  patriotic  assemblies  called  together  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war  recommended  the  manufacture'of  Cotton.     Through  the  influence  of 
a  society  formed  at  Philadelphia,  principally  with  a  viev  to  its  inanufac 
tare,  and  the  zealous  advocacy  of  Tench  Coxc,  an  active  member,  who 
has  been  styled  the  father  of  the  Cotton  culture  ia  America,  planters 
generally  engaged  in  the  business.     To  encourage  an  article  which  prom- 
ised soon  to  become  a  source  of  revenue,  Congress  was  induced,  in  1789 
to  i.jpose  a  duty  of  three  pence  a  pound  on  foreign  Cottons,  which  were 
then  obtained  from  the  West  Indies  and  Lrazil.     The  culture  was.  how- 
e-er,  still  so  limited,  that  in  the  treaty  negotiated  by  Mr.  Jay  in' 1792 
it  was  stipulated  by  the  12th  article  "that  no  Cotton  should  be  imported 
from  America."    This  article,  inserted  either  in  ignorance  that  Cotton 
was  cultivated  at  all.  or  that  it  possessed  any  commercial  value,  and  de- 
signed  to  secure  to  England  the  transportation  of  Cotton  from  the  Wc  t 
Indies,  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  refused  to  ratify. 

The  saw  gin  by  Eli  Whitney,  invented   in  the  following  year    and 

patented    the  Kcxt.  gave  an  immense    impulse   to   the   cultivation  of 

Th.^.»wKia  Cotton,  and  "conferred  on  the  plantation  States  a  benefit  that 

"•"'  can  scarcely  be  estimated  in  money."     The  history  of  this  in- 

der,  for  a  lnrg«,  quantity;    tb.  director,    in  1782,  .„a  from  the  E«,t  Indie,  in  ITSS 
tl.erer„re  took  ii  Hm»n«  thom.elve,  at  lAO     The  Dutch  Colot.y  of  Surinam,  In   H„uth" 

iouthrg  t  Hi*l.  of  Branl.  173^^  ' 

Knglani  firtt  r«o«lT«d  Cotton  irom  Braiil 


COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTUEK. 


the  labor  of  one  man,  a  ^--;;J  P^j^^J^^.^  gin.     It  was  invented  and 
,ix  by  the  band,  or  t-nty-fi      b    tl.^^^^^^^^        ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^.^  ^.^^ 

brought  into  use  under  -  ;  ^^    /^^^^^  ,,,  i„.„.ediately  invaded.     A 

Georgia,  where  the  patent  -[^"^^ ^''^^^^^,  ,,^  persevering  defense  of 
soriesof  wastefuUawsnU.  for  atoo-g         ^^^.^F^  ^^^^  .^^  .^^^^„, 

bis  patent,  dissipated  all  the  ^^J™'^,,  ^^^^^w  open  toe  use  of  it  to  her 
150,000  received  from  South  C-"  -;;^^-^^^^^^^^^^  P,,„,,d  him  in  North 
planters,  and  smaller  -^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^hat'offered  any  compen- 
Carolina  and  Tennessee,  the  only  otl  tr  fti  ^^^^  ^^^.^^ 

nation.     The  culture  of  C""- ""J,^  ,  ^ol  na      That  State  exported, 
estates  were  soon  accumulated  m  Sou  iCa  01..  a.  ^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^.^^^^ 

iu  1795,  Cotton  to  the  value       l^'^^l^^'J',,,,  whole  country,  in  1795. 
,nillions  of  pounds  we.ght.     ^Le  g  owth  oj  ^^^^  ._^  ^^^^ 

.a.  eight  millions  of  P^^  :;;t  ^S^^^^^^  ^'^ -^^^^  ^^ 

rt:::;'::^inr:^;::;^rUo  entirely  yielded.^ 

staple  as  an  article  of  commerce  m  ms.  ,^  ,      iy  them- 

{Vhile  the  several  ^^^nu^^^  ^o,  the  cultivation  of  Silk. 

selves  and  other  countnos  wUh  ««^^«"^"3  ^^^^^  „„„^ers  of  people  in 

which,  in  the  last  century,  employed  ^»^^  "  ^^,,  j^. 

Wr   England,  was  1-1-^"^'^  ^7;P;;lta^d^    W^^^^^^^^ 

0—       periaUndlocalgovernmen^.bypubhcandp        ^^^^^^  _^  ^^.^ 

^tr- company  Of  U.We^-mim^^^^^ 

Silk,  with  thai  cf  ind.go  '"^^  ^j^  ';>^;^  i3,,j,„„,  i,.  Georgia,  who. 
„,ade  in  the  business  by  vUc  ^f«  '^^  •:\,^;*  ",,,„try  with  much  of  the 
during  the  Revolution,  supplied  vUc  upper  y 

sewing  Silk  used.  cochineal,  but  Pspeciully  Silk. 

Silk,  cotton,  indigo,  wool,  wmc    '^'"^^^''^^^^  ai,.eeted  by  the 

were  the  articles  to  which   -^t^-'^-;  y^;/  ^  made,  both  by 

•„enevolont  founders  of  Georgm.     ^  »    'P   ^  ,^^,,     ^^.,,„„ 

tue  l»ritish  rarlhunent  and  by  »'-;  ^       :;;:,;^',.,,,.,«  a„a  husband- 

,,..,ed.  - --;^^^^::.  r  U     :  b:!r    Itrlge  the  most  ox.ensiv 
n,en  from  all  parts  of  Lur..pe.U  .  ^^^^^^.^^  ^.,,,^.^  „^„ 

a„d  ----f^l/^'^-'l'P^";    :     ,'''nr^^^    to  settlers  upon  condition 
conducted  in  Georgm.     L'<mls  wirt  ^J''  ^y  acre  of 

tha^  they  planted  ten   Italian  or  wh.le  mulbc.ry  tries 


II  iPr,<ifw  1%-^  •\yM.M(*¥ir— ■jnmis' 


BltK-nUOWINQ   IN   GEORGIA. 


m 


Arkwright  and 
0  well  known  to 
m  for  market  by 

place  of  five  or 
■as  invented  and 

public  mind  in 
;elv  invaded.     A 
,'ering  defense  of 
om  it,  including 
toe  use  of  it  to  her 
ited  bim  in  North 
ered  any  compcn- 
id  some  very  largo 
at  State  exported, 
1801  about  eight 
)  country,  in  1791?. 
lions;  and  in  1801 
md  the  exports  to 
ielded  to  the  new 

ig  to  supply  them- 
cuUivation  of  Silk, 
irabera  of  people  in 
lournged  by  the  im- 
private  associations, 
parly  essays  in  this 
Colonists,  have  been 

id  the  cultivation  of 
little  progress   *a8 
lUX,  in  Georgia,  who, 
ry  with  much  of  the 

but  PspeciuUy  Silk, 
uiUy  directed  by  the 

were  made,  both  by 
Ih  a  lil)erality  seldom 

urtirtiuts  and  hnsbiind- 
iige  the  most  oxtenaive 
lu  colonial  times  were 
Bltlers  upon  condition 

trees  to  every  acre  of 


land  and  additional  grants  for  extra  quantities.     As  exnrcssi.P  nf  tl    • 
eadtng     esign  and  the  spirit  of  the\ndertalung    a   pT's:  /;:: 

alas  -  Ivot  for  ourselves  but  for  others."  with  a  representation  of  sill 
worms  engaged  in  their  labors.  Trees  seed  and  '['"""'"'"  "^  *""^- 
liberally  provided  by  the  trustees  One  or 'two  nr;'"T  T 'T 
fVom  riedmon,  and  others  ^om  Italy,^!  le  Hr^^l:  t "  :^:: 
mnagement  of  the  worms  and  the  winding  of  silk  who  IZ  v 
fi;.  cocoons  ^r  the  trustees'  garden,  be^:11t:  n^  ^iC^T;: 
mac  .aery,  trees,  and  eggs,  and  fled  to  Carolina.     An  Ital  an  wUh 

pounds  of  raw  Sil^  iT t£t  ^.    Id"  h™:'  ^T^^  ^l  ^'^"^ 
and  another  lot  the  following  year.     It  1    rgl  .   V     '  S^;   Z: 

Queer    Carol.-       ?'  "  "i  ""      '"  '^"'"'^'  "'"'  ''"  ^"'"^'''^^^'  '^  '^ 

Quetn  Caroline,  by  whose  order  it  was  woven  into  a  dress  natter.,  nn.l 

aferward  presented  to  her  majesty,  who  at  the  next  lee  apnea  e"  ha 

ul   court  dress  of  Georgia  Silk.     Renewed  attention  w as  g  r  o   h 

b  s mess  on  the  return  of  Ger.eral  Oglethorpe.     The  manuscr  pt  bo  k     f 

dy    "g  the  S.Ik  from  Georgia,  £2G."     A  parcel  taken  to  Londo     the 
la  t'ei:rto'""7"''  r'r  ^™'""^  '''  —  -^'  '^  Silk  met 

t'^r  rri^L^Ser:  r;er :  :;;:'z  ^  7- 

wiiu  success.     In  1749,  bounties  were  offt-ed  by  t!,e  trustees  to  everv 
wo,„a„  who  should,  within  the  year,  become  a  pro'lieient  In  rTcl  ;  J  J 

mael  i    /"th'T  ""'^  '"  '"^  P-pose  were  erected  and  supplied  Jih 
mnch.n  s.    The  bounty  was  claime.l  by  fourteen  vour.g  women   who  w    « 
the  next  year  engaged  at  the  filature.     Over  one  tlfousand  pi  ,k1    . 
cocoons  were  raised,  and  so  well  reeled  by  them  as  to  command  bo 
don  a  h.gher  price  than  Silk  from  any  other  country.     I„   1740  P,  rMa 
njent  passed  an  Act  for  encouraging  the  Silk  manufac  .  re        Qe    'l 
ad  Carolina  by  admitting  Silk  from  those  Provinces  free  of  dntv      S  e 
trustees  of  Georgia,  in    1750.  sent  two  com„,issio„ers  to   promote  tie 

tu :;:  s :  ■  r  '•  """"^  ^"'' '''''''  "•  «•-"""" '  p--  fix- 
ture or  S.Ik  house,  10  u(.»n.ct  in  the  management  of  private  filat,ire« 

and  It  went  into  operation  in  May.     Si.  .thousand  thi-ee' .undred  p         J 

were  set  ,,y  the  Germans  at  Kbenezer,  and  the  remainder  from  V  u,.- 
field's  orphan  house.     Mr.  Robinson,  one  of  the  commissioners,  who  Zl 


^^ 


^V:--  — ^,JS,«r»r:r^-      '■-■'>-si-L  ^ 


-^ 


353  COLONIAL  OLOTn-MANUFACTURE. 

•     ..  .i,n  ,-ivsteries  of  silk-winding,"  haying 
beenseutto  France  ^o  acqmre  '  the  nv   ™  o 

pvoved  his  skill,  and  been  made  an  ^^'f ^^"  "  ^^n  ourag  ment  of  the 
L>gland  ia  1^52,  aOer  failing  to  o^^-^^™  '  X;,,  ^Joseph  Otto, 
business  for  at  least  fourteen  year.  Ue  was  succee  j  ^^^^  ^^^ 
U„ghe,  an  acconn^Ushed  riedmoutese  -;^,  J^'^/^^^^.^^ned  in  value 
from  Georgia,  in  1750  and  f  .*  -;^/''"";  ^  :  ^i  .  to  the  statement 
to  $8,880.  During  the  next  e.ghteen  y«^"'  "'^  ^^  ,,  ,„  average 
of  L  Comptroller  of  Customs  ^^  f-an-  .9.82^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^„. 

of  546  pounds  yearly,  were  exported  I^J;  ^^J^^^;^^  ,f  ^aw  Silk  wer« 
thorities  that,  in  r;50,  no  less  than  «;.t^;f  T^P^^^^  ^,^,,  gnk.'  At 
exported,  which  sold  ^^-:^^?f;;^'l^t^^c..e^.,  years, 
the  Glature  there  were  delivered,  m  HoT.  ana  i 

the  following  quantities  of  ---^'/'^J.^^'t'bu'nes   perhaps  too  en- 
lbs.,  and  15.000.  whi.h  sho.s  ^ ^^l^^,  ,Lb  of  subsist- 
couraging  while  the  Colony  ^-J^^^^  ^^^ ^^^^^^^  ,pe„  to  the  Colonists. 
ence  uncreated,  and  more  pi^^fitable  >«J"     J, u   July  1758,  but  was  the 
The  filature  was  consumed  by  fire  on         ^th  Ju^.  H  ^^  ^^^^^^^ 

next  year  rebuilt  on  a  larger  scale.     Nearly  1"^-^^    ?  ^  ^^^y, 

were  received  at  the  filature  during  the  next  eight  years,  muc 

came  from  Ebenezcr.  encouragement  of 

I„  1762.  the  Society  estabhshed  '^^  ^o  d'>n  fo^^ J^e  J  ^^^ 

Arts.  Manufactures,  and  Commerce,  ffj^^""^^^^  South  Carolina 
every  pound  weight  of  cocoons  ^^^J^^  ^„,  ..^m  only  has 
"Of  a  hard,  weighty  anu  gocK        -  -^,.^,^^  ,  ,y ,  ,„gle 

spun;"  two  pence  a  P°™^  fj  '" ''  J,,^^  by  two  worms ;  the  pre- 
form, and  one  penny  a  1-""^  .^;^;;7; ^^  i„gL.  the  superintendent 
.uiums  to  be  awarded  and  pa-d  by  ^^J-'^''^     S    >  ._^  g^^^^_ 

of  the  Silk  culture  in  Georgia,  on  P^;-"^".^  '^  ;';,„,io  to  the  Silk 
„,h.  These  various  measures  -^"J^^;;  f  jj;,  "^d  on  a  permanent 
business.     But  just  as  it  seemed  abou   ^-  '^  -;-'  ^..^  q,,,,,, 

footing,  an  Act  of  Parliament,  .n  ^f '  ^^^^^f  ;j,,i„,3  to  1«.  6d.  a 

.ent  had  been  P^^'-^ /^  ^^^^  hir  p"^  '^^^  ^-"  '"  ^'^'''^  ' 
pound.     The  larger  part  of  the  puce  buor    p  ^  g.,^  f^^^ 

Lnty.  ana  its  reduction  caus^  t^f  ^^'^Z^,  1760.  a  parlia- 
20,000  lbs.  cocoons.  '"  ^^f '  °  ^^'J  j  '  ^loo  worth  of  raw  Silk  im- 
mentary  bounty  was  offered  of  £25  ""^.^^jy^      ,^^  „,,t  seven  years,  and 


-winding,"  haying 
•nment;  returned  to 
jouragenaent  of  the 
a  by  Joseph  Otto- 
:ports  of  raw  Silk 
amounted  in  value 
ig  to  the  statement 
inds,  cr  an  average 
stated  by  some  au- 
ids  of  raw  Silk  were 
an  other  Silk.'     At 
Be  succeeding  years, 
,  1,040  lbs.,  10,000 
ness  perhaps  too  en- 
,e  means  of  subsist- 
pen  to  the  Colonists. 
r,  1158,  but  was  the 
}  pounds  of  cocoons 
■ears,  much  of  which 

be  encouragement  of 
ms  of  three  pence  for 

and  South  Carolina 
,  one  worm  only  has 
produced  by  a  single 

two  worms ;  the  pre- 
le,  the  superintendent 

the  filature  in  Savan- 
i  attention  to  the  Silk 
ilished  on  a  permanent 
le  price  which  Govern- 
shilllngs  to  Is.  6i.  a 

had  been  in  reality  a 
iroduction  of  Silk  from 
1  April,  1169,  a  parlia- 
I  worth  of  raw  Silk  im- 
he  next  seven  years,  and 
his  encouragement,"  M. 
i  may  be  expected  from 
ion  of  cotlon  and  olive 

published  by  Act  of  CongreM, 


SILKOROWINQ   IN   GEORGIA   AND   CAROLINA. 


359 


teos  winch  seem  particularly  adapted  to  the  climate  and  soil  of  the 
Bruush  Colcues/'  The  Silk  culture  was  again  partially  revived,  par! 
tieularly  by  the  Sultzburgers,  who  continued  to  send  yearly  to  England 
several  hundred  pounds  of  raw  Silk,  until  the  Revolutio!.  caused  the 
business  to  be  nearly  abandoned.  The  last  Silk  oflered  for  sale  in 
Georgia  was  in  1790. 

^    Perhups  none  of  the  Colonies,  and  least  of  all  Georgia,  notwithstand- 
ing tlH.  entn-e  Qtness  of  the  climate,  were  as  yet  prepare.!  for  a  profitable 
a  tent.o„  to  the  Silk  culture.     The  tending  of  siikwonns  and  thi  windtg 
of  S,  k  were  not  calculated  to  nourish  the  qualities  required  to  subdue  the 
forests  and  cultivate  the  swamps  of  a  new  country.     That  another  in! 
dustry  was  needed  to  launch  the  Province  on   a  pro,sperous  career  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  in  1752,  when  the  government  was  transferred 
to  regal  authority,  the  greater  part  of  Georgia  was  an  unproductive 
wilderness,  and   Its  exports  were  less  than  £10,000  sterling  annuallv 
After  the  discovery,  a  few  years  later,  of  the  value  of  the  rich  swamps  o'a 
the  rivers,  of  the  fertile  and  more  healtl.ylands  of  the  interior,  and  of  the 
new  staples  suited  to  them,  progress  was  rapid,  and  the  exports  rose  from 
£27,020  sterling,  in  1783,  to  £)  21,677,  in  1773. 

The  Colonists  were  of  course  unprepared  for  anything  more  than  the 
production  of  the  unwrought  material,  and  it  is  probable  that  nothin- 
mor?  would  have  been  allowed.     Silk  throwing  involves  the  use  of  ex° 
pensive  machinery,  and  was  long  the  valuable  monopoly  of  the  Lombe-s. 
Every  stage  of  the  manufacture  was  protected  by  enormous  duties  pro- 
hibitions, and  monopolies  in  England.     No  interference  would  have  been 
allowed  m  the  Colonies.     An  eminent  commercial  writer,  Joshua  Gee 
one  of  the  earliest  and  strongest  counsellors  of  the  restrictive  policy  in 
regard  to  th-  plantations,  had  distinctly  suggested  that,  as  the  Colonies 
'•have  nevt.   thrown  or  wove  any  Silk  as  yet,  that  ;ve  have  heard  of 
therefore  if  a  law  was  made  prohibiting  the  use  of  any  throwing-mill  of 
doubling  or  thro.stling  Silk  with  any  machine  whatever,  they  would  then 
send  It  to  us  raw."   The  exportation  of  machinery  used  in  the  Silk  manu- 
facture was  prohibited  in  1774. 

The  cultivation  of  Silk  was  also,  before  the  Revolution,  a  fashionable 
occupation  in  Carolina.     It  had  been  long  produced  in  South  Carolina. 

carS'in.  ^""^  ^"""^  ^'^^^^  ^^^^^^  '"  *'"^*  *"^  ''^^'^  '^^*^"  mentioned.  Silk 
growing  was  a  principal  object  with  the  Swiss,  who  in  1733 
settled  at  Purrysburg,  under  John  Peter  Purry,  of  Neufchatel  It  was 
kept  up  by  them  for  some  time.  The  French  in  that  Province  also 
raised  Silk,  which  they  wrought  np  with  their  wool.  It  was  cultivated 
oy  many  ladies,  who  sent  it  to  England  to  be  manufactured.  The  ex- 
ports,  however,  were  small,  and  amounted,  in  the  years  1742-'48-'49 


aeo 


COLONIAL   CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 


n50-'53,  and  1755,  to  only  251  lbs.  of  raw  Silk  in  the  aggregate.     The 
qnalitv,  however,  was  said  to  be  superior.     In  the  last-named  year,  Mrs. 
rinckiiey,  the  mother  of  the  revolutionary  generals  of  that  name,  who 
had  introduced  the  indigo  and  cotton  plants  into  South  Caiolina,  took  to 
England  a  quantity  of  excellent  Silk,  raised  and  spun  by  her  near  Charles. 
ton,  sufficient  to  make  three  complete  diesses.'     At  Silk  Hope  plauta- 
tioti,  in  St.  Thomas  Parish,  where  Sir  N.  Johnson  had  cultivated  Silk 
near  seventy  years  before,  630  lbs.  of  cocoons  were  raised  in  1705.     The 
legislature  of  the  Province,  in  the  following  year,  voted  £1000  to  cstab- 
lish  a  Silk  filature  at  Charleston,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Gilbert. 
This  was  probablv  on  account  of  the  liberal  premiums  offered  by  the 
Society  of  Arts  for  cocoons  raised  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  whio  i 
had  to  be  sent  to  Savannah.     The  business  could  make  little  progress 
without  reeling  establishments.     The  bounties  also  included  an  offer  of 
2s  Qd.  for  every  pound  weight  of  merchantable  raw  Silk  raised  in  Con- 
necticut,  Pennsylvania,  and  North  Carolina,  to  be  paid  to  the  Society's 
correspondents  in  those  Colonies.     Several  hundred  pounds  were  paid 
i„  premiums  by  the  Society,  in  Carolina  and  the  other  Provinces,  previous 
to  the  withdrawal,  in  1772,  of  the  bounties  which  had  been  renewed  from 

year  to  year. 

The   premiums,   when   first    offered   for    Connecticut,  were    payable 
on    the   condition   that  a   public   filature   should    be   erected    in   that 
Colony.     Silk  had  been  early  produced  in  Connecticut,  and 
c'ona'e"tic«t.  „,j,s  the  subject  of  legislation  as  early  as  1732.     In  1747,  Mr. 
Law  the  Governor,  wore  the  first  coat  and  stockings  make  of  New  Eng- 
land'silk,  and  in  1750  his  daughter  wore  the  first  Silk  d-ess  of  domestic 
material  '    The  establishment  of  the   Silk  culture  as  a   permanent  in- 
dustry in  Connecticut,  where  it  has  existed  to  the  present  day,  is  chiefly 
due  to  the  exertions  of  President  Styles,  of  Yale  College,  and  Dr.  Ni>- 
thaniel  Aspinwall,  of  Mansfield.    The  former  commenced  his  experiments 
in  1758  by  planting  three  mulberry  trees,  which,  as  the  initial  of  the 
business!  he  named  A,  B,  C.     His  experiments,  extending  over  a  period 
of  nearly  fortv  years,  in  which  he  liberally  distributed  sned.s,   trees,  and 
judicious  advice,  are  recorded   in    a  manuscript  Journal  now  in  the 
library  of  the  college.     About  the  year  1760,  Mr.  Aspinwall  commenced 
the  breeding  of  silkworms  in  Mansfield,  by  the  introduction  of  the  white 
mulberry  tree  from  Long  Island,  where  he  had  a  nursery.     He  planted 
a  large  mulberry  orchard  at  Mansfield,  and  another  at  New  Haven,  and 

(1)  Rnm»ny'8  HUt.  Soath  Carolina,  i.  221.  to  any  Silk  imported.    The  third  dross,  now 

..  One  of  them  was  presented  to  the  Prince..  (ISflil)  in  CImrleston,  in  the  p...-.os.«i„n  of 

!.,,«a^pr  of  Wulea,    and    another   to    Lord  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Horry,  is  rem„rl<nlde  fur 

CheetcrUcld.  They  were  allowed  to  bo  equal  its  bouuty,  firmness,  and  etrongth." 


-^>.>.'i!H-^g  lUL  ^wuBi— J  i;m*<3^gK;5i&a*tt«.aB»r'^ier 


SXLK-GROWINQ  IN  CONNECTICUT. 


361 


iggregate.     Tho 
ained  year,  Mrs. 
that  name,  who 
Caiolina,  took  to 
liernear  Cliarles- 
Ik  Hope  plautii- 
I  cuUivaled  Silk 
d  ill  1705.     The 
£1000  to  cstab- 
of  Mr.  Gilbert. 
IS  offered  by  the 
d  Georgia,  whk'  i 
;e  little  progress 
liuled  an  offer  of 
Ik  raised  in  Con- 
l  to  the  Society's 
pounds  were  paid 
rovinces,  previous 
een  renewed  from 

it,  were    payable 
erected    in   that 
Connecticut,  and 
}2.     In  174T,  Mr. 
fiakc  of  New  Eiig- 
d''ess  of  domestic 
I  a   permanent  in- 
sent  day,  is  chiefly 
lege,  and  Dr.  Ni>- 
ed  his  experiments 
the  initial  of  the 
ling  over  a  period 
1  seeds,   trees,  and 
)urnal  now  in  tho 
jinwall  commenced 
uction  of  the  white 
•sery.     He  planted 
t  New  Haven,  nnd 

I,  The  third  dress,  now 
ri,  in  tlio  p"s?os.»iiin  of 
Hcirry,  is  remiirljiilile  fur 
and  etrongth." 


at  the  same  time  endeavored  uusuccessfully  to  engage  other  towns  in  the 
business.  His  efforts  were  effectual  in  rendering  it  a  perraanrnt  and 
valuable  industry  in  Mansfield.  Mr.  William  Hanks,  of  that  town,  ac- 
co-ding  to  the  New  London  Gazette  of  ITGS,  raised  the  previous  year 
sufficient  Silk  for  three  dress  patterns.  He  and  a  number  of  other  gen- 
tlemen in  Windham  County,  had  large  vineyards  and  nurseries  of  mul- 
berry trees,  which  had  been  cultivated  "  to  bring  on  a  Silk  manufactory." 
It  is  stated  that  one  Silk  house  had  already  been  erected  in  Lebanon. 
The  card  of  Mr.  Hankp  offered  for  sale  3,000  mulberry  trees,  whicii  would 
"be  sold  cheap  for  the  speedy  promotion  of  the  culture  of  Silk."  The 
Rev.  Jared  Eliot,  of  Killingsworth,  one  of  the  correspondents  of  the 
Society  of  Arts  in  London,  states,  in  his  Essays  on  Silk-growing  and 
Field  Husbandry  in  New  England  (1760),  that  a  principal  cultivator  of 
Silk,  of  credibility,  informed  him  he  could  make  a  yard  of  Silk  as  cheap 
as  he  could  a  yard  of  linen  cloth,  of  eight  run  to  the  pound  ;  and  that  it 
was  then  considered  "more  profitable  than  any  other  ordinary  business." 
The  family  of  Dr.  Styles,  among  many  others,  were  engaged  in  Silk  grow- 
ing, and  had  fabrics  woven  in  England  from  domestic  Silk  of  their  own 
raising.  After  the  Revolution,  which  suspended  the  business,  and  ex- 
tinguished it  in  most  places.  Silk  raising  was  resumed  with  some  spirit 
in  Connecticut,  and  through  the  zeal  of  Messr*'.  Styles  and  Aspinwall, 
an  Act  of  the  Assembly  was  obtained  in  1T83,  and  another  the  following 
year,  granting  a  bounty  of  ten  shillings  for  every  hundred  white  mulberry 
trees  planted  during  ten  years,  and  three  pence  an  ounce  for  raw  Silk. 
In  1788,  Thomas  Barrens  and  thirty-one  others  were  incorporated  as  a 
company  to  manufacture  Silk  cloth  in  the  Slate.  Tresideiit  Styles  that 
year  appeared  at  the  commencement  at  Yale  in  a  gown  woven  from  Con- 
necticut Silk,  which  was  then  worn  by  many  ladies  in  the  State*  In  the 
following  season,  the  town  of  Mansfield  made  about  200  lbs.  of  raw  Silk, 
worth  $5  a  pound.  A  woman  and  two  or  three  children  could  make  ten 
or  twelve  pounds  in  about  five  or  six  weeks.  The  Silk  was  usually  made 
into  stockings,  handkerchiefs,  ribbons,  buttons,  and  sewing  Silk,  worth 
$1  an  ounce.  The  profit  was  said  to  be  large.  About  fifty  families  at 
New  Haven  were  engaged  in  the  business  in  1790,  and  about  thirty 
families  at  Norfolk  raised  and  spun  1200  run  of  Silk  the  same  year. 
Connecticut,  and  particularly  Mansfield,  has  never  abandoned  the  busi- 
ness from  the  first,  and  that  town  is  said  to  have  passed  through  periods 
of  commercial  depression  with  less  embarrassment  than  ethers  by  virtue 
of  its  Silk  business. 

The  Silk  Journal  of  Dr.  Styles  mentions  that  Silk  was  raised  at  New- 
port,  R.  I.,  as  early  as  1758. 

Ames' Almanac,  for  1769,  states  that  a  gentleman  "whom  posterity 


4.._ 


3g2  COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 

Will  bless  "  placed  ia  the  bands  of  tbe  Selectmen  of  loston  $100  to  be 
d  l^Ued  L  sams  of  40,  30,  20,  and  10  dollars  to  tb.  persons  who,  m 
n         lonbl  have  raised  severally  the  largest  lots  of  mulberry  trees  m 
M  id"     ts.     The  General  Council  of  the  Province  in  1^0,  m  answer 
toTle  petition  of  William  Mollineau.  of  Boston,  for  aid  to  carry  out  a 
plan  fo    employing  the  poor  in  spinning,  and  ior  dyeing  and  manufactur- 
S  t:  Sill  grald  iL.  for  the  term  of  seven  years  .nt  free  a  lea. 
of  the  provincial  manufactory  for  the  manufacture  of  bilk.     The  peti 
Ler  St    es  that  the  raising  and  manufacturing  of  raw  Silk  was  an  object 
on  which  be  had  expended  between  eleven  and  twelve  hundred  pounds 
chi.fly  in  fixed  apparatus  in  the  Province  factory  bouse     H^  ^"6*8;^ 
0  purchase,  at  a  reasonable  price,  all  the  raw  Silk  raised  in  the  Provmce 
and  ^0  cans    it  to  be  manufactured,  or  as  much  of  it  as  he  could  find 
Tands  to  manufacture.     Fine  samples  of  sewing  Silk  were  a^o  made  n 
pa   s  of  Massachusetts,  among  others  by  ^r.  Jones    of  Western  ^n 
Worcester  County,  in  1790.     The  town  of  Ipsw.ch   wh.ch  b"<i  for  some 
toe  carried   on  the  manufacture  of  Silk  and  thread  lace,  produced  th« 
same  year  forty  thousand  yards  of  hce.  _ 

Some  early  essays  in  this  department  were  made  in  New  York,  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania.     A  dispatch  of  Governor  Patnck  Gordon,  of 
Pennsylvania,  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  in  1734,  mentions  that  it  was  the 
whole  study  of  the  merchants  how  to  make  returns  for  the  large  .mporta- 
Tions  of  British  manufactures,  and  recommends  the  encouragement  of 
naval  store,  hemp,  flax,  and  Silk,  of  which  last,  he  say,  the-  was  a 
Ttant  prospect  of  some  advances  toward  a  Silk  manufacture,  and  some 
amon.  then   had  shown  how  practicable  a  design  of  that  kind  was,  by 
Takn^g  some  small  quantities  equal  to  French  or  Italian.'     A  London 
paper  of*Feb.  7,  1765,  states  that  within  four  days  one  hundred  journey. 
Ten  S  Ik  throwsters  had  engaged  themselves  for  New  York  and  Phda- 
delphia,  upon  extraordinary  encouragements,  intending  at  both  pkees  to 
itablish  tie  manufacture  of  Silk.     The  New  Jersey  Assembly,  the  same 
Tear  acting  upon  the  recommendation  of  Governor  WiU.am  Frankhn, 
'ranted  bounties  on  hemp  and  flax,  and  for  the  planting  of  »«lberry 
frees      The  great  efforts  then  making  in  England  to  nval  the  French  m 
he  Silk  manufacture,  and  the  liberal  appropriations  of  Parl.amen   and 
the  Society  of  Arts  for  its  production  in  the  Colome,  created  strong 
hopes  of  its  becoming  a  permanent  and  profitable  industry.     The  subject 
had  been  frequently  broached  before  the  members  of  the  American  Philo- 
Lphtal  Soclty,  Jhose  objects  were  kindred  to  those  of  the  London  So- 
ciety;  and  Moses  Bartram.  in  March.  1768,  read  a  paper  before  the 

(1)  Haiard'i  Register  of  PennsyWaniB,  \.  ^44. 


SILK-GROWIKa  IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 


363 


)ston  $100,  to  be 
persons  who,  in 
mulberry  trees  in 
[ilTIO,  in  answer 
id  to  carry  out  a 
■  and  manufactur- 
rent  free,  a  lease 
Silk.     The  peti- 
3ilk  was  an  object 
hundred  pounds, 
se.     He  engaged 
d  in  the  Province, 
as  he  could  find 
were  also  made  in 
3,  of  Western,  in 
hich  had  for  some 
lace,  produced  the 

I  New  York,  New 
'atrick  Gordon,  of 
ins  that  it  was  the 
the  large  iraporta- 
encouragement  of 
says,  there  was  a 
lufacture,  and  some 
t  that  kind  was,  by 
alian.'     A  London 
le  hundred  journey- 
V  York  and  Phila- 
ig  at  both  places  to 
Assembly,  the  same 
r  William  Franklin, 
anting  of  mulberry 
rival  the  French  in 
i  of  Parliament  and 
nies,  created  strong 
lustry.     The  subject 
the  American  Philo- 
e  of  the  London  So- 
a  paper  before  the 

Hi. 


Society  on  the  management  of  the  native  silkworm,  with  which  he  had 
experimented.'     In  the  following  year,  the  Society,  upon  the  recommen- 
dation  of  Dr.  Franklin,  set  on  foot  a  subscription,  by  which  a  filature  of 
raw  Silk  was  established  in  Philadelphia  under  the  management  of  a 
skillful  and  intelligent  Frenchman.     Franklin  was  one  of  the  persons  in 
Pennsylvania  charged  with  the  dispensation  of  the  premiums  of  the  So- 
ciety  of  Arts  in  that  Province,  and  being  in  London  when  the  parlia- 
mentary  bounty  was  discussed  and  passed,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Philosophical  Society  recommending  its  attention  to  the  Silk  culture  and 
the  erection  of  a  filature.     The  restrictions  which  the  ministry  was  th.ni 
laying  upon  Colonial  trade  and  industry,  and  the  large  importations  of 
Silk  annually  made,  probably  not  less  than  the  bounties,  pointed  to  the 
Silk  culture  as  a  desirable  resource  in  case  of  emergency.     Franklin  also 
sent  a  copy  of  the  work  of  Sauvage  on  the  rearing  of  silkworms,  which 
furnished  valuable  aid.     A  committee  drew  up  a  plan  and  an  address  to 
the  General  Court,  asking  public  encouragement  and  power  to  grant 
premiums  to  the  amount  of  £500  yearly.     Subscriptions  in  sums  from 
two  to  fifteen  pounds,  and  headed  by  Gov.  John  Penn  for  £20,  were 
raised  the  first  year  to  the  amount  of  nearly  £900  for  the  purchase  of 
cocoons  and  the  building  of  the  reeling  establishment.     Silkworm  egga 
and  mulberry  trees  were  imported,  and  a  digest  of  instructions  compiled 
published,  and  distributed.     The  filature  was  opened  in  June,  1750,  on 
Seventh  street,  between  Arch  and  Market.     Native  mulberry  trees  were 
used  Jiitil  the  white  could  be  procured,  and  were  found  to  agree  well  with 
the  worms,  and  to  yield  samples  of  Silk  equal  to  the  best  foreign.     All 
the  Silk  produced  to  the  Society  is  believed  to  have  been  raised  from  the 
food  of  native  trees.     In  1771,  there  were  brought  to  be  reeled  and  pur- 
chased  by  the  managers  2,300  lbs.  of  cocoons,  between  the  25th  June 
and  13th  August.     They  were  from  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and 
Delaware,  in  all  of  which  Silk-growing  was  followed  with  spirit.     Many 
individuals  in  those  States  were  quite  successful    in   producing   Silk. 
Susannah  Wright,  an  intelligent  Quakeress  of  much  note  in  the  borough 
of  Columbia,  in  Lancaster  County,  in   1770  received  a  premium  for  a 
piece  of  mantua,  sixty  yards  in  length,  made  from  cocoons  of  her  own 
raising,  arid  from  which  a  court  dress  for  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  was 
made.     Mr.  Watson  has  preserved  in  his  manuscript  Annals,  deposited 
with  the  Philadelphia  Library  Company,  samples  of  the  fabric*    Mrs. 
Wright  also  made  much  sewing  Silk.     Grace  Fisher,  a  minister  among 
the  Friends,  made  a  considerable  quantity  of  Silk  stuffs,  some  of  which 
was  presented  to  the  celebrated  Mrs.  Catharine  Macaulay  by  Governor 


(1)  Transactions,  vol.  i.  p.  224. 


(2)  Watson's  Annals  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Philadelphia,  vol.  ii.  436. 


864 


COLONIAL   CLOTn-MANfFACTURE. 


Dickinson.  The  mother  of  Hon.  Fniiicis  Hopkinson  also  raised  much 
Silk ;  ana  many  other  ladies,  before  the  war,  wore  dres-ses  of  domestic 
Silk,  some  of  which  are  still  preserved  in  their  families. 

In  addition  to  the  directions  for  the  breeding  and  manaficraent  of 
silkworms,  extracted  from  the  treatises  of  the  Abbe  Boissier  de  SauvaRes 
and  of  Pullein,  published  in  1710  by  the  managers  of  the  filature.  Dr. 
John  Morgan  obtained  from  Italy,sthrough  Hare  &  Skinner,  Silk  mer- 
chants  of  London,  and  communicated  to  the  Philosophical  Society,  a 
paper  detailing  the  most  improved  method  of  preparing  raw  Silk  in  th.at 
country.     A  knowledge  of  the  different  branches  was  greatly  promoted 
by  the  essa"  which  was  published  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Society's 
Transaction's.     The  London  merchants  suggested  greater  cure  in  assort- 
ing the  Silk,  a  neglect  of  which  was  complained  of  in  all  Silk  from 
America,  and  caused  the  Georgia  Silk,  otherwise  good,  to  sell  Is.  6d.  or 
28.   a   pound   less   than   it   would   have   done   had   greater  cure   been 

used.  ,      ■       J  »i 

The  Revolution  terminated  the  Silk  enterprise  in  Pennsylvania  and  the 
neighboring  States.     It  was  partially  revived  after  the  peace  by  se-eral 
individuals.     Among  others.  Dr.  Aspinwall,  of  Connecticut— whose  in- 
terest  in  the  Silk  culture  never  faltered— planted  a  nursery  of  Italian 
mulberries  on  Poplar  Lane,  in  Philadelphia,  and  another  at  Princeton, 
New  Jersey.    In  relation  to  the  former,  Mr.  Tench  Coxe  observes  :  "  W  e 
have  a  large  nursery  of  white  Italian  mulberry  trees  established  here 
this  summer.     Within  ourselves  little  can  be  expected,  but  the  idea  of 
the  nursery  has  been  encouraged  upon  the  principle  that  it  prepares 
things  for  an  emigration  from  a  Silk  country.     This,  perhaps,  is  refin- 
ing  but  the  expense  is  small ;  the  trees  are  wanted  to  replace  those  de- 
fitroyed  by  the  British  army,  and  the  measure  falls  in  with  our  plan 
to  foster  and  encourage  but  not  to  force  vianufacluris.''    The  filature, 
we  believe,  was  never  reopened,  and  as  there  was  no  sale  for  cocoons 
without  one,  the  cultivation  was  again  dropped. 

In  1796,  a  manufactory  of  bolting  cloth,  from  Georgia  Silk,  was  estab- 
lished  a^  Wilmington,  Delaware. 

The  success  of  these  early  attempts  at  Silk  growing,  as  well  as  those 
of  later  date,  leave  no  doubt  of  the  practicability  of  producing  silk  of  excel- 
lent  quality  at  a  moderate  cost.  When  the  amount  of  our  importations  of 
this  elegant  and  indispensable  article,  exceeding  those  of  any  other 
commodity,  is  taken  into  account,  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether  the 
business  of  Silk  raising  has  not  fallen  into-  undeserved  neglect.  With 
oar  increased  mechanical  and  productive  forces,  an  immense  saving 
might  be  effected  and  liberal  profits  realized  by  a  return  to  this  ancient 


ilso  raised  much 
ises  of  domestic 

management  of 
isicr  de  Sauvages 
the  fihiture,  Dr. 
kinner,  Silk  mer- 
3hical  Society,  a 
;  raw  Silli  in  that 
greatly  promoted 
■  of  the  Socicty'a 
Ler  care  in  assort- 
in  all  Silk  from 
to  sell  Is.  6(/.  or 
reafer  care   been 

insylvania  and  the 
e  peace  by  se"eral 
icticut — whose  in- 
nursery  of  Italian 
thcr  at  Princeton, 
se  observes :  "We 
5  established  here 
i,  but  the  idea  of 
e  that  it  prepares 
I,  perhaps,  is  refin- 
)  replace  those  de- 
in  with  our  plan 
•<s."     The  filature, 
o  sale  for  cocoons 

gia  Silk,  was  estab- 

ijr,  as  well  as  those 
ducingsilk  of  excel- 
our  importations  of 
hose  of  any  other 
stioned  whether  the 
yed  neglect.  With 
an  immense  saving 
■turn  to  this  ancient 


WHY  THE  STAMP  ACT   WAS  PUOPOSED. 


8«9 


industry,  whieh  is  certain  to  become  once  more  an  object  of  very  genera' 
attention  lu  this  country,  '  bvucia. 

The  extraordinary  naval    and    military  exertions  of  the  American 
Colon.es,  during  the  war  of  1755,  and  the  display  of  furniture,  plate,  and 
K"re',  °''^"  "PP^'-'tnients,  somewhat  ostentatiously  made  in  the  eyes  of 
pro„,„eu.      British  oflQcers,  by  the  opulent  classes  of  the  towns  Inroughout 
he  campaign,  had  impressed  the  English  people  with  a  high  opinion  of 
heir  wealth  and  resources.     Their  ability  to  share  the  heavy  burdens  of 
the  public  service  could  not  be  doubted.     Gralitn.le  for  the  subjugation 
of  a  common  enemy,  of  which  their  own  part  of  the  expense  was  to  be 
reimbursed,  ,t  was  believed,  ought  to  secure  ready  acquiescence  in  a  tav 
for  their  own  future  protection  and  government.      A  native  of   New 
Hampshire,  holding  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons,  at  the  same  time 
declared  the  ability  of  the  Colonies  to  pay  a  tax  of  half  a  million  pound^ 
annually.     A  measure  regarded  by  the  English  Government  us  so  rea- 
sonable  and  equitable,  was,  however,  looked  upon  in  quite  another  light 
by  the  American  people.     They  saw  not  their  own  but  the  national  ag- 
grandizement in  the  recent  victories  partly  achieved  by  their  arms  and 
I  failed  to  see  in  the  proposed  scheme  of  taxation  tiie  essential  element  of 

vahd.ty-the  representation  of  the  taxed.     No  soo.ier,  therefore,   did 
Parliament  commence  the  enfor.,,.ent  of  the  Navigation  Acts,  and  th« 
imposition  of  duties  by  the  Sugar  Act  of  April,  1704,  whereby  certain 
imposts  were  for  the  first  time  laid,  with  a  view  to  revenue,  upon  sugar, 
ind.go,  coffee,  wines,  silks,  and  other  East  India  and  Chinese  goods 
calicoes,  etc.,  and  give  intimation  of  a  duty  about  to  be  laid  upon  stamps', 
than  loud  complaints  were  uttered,  and  measures  were  adopted  to  lessen 
the  dependence  upon  British  manufactures,  by  a  rigid  practice  of  the  vir- 
tues of  industry  and  economy.   The  execution  of  the  laws  of  trade  wuo  car- 
ried out  in  a  manner  altogether  vexatious  by  the  armed  vessels  stationed 
along  the  coast ;  and  the  revenue  officers  were  soon  forced  to  call  for  writs 
of  assistance  to  enable  them  to  encounter  the  opposition  which  they 
met.     The  valuable  trade  with  the  Spanish  Colonies  and  French  islands 
which  had  supplied   the  English  Provinces  with   coin  and  bullion  for 
their  own  use  and  for  remittance  to  Great  Britain,  was  nearly  ruined 
The  great  scarcity  of  specie  which  resulted  was  aggravated  by  the  duties 
being  collected  in  hard  silver,  while  at  the  same  time  the  use  of  a  paper 
currency  was  prohibited  by  the  Act  of  1751,  before  alluded   to.     Some 
compensation  was,  indeed  allowed  in  the  form  so  often  suggested    by 
allowing  bounties  on  hemp  and  unwrought  flnx,  and  by  encouragement 
of  the  whale  fishery.     But  the  distress  occasioned  forced  upon  the  people 
of  the  Colonies  a  retrenchment  iu  luxuries,  no  less  salutary  and  needful 


3(;e 


COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 


as  a  matter  of  prudence,  than  it  was  efficient  as  a  means  of  re^istanca 
The  tacit  uRreement  which  had  induced  many  from  the  first  to  a  -andon 
the  use  of  all  superfluities,  and  especially  of  British  ma.u.ficturos,  became 
,     ,       ,    immediately,  upon  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  m  March, 
llo^aSC.  1,65  tb»  form  of  oiganized  retaliation  on  the  part  of  numer- 
ous associations'  in  diiierent  sections  of  the  country.     The  merchants  en- 
tered  into  the  most  solemn  engagements  not  to  import  any  goods  from 
Great  Britain,  let  the  consequences  be  what  they  might ;  to  countermand 
orders  already  given,  if  not  executed  before  the  first  of  January,  1766 ; 
and  even  to  refuse  to  sell  British  goods  sent  them  on  commission,  until 
the  offensive  Acts  were  repealed.     Committees  of  correspondence  were 
formed  in  different  Provinces  to  bring  about  a  concert  of  action  in  the 
matter      The  retailers  also  adopted  the  resolutions,  and  the  people  gen- 
erally  agreed  to  abstain  from  the  use  of  mourning  at  funerals,  such  as 
black  cloth,  scarfs,  gloves,  etc.,  not  of   domestic  manufacture,  and  1.0 
promote  the  manufacture  of  woolens  by  abstaining  from  M.e  use  of  mut- 
ton and  even  not  to  deal  with  any  butcher  who  should  kill  .r  expo-^e 
any'  to  sale      The  promotion  of  manufactures  among  themselves  was  also 
to  be  encouraged  in  all  possible  ways.     The  promptness  with  which  this 
spirit  and  action  were  aroused  may  be  inferred  from  a  letter  from  Vir- 
ginia, to  a  correspondent  in  Bristol,  dated  Sept.,  1764,  previous  to  the 
passage  of  the  Stamp  Act:  "The  Acts  of  Parliament  have  made  such 
impressions  on  the  minds  of  the  northwa.d  people,  and  the  menof-war 
so  strictly  enforce  them,  that  there  is  an  entire  stagmition  of  trade 
Nothing  do  they  talk  of  but  their  own  manufactures.     The  downfall  of 
England  and  the  rise  of  America  is  sung  by  the  common  ballad-singers 
about  the  streets,  as  if  in  a  little  time  we  should  supply  ourselves  with 
nost  of  the  necessaries  we  used  before  to  take  from  Eng.and."     Another 
person,  writing  from  Boston,  Oct.  8th,  of  the  same  year,  observes : 

..The  disposition  .eems  to  continue  in  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  and 
the  n«i«hboring  governments  to  clothe  themselves  with  their  own  manufac- 
n  es  At  He.np!tea.l,  on  Long  Island,  in  the  Province  of  New  York,  a  com- 
pany of  genll.men  have  set  up  a  new  woolen  manufactory,  and  have  given 
Ltice  to  gentlemen,  shopkeepers  and  others  of  any  of  the  Pro v  noes,  that  by 
Tending  proper  patterns  of  any  color,  they  may  be  .upplied  with  broadcloths 
eoual  in  fineness,  color,  and  goodness,  and  cheaper  than  any  imported.  I  he 
moprieto.n  give  good  encouragement  to  any  persons  who  are  any  way  versed 
in  the  woo!  .n  manufacture,  such  as  wool  combers,  wo.vers,  cloth  ers,  shear- 
er, dy  .rs,  spinners,  carders,  or  understanding  any  branch  of  the  bro..dcloth, 
Vlanket,  or  stn.Md  manufactory.  At  Jamaica,  on  the  said  Island,  cue  Tunis 
Pophan.  is  erecting  a  fulling  mill,  woich  will  be  oompleat  in  about  a  month, 
and  carry  on  all  the  branches  of  a  fuller  and  dyer  of  do.h.  There  are  i.any 
Articles  of  dress  manufnctured  in  Urn  Government,  which  i:  worn  would  bo  ^ 


EFFECTS   OF   THE   NON-IJirORTATION   ASSOCIATIONS. 


367 


cans  of  icistancft 
be  first  to  aUandon 
ii\ufiu:tnros,  became 
nip  Act,  in  March, 

the  part  of  numer- 

The  merchants  en- 
ort  any  goods  from 
ht ;  to  countermand 
,  of  Jannary,  1766  ; 
n  commission,  until 
:orrespondcnce  were 
:evt  of  action  in  the 
ind  the  people  gen- 
at  fnnenils,  such  as 
nannfacture,  and  to 
rom  tlie  use  of  mut- 
ould  kill  or  expose 

themselves  was  also 
tnesH  with  which  this 
I  a  letter  from  Vir- 
?64,  previous  to  the 
ent  have  made  such 

and  the  menof-war 
stagnation  of  trade. 
»s.  Tiie  downfall  of 
mmon  ballad-singers 
iupply  ourselves  with 
England."  Another 
Ccar,  observes  : 

nhabUants  of  this  and 
:h  their  own  luanufac- 
p  of  New  York,  a  com- 
ctory,  anil  have  given 
the  Provinces,  that  by 
iplied  witli  l)roadcloth» 
an  iitiy  imiiorteil.  'I  he 
rho  are  any  way  versed 
li'vers,  clothiers,  Bhear- 
[inoh  of  the  bro.idoloth, 
said  Islaiiil,  one  Tunis 
ileal  ill  about  a  month, 
^loth.  There  are  I'lany 
hich  i;'  worn  would  bo  •* 


great  saving  thereto,  particularly  knit  stockings,  leather  habits  for  working 
shoes,  etc.,  more  especially  shoes  for  women,  which  are  made  at  Lynn  and 
exceed  in  strength  and  beauty  any  that  are  usually  imported  from  Lon- 
don  Tho  practice  of  putting  on  mourning  at  funerals,  is  already  almost 
abolished  -u  this  town  ;  the  new  method  of  only  wearing  a  crape  tied  around 
the  arm  is  introduced  in  several  of  the  neighboring  towns,  and  it  is  to  be 
wished  It  might  prevail  throughout  the  government :  the  saving  to  this  town 
only.  It  13  judged,  would  be  twenty  thousand  pounds  per  annum.'" 

_    The  resolutions  to  arrest  the  importation  of  British  goods  commenced 
in  New  York,  where  hostility  to  the  Stamp  Act  was  particularly  rife,  and 
Kffoct8or.he'''ere  adopted  in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  whose  trade 
ssocaiions.  suffered  greatly  by  the  Sugar  and  Molasses  Act.     They  were 
embraced  with  more  hesitancy  in  Pennsylvania.     Among  the  beneficial 
measures  directly  ascribable  to  this  cause,  was  the  formation  in  New 
York   of  B   "Society   for   the   Promotion   of  .' .ts.   Agriculture,   and 
Economy,"  which  every  real  friend  of  bis  country  was  invited  to  join 
The  reasons  for  this  Association  were  set  forth  to  be  the  declining  state 
of  trade,  t'       ast  luxury  introduced  during  the  late  war,  the  immense 
importations,  and  the  want  of  sufficient  staples  for  returns  ;  the  extreme 
scarcity  of  cash  ;  the  great  inconvenience  resulting  from  the  prohibition 
of  paper  currency,  and  the  .-cstrictions  with  which  the  comr  crce  of  the 
country  had  been  recently  encumbered.     The  principal  object  of  the  So- 
ciety, which  was  organized  in  Nov.,  1764,  was  stated  to  be  the  encour- 
agement to  the  utmost  of  the  manufacture  of  Linen,  which  it  hoped  to 
establish  on  the  most  solid  fo-indation,  and  thereby  increase  the  value 
of  land,  give  employment  to  the  poor,  and  save  the  public  large  sums  of 
money  and  heavy  debts  for  English  goods.     At  a  meeting  on  Dec.  4th 
there  were  appointed  a  Committee  of  Arts,  a  Committee  of  Agriculture' 
a  Committee  for  Su.  ernes  of  Economy,  and  one  for   Correspondence' 
embracing  many  of  tlit  most  infli'ential  names  in  the  Province.     On  the 
20th  of  the  same  month  the  Society  met  and  appointed  a  list  of  premiums 
for  iiuon  thread  and  cloth  and  their  materials.     The  Governor  of  the 
Province,  in  his  speech  in  September  of  the  same  year,  strongly  recora- 
mended  to  tho  Assembly  the  encouragement  of  hemp,  which  the  farmers 
did  not,  know  how  to  cultivate  or  prepare  for  the  manufacturer,  and  a  law 
granting  a  bounty  on  tho  article  had  expired  without  producing  tho  de- 

(1)  London  Chroniolo  for  1704,  pp.  m,  i<  .aid  to  have  been  tho  Hon.  Jhitio.  Bow. 

818.     Th„  groat  nromoter,  if  not  tho  orlgl-  doln,  afterward  Governor  of  tho  Province 

nHtor,  of  tho  cu.lom  of  leaving  off  .nourning  and  nlway,  a  f.iond  to  wannfaet.iro,      Th» 

en.l  gift.  «t  lunornlM,  and  of  voluntary  a.so-  flmt  funeral  .»  conduced  was  that  of  Blli, 

ciatioDB  againit  foreign  luxurie.  in  Uo.ton,  Callender. 


323  COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANrFACTURi:. 

«ired  effect     The  Society  offered  premium,  for  the  raw  material  and  tV.o 
gired  ellect.     in  j  quantities  of  Linen  yarn  spun 

raamifacture,  viz.:  *or  tne  nve  i!u„tst  q  mc-'i-d  Inirsr 

under  ti,e  direction  of  one  person  in  the  Province    n      65  ^^^^ 
had  to  the  quality,  from  £30  to  £10,  respectively  ;  for  linen  Cloth    n  l.Kt 
man  ler  five  pre  Jiums,  from  £25  to  £5  ;  for  wove  stocUings  (three  hread) 
£rand£12.  and  smaller  amounts  for  the  best  bend  and  so  e  leathe  , 
Somen's  shoes,  dressed  deer  skins  for  breeches,  beaver-sk.n  gloves,  pn- 
C  roofing  slate,  etc.    At  a  subsequent  meeting,  premiums  were  offered 
o    £30  to  £10  for  the  greatest  quantities  of  flax  raised  by  one  farmer, 
and  £15  to  £5  for  the  greatest  quantity  on  one  acre.     For  hemp  an 
:  olry  meda   only  was 'offered,  because  that  article  wa^  al.ea  y  Uber 
any  encouraged  by  i  bounty  from  Parliament  of  £8  ^^^^^    ^^^^ 
nf  £20  currency  from  the  Provincial  legislature,  and  of  AlOO  for  every 
let  y  toJby'the  Society  of  Arts  in  London.    Ten  pounds  were,  how^ 
eve"  given   or  the  largest  amount  of  hemp  seed  grown  on  -  --.  and 
premium  also  for  the  largest  amount  of  bog  meadow  ele-d  and  pre 
pared  for  hemp,  flax,  and  grass,  and  medals  and  premiums  for  other  agn- 

^"S^dirf"  mourning  and  of  hot  wine  at  funerals  was  adopt^^t 
the  instance  of  the  Committee  on  "  Schemes  of  Economy  "     In  the  fo^- 

and   he  markets  opened  for  the  sale  of  home-made  goods  showed  th 
'neither  the  natives  nor  the  manufacturers  whom  the  natives  had  for 
some   ime  past  been  inviting  from  Great  Britain  by  very  large  encourage- 
men  s  Tad  been  idle.     Linens,  woolens,  the  coarser  but  more  usefu 
Ss  of  iron-ware,  malt  spirits,  paper  hangings,  etc..  were  produced 
t^  to  soc  ety  and  great  y  approved,  and  when  brought  to  market  were 
Z  g  ee'^b  '"«l.t  up.     At  the  same  time,  lest  the  new  woolen  manufac 
Tare   h     Id  eon  e  shortof  materials,  mo.t  of  the  inhabitants  came  to  reso- 
„   0  s"  t  to  eat  any  lamb,  and  to  extend  the  infb^ence  o    these  re.o    - 
Sns  to  those  who  did  not  join  them  in  it.  not  to  deal  w.  h  ..ny  b.Uch  r 
that  should  kill  or  ex,.ose  any  lamb  to  sale.     !n  a  word,  the  sp   i   of 
dustry  and  frugality  took  the  place  of  idleness  and  profusen  ss.     The 
Is'ltantial  a.fd  even  fushionable  people  were  foremost  m  setting 
Te  example  to  their  countrymen  of  contenting  themselves  with  homes,n.n 
o   0  d       thes.  rather  than  make  use  of  anything  British,  whic    U.ey    e- 
?ore  used  to  be  so  madly  fond  of     And  such  were  the  eflorts  of  all  rank 
1  so  prudent  their  measures,  that  they  now  began  to  be  convinced  of 
:   a  ttl^  tad  til.  then  thought  impossible-that  the  Colon  es  ^..n^ 
roon  bo  able  to  .apply  themselves  will,  every  necessary  of  life      Such 
fore  gn  articles  as  thl    were  compelled  to  have,  they  took  Horn  Ireland. 


^m 


material  and  tV.o 
iinen  yarn  spun 
55,  regp.al  InirK 
len  Cloth,  in  like 
Ts  (three  thread) 
iiid  sole  leatlier, 
;kin  gloves,  pan- 
urns  were  offered 
\  by  one  farmer, 
.     For  hemp,  an 
m3  already  liber- 
•lin<?  per  ton,  and 
)f  £100  for  every 
ounds  were,  how- 
I  on  an  acre,  and 
r  cleared  and  pre- 
ms  for  other  agri- 

s  was  adopted  at 
)my."     In  the  fol- 
remiums  awarded, 
oods  showed  that 
e  natives  had  for 
y  large  encourage- 
r  bnt  more  useful 
tc,  were  produced 
ht  to  market  were 
w  woolen  manufac- 
tants  came  to  reso- 
nce  of  these  resolu- 
il  with  »ny  butcher 
rd,  the  sjiirit  of  in- 

profuseness.  Tiie 
foremost  in  sotting 
tlvea  with  homespun 
itish,  which  they  be- 
0  efforts  of  all  ranks 

to  be  convinced  of 
the  Colonics  would 
ssary  of  life.  Such 
f  took  from  Ireland. 


80CIETfE3   TO   ENCOUUAaE   INDUSTRY   AND   ECONOMT. 


369 

They  even   talked  or  prohibiting  the  export  of  Tobacco  from  Vir- 

ginia.'" 

The  society  in  New  York,  which  continued  for  a  number  of  years  to 
give  generous  encouragement  to  domestic  industry,  in  March  1766 
again  announced,  through  its  secretary,  Benjamin  Kissam,  a  series  of  pre- 
miums (or  better  qualities  and  larger  lota  of  linen  thread  and  cloth,  and 
for  machinery,  etc.,  including  £15  for  the  greatest  quantity,  <'n^t  less 
than  50U  yards  of  best  quality,  36  inch  linen  check,  each  color  of  highest 
perfection,  white  and  bhie  ;"  £10  for  the  first  three  stocking-looms  of  iron 
set  up  in  that  year,  and  £5  for  next  three;  £15  for  the  first  stocking- 
loom  made  in  the  Province  in  that  year;  a  medal  for  the  first  flax-miil 
erected  in  the  Province  in  1766,  to  go  by  water,  and  £30  for  the  first 
bieach.ng-field,  costing  £150  or  one  in  proportion  to  that  sum.  A  trea- 
tise on  Ilemp-husbandry,  by  Edmund  Quincy,  was  offered  for  sale  by 
appointment  of  the  Society,  at  the  price  of  2s. 

The  resolutions  of  non-importftion  and  retrenchment  in  the  use  of  for- 
eign merchandise,  and  the  indications  of  a  determination  on  the  part  of 
the  Colonists  to  manufacture  for  themselves,  caused  much  alarm  in  Great 
Britain.     It  was  stated  there,  early  in  the  year  1765,  that  no  less  than 
fourteen  new  manufactures  had  been  lately  established  in  North  America 
by  which  it  was  computed  Great  Britain  was  annually  injured  in  a  sum 
little  short  of  half  a  million  sterling.     It  was  heard,  with  much  concern, 
that  a  muslin  manufacture  was  carried  on  at  New  York  with  great  suc- 
cess, under  the  direction  of  one  Douglas,  from  Glasgow,  Scotland.    They 
wrote  from  Pennsylvania  that  a  new  manufactory  of  cotton  is  going  to 
be  established  there  by  several  gentlemen  of  property  at  that  place.» 
The  state  of  the  exports  from  Great  Britain  to  the  Colonies  was  immedi- 
ately  affected  in  a  serious  degree.  They  had  amounted  annually  to  nearly 
three  millions  sterling  in  British  manufactures,  exclusive  of  foreign  goods 
receivetl  by  way  of  Great  Britain.    Ships  in  the  Colonial  trade  now  came 
with  only  half  lading,  and  many  were  withdrawn.     Thousands  of  weav- 
ers and  workmen  in  the  manufacturing  and  commercial  towns  were  thrown 
out  of  employment,  and  many  emigrated  to  America.   The  manufacturers 
who,  in  a  tiu^e  of  great  scarcity  of  breadstuffs,  were  unable  to  employ 
their  hands,  whose  materials  and  made-up  goods  were  a  dead  stock  upou 


(1)  Annual  IlpRintor,  vol.  viii.  pp.  55,  5fl. 

(2)  In  WalBon's  AnnaU  (vol,  ii.  p.  269), 
the  (ollowir'K  is  cited  from  the  Complete 
Magatine,  publiahed  in  England,  Augmt, 
17«4:  "Some  beautiful  eaniplos  of  the 
evtion  manufnvUire,  now  carried  on  nt  Phila- 
dilphla,  have  boon  lately  imported  and 
grettHy  ■dmirod."    That  an  att«mpt  tu  the 

84 


eitent  of  producing  jnmpica  of  cotton  Cloth 
ihould  be  made  in  Philadelphia,  where  the 
imported  article  and  the  raw  material  Mad 
been  long  uied,  and  ikillful  spinnera  4nd 
weavers  abounded,  is  not  very  improbable. 
The  fine  manufuctory  of  cotton  abovu  al- 
luded to  was  not  long  after  attempted,  kod 
may  have  been  thus  early  talked  uf. 


i 


370 


COLONIAL  CLOTII-MANUFACTUIIE. 


Repeal 
of  the 
biRuip  Act. 


their  hands  sent  up  petitions  fo;  relief.     The  merchants  in  the  Coloaml 
raie  "u,  e  remitt'anees  from  America  were  stopped  and  the.r  outsUind- 
'       inc.  debts  imperiled,  added  their  prayers  for  a  repea    of   he 
Stlmp  Act.     Memorials  were  at  the  same  time  sent  from  the 
CoToll  Assemblies,  and  .ealons  efforts  made  by/he.r  agents 

„S»t  o'„°  and  more  violet  Ac»,  but  «l«ci«lly  .  change  >n  the  m,n,»try 

""u:!  "uov'^Lited  in  EngUna  and  America  by  the  repeal  and 
trade  a",  n  re, Led  it,  wonted  ehunnel,.     A  declaration  o    the  ngh.  to 
tax  the  Colonies  accompanied  the  abrogation  of  the  statute.     Mr  Pttt 
1       adteltiu,  the  r'e„eal  ot  the  Act  "absolutely,  tot.«y  an    ...e- 
diatily,  and  that  the  reasons  ^r  the  repea    be  ^^^'^^^^^JZ 
founded  in  erroneous  principles,"  at  tlie  same  umt   lev. 
"the  sov  reign  authority  of  this  country  over  the  Colonies  be  asserted  m 
as  str    r  erms  as  can  be  devised,  and  be  made  to  extend  to  every  part 
0    e  isTatlon  whatever,  that  we  may  bind  their  trade,  co.fineke^r  ..n. 
facLes,  and  exercise  every  power  whatsoever,  excep    ^^^^jl^^^ 
their  money  out  of  their  pockets  without  their  consent."     ^°*y'^!''*  "^ 

gthl  assertions,  pregnant  with  future  trouble,  the  Colonists  mth 
gratitude  voted  a  statue  to  Mr.  Pitt,  and  "resolutions  were  made  to  pre- 
par    new  dresses  made  of  British  manufactures  for  celebrating  the  fourth 
0?  June,  the  birthday  of  their  most  gracious  sovereign,  and  to  give  their 

'Xrglt 111:  st::;::;:  the  Lords  or  Trade  addressed  a  circular 
to  each  of  the  Governors  on  the  continent  of  America  requiring  th  m 
forthwith  to  prepare  and  transmit  to  them,  to  be  laid  before  the 
rniT'    House  of  Commons  at  the  next  Session,  a  particular  and  exac 
"»-«  account  of  the  several  manufactures  which  had  been  set  np  and 

carried  on  within  the  Colony  since  the  year  1734  and  of  the  public  en- 
couragement  which  had  been  given  thereto.  A  hke  account  w.s  to  bo 
yearly  transmitted  of  new  manufactures  set  up  and  of  the  public  encourage- 

"Th'TmmuSion  was  laid  bef..e  the  Councif  of  New  York  in  No- 
,emb  r  by  Sir  Henry  Moore,  the  Governor,  whom  the  Council  informed 
atn^new-nufacLe  had  been  set  up  or  received  V^^-^^ 
r„«nt  nor  did  they  know  of  any  manufacture  of  wool  or  woolen  Cloth  but 
Tat  was  p«y  confined  to  private  families  for  their  own  consump- 


ts  in  the  Colonial 
md  their  outstand- 
)r  a  repeal  of  the 
ime  sent  from  the 
le  by  their  agents 
received,  of  which 
irth  America)  were 
tress  occasioned  in 
lie  Colonies  in  their 
nge  in  the  ministry 
heme,  procured  its 

i  by  the  repeal,  and 
tion  of  the  right  to 
i  statute.     Mr.  Pitt 
,  totally,  and  imme- 
;ned  because  it  was 
recommended  that 
lonies  be  asserted  in 
jxtend  to  every  part 
confine  their  manu- 
cept  that  of  taking 
nt."     Notwithstand- 
[le  Colonists  in  their 
ns  were  made  to  pre- 
lelebrating  the  fourth 
ign,  and  to  give  their 

addressed  a  circular 
erica,  requiring  them 
,  to  be  laid  before  the 
I  particular  and  exact 
1  had  been  set  up  and 

and  of  rhe  public  en- 
ike  account  wis  to  bo 
f  the  public  encourage- 

f  of  New  York  in  No- 
j  the  Council  informed 
ived  public  encourngc- 
ol  or  woolen  Cloth  but 
or  their  own  consump- 


AUNrFACTOniES   IN   NKW   YORK   IN    11G1.  3,, 

T^de  ^etsTl:!!;;^-  ''T'  '"  ''"'"^■•^'  '''''  to  the  Board  of 

duct  of  0  Wells  ziriT7-  :■ """ '"  ^'"^  ^''^ '  "-^-- 1'-  -- 

-„  who     aHoi  7r    ?      ""'  '^  ^'^  -bscriptions  of  a  set  of 

were  :::r:r;;:r'::r  ri::^-:- -  ,-^^ 

as  soon  as  they  were  old  enough.   ^^^r^ylXr::^^:^^:^ 

teavir;Th    """'""""  '''''''"  ^"'-^'^  the'country    0  do 
w    c    l'„,d  17:r,"";''r"''°  --^-tureof  hats  in'NewYo?k 
Sonrhor.'""'"''^"'  ''-''  ^^"^"'"^"-  -  — tof  the  high 

VuI'Z'Z'Tl  hf  '"''  ""  "'  '""^  ''""'  '^^■■^'^'y  -"'^^  -  -•"  Caro. 
nds      The'  et^ef  'f  « '"'  ""t  "'   '-^'^  ^^'^'^^  ^'^^  *"«  Spanish 
could    ot  rn!l  t  !t  h/l      r'"'.,  T'""'  "'"''  ^'^'"^  ^«t«'  ^^''t^-^  tlmt  he 
iZt     I  ,     u  '"'*  P*''""''"  encouragement  had  ever  been  iriven 

to  the  estabhshment  of  any  manufactures  in  Pennsylvania,  nor  were  tier 
any  then  earned  on  In  the  Province  e.xcopt  two.  One  ;f  these! 
"P  m  t.e  e.,y  about  three  years  previous,  by  private  subscrip  ion  for  the 
manufacture  of  sail-cloth,  ticking,  and  linens;  but  the  proprie'tor  had 
already  sunk  money,  the  high  cost  of  labor  not  allowing  the  art  les  to  be 
mado  as  cheap  as  those  of  the  same  quality  from  England  we  e  ,  by 
reta.l.  Its  d.sconfnuancc  had  therefore  been  decided  upon.  The  otb  r 
was  It  glass  manufactory  in  Lancaster.  i»«oiuer 

The  rejoicings  of  the  Colonists  at  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  were  of 
short  durafon.     The  Sugar  Act,  i„  a  modified  form,  still  LmatL    .nd 
osome  was  scarcely  less  grievous  than  the  former.     Several    noa's  re 
favorable  to  Colonial  trade  were  enacted  in  Parliament  the  sa       "a 


-  J^--  ->=-*■*     -^t=i_~r-^.^ 


COLONIAL  CLOTn-MANVFACrCBE. 


372 

i,try  by  the  impos  uoa  ^J^XZS'o'som.r.  ia  the  Colonies. 
.O....P0.  tea.  prov.cbng  "jJ^^J^.^t  of  the  revenue  system,  by 
-- —  and  ^r,  rTtrt"  f  a  C«  tom-House.  Although  the  people  had 

.we.  the  -^f  ;f;7  j;7,,^  :  ra  etand  taken  against  the  Stamp 
BO  readily  receded  from  the  de^  m  ^^  ^^.^^^  ^^  ^  ^^^  ^^  ^,^^^, 

Act,  and  a  sum  of  ^  5,000  was  vote  ^^^^  ^^^  .^^^^^^^ 

suil-cloth  and  lawns,  to  be  paid  in  prem,  ^         ^^^    ^^^,„t  ^ 

from  the  Colonies,  this  and  other  ^^J"  f^J^  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  B,,ton,  in  town- 
renewal  of  the  opposition  to  he  new  plan  o^  ta^ati     ^^^^^_^^.^^  ^^^  ^^_ 

meeting.  Oct  28.  commenced  ^J^^^^  ,^^^,g„  ,„perfluities  is  the 
dress,  by  declaring  that  the     excessive  .^  ^^^^^^^ 

chief  cause  of  the  present  ^^^^^^^^Z  rincreased  by  means 
drained  of  its  money  •,  which  "'^^-^"VsUio;  C^^^  trade  of  the  Prov- 
of  the  late  additional  burdens  and  >-P««;;^,  ,„.,„.„  Resolutions 
ince,  which  threaten  the  country  ^'^h  P^f^^^^^^ber.  of  such  foreign 
.er;  made  to  abstain  from  ^^l^^Zl  'fJZ^^^^l^s  and  carriages 
articles  as  "loaf  sugar.  '^'^'^''^'''^^''2'^^  ^  t^,  ^en's  and  women's 

of  all  sorts,  horse  ^^^^^o^C^^^l^^^^^^^^  -"'^  ^^  "«">^"'^  '''''' 
apparel  ready  made,  househodfurni    re  g        ,  ^^  ^^^  j^.e  ^f  all 

sole  leather,  sheathing  a.id  deck  -'>;-  g^^*^-;  ^/^^    ^^^^^  ,,,^,,,,,,  stone 

«orts.  gold  and  silver  button.  ^^^^^^^^^^^  '^^^^^^^,  ,„, 

and  paste  ware,  snuff,  mustara,  ^'o^'' •  „er  vard  muffs,  furs,  and 

■„eL'  ».-e,  broadcloth,  *«  ^^J  ;'  .  ^..''ril  and  cM.drcn', 

menW,  malt  liqnors,  and  A^c  '  ^^^^  __,^,„,  „ 

At  tl,e  »m.  Itae  .t  ».,  re»ol  ei     by       P  J^^  ,  ,,„„ 

'-"-;rpt  r.°'Kr«t:;. ,:  t^a  ..c  or .,  o.  .... 

niag.rteel  «as  in  domand  in  .«r,  ''°»-''»'  ; '"f^f  ^"l  „f  patriot. 

raJio, .,™n  by  tbcir  "VrelTlThy SirinTi.nd.    ' '  Spin- 

'-  ""'r ':"^  n«     oltll.  -sembied  at  t„.  ho.se  ot   a 
ning  matches,"  m  whica  young  .    otbgr  jn  the  ancient  and 

Sr : ir  :f  Of  the  ^  ..nc.     The  grac.  .  a  kmd. 

act  often  crowned  a  '^^J  "^^^'"""^^^''^jtS'of'the  pastor  or  friend 
products  of  their  united  labor  «?-  t»>«  ^«-'  ^  ^  ,  l,,,^^  ^o  offel 
whose  house  they  had  enlivened,  and  who  was  oniy  p 


8riN.\-lNa  AND   SPINSTERS. 


he  previous  min- 
nters'  colors,  and 
in  the  Coloniea, 
Bvenue  system,  by 
gh  the  people  had 
gainst  the  Stamp 
a  tax  on  foreign 
and  flax  imported 
did  not  prevent  a 
Boston,  in  town- 
■etaliation  and  re- 
superfluities  is  the 
rn,  as  it  is  thereby 
increased  by  means 
trade  of  the  Prov- 
■uin."     Resolutions 
ler,  of  such  foreign 
aises  and  carriages 
men's  and  women's 
and  women's  shoes, 
id  thread  lace  of  all 
irts,  diamonds,  stone 
!8,  silversmiths'  and 
^ard,  muffs,  furs,  and 
nen's  and  children's 
ts,  gauze,  pewterers' 
of  all  kinds  for  gar- 
it  ways  and  means  to 
more  especially  those 
use  of  new  or  super- 
pledged.     The  spin- 
garments  of  domestic 
[1  as  proofs  of  patriot- 
in  the  land.     "  Spin- 
1  at  the  house  of   a 
lier  in  the  ancient  and 
ice,  and  extraordinary 
'he  graces  of  a  kindly 
)y  the  bestowal  of  the 
f  the  pastor  or  friend 
nly  permitted  to  offei 


373 


tbem  a  cnp  of  balm  tea  or  of  coffee  in  place  of  tho.r  wonted  but  now 
proscribed  beverage.  In  Rhode  Lsland,  and  especially  at  Newport,  there 
was  scarcely  flax  enough  to  supply  the  spinners  ' 

In  February,  1768,  the  subject  came  up  in  the  General  Court,  and  the 
estab  .shment  o  manufactures  was  generally  approved  of,  only  one  mcnber 
Timothy  Ruggles,  opposing  them.     His  reasons  were  assigned  in  writ' 
ing,  but  a  motion  to  have  them  recorded  on  the  Journals  was  negatived 
The  Assembly  had  previously  prepared  a  petition  to  the  King,  and  now 
addressed  a  circular  letter  to  the  Assemblies  of  sister  Provinces,  stating 
what  bad  been  done,  and  asking  co-operation  in  their  plan  to  obtain  re- 
dress of  grievances.    The  resolutions  were  generally  approved  of,  and  peti- 
tions were  sent  from  other  Colonies.     At  New  Haven  similar  resolutions 
were  adopted  m  the  same  month.     An  attempt  was  made  again  to  set  at 
work  the  Linen  manufactory  in  Boston,  which  had  been  discontinued 
A  town  meeting  i„  Boston,  in  March,  appointed  a  committee  to  frame 
a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  author  (then  unknown)  of  the  "  Letters  of  a  Penn. 
sylvania   Farmer,"  by  John   Dickinson,   which  so  ably  vindicated   the 
rights  of  American  subjects.     A  large  committee  on  manufactures  was 
at  the  same  time  appointed  to  procure  subscriptions  to  aid  a  manufactory 
of  Duck,  lately  established  in  the  town  by  John  Bennett,  Esq.     They 
reported  in  May  that  only  one-half  the  required  sum  (£300)  had  been 
subscribed,  and  were  directed  to  renew  their  efforts.     At  this  time  the 
non-importation  agreements,  which,  for  want  of  concerted  action  'had 
not  been  acted  upon,  were  renewed  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  Assembly 


(1)  The  inventions  of  a  mechanical  age 
have  rendered  np:.rly  obsolete  in  Europe 
and  America  this  primitive  employment  of 
woman,  which  was  a  time-honored  custom 
in  the  rural  economy  of  all  ancient  and  mod- 
ern nations.  The  temporary  impulse  given 
to  it  by  the  claims  of  patriotism  about  this 
Ume,  was  nearly  the  last  of  its  existence  as 
»  general  or  national  custom.  The  term 
ipinster  has  an  honorable  derivation.  Spin- 
ning and  weaving  have  been  domestic  arts 


Oft  to  admire  the  nioonets  of  her  skill, 
The  nymphs  forsools  their  fountain  shade 
or  hill. 

Onr  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors  held  labor  in 
high  honor,  and  their  Scripture  illustrations 
represent  the  angel  of  mercy  as  compensa- 
ting  our  first  parents  for  the  physical  part 
of  the  curse  by  presenting  Adam  with  a 
spade  and  Eve  with  a  spindle.  Ladies  of 
the  highest  rank  did  not  disdain  its  use. 


,  .,  "   ,  "'™  •""  ui(i;iiu.-i  niiiK   aiu  not  disdain   its   use 

from  the  most  anc.ent  times,  and  chiefly  The  daughters  of  Edward  the  Elder  were" 

belonged  to  the  women.  It  was  the  province  regularly  instructed  in  spinning  and  weav- 

of  royal  ladies  to  direct  the  labors  of  the  ing.     The  will  of  Alfred  the  Great  calls  the 

spmdleand  the  loom,  and  even  to  handle  females  of  his  house  "the  spindle  side." 

the  dis  ttff,  when  Solomon  drew  his  portrait-  Their  legends  represent  the  spinning-wheel 

ure  of    av.rtuou.  woman."  or  the  wife  of  as  a  divine  gift.     When  a  young  girl  wa. 

Hoc  or  pl.ed  her  loom  surrounded  by  her  presented  to  James  the  First  as  a  prodigy 

ma.ds.    Even  the  goddess  Minerva  is  repre-  of   learning,   who  could   speak   and   writ^ 

sented  to  have  contended  at  the  loom  with  Latin,    Greek,    and    Hebrew,    be    replied, 

'  me,  o»n  ihe  spin  ?" 


COLONIAL  CLOTH- MANC*AOTOR«. 

„,„,„,  .o...«a  its  .*«on.w»...o.«..^^^^^^^^^ 

b,  merA.«t»  and  oto  to  excto  an  '"'«'«  ''°'^'     Commissioiim  of 

Customs  had  arrived,  and  t"'  »«'^»™  merchants  a-aln  entered 

p,.ee  for  ,io,atin.  t^-e  — 7'  *  ,7,    a»  fl  J-->  '•"«»• 

to  January  1,  1T70,  except  bdi  ,         .  Virginia  Assembly 

bar  lead  and  shot,  wool-cards  and  «="j-;"«-  J  y^^^^,,  ,„d  spirit; 

.ow  followed  ^^^^-^'Z;:l  ^orcLoHna.  and  olhers. 
and  Connecucut    New.-Tork    Mar^la  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^ 

successively  joined  the  compact     ^«^  ^  ^f  „„„.i„ter- 

''-r^?::^::::^::^^^^^-^  i-  ^he  Northern 

course      ^he  resolul  individuals  was  overcome  by  fears  of 

Colonics,  where  the  ^'^f^^^  .„  ^^^,^^  „,ued  upon  a  refractory 

popular  resentment.    /■  f^™"" "'  J    ^^„  ^,,,  ^,Hing  for  his  answer, 
merchant,  and  '^^^^l^'^l^^t^^^^^^^^^  ceased  import- 

..  The  newspapers  soon  publ  shea  uiai  Committees  of  super- 

i"g-"    <>-^^  -^«  rerirt"      "preventing  any  violation 
iutendence  were  «7^7;^^;;\V:^   .^Colonies'they  were  less  strictly 

:i-s^=rcaro!:f^^^^^ 

s:to  y^^tXt^itti:^— s::--  British  custo. 

House  returns : 

1768.  1769. 

BxPOBTBD  FROM  GREAT  BRITAIN  TO                        £430,807  i;223,696 

New  England •■•*■■■       490*674  75,931 

New  York ........',       441,830  204,976 

Pennsylvania . 

£1,363,311  £504,603 

,  .       669,422  614,944 

Maryland  and  Virginia 300,925  327,084 

North  and  South  Carolina ••••"         ^^^^.g^  53^341 

Georgia .^ — 

£1,026,909        £1,000,369 

.,.  importation.  ^^^^^^^  tl^^Z^:!!! 
oonsideraW,  more  tlmn  one  _ba,f«™b»t.doe^^^      ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^ 


■fforts  were  made 
)ject  of  manufac- 
Ilommissionera  of 
iiberty  had  taken 
nts  again  entered 
January  1,  nSO, 
lines,  hemp,  duck, 
''irginia  Assembly 
terms  and  spirit ; 
jlina,  and  others, 
Ihode  Island,  and 
eats  of  non-inter- 

in  the  Northern 
rcome  by  fears  of 

upon  a  refractory 
ing  for  his  answer, 
rily  ceased  import- 
mmittees  of  super- 
nting  any  violation 
■  were  less  strictly 
jase  of  imports  took 
tain  to  the  Colonies 
om  British  Custom- 


1768.  1769. 

i30,807  iE223,696 

too,  674  75,931 

141,830  204,970 

363,311  £504,603 


669,422 

300,925 

56,562 


614,944 

327,084 
58,341 


026,909        £1,000,369 

le  Northern  Colonies 
eased  in  the  Southern 
suits,  and  their  rooro 
industry.  Tlie  effect 
eat  Britain  of  the  dia- 
al  of  the  imposts  com- 
nth  the  exception  of 


TAX  ON  TEA — SPINNINQ  SCHOOLS. 


375 


the  duty  on  tea,  retained  as  an  evidence  of  the  supremacy  of  Parliament. 
The  concession  did  not,  however,  on  this  occasion,  cause  the  people  to 
abandon  their  successful  policy,  because  the  right  to  tax  them  was  still 
asserted,  and  the  system  was  therefore  continued  in  the  hope  of  forcing 
an  entile  surrender  of  the  prerogative  and  of  the  remaining  duty  on  tea" 
This  determination  was  strengthened  in  Massachusetts  by  the  conflicts 
which  took  place  in  1770  between  the  Br'Msh  soldiers  and  the  citizens 
of  Boston,  to  whom  their  presence  was  hateful,  and  which  happened  ou 
the  very  day  of  the  repeal.  The  propositions  to  abandon  the  self-imposed 
restraints  were  suppressed  in  some  of  the  smaller  Colonies.  But  New 
York,  which  had  suffered  most  by  her  loss  of  trade,  at  length  receded 
from  the  agreement  by  importing  all  goods  which  were  free  of  duty. 
Rhode  Island  followed,  and  others  in  succession,  until  even  Massachusetts 
was  at  length  forced  to  yield. 

Although  the  non-importation  covenants,  it  was  hoped,  would  only  be 
of  temporary  continuance,  and  had  yet  been  of  too  recent  adoption  to 
Renewal  of  P'"«''"'^e  any  marked  influence  upon  the  infant  manufactures 
liTetT'  "*"  ^''°  country,  an  increased  attention  to  several  branches  of 
^  domestic  industry  was  among  the  salutary  results  of  the  system. 
The  habit  of  dependence  upon  their  own  resources,  which  was  in  a  few 
years  to  become  a  compulsory  measure,  was  not  les^  serviceable  to  all 
classes.    To  the  good  effects  of  these  resolutions  was  ascribed  the  encour- 
aging fact  that  at  the  Commencement  exercises  held  in  Cambridge,  in 
the  year  1770,  the  graduating  class  appeared  in  black  cloth  entirely  of 
New  England  manufacture.     In  March,  of  the  same  year,  a  memorial 
was  presented  to  the  General  Court  by  William  Molineaux  and  others, 
who,  in  consideration  of  the  increasing  number  and  expense  of  the  poor' 
had  caused  a  large  number  of  spinning-wheels  to  be  made,  and  engaged 
rooms  for  employing  young  females,  from  eight  years  old  and  upward,  in 
earning  their  own  support.     In  aid  of  these  spinning-schools,  where  chil- 
dren were  instructed  for  two  years  free  of  cost,  they  had  asked  and  re- 
ceived a  loan  of  £500,  without  interest.     The  petitioners  state  that  at 
least  300  women  and  children  had  already  been  thoroughly  instructed 
in  the  art  of  spinning,  to  whom  a  large  amount  had   been   paid  in 
wages.     They  had  then  on  hand  about  forty  thousand  "scanes  of  fine 
yarn,  fit  to  make  any  kind  of  women's  wear."     The  first  year's  success 
had  induced  the  manager  to  commence  the  manufacture  of  the  yarn  into 
Cloth,  for  which  purpose  he  had  erected,  at  much  expense,  "  a  complete 
apparatus,  viz.,  working  (winding?)  and  twisting-mills  for  working  and 
twisting  the  yarn  fit  for  the  looms,  which,  with  two  boys  only,  will  keep 
more  than  fifty  looms  constantly  at  work,  and  looms  for  weaving,  and 
furnaces,  hot  and  cold  presses  for  finishing  the  goods,  and  has  fixed  up  a 


3,g  COLONIAL  CLOTII-MANCFACTURE. 

rtrir^r ;::;..» pa,..,g  (.» i.. «.  tor..  ca»,  a.  pepp.. 

'"  t    /u     e    L     ™e„tio„  »e'h.ve  .e=„  of  »y  improved  ■n.chao,.™ 
It  IS  me  eariies  ^^^  premiums  in 

'Aerr„T:l::t  r.oJ  lto:tx,  ...a  »•„.  ..nor.*.,  .na 

wheels  had  been  received,  some  of  which  may  possiuiy  u 

"HltTppear  not  long  after  to  have  been  entertained,  that  the  new 
maSery  used  n  the  Cotton  manufacture,  was  about  to  be  transferred 
machiuery  ««««  '"  ^"  ^^  mentioned,  the  Jenny  patented  by 

ltr::'::sy:a:lri::Vanty  Obtained  witU^  years. 


(1)  Hargreayes  wa»,  in  1768,  compelled 
to  fly  from  Lancashire  by  a  combina- 
tion  of  the  handwhcel  spinners,  who  entered 
hi,  house  and  destroyed  the  machine. 
Wyatt  had  in  like  manner  been  forced  to 
leave  Lancashire ;  and  Kay,  the  invento-  of 
the  fly-shutlle,  fled  to  France,  Mr.  Karn- 
ihaw,  the  inventor  of  a  cotton-reel  and 
ipianor,  generously  destroyed  the  instru- 


nient  rather  than  deprive  the  poor  of  bread. 
Nearly  every  step  in  the  progress  of  those 
inventions  was  violently  opposed  by  the 
workmen,  and  the  energy  of  Arkwright  alone 
carried  him  to  ultimate  triumph.  In  1789, 
when  spinning  machinery  was  introduced 
in  France,  the  spinners  of  Normandy  de- 
stroyed the  mills,  Md  suppressed  their  us* 
for  a  time. 


FIRST  BROADCLOTH  Fl'LLINQ- MILLS  IN   LANCASTER,    PA.  377 


mises,  more  cora- 
EnglanJ  a  large 
isiiiess,  and   also 
the  moat  perfect 
lit,  he  hopes  this 
beauty  and  colour 
I  Colonies."    He 
r  twelve  hundred 
ory-house  for  the 
Assembly's  aid  to 
ndition  to  encour- 
of  rent,  for  seven 
,e  allowed  "  to  im- 
n  and  linen  manu- 
the  space  of  one 
for  the  remainder 
r  case)  five  pepper- 

ictivity  in  spinning 
ih  approached  more 
icter  of  a  mannfac- 
irsted,  and  to  have 
which  would  enable 
of  the  spinners, 
tiproved  mechanism 
offered  premiums  in 
i  manufactures,  and 
1  improved  spinning 
)ly  have  found  their 

•tained,  that  the  new 
lut  to  be  transferred 
B  Jenny  patented  by 
a  four  or  five  years.* 

deprive  the  poor  of  bread. 
I  in  the  progress  of  those 
riolently  opposed  by  the 
energy  of  Arkwright  alone 
timate  triumph.  In  1789, 
n»ohinery  was  introduced 
pinners  of  Normandy  de- 
,  and  suppressed  their  use 


An  extract  from  a  letter,  dated  at  Baltimore,  January  11,  1772,  appeared 
in  the  Tennsylvania  Gazette  on  the  30th,  in  which  the  writer  says  :— 
"We  learn  that  a  person,  who  has  for  many  years  past  been  a  master 
in  several  large  manufactories  for  linen,  cotton,  and  calico  printing, 
likewise  cutting  and  stamping  of  the  copper-plates  for  the  same,  intends,' 
some  time  this  month,  to  leave  England  for  America,  with  six  journey- 
men, and  all  the  machinery  for  carrying  on  the  said  business,  previous  to 
which,  and  unlsnowu  to  the  English  manufacturers  he  has  shipped  sundry 
machines,  some  of  which  will  spin  ten,  and  others  from  twenty  to  one 
hundred  threads  at  one  time,  with  the  assistance  of  one  hand  to  each 
machine.  Those  machines  are  not  allowed  at  home,  and  so  inveterato 
are  the  common  people  against  them,  that  they  burn  and  destroy  not 
only  these  but  the  houses  also,  where  they  are  found.  The  Americans 
being  able  to  purchase  cotton  to  more  advantage  than  the  Europeans, 
a  manufactory  of  this  kind  will  doubtless  be  properly  encouraged  by  the 
well-wishers  to  America." 

Among  other  indications  of  a  pervading  interest  in  the  subject  of 
manufactures,  which  at  this  time  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  public 
filature  for  reeling  silk,  and  attempts  in  several  other  branches  of  do- 
mestic manufacture  in  Philadelphia,  the  same  Journal,  on  the  second  of 
January,  gave  notice  that  there  was  on  exhibition  at  the  "London  Coffee 
House,"  a  piece  of  broadcloth,  of  the  manufacture   of  the  Province. 
As  it  was  "one  of  the  finest  and  best  perhaps  ever  made  on  the  Conti- 
nent, and  the  manufacturer  had  been  at  considerable  expense  at  procu- 
•ring  an  engine,  looms,  etc.,  he  hopes  the  generous  public  will  encourage 
this  infant  attempt."     Though  probably  not  the  first  piece  of  broad- 
cloth made  in  the  country,  inasmuch  as  there  were  many  immigrants 
acquainted  with  its  manufacture,  some  of  whom  came  with  a  special 
view  to  that  business,  and  doubtless  brought  their  looms  with  them,  it  is 
the  first  specific  mention  we  have  met  of  such  a  fabric.     Wool  was  less 
abundant  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  Southern  Provinces,  at  this  time  than 
in  New  fork  and  New  England.     Flax,  hemp,  and  cotton,  were  the 
principal  materials.     There  were,  however,  many  fulling-mills  in  Penn- 
sylvania,  and  more  or  less  probably  in  all  the  Colonies.     A  fulling-mill 
was  erected  in  Lancaster  at  considerable  expence,  by  Stephen  Atkinson, 
in  1730,  when  it  contained  two  hundred  inhabitants. 

Although  his  dam  on  the  Conestoga  had  been  demolished  by  the  in- 
habitants  on  the  upper  part  of  the  creek,  for  obstructing  the  fish  and 
rafting  business,  it  had  been  rebuilt,  and  Lancaster  was  now  becoming 
an  active  manufacturing  town.  PuUing-mills  were  also  in  operation  us 
early  as  this  at  Columbia,  Ephrata,  and  in  Chester  and  Bucks  Counties, 
and  other  parts  of  the  Province.    The  assessors,  in  1760,  reported  twelv* 


3t3 


COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 


fuUlng-mills  in  rhiladelphia  County.      But  the  Germans,  Scotch,  and 
Irish  chiefly  eraployed  linen  materials.     Dr.  Franklin  stated  at  the  bar 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  1766,  that  the  annual  imports  from  Oreat 
Britain  to  Pennsylvania  were  probably  £500,000,  and  the  exports  not 
over  £40  000     Flax-seed  was  a  considerable  item  in  the  shipments,  and 
amounted  in  that  year  to  1 2,094  hogsheads,  worth  £3  lOs.  P«^  hogsheo^d 
In  mi  it  was  110,412  bushels,  in  1772,  85,794,  and  m  1773,  68,681 
bushels.    New  York  exported,  in  1766,  of  that  article,  11.037  hogsheads, 
and  in  1774  and  1775,  respectively,  129,150  and  111,845  bushels.     Con- 
necticut  and  several  other  Colonies  yearly  sold  a  large  quantity  of  flax- 
seed    All  the  fibre  grown  with  the  seed,  in  addition  to  much  of  the  hemp 
raised  and  imported,  was  converted  into  Cloth  by  the  extended  system 
of  household  manufactures  which  then  prevailed.     The  agreements  winch 
had  been  twice  made  to  discard  foreign  luxuries,  and  to  become  as  self- 
dependent  as  possible  for  manufactured  products,  had  rendered  the  cus- 
tom of  spin.iing  and  weaving  in  families  almost  universal.     The  number 
of  artisans  from  Great  Britain  and  the  Continent,  forced  hither  by  want 
of  employment  or  invited  by  Americans,  led  to  many  projects  for  intro- 
ducing small  manufacturing  establishments.     The  formation  and  encour- 
agement of  these  received  the  powerful  advocacy  of  Dr.  Franklin's  pen, 
and  of  others,  who  pointed  out  the  increased  value  given  to  lands  and 
agricultural  produce,  and  the  greater  plenty  of  money  produced  by  a 

manufactory.  .  ,      j    • 

By  the  Act  of  1719  (5  Geo.  I.  c.  27),  the  transporting  and  seducing^ 
of  artificers  to  settle  abroad,  was  made  punishable  by  fine  and  imprison- 
ment; and  by  that  of  1750  (23  Geo.  II.  c.  13),  the  exportation 
KhiXof  tools  and  utensils  used  in  the  Silk  and  Woolen  manufactures 
prohibittd.    ^^g  prohibited.     But  neither  of  these  Acts  applied  to  the 
Colonies.     The  evidence,  however,  of  a  design  in  the  Colonies  to  estab- 
lish manufactories,  to  the  great  detriment  of  those  of  Greut  Britain,  led, 
in  1774,  to  another  aggressive  step  in  the  Colonial  policy  of  the  ministry. 
B'  the  14  Geo.  III.  c  71,  it  was  enacted  that,  if  any  person  exports  any 
such  tools  or  utensils  as  are  commonly  used  in  the  cotton  or  linen  manu- 
factures   <  r  other  goods  wherein  cotton  or  linen  are  used  (excepting 
wool-cards  to  North  America),  or  any  parts  of  such  tools  or  utensils,  he 
shall  not  only  forfeit  the  same,  but  also  £200.     The  collecting  or  having 
in  possession  such  implements,  or  those  used  ia  the  woolen  or  silk  manu- 
facture with  a  view  to  exportation,  made  them  liable  to  seizure,  and  the 
possessor  to  arrest.'    But  this  statute,  which  was  highly  injurious  to  the 
industrial  prospects  of  the  country,  was  regarded  with  less  abhorrence 


(1)  Pope's  Laws  of  the  Customs. 


NON -IMPORTATION  RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BT  CONGRESS.  379 


ins,  Scotch,  and 
itated  at  the  bar 
ports  from  Great 
the  exports  not 
e  shipments,  and 
)8.  per  hogshead. 
in  1773,  68,681 
1,037  hogsheads, 
5  bushels.     Con- 
quantity  of  flax- 
nuch  of  the  hemp 
extended  system 
agreements  which 
,0  become  as  self- 
rendered  the  cus- 
sal.     The  number 
ed  hither  by  want 
projects  for  intro- 
lation  and  encour- 
)r.  Franklin's  pen, 
iven  to  lands  and 
sy  produced  by  a 

ting  and  seducing 
fine  and  imprison-* 
3),  the  exportation 
oolen  manufactures 
!ts  applied  to  the 
Colonies  to  estab- 
Greut  Britain,  led, 
icy  of  the  ministry, 
person  exports  any 
Lton  or  linen  manu- 
re used  (excepting 
;ools  or  utensils,  he 
ollecting  or  having 
oolen  or  silk  manu- 
I  to  seizure,  and  the 
fhly  injurious  to  the 
ith  less  abhorrence 


than  other  measures  adopted  the  same  year  for  the  enforcement  of  tho 
llevenue  Laws. 

Scarcely  had  the  news  arrived  that  the  port  of  Boston  had  been  closed, 
on  account  of  the  resistance  to  the  duty  of  3d.  a  pound  on  tea  in  tho 
Non-impnr-  prcvious  year,  than  Boston,  in  town-meeting,  on  13th  May  1774 

tftUiinri'»olii-      [.i    o  1    4   1  ,  J>  > 

iati<in».HK.iia  ^^'i"  oaniuel  Adams  as  moderator,  once  more  resolved  to  stop  all 
*  "■•""*•  importations,  and  called  on  the  other  towns  and  Trovinces  to 
join  in  a  measure  which  it  declared  would  be  the  salvation  of  North 
America.  In  June  the  Committee  of  Safety  sent  an  address  and  the 
form  of  "a  solemn  league  and  covenant"  to  suspend  all  commercial  inter- 
course with  Great  Britain  and  her  Islands  after  the  first  of  October,  ac- 
companied by  non-importation  agreements,  to  every  town  in  the  Province. 
The  General  Court  called  on  otiier  towns  to  assist  Boston  in  her  extrem- 
ity, and  recommended  a  general  congress  of  delegates  from  each  Province, 
to  meet  at  Philadelphia  on  1st  September,  to  consider  the  state  of  the 
country.  Delegates  from  the  several  counties  of  Virginia  met  at  Wil- 
liamsburg, on  1st  August,  and  adopted  resolutions,  \fhich  were  signed  by 
Peyton  Randolph  the  moderator,  Lee,  Washington,  Jefferson,  Patrick 
Henry,  and  other  prominent  mni  of  the  Province.  Several  of  these  were 
deputed  to  attend  the  General  Congress  at  Pliiladelphia  in  September, 
when  the  Virginia  resolutions  were  substantially  indorsed  as  the  senti- 
ment of  the  country. 

The  General  Congress,  which  met  accordingly  on  the  5th  September, 
by  resolution,  on  the  22d,  requested  the  merchants  in  the  several  Colonies 
CoNORKss  not  to  send  any  orders  to  Great  Britain  for^oods,  and  to  d! -ect 
'mporlaZQ  the  cxecutiou  of  those  already  sent  to  be  delayed  or  suspended. 
pSrtalioV"  0"  the  27th,  it  unanimously  resolved  that  importations  ought 
resolution..  ^^  ^^^^^^  ^^j  q„  the  30th,  that,  after  ICth  September,  1775,  all 
exportations  to  Great  Britain  should  cease  likewise,  if  redress  was  not 
granted  in  the  mean  time.  These  resolutions  were  all  formally  reaflarmed 
on  the  20th  October  in  fourteen  articles,  which  pledged  the  Congress  and 
its  constituents,  "under  the  sacred  ties  of  virtue,  honor,  and  love  of 
country,"  not  to  import,  after  the  1st  December,  any  goods  whatever 
from  Great  Britain  yr  Ireland,  or  British  goods  from  any  place  ;  not  to 
import  or  purchase  any  slave  imported  after  that  time,  after  which  they 
would  wholly  discontinue  the  Slave  Trade ;  not  to  import  or  purchase 
East  India  tea  ;  to  suspend  the  non-exportation  agreement  until  Septem- 
ber 10th,  1775;  to  request  merchants,  as  soon  as  i  ossible,  to  order  their 
factors  in  Great  Britain  not  to  ship  any  goods  to  them  on  any  pretense 
whatever;  to  use  their  utmost  endeavors  to  improve  the  breed  and  in- 
crease the  number  of  sheep,  by  killing  them  as  seldom  as  possible,  and 
not  exporting  them,  but  selling  on  moderate  terms  to  their  neighbors  who 


COLONIAL  CLOTII-MANUFACTURB. 


might  need  them ,  to  encourage  frugality,  economy,  and  industry,  and 
promote  the  agriculture  and  raanufaclures  of  this  country,  especially  that 
of  wool ;  to  discontinue  and  disco- .rage  every  species  of  extravagance  and 
dissipation,  shows,  plays,  etc.  ;  to  nse  on  funeral  occasions  only  a  ribbon 
or  piece  of  crape  on  the  arm  for  gentlemen,  and  a  black  ribbon  and  neck- 
lace  for  lad'es,  and  to  discorrage  the  giving  of  gloves,  scarfs,  etc.,  at 
funerals  ;  it  recommended  vendors  of  goods  not  to  lake  advantage  of  the 
scarcity  occasioned  bv  the  association  to  ask  more  than  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  do ;  that  goods  imported  after  the  1st  December  ought  to 
be  either  reshipped,  or  stored  at  the  owner's  risk  until  tho  non-importation 
agreements  ceased,  or  be  sold,  and  the  owner  re-imbursed  the  first  cost 
and  charges,  the  profits  to  be  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  Boston  suffer- 
ers ;  committees  should  be  chosen  in  each  county,  city,  and  town  to  carry 
out  the  resolutions  and  report  violations,  and  the  Committee  of  Corres- 
pondence should  frequently  inspect  the  Custom-House,  and  inform  each 
other  of  the  state  thereof;  that  all  roanufacturos  of  the  country  should  be 
sold  at  a  reasonable  rate,  and  that  no  trado,  commercial  dealings,  or  in- 
tercourse should  be  had  with  any  Colony  or  Province  that  did  not  accede 
to  or  should  afterward  violate  the  agreements,  but  they  should  be  held 
unworthy  the  rights  of  freemen,  and  as  inimical  to  the  liljerty  of  their 

country. 

The  resolutions  of  the  delegates  met  with  the  unanimous  approval  of 
the  people,  and  committees  of  vigilance  were  formed  in  the  several  towns 
and  districts,  who  published  the  names  of  those  who  disregarded  the 
recommendations  of  Congress  as  enemies  to  public  liberty,  and  dealings 
with  them  were  suspended.  By  all  who  approved  of  the  measure,  the 
hum  of  industry  was  awakened  in  all  the  dwellings  and  workshops  through- 
out the  land.  Thus,  as  a  distinguished  writer  has  observed,  "the  first 
measures  of  the  patriots  (of  the  Revolution)  aimed  to  establish  their  in- 
dependence on  the  basis  of  the  productive  industry  and  laborious  arts  of 
the  country.  They  began  with  a  non-importation  agreement  nearly  two 
years  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  That  agreement  was 
signed  by  every  member  of  that  body,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
address  to  the  people  of  America  and  Great  Britain,  was  the  only  positive 
act  of  the  first  Congress.'" 

Resolutions,  framed  in  the  spirit  of  this  memorable  Assembly,  were 
ado-^ted  in  twelve  of  the  thirteen  Continental  Provinces,  and  all  its  sug 
gestions  were  carried  out  with  strict  fidelity  to  its  directions.     Nine  of 
the  Colonies  were  by  Parliament  interdicted  from  all  trade  but  that  from 
which  they  had  voluntarily  excluded  themselves.    The  measures  by  which 

(1)  Hon.  K.  Everett.     AdJroii  on  Amerioau  Manufucturej  bofure  the  Amerlonn  Initl. 
tateofNewYurk,  Oot.14,  1831. 


BUTCHERS  AGREE  NOT  TO  KILL  SHEEP. 


881 


,nd  industry,  and 
•y,  especially  that 
extravagance  and 
ons  only  a  ribbon 
ribbon  and  neck- 
res,  scarfs,  etc.,  at 
advantage  of  the 
in  they  had  been 
ecember  ought  to 
e  noii-iinportation 
■aed  the  first  cost 
the  Boston  suffer- 
and  town  to  carry 
inilttee  of  Corres- 
,  and  inform  each 
country  should  be 
il  dealings,  or  in- 
lat  did  not  accede 
ey  should  be  held 
,ie  liberty  of  their 

mous  approval  of 
the  several  towns 

0  disregarded  the 
lerty,  and  dealings 
r  the  measure,  the 
rorkshops  through- 
)bserved,  "the  first 

establish  their  in- 

1  laborious  arts  of 
eenient  nearly  two 
at  agreement  was 
!  exception  of  the 
IS  the  only  posiuve 

)le  Assembly,  were 
:cR,  and  all  its  sug 
irectiona.     Nine  of 
trade  but  that  from 
nieafurcB  by  which 

ira  tbe  Amerlono  laiti* 


an  infatuated  ministry  continued  to  urge  its  omnipotence  upon  its  sub- 
jects at  length  rendered  forbearance  no  longer  a  virtue.  On  the  19th 
of  April,  1715,  the  disputes  which  had  hitherto  been  temperately  con- 
ducted  on  the  part  of  the  Colonists,  by  petitions,  remonstrances,  resolu- 
tions  of  non-intercourse,  frugality,  and  industry,  and  other  peaceful 
means,  were  referred  to  the  terrible  arbitrament  of  the  sword. 

The  readiness  with  wiiich  the  people  in  every  section  of  the  country 
entered  into  resolutions  to  discard  the  use  of  foreign  goods,  indicates 
Kncoumge-  ^  ^'""'I'^ence  in  their  ability  to  supplement  the  loss  by  their  own 
M^SU/cture,'"'^"'^''^'  '^•'''^''  ^""^  '"'^^''^^  '°"g  '"^^n  nearly  or  quite  equal  to 
genera"       ^  ^""^f^'^  "'^ ""  ^^^  "ecessary  clothing.    The  increased  attention 
and  encouragement  given  to  domestic  production  was,  how- 
ever, an  essential  part  of  the  system,  especially  in  those  Provinces' where 
little  progress  had  been  made  in  the  arts  of  the  clothier.     An  increase  of 
the  materials  for  clothing,  as  wool,  flax,  hemp,  cotton,  silk,  and  leather, 
were  primary  objects  with  some,  and  a  supply  of  the  implements  of 
manufachire  was  not  overlooked.     The  first  act  of  the  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  session  at  the  same  time  with  the  National  Congress, 
was  to  recommend  the  people  to  abstain  from  eating,  and  the  butchers 
from  the  killing  of  sheep,  and  the  Association  of  Butchers  signed  an 
agreement  to  that  effect  in   December.     In  the  following  year,  it  was 
ascertained  thiit  in  consequence  the  number  of  sheep  killed  was  20,000 
less  than  in  1774.     The  other  propositions  of  Congress  were  recom- 
mended, and  the  manufacture  of  wool-cards  or  combs,  of  which  none  had 
yet  been  made  in  the  Province,  was  urged  among  other  things  by  a  con- 
vention in  Jan-iary.    Bedford  County,  the  next  month,  offered  a  premium 
of  £5  for  the  first  fulling-mill  erected  in  the  county,  £3  for  the  finest  and 
and  best  piece  of  linen,  forty  and  twenty  shillings  for  the  second  and  third 
be-^t,  and  twenty  shillings  to  the  weaver  of  the  finest  jtieee  before  Octo- 
ber.    Among  the  frugal  measures  recommended    in  Philadelphia,  the 
most  opulent  commercial  city  in  America  in  1774,  was  the  fashion  of 
wearing  "  leather  doublets." 

The  Congress  of  Deputies,  which  met  at  Annapolis  in  December  of 
that  year,  resolved  to  encourage  the  breeding  of  sheep,  and  to  promote 
the  woolen  manufacture;  to  increase  the  manufacture  of  linen  and  cotton  ; 
that  no  flax-seed  grown  that  year  ought  to  be  purchased  for  exportation ; 
and  that  no  merchant  ought  to  sell  his  goods  wholesale  for  more  then 
1 12^  per  cent.,  at  retail  for  more  than  130,  or  on  credit  above  150  per 
cent,  advance  on  prime  cost. 

The  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  the  same  month,  gave  iU 
authoritative  sanction  to  the  measures  of  Congress,  and  recommendud 
the  people  to  improve  their  breed  of  sheop,  and  the  greatest  posaibis 


3(^2  COLONIAL   CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 

increase  of  die  same  ;  the  nse  of  their  own  woo'.en  mnnuf.ctures,  au.l  a 
very  careful  sorting  of  their  wool,  80  that  it  might  be  mauufaciured  as 
much  as  possil.le  into  the  best  goods ;  the  raising  of  hemp  and  flax,  and 
the  manufacture  of  flax-seed  into  oil;  the  manufacture  of  nails,  steel, 
tin  plate,  fire-arms,  salt-petre,  gunpowder,  glass,  salt,  etc. ;  the  u.e  of  the 
paper  and  buttons  then  made  in  the  country,  the  encouragement  of 
horn-smiths,  and  the  establishment  of  one  or  more  manufact..es  of  wool- 
combers'  combs,  as  an  article  necessary  in  the  woolen  manufactures;  the 
use  of  domestic  hosiery,  so  as  to  enlarge  the  manufacture  the^-eof;  the 
raising  and  curing  of  madder,  as  an  article  of  great  importance  in  the 
dyeing  business ;  the  formation  of  a  society  or  societies  for  the  purpose 
of  introducing  and  establishing  snch  arts  and  manufactures  as  may  be 
useful  to  the  people,  and  are  not  ^et  introduced,  and  the  more  effeetually 
establishing  8.w:h  as  they  had  already  among  them  ;   and   the  use  of 
their  own  manufactures  and  those  of  their  sister  Colonies  in  preference  to 

all  others.  .  ,,^,^, 

The  first  Provincial  Congress  of  So-ith  Carolina,  m  January,  177&, 
recommended,  among  other  measures,  the  raising  of  cotton  ;  and  that  of 
North  Carolina,  in  September,  for  the  encouragement  of  manufactures, 
offered  the  following  premiums,  viz. :  £50  for  fifty  pairs  of  cotton  cards 
of  wire  made  and  drawn  in  the  Province,  equal  to  British  cards  costing 
28  sterling  a  pair;  £50  to  the  maker  of  the  first  one  hundred  pairs  of 
wool  cards  equal  to  English  cards  of  \bd.  sterling  a  pair.     The  same  re- 
ward was  offered  for  the  finest  piece  of  linen  of  twenty-five  yards,  one 
yard  wide,  equal  to  British  linen  of  3.s.  first  cost,  and  £25  for  the  next 
best  piece  worth  2.s.  &d.  sterling ;  £100  for  Ar.  pieces  of  woolen  Cloth,  well 
dressed,  each  piece  25  yards,  J  wide,  and  ^quol  to  British  Cloth  of  48^6c/. 
per  yard,  sterling,  first  cost.     Large  premiums  of  from  £50  to  £750,  Pro- 
vincial currencv,  were  also  offered  for  the  manufacture  of  given  quantities 
and  qualities  of  pins,  needles,  paper,  hollow  ware,  gunpowder,  saltpetre, 
gait,  and  for  the  erection  of  works  for  their  manufacture,  and  of  n  .Img- 
mills,  iron  furnaces,  etc. 

Bounties,  which  were  a  favorite  mode  of  stimulating  industry  at  that 
time  were  also  offeree'  in  March  by  the  Committee  of  Essex  County, 
Virginia,  which  had  ordered  the  re  exportation  of  four  pieces  of  British 
Osnaburg  and  three  of  Irish  linen,  imported  from  Antigua.  It  declared 
its  determination  to  encourage  domestic  manufactures,  and  offered  £50 
to  any  person  who  would  produce  five  hundred  pairs  of  rncn's  and  women's 
stockings  manufactured  in  the  country,  one-third  to  be  worth  1«.,  one- 
third  worth  2j<..  a  oneihird  worth  38.  sterling  a  pair,  the  county  to  have 
'  the  refusal  of  them  at  75  per  cent,  on  these  prices.  A  committee  of  the 
Convention  of  the  Province,  appointed  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  encourage. 


VIRGINIA    MANUFACTUKES— FIRST   SPINNINQ   JENNY. 


^83 


iifi\ct lives,  autl  a 
maiiufadured  as 
ip  and  flax,  and 
e  of  nails,  steel, 
;. ;  the  use  of  the 
icoiragement  of 
ifact.ies  of  wool- 
lanufactures ;  the 
lire  thereof;  the 
nporlance  in  the 
I  for  the  purpose 
ctures  as  may  be 
e  more  effectually 
and  the  use  of 
IS  in  preference  to 

n  January,  111b, 
tton  ;  and  that  of 
,  of  manufactures, 
rs  of  cotton  cards 
tish  cards  costing 

hundred  pairs  of 
lir.  The  same  re- 
ity-five  yards,  one 

£25  for  the  next 
woolen  Cloth,  well 
sh  Cloth  of  48.  6</. 
£50  to  £750,  Pro- 
of given  quantities 
ipowler,  saltpetre, 
ire,  and  of  n  lliug- 

ig  industry  at  that 
of  Essex  County, 
nr  pieces  of  British 
tigua.  It  declared 
?s,  and  offered  £50 
f  rncn'tj  ond  women's 
bo  worth  !«.,  one- 
,  the  county  to  have 
A  committee  of  the 
in  for  the  encourage* 


ment  of  Arts  and  Manufactures,  reported,  on  27  th  March,  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions similar  to  those  adopted  at  Cambridge,  Mass,  in  December  previous 
and  which  were  unanimously  agreed  to.  They  state  that,  "  Whereas  it  hath 
been  judged  necessary  to  associate  against  importations,  and  as  the  free- 
dom,  happiness,  and  prospe-ity  of  a  state  greatly  depend  on  providing 
wifhui  Itself  a  supply  of  articles  necessary  for  sub-.isience,  clothing  and 
defe-ise,"  etc.,  and  proceeded  to  urge  that,  after  the  first  of  May  ne.x't  no 
persons  should  use  in  their  families,  unless  in  ca,e  of  necessity,  and  in  no 
case  to  Bell  to  butcher.,     r  kill  for  market,  any  .dieep  under  four  years 
old  ;  that  the  setting  up  of  woolen,  cotton,  end  linen  manufactures  ought 
to  be  encourage.:  in  as  many  diflFerent  branches  as  possible,  especially 
coating,  flannel,  blankets,  rugs  or  coverlets,  hosiery,  and  coarse  cloths 
broad  and  narrow  ;  that  all  persons  having  proper  lands  ought  to  culti- 
vate and  raise  a  quantity  of  flax,  hemp,  and  cotton  sufficient,  not  only  for 
his  or  her  own  family,  but  also  to  spare  to  others  on  moderate  terms  • 
that,  whereas  wool-combs,  cotton  and  wool  cards,  hemp  and  flax  heckle«' 
have  been  for  some  time  made  to  advantage  in  some  of  the  neighboring 
Colonies,  and  are  necessary  for  carrying  on  linen  and  woolen  manufac- 
tures, the   establishing   such  manufactures  be  recommended ;    that  the 
erecting  falling-mills,  and  mills  for  breaking,  swingling,  and  softening 
hemp  and  flax,  also  the  making  of  grindstones,  be  recommended      The 
manufacture  of  salt,  saltpetre,  sulphur,  and  gunpowder,  of  nails    iron 
wire,  steel,  paper,  and  malt  liquors,  and  the  use  of  the  mnnufactiires  of 
that  and  other  Colonies  in  preference  to  all  others,  and  also  the  formation 
of  societies  and  ofl-ering  of  premiums  for  the  encouragement  of  the  several 
branches  in  difl-erent  parts  of  the  Colonv,  were  each  recommended      The 
Committee  of  Chesterfield  County,  in  April,  resolved  also  to  promote  and 
further  the  establishment  of  manufactories  for  the  making  of  linen  cotton 
and  woolen  Cloth,  and  to  cive  encourngement  to  such  persons  as  ex- 
celled in  the  preparation  of  materials  for  that  purpose,  to  which  end  it 
was  recommended  to  open  subscriptions  in  the  County  to  raise  a  fund 
etc.     The  Provincial  Congress  of  Georgia  also  formed  an  association  at 
Savannah  to  encournge  economy  and  industry,  and  to  promote  Agricul- 
ture  and  the  Arts  and  Manufactures  of  America,  especially  the  manufac- 
ture of  wool. 

Among  the  efforts  tending  to  a  positive  advance  in  the  arts  which 
these  measures  of  the  general  and  local  Conventions,  and  the  single  or 
Fint  "ssocittted  attempts  of  private  persons,  were  designed  to  pro- 

MnMng      mote,  we  have  to  mtntion  the  introduction,  about  this  time,  of 
the  first  SpinniuK  Jenny  probably  peen  in  America.     This  wai 
exhibited  at  Philadelphia  early  id  tbe  year  1775.    A  cut  and  description 


384 


COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 


of  this  "npw  invented  machine  for  spinning  of  wool  or  cotton,"  may  be 
seen  in   the  first  volume  (p.  158)  of  the   Pennsylvania   Magazine  or 
American  Monthly  Museum,  for  that  year,  accompanied  by  the  loUowmg 
note  of  Mr.  Aitkin,  ihe  publisher :  "  The  machine  for  spinning  twenty- 
four  threads  of  cotton  or  wool  at  one  time  (by    ne  person)  having  at- 
tracted the  notice  of  the  public,  and  we  being  desirous  to  contribute 
everything  in  our  power  towards  the  improvement  of  America,  engaged 
Mr  Christopher  Tully,  the  maker  of  the  machine,  to  fur.r.h  us  with  an 
engraved  plate  and  description  thereof.  ...  We  have  seen  the  machine 
perform,  and  are  convinced  of  its  usefulness.     The  Society  for  the  im- 
provement of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Commerce  in  England,  repeatedly 
offered  a  premium  of  £100  sterling  for  a  machine  on  this  plan,  but  never 
had  any  presented  to  them  which  would  answer  the  purpose.     Notwith- 
standing  which,  a  very  large  one  has  been  ere-ted  at  NoUmgham,  in 
England,  which  performs  to  great  advantage,  but  no  person  as  a  specu- 

latist  is  admitted  to  see  it." 

Arkwright  erected  his  first  Spinning-frame,  moved  by  horse  power,  at 
Nottingham,  in  1T69,  and  his  second  one,  to  go  by  water  in  connection 
with  Messrs.  Need  &  SlruU,  at  Cromford.  in   IHl.     He  took 
spffi"'"'  out  new  patents  for  all  his  improvements  in  spinning,  carding, 
^""^^-        etc     in  1775.     llicliard  Ilargreaves  haU  made  a  few  of  his 
Jennies  for  sale  previous  to  1768.  when  he  was  also  forced  by  persecution 
to  remove  from  Lancashire  to  Nottingham,  where  he  made  and  operated 
ia  secret  a  machine  of  eight  spindles,  turned  by  hand,  which  spun  yarn 
for  the  hosiers.     In  1770,  ht  patented  a  machine  to  spin,  draw,  and  twist 
sixteen  or  more  threa.is  atone  time,  which  he  soon  after  increased  to 
twenty  or  thirty.     Jennies  of  twenty  spindles,  which  could  be  worked  by 
hand,  were  the  only  ones  it  was  then  deemed  safo  to  tolerate,  and  four 
years  after,  a  desperate  attempt  was  made  by  the  populace  to  put  them 
.lown.     All  Jennies  of  more  spindles,  carding  engines,  water-frames,  and 
other  machines,  employing  horse  or  water  power,  were  destroyed  for  mi  es 
around  Blackburn,  bv  which  the  manufacturers  were  driven  to  Manchester 
and  other  places.     So  little  understood  was  the  tendency  of  such  ma- 
chinery to  benefit  the  working-classes,  that  even  the  middle  and  higher 
ranks  shared  the  dread  of  the  laboring-people,  through  apprehensions  of 
it8  effect  upon  the  poor  rates.     The  machine  of  Tully,  which  was  on  the 
plan  of  n..rgreave's,  was  probably  made  in  England,  where  the  mann- 
facturers  had  already  constructed  a  number  in  violation  of  the  patent  of 
the  inventor      It  was  probably  a  portion  of  the  machinery,  which  the 
letter  mentioned  on  a  previous  page  had  a.nonnced,  three  years  before, 
as  about  to  be  shipped  to  America.     Whether  the  importation  o    tins 
machine  had  any  iclalion,  either  as  a  cause  or  a  consequence,  of  the  e«. 


VACl 


jr  cotton,"  may  be 
vnia   Magazine  or 
id  by  the  following 
r  spinning  twenty- 
person)  having  at- 
•ous  to  contribute 
America,  encaged 
furn'^h  us  with  an 
e  seen  the  machine 
Society  for  the  im- 
Cnghitid,  repeatedly 
tliis  plan,  but  never 
)urpose.     Notwith- 
at  NoUingham,  in 
person  as  a  specu- 

I  by  horse  power,  at 
water,  in  connection 
in  ini.     He  took 
n  spinning,  carding, 
made  a  few  of  his 
)rced  by  persecution 
made  and  operated 
id,  which  spun  yarn 
ipin,  draw,  and  twist 
n  after  increased  to 
could  be  worked  by 
o  tolerate,  and  four 
opulace  to  i)ut  ihein 
es,  water-frames,  and 
e  destroyed  for  miles 
driven  to  Manchester 
endency  of  such  ma- 
e  middle  and  higher 
igh  apprehensions  of 
lly,  which  was  on  the 
nd,  where  the  mann- 
lion  of  the  patent  of 
nachinery,  which  tho 
d,  three  years  before, 
B  importation  of  this 
)nsequence,  of  the  e»- 


FIRST   JOINT   STOCK   :L\NUFACTURIN0   COMPANY.  385 

tablishment  ia  Thiiadelphia  in  that  year  of  a  woolen,  cotton,  and  linea 
manufactory,  „,  which  it  was  employed,  we  are  unable  to  say.    The  pros- 
pect  of  us  receiving  the  patronage  of  the  legislature,  is  referred  to  in  the 
speech  o.  the  president,  at  the  opening  of  that  enterprise  in  March. 
_    Th.s  undertaking,  which  was  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  American  system 
inaugurated  by  the  general  and  local  conventions  of  the  United  Colonies 
A„,«r.ca„     "^"^  commenced  by  subscription  i„  the  beginning  of  the  year 
o"  wX7  J"^-     ^^  "•*«'  '^^  ^'^'ie'^e.  tl>e  first  joint  stock  company  formed 
cZ'^r"  ^""^  '"^•'^  ""  r^n'ose,  and  the  first  to  attempt  the  manufacture  of 
f„  ,  cotton  goods  in  this  country.     A  plan  of  an  "  American  Manu- 

factory of  Woolens,  Linens,  and  Cottons"  was  formed  previous  to  the 
22d  February,  1775,  when  the  books  were  opened  for  subscriptions. 
The  following  is  an  outline  of  the  plan  :  The  company  was  to  be  called 
^  The  United  Company  of  Philadelphia  for  pron,oti,.g  American  Manu- 
factures.       It  was  to  continue  three  whole  years  from  the  date  of  the 
first  general  meeting.     Shares  were  £10  each,  and  entitled  the  subscriber 
toa  vote  on  all  occasions,  and  also  to  election  to  any  office,  and  such 
only.     They  were  to  begin  with  the  manufacture  of  Woolens,  Cottons 
and  Linens,  and  carry  ou  the  same  to  the  greatest  extent  and  advanta^ 
their  stock  would  admit  o.  during  three  years.     One  moiety  or  full  half 
of  the  subscription  to  be  paid  in  within  a  week  after  the  first  Reneral 
meeting,  and  the  other  half  within  two  months,  the  same  to  continue  with 
all  the  profits  as  company  stock  for  three  full  years.     A  general  meetii,  - 
was  to  he  called  by  tickets  within  a  weak  after  200  subscribers  were  olf- 
tamed,  to  choose  by  ballot  twelve  managers,  a  secretary,  treasurer  etc 
One-third  of  the  managers  were  to  be  change.!  annually,  by  drawing  lots 
foi  going  out.    The  managers  were  to  conduct  the  manufactory  agreeably 
t.)  the  rules  of  the  Company,  and  were  to  attend  daily  two  by  two  at  the 
Company's  store.     The  treasurer  was  to  give  security  for  a  faithful  dis- 
charge  of  duty.     A  state  of  the  Compony's  accounts  was  to  be  made  out 
every  six  months,  and  kept  at  the  store  for  the  inspection  of  members 
Ihe  luanagers  had  power  to  call  a  general  meeting  as  often  as  necessary" 
for  which,  after  the  first  one,  three  weeks'  notice  in  the  news,.apers  should 
be  sufficient.     No  rule  or  regulation  was  binding  on  the  Company  unless 
a  majority  of  the  meiiibers  was  present. 

The  first  general  meeting  of  the  subscribers  was  held  at  Carpenters' 
Hall,  on  ICth  March,  when  Dr.  Hush,  having  bee-  elected  president, 
opened  the  business  of  the  day  in  a  very  sensible  and  appropriate  speech 
m  which  he  ably  pointed  out  the  necessity,  the  possi'ilily,  and  the  ad- 
vantages of  establishing  such  manufactures.  The  nrcemii;/  was  obviouj 
from  the  action  of  Congress,  cxelu.ling  British  goods,  of  which  Cloths 
were  always  a  considerable  part,  and  the  non-importation  agreemeuls-.tt 


3g5  COLONIAL  CLOTH   MANUFACTURE. 

two  or  three  years  observance  of  which  wonhi  purchase  the  li'^.e^'t'es  o^ 
r  country  at  a  cheap  rate.     The  po^sibilU.,  was  apparent  from    he 
r:lid  had  attended  several  attempts  of  the  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^ 
family  manufactures,  which  were  equal  in  --^  .  ^"""^'^V-  t      onS 
wants  of  the  people  ;  from  the  excellence  of  the  l.uen  made  ;  the  qna  ty 
Tf  tl    wool,  lich  equaled  that  of  several  European  eo"".tr.es.  and  could 
infive  years  be  inc  eased  to  be  sufficient  for  all  the  inhab.ta  U   ;  the 
heals    0  'cotton.'  the  manufacture  of  which  seen.ed  to  be  of  the  ut- 
™o7co,   equence,  both  on  account  of  the  great  use  made  of  cotton  stuffs 
rthTeo^le,  and  the  bond  of  union  its  trade  would  create  between   h 
Southern  and  Middle  States.     The  a,.a.ta,es  were  to  be  foun  h 

annual  savinff  to  the  Province,   which,   supposing  50,000   ont  ot  the 
'm  0  inlSitants  to  cons.    .   £5  worth  of    British   Cloths    wouM 
amount  to  £250,000  ;  in  the  employn^ent,  which,  according  to  their  plan, 
wou  d  be  given   o  the  poor  ;  in  the  establishment  of  a  new  basis  o   wealth 
Tex   in  vaL,  in  every  State,  to  ngriculture ;  in  the  introduction  o    oreign 
nrnufacturer's,  particularly  English;  in  the  exclusion  of  v-  an     uxiK 
of  which  foreign  goods  were  the  vehicle ;  and  in  the  formation  o   an  ad 
duronal  barrier  to  tyranny.     The  olyect^.s  that  manufactures  with  rew 
labor  frum  agriculture,  and  could  not  be  conducted  to  furnish  goods 
cheap  as  they  could  be  imported;  that  they  were  injurious  to  heaUh  a  d 
population,  and  that  they  deprived  the  country  o    its   «"  y  effect "d 
leaoou_a  resort  to  non-impo.lation  agreements,  which  had    -;;«    '^^ 
the  liberties  of  the  country-were  each  reviewed  and  answered     Ihe  fact 
was  adverted  to,  in  relation  to  labor,  that  it  had  been  the  misfortune  ot 
most  of  the  manufactures  set  up  that  they  only  employed  worknici.  si.x  or 
nine  months  in  the  year,  thereby  raising  the  price  of  wages  and  to  the 
fart  also  that  they  possessed  a  machine  for  saving  labor,  which  was  likely 
to  receive  encouragement  from  the  legislature.     Tiie  address  concludes 
with  this  generous  and  patriotic  sentiment:  "  I  am  not  one  of  those  vin- 
dictive patriots  who  exult  in  the  prospect  of  the  decay  of  the  manufactures 
of  Britain.     I  can  forgive  her  late  attempts  to  enslave  us,  in  the  memory 
of  our  once  mutual  freedom  and  happiness ;  and  should  her  Liberty,  her 


(1)  I'hilftilelpliift  waa  nuvrlied  "'*''  nnt'^* 
cotton  throughout  the  Revolution  at  two 
phillings  Bferling  a  pouml,  in  «uffioiont  quan- 
tity for  homo  consumption.  New  England 
wug  best  provided  with  wool,  but  there  wns 
•  gencrul  acflcieucy  of  that  materi.il ;  and 
Mr.  Olic,  during  the  war,  snid  there  was  not 
enough  to  make  each  of  the  inhabitants  a 
pair  of  etockings.  Dr.  Franklin,  while  in 
London,  ridiculed  the  cxtruragaut  reports 


of  the  wealth  and  luxury  of  the  Colonists, 
nnd  their  ability  to  mnnufacturo,  which  fa- 
vored schemes  of  taxation  and  pr-hibitory 
laws.  A  pasquinade  in  a  London  paper,  in 
1776,  which  has  been  ascribed  to  him,  siiyB  : 
<'Th«  very  Tailt  "f  the  American  sheep  ar» 
so  laden  with  wool,  that  ench  Sns  a  curt  or 
wagon  on  four  little  wheels  to  fupp'.rt  and 
keep  it  from  trailing  on  the  ground." 


e  the  liberties  of 
)parcut  from  the 
;  the  extent  of  the 
ities  to  the  entire 
nade  ;  the  quality 
intrles,  and  couUl, 
3  inhabitants ;  the 
l1  to  be  of  the  ut- 
tde  of  cotton  stuffs 
create  between  the 

0  be  found  in  the 
lO.OOO  out  of  the 
ish  Cloths,  would 
■ding  to  their  plan, 
lew  basis  of  wealth, 
•odnction  of  foreign 
of  vice  and  luxury, 
formation  of  an  ad- 
lufacturcs  withdrew 
to  furnish  goods  as 
rious  to  health  and 
'  its   only  effectual 
ich  had  twice  saved 
answered.    The  fact 
Ml  the  misfortune  of 
)ycd  workmen  six  or 
f  wages,  and  to  the 
)or,  which  was  likely 
le  address  concludes 
lot  one  of  those  vin- 
y  of  the  manufacturea 
ve  us,  in  the  memory 
3uld  her  Liberty,  her 

1  luxury  of  thB  Colonists. 
to  mniuifacturo,  wliicti  fii- 

tnxRlion  nnd  pri'liibitory 
iilo  in  a  London  paper,  in 
ccn  BKcrihcit  to  liim,  Bnyu: 
i)f  tlic  Anioricnn  slicep  nr» 
)1,  tlmt  ench  Sn»  »  oiirt  or 
ttlo  wheels  to  mpport  and 
ing  on  the  ground." 


A  PHILADELPniA   TEXTTUE  MANCPACTC  .T  IN    m5.  38T 

Arts,  her  Fleets  and  Armies,  and  her  Empire,  ever  be   interred  in 
irica."        ''         '  ""   '"    "•"    "    ^^'''^"    ^"'"-^«    -'^    in 
Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  the  Company  proceeded  to  the 
elect,on   of  the  following  officers  for  the  first  yea^r.-'llensnt-er   Jose' 
S  lie       Secretary.  James    Cannon;    Managers,  Christopher   Marshall 
Jacob  Winey  Isaac  Gray.  Samuel  Wetherill  Jr.,  Christopher  L..dwiok 
t  redenc..  Fuhl,  :  '.obert  Strettel  Jones,  Richard  Wells,  Thomas  Tilburv' 
James  Popham,  and  Isaac  Howell. 

Chri.stopher  Marshall,  one  of  the  managers,  and  a  member  of  the 
Co  unci  of  Safety,  makes  frequent  mention,  in  his  Remembrancer,  of  visits 
to  this  mamifactory.  He  states  that  on  the  21st,  the  managrrs  leased  the 
house  0  William  Smith,  i„  Market  street,  for  three  yeafs,  at  £40  p 
an„um,for  a  manufactory.  In  August  an  advertisement  was  issued  to  the 
spinners  of  the  city  and  county,  informing  them  that  their  services  were 
wanted  to  promote  the  American  Manufactory  at  the  corner  of  Market 
and  iVnth  streets,  where  cotton,  wool,  flax,  etc.,  were  delivered  out,  and 
exhorting  them  each  to  avail  herself  of  the  opportunity  in  a  time  of  public 
distress  to  help  to  sustain  her  family,  and  cast  her  mite  into  the  treasury 
of  the  public  good.    Under  the  date  of  Sept.  19,  Mr.  Marshall  makes  this 

rr    ''e  T  '^"'  ^  "^'"^  '"^  "^""^  Manufactory  L,  invitation,  to  consult 
some  of  the  managers  respecting  the  employment  of  three  (it's  said) 
complete  spinners  on  the  machine,  and  cotton  weavrrs,"  etc    etc     This 
we  presume,  refers  to  the  Jenny  before  mentioned. 

In  addition  to  this  machine,  the  manufactory,  in  October,  employed  in 
spinning  and  othe-  work  four  hundred  women,  who  would  otherwise  have 
been  destitute.     On  the  8th  November,  Mr.  Tench  Coxe  became  a  mem- 
ber  of  the  Company,  and  labored  to  promote  that  and  all  other  efforts 
to  create  manufactures.     An  address  was  annually  delivered  before  the 
Society.     Mr.  Richard  Wells,  of  Philadelphia,  officiated  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  second  year.     From  the  oration  of  Robert  Strettel 
Jones  of  Burlington,  delivered  in  the  College  on  the  third  anniversary 
March  n,  \m,  we  learn  that  the  goods  manufactured  by  the  Society 
consisted  of  linens  to  the  value  of  £1,443  1«.  Id.,  and  cotton  and  woolen 
goods  worth  £474  12s.     With  raw  materials  and  other  assets,  the  stock 
amounted  to  £5,081  9s.  lOd.,  exclusive  of  implements,  new  looms,  and 
oUier  machines  to  the  value  of  £254  I4.s.,  which  last  would  be  a  fair 
offset  for  rent,  bad  debts,  and  losses  by  spinners.     The  value  of  a  share 
which  originally  cost  £10,  was  therefore  at  the  end  of  the  second  year' 
notwithstanding  some  mismanagement  through  inexperience  £17  Gf   f,d 
lint  how  long  the  b„sine..s  was  continued  by  U.e  original  Compn.n-J„..s 
notappt-ar.   S.Muuel  Wetherill. one  of  the  (irst  managers,  who, as  a'n.cM,- 


-^" 


OOWSIAL  CLOTII-aiSUFACTlBIt. 

h,.r  o,  enc».ira"er  of  .  militor,  con,,.nny  ot  Friend.,  rtich  sometime. 
;  i  eri::::  f.c.or,  ,.,.i,  .«  -i-^a  >>,  ...  Soe.*  app.«. 

,  „„^  ),in.}i  nriced  as  wel    on  account  of  the  proniouiou 

"'"""  i:  rll^rt-uu™  rromE,„i.nd,a..,U.e  i^e..pU™ 
M.»f...™  .  ,„j.  bet«een  her  and  the  Colonies.  Hence  several  of  the 
«;rr  °™  ,  0  ,M,  resolotions,  Imd  recommended  and  enconr- 
.,ed  .,  W.::  t;,e  m.n»(ae.„r.  of  coUon  """""'^^  ■■"-;■- 

lution.     The  Assembly,  u  memorial,  granted  him  a 

Tclb  IS  Island,  was  engaged  in. ^  O^ 

of  Can  be'lana  K  ^^^^  _^^  ^^^^  ^^^.^^^^^^  occasioned  by  the 

r:  d  le    abo   oCking  the.  by  the  old  process  of  hammering,  he 

.    Ta  tL  Tan  of  cutting  them  from  a  sheet  of  iron  with  a  pair  of 

Ihet:  a  i  af     ^ard  i:adi,^  them  in  a  vice.    This  P-ess  he  aftenvard 

appl   d  to  cold  or  cut  nails,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  emp  oy 

It    ed  in  mXg^ard  teeth  by  hand,  as  then  practiced     nvented  a 
V  ry  efficient  machine  for  manufacturing  them,  it  is  sa.d.  a     he  ra     of 
fifLn  hundred  per  minute.     Proposals  made  by  h.m  to  establ.sh  und  r 
SUte  p  tron age'  factory  for  drawing  wire  and  making  it  nto  card  teeth 
b  teCchhfe  in  less  tfme  than  it  took  to  coil  the  wire  .nto  bancs  n 
blvimr  been  accepted,  he  sold  the  secret  to  md.v.duals.     A  p  an  for 
p  Sg        leather.  a;d  for  cutting,  bending,  and  setting  the  teeth.  Boon 
after  devised  by  him.  he  is  also  said  to  have  abandoned,  because  o    h.s 
Sre  to  secure  a  due  share  of  the  benefits  of  the  previous  .nvent.on. 
The  manuf  cture  of  such  card,  was  commenced  in  Boston  before  the  Revo. 
I  ior  In  n8«.Gli-Kiehards&  Cabegan  themanu^ct^ew.^n^^^^^^^^ 
invented  machinery,  possibly  that  of  Evans,  by  which,  m  1793,  the  tacto 
r.fG  Richard     Amos  Whittemore,  and  Mark  Richards,  turned  ou 

i,  cr  establishments  in  Boston  and  other  parts  of  the  State.   A  machine 


MANDPACTURE8  DUIIINQ   THE   REVOLUTION. 


389 


which  soraetiraes 
iciety,  appears  to 

Two  jeara  after, 
r  the  army.     The 

State  patronage, 
(riginal  Company, 

by  an  incendiary. 
}  at  this  time  ex- 
)f  the  prohibition 
y  the  interrnptioa 
;nce  several  of  the 
;nded  and  encour- 
)1  cards,  iron  wire, 
ifalhaniel  Niles,  of 
ictory  of  iron  wire 
oughout  the  Revo- 
to  the  cotton  and 
rial,  granted  him  a 
eremiah  Wilkinson, 
ig  hand  cards.     On 
s,  occasioned  by  the 
is  of  hammering,  he 
iron  with  a  pair  of 
process  he  afterward 
1  the  first  to  employ 
?er  Evans,  of  Phila- 
,y,  having  also  been 
radioed,  invented  a 
1  said,  at  the  rate  of 
m  to  establish  under 
ing  it  into  card  teeth 

wire  into  hanks,  not 
fiduals.  A  plan  for 
etling  the  teeth,  soon 
Joned,  because  of  his 
e  previous  invention. 
)8ton  before  the  llevo- 
mufacture  with  newly- 
ch,  in  1793,  the  facto- 

Richards,  turned  out 
sse,  there  were  several 
the  State.   A  machine 


for  bending  and  cutting  card  teeth  was  also  invented  about  the  year 
1784  by  Mr.  Chittenden,  of  New  Haven,  capable  of  making  80,000  in  an 
hour.  Hand  cards  were  also  made  throughout  the  war  by  Daniel  An- 
thony of  Providence,  R.  I.  Amos  Whittemore,  in  1796,  took  out  pat- 
ents  for  an  improved  loom,  for  cutting  nails,  etc.,  and  the  following  year 
for  his  improvement  in  making  wool-cards. 

As  the  United  Colonies  were  now  about  entering  upon  the  sanguinary 
struggle  for  Independence,  in  which  all  the  energies  of  the  people  were 
TheKevou.  absorbed  in  sustaining  the  conflict,  it  would  be  in  vain  to  look 

iS?  '^"/  ?""''  '"■''^''''  '"  '•'*'  "'''■"'  '"■*'•  The  infant  manufactures 
'•  of  the  country  did  not  escape  the  baleful  influences  which  a 
state  of  warfare  always  exerts  upon  industry.  Many  voung  and  feeble 
enterprises  were  entirely  ruined.  Rut  the  mechanical  genius  of  the 
country  did  not  slumber,  and  the  exigency  of  the  occasion  created  some 
.  new  branches  and  stimulated  others,  while  it  developed  unusual  examples 
of  .ngenuity  and  enterprise  in  the  arts,  as  it  did  remarkable  talents  in  the 
held  and  in  council. 

In  the  non-intercourse  agreements  and  the  necessities  of  the  war  were 
laid  the  foundation  of  that  superstructure  of  mechanical  industry  which 
speedily  rose  to  fair  proportions  after  the  peace.     The  flourishing  eom- 
raerce  of  the  Colonies  was,  however,  totally  ruined.     This  Mr  Burko 
characterized  as  out  of  all  proportion  beyond  the  numbers  of  the  people' 
and  that  with  the  mother  land,  within  less  than  £500,000  of  being  equal  to 
what  England  carried  on  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  with  the  whole 
I    r,i?.n';^''  ''"  '"''  ""^  Pennsylvania,  which,  in  1704,  called  for 
only  £11.459  in  value  of  British  commodities,  but  in  1772  it  took  nearly 
fify  times  as_  much,  or  £507,909  worth,  nearly  equal  to  the  exports  to 
all   he  Colonies  together  at  the  first  period.     The  Colony  trade  of  Great 
Britain   had   increased   from  one-sixfeenth   to  nearly  one-third  ot   the 
whole.^    The  importations  were  particularly  heavy  in  1770  and  the  threo 
^llowing  years,  and  amounted,  as  Mr.  Glover  stated   to  the  House  of 
Commons  in  1775,  to  ten  and  a  half  millions  sterling  in  the  three  years 
or  three  and  a  half  millions  at  the  annual  medium.     He  estimated  the 
Linen  sent  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  to  amount  to  £700  000  per 
annum      The  importations  in  the  foregoing  years  exceeded  the  wants  of 
the  Colonies,  and  through  the  embarrassments  thereby  created,  the  debts  of 
the  American  merchants,  who  bought  largely  oncredit,  were  not  aspromptly 
paid^  when  due  as  they  had  been  in  previous  years.     The  indebtedness 
ot  New  Englnnd  was  stated  at  near  one  million  sterling.     The  Colonies 
were,  in  consequence,  charged  in  some  quarters  with  a  desire  to  evade 
payment-a  charge  which  was  refuted  by  the  testimony  of  merchants  in  the 
Colonial  trade  at  the  bar  of  the  House,  and  by  the  subsequent  good  faith 


^110  COLONIAL  CLOTII-MANXJFACrURE. 

1      f=      nf  siv  millions  duo  in  December,  1174,  four 
of  American  merchants.     Of  six  ™  '"^"«  separation 

xnillions  were  paid  in  the  next  twelve    nontK  «  -"  P 

seemed  inevitable,  although  the  restraints  upon  the  r  trade  ana 

from  b™g  tanked  »a  »ld  ^^  ^^^^  ,„,„„ 

"^        t     n  1  fai  hful  adherence  to  the  non-intercourse  agreements  mdi- 

created  by  the  suspension  of  trade.     Their  IwDituai  anu         i 
callty  alone  carried  them  through  the  trying  occasion. 

Biltthe  scarcity  and  dearness  of  Clothing  and  camp  furinture,  particu- 
lar^ of  wo  e.  suitable  for  the  use  of  the  army,  was  early  experienced 
'"  '  .  ad  continued  throughout  the  war  to  embarrass  t  -  -mmiss  - 
ircirC  Hat  department,  to  impair  the  health  and  morale  of  he  o^- 
A-  .  «nrl  at  times  even  endangered  its  subordination.  Congress  was  in 
cScuetce  S  -ke  frequent  appeals  to  the  people  to  increase 
bTsuPP  ieB  of  wool  and  other  materials,  and  to  promote  the  manufa  - 

fighting  the  bottles  of  freedom.     In  r^ov.  mo,  m 


(1)  A  writer  of  this  dnto,  in  recommena- 
ing  an  increased  use  of  tiie  spinninK-whetl, 
estimated  that  out  of  two  millions  of  inhabit- 
anta  in  the  thirteen  Colonic,  there  were  at 
least  460,000  females  who  could  be  employed 
In  spinning.   If  only  one-third  of  them  were 
,0  employed,  there  would  be  150,000,  each 
of  whom  could  spin  thread  for  six  yards  nf 
linen  per  week,  during  the  five  months  in 
each  year  in  which  it  was  customary  to  use 
the  little  wheel.   This  would  give  23,400,000 
yards  of  Cloth  annually,  or  twelve  yards  to 
each  of  the  two  millions  of  the  population— 
a  quantity  quite  sufficient  for  that  portion 
of  their  clothing.    He  supposed  this  number 


to  he  30,000  more  than  were  then  so  em- 
ployed.    As  all  the  flax  produced  was  al- 
ready  spun,  he  proposed  to  employ  hemp, 
of  which  foreign  lawns,  dawlas,  Oinaburgs, 
etc.,  were  made,  an.^  which  was  then  used 
to  advantage  in  some  parts  of  this  country. 
His  own  county  (in  New  Jersey)  produced 
the  previous  year  above  100  tons,  and  could 
produce  500   tons  of  hemp,  of  which  each 
pound  would  make  nearly  one  yard  of  .men 
(.ail-cloth    excepted).      The    Province   (to 
which  the  culture  was  not  confined)  could 
readily   produce   sufficient    hemp   to   make 
4.500,000  yards  of  Cloth-enough  to  supply 
the  30,000  extra  spinners. 


SCAnCITY   OF   CLOXniNO   DIUINQ   THE    WAR. 


391 


eccmbcr,  1174,  four 

when  a  separation 

trade  and  fi^^heries 

That  the  sudden 

lid  cause  serious  in- 

is  exiiansted,  might 

productive  power,  it 

I  merchandise  '•.  ould 
of  Congress  and  the 

lilt  of  British  goods 

the  ajrgrcgate  valno 
nch  at  ihc  comracnce- 
of  the  Nev>  England 
s,  was  nearly  or  quite 
lothing.'  The  prompt 
urse  agreements  indi- 
3  supply  the  deficiency 
,1  and  compulsory  fru- 

on. 

imp  furniture,  particu- 
was  early  experienced, 
(ibarrass  the  couimissa- 
nd  morale  of  the  sol- 
tion.  Congress  was  in 
the  people  to  increase 
)  promote  the  manufac- 
countrymen  who  were 
t  resolved  that  clothing 

nore  than  wpro  then  bo  em- 

II  tho  flnx  produced  was  al- 
B  proposed  to  employ  hemp, 
gn  lawns,  dowlas,  Oinaburgs, 
lo,  and  which  was  then  used 
,n  some  parts  of  this  country, 
ity  (in  New  Jersey)  produced 
rear  above  100  tons,  and  could 
tons  of  hemp,  of  which  each 
make  nearly  one  yard  of  '.inen 
iceptod).      The    Province   (to 
Iture  was  not  confined)  could 
JC8   sufficient    hemp   to   make 
ds  of  Cloth— enough  to  supply 
tra  spinners. 


be  provided  for  the  army  by  the  continent,  to  be  paid  for  by  stopping 
1§  dollars  per  month  out  of  the  soldiers'  pay ;   that  as  much  as  possible 
of  the  Cloth  be  dyed  brown,  the  distinction  of  the  regiments  to  be  made 
in  the  facings;  and  tluit  a  man  who  brought  into  the  camp  a  good  new 
blanket,  should  be  allowed  two  dollars  therefor,  and  be  at  liberty  to  take 
It  away  after  the  campaign.     In  the  following  March,  the  several  As- 
semblies, conventions,  and  committees  of  safety,  correspondence,  and  in- 
spection were  recommended  to  use  their  utmost  endeavors  to  promote 
the  culture  of  hemp,  tlax,  and  cotton,  and   the  growth  of  wool  in  the 
United  States  ;  to  take  the  earliest  means  for  erecting  and  establishing  i,i 
each  Colony  a  Society  for  the  improvement  of  Agricniture,  Arts,  Manu- 
factures, and  Commerce,  and  to  maintain  a  corresj  ^nde^jce  between  such 
societies,  that  the  rich  and  numerous  natural  advantages  of  the  country 
for  supporting  its  inhabitants  might  not  be  neglected.    They  were  further 
recommended  to  consider  of  ways  and  means  of  introducing  the  manufac- 
tures of  duck,  sail-cloth,  and  steel  where  tliey  were  not  already  under- 
stood, and  of  encouraging,  increasing,  and  improving  them  where  they 
were.    Each  Colony  was  called  upon,  in  June,  to  furnish  a  suit  of  clothes 
—of  which  the  waistcoat  and  breeches  might  be  of  deer  leather,  if  to  be 
had  on  reasonable  terms— a  blanket,  felt  hat,  two  shirts,  two  pair  hose, 
and  two  pair  shoes  for  each  soldier  in  the  army,  to  be  paid  for  by  Con- 
gress.    In  July  the  commissary  was  granted  a  quantity  of  gunpowder 
with  whicli  to  purchase  deer-skins  for  breeches ;  and  the  secret  committee 
was  directed  to  fall  upon  ways  and  means  of  procuring  a  furti.<."r  sui)ply 
of  deer-skins  for  the  Hue  purpose  from  Georgia  and  South  Carolina.     At 
the  same  time,  John  Griffith,  "an  experienced  artificer  in  making  and 
dressing  fullers'  shears,"  was,  on  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chester 
County,  Pennsylvania,  released  from  service  and  ordered  to  return  home 
to  follow  his  trade.     Toward  tlie  end  of  the  year.  General  Washington 
was  desired  to  order  agents  to  be  sent  into  each  State  to  buy  up  linens 
and  other  clothing  and  tent-cloth.    But  notwithstanding  orders  had  been 
issued  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  to  import  considerable  quantities  of 
woolens  and  other  Cloth  from  Europe,  and  Philadelphia  was  twice  ,;alled 
upon  to  furnish  blankets,  which  were  not  t-^  be  purchased  in  the  stores, 
and  even  to  sell  its  awnings  for  tents,  of  which  there  was  scarcely  one  iii 
the  army,  the  sufferings  of  the  troops  during  the  winter  were  extreme. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  clothing  of  the  soldiers  was  linen,  which  was  a 
poor  defense  against  the  rigors  of  a  winter  campaign.     The  deficiency 
of  woolen  materials  in  the  nianufactu.es  of  the  country  was  apparent  in 
tho  contributions  for  the  army.      The  Commissioners  in  France  were 
directed,  in  the  beginning  of  the  next  year,  to  make  purchases  of  suitable 
clothing  and  blankets,  and  each  State  was  assessed  for  a  supply  of  blau- 


392 


COLONIAL  CLOTU-MANfFACTVnE. 


kets  In  Sq.tcnbcr,  the  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  was  advised 
to  take  possession  of  any  linens,  blankets,  or  other  woolens  found  in  the 
«ton.8  and  warehouses,  and  pive  certificates  of  their  value  _ 

A  letter  from  Samuel  Wetherill.  Jr..  to  the  Board  of  War,  ,n  May 

informs  them  that,  in  consequence  of  the  unexpected  rise  in  the  pnee  of 

wool  and  labor,  he  would  be  unable  to  comply  with  a  contract 

^^Ztm'.  „ade  for  a  supply  of  Cloth  at  a  time  when  he  supposed  prices 

II     u  .J  _   e t«i..r   ino'iiflinnf  five-house. 


Fuctory  in  ,■.','      . 

Philadelphia.  ^^^^  at    tllC    highest. 


,.n>,aae.p....  ^erc  HI  u.e  uigu.,..     He  bad  a  factory,  including  dye-house 
fulling-mill.  etc..  in  South  Alley,  between  Market  and  Arch  and  i.fth 
and  Lth  streets,  where  he  carried  on  the  manufacture  of  -f  "y^^^ 
,oon  after,  if  not  at  that  time,  of  cottons  and  chemical  products.     \^  oo 
being  then  7s.  U  a  pound,  with  a  prospect  of  its  becoming  lO.s.   1  e 
eou  d  not  furnish  for  less  than  2T,s.  6<i.  such  Cloth  as  he  had  engaged  t 
supply  at  20.S.  the  yard.     He  rendered  an  account  the  next  month  fo. 
Cloth  furnished,  including  some  samples  of  superfine  red  »"d  coating ; 
but  the  extreme  scarcity  of  wool,  he  says,  almost  '^'^^'-'^g^^.  ^'"'  ^^ 
proceeding  with  the  woolen  branch  of  his  business.     Those  who  had  en- 
gaged  to  sell  him  wool  at  7«.  6.?.,  thought  it  too  cheap,  and  his  spinners 
and  weavers  in  each  branch  had  doubled  their  wages.     He  could  con- 
tiime  to  make  it,  however,  at  an  adequate  price. 

These  prices,  which  were  doubtless  provincial  currency,  and  the  fact 
that  all  the  operations  of  carding,  spinning,  shearing,  etc.,  were  manual 
operations,  and  that  forty  to  fifty  cents  was  the  usual  price  for    ulling 
and  dressing  a  yard  of  Cloth,  enable  us  to  comprehend  that  with  an 
emptv  exchequer,  and  doubtful  credit.  Congress  found  no  little  incon- 
venie'nce  in  providing  supplies  of  clothing  and  other  necessaries.     Al  ^ts 
efforts  were  inadequate  to  a  comfortable  provision,  and  in  ^ovember  of 
that  year,  the  Director-General  of  Hospitals  was  authorized  to  make  up 
the  measure  of  comfort  which  the  want  of  blankets  and  clothing  required 
for  the  sick,  by  the  erection  of  stoves  if  found  necessary.     The  several 
States  were  <  arnestly  called  upon  to  make  additional  provision  for  the 
aoproachip.s-  winter.     Notwithstanding  the  strong  recommendations  of 
Congress  at  the  outset,  that  no  advantage  should  be  taken  of  the  scare,  y 
likely  to  arise,  men  were  found  heartless  enough  to  charge  the  deputy 
Clothier-General  ten  to  eighteen  hundred  per  cent,  for  clothing  for  the 
Continental  army.'  and  even  to  refuse  to  deliver  it  at  that  price  unti    he 
cash  was  paid.     Congress  was  forced  to  recommend  the  legislature  of  the 
State  in  which  it  occurred  to  seize  the  goods,  which  would  be  paid  for 
at  a  reasonable  price.     Cases  of  extortion  having  become  too  general, 
the  several  States  were  also  advised  to  enact  laws,  empowering  the  seiz- 

(1)  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  iii.  p.  602. 


StJFFERINGS  AT   VALLEY  FOROK— SANS  CVLOTTES. 


893 


rania  was  advised 
liens  found  in  the 
le. 

of  War,  in  May, 
SB  in  the  price  of 
ly  witli  a  contract 
e  supposed  prices 
'.uding  dye-house, 
[  Arch  and  Fifth 
e  of  woolens,  and 

products.  Wool 
becoming  lO.s.,  ho 
he  had  engaged  to 
de  next  month  foi 

red  and  coating; 
ouraged  him  from 
riiose  who  had  en- 
p,  and  his  spinners 
s.     He  could  con- 

•eacy,  and  the  fact 
,  etc.,  were  manual 
il  price  for  fulling 
hend  that,  with  an 
nd  no  little  incon- 
lecessaries.     All  it« 
nd  in  November  of 
horized  to  make  up 
id  clothing  required 
ssary.     The  several 
il  provision  for  the 
■ecommendations  of 
taken  of  the  scarcity 
.  charge  the  deputy 
for  clothing  for  the 
t  that  price  until  the 
the  legislature  of  the 
h  would  be  paid  for 
become  too  general, 
smpowering  the  seiz- 


nre,  for  the  use  of  the  army,  of  all  woolen  cloths,  blankets,  linens,  shoes, 
stockings,  hats,  and  other  necessary  clothing  in  the  possession  of  any 
persons,  not  foreigners,  for  sale,  to  be  paid  for  at  a  stated  price  by  drafts 
on  the  Clothier-General.  They  were  also  recommended  to  employ  a 
suflBcient  number  of  manufacturers  and  tradesmen  to  sni)ply  the  clothing 
required  by  their  respective  battalions,  exempting  them  from  military 
duty,  aid  to  appoint  persons  to  collect  cotton,  wool,  flax,  leather,  etc., 
for  that  purpose,  at  stipulated  prices.  The  practice  of  those  in  the  .seve- 
ral  States,  who,  regardless  of  the  claima  of  humanity  or  love  of  country, 
in  a  time  of  scarcity,  made  large  gains  "  by  oppressive  sharping  and  ex- 
tortion,"  to  the  injury  of  private  families  and  the  public  service,  was 
denounced  in  caustic  terms,  and  the  severe  expedient  was  recommended 
to  all  the  States  of  enacting  stringent  laws  for  its  punishment  and  affixing 
the  brand  of  infamy  upon  the  perpetrators. 

The  privations  of  the  American  army,  while  encamped  at  Valley  Forge 
in  the  winter  of  1778,  badly  sheltered  and  worse  fed,  were  the  most  trying 
Privations  of  of  any  experienced  throughout  the  war,  and  were  greatly  ag- 
at  va™y  gravatcd  by  the  deficiency  of  clothing  among  officers,  as  well 
^'"«^-  ^  men.  During  the  following  year,  a  decline  in  the  military  ardor 
with  which  the  war  had  commenced  was  apparent.  The  deficiency  in 
clothing  and  other  necessaries  still  continued,  and  Continental  currency 
becoming  rapidly  depreciated,  many  returned  to  their  former  pursuits?. 
So  great  were  the  losses  suffered  by  the  depreciation  of  the  currency,  that 
the^  manufacturers  for  the  army  refused,  in  1780,  either  to  go  on' with 
their  work  or  deliver  what  was  done  without  immediate  payment.  Symp- 
toms of  revolt  began  to  appear  in  portions  of  the  line,  and  an  efficient 
co-operation  of  the  Americans  with  their  new  allies,  the  French,  both  of 
whom  were  eager  to  encounter  the  enemy,  was  alone  prevented,  it  is  said, 
by  the  mean  apparel  of  the  Continental  troops,  who,  shabby  and  many 
of  them  shirtless,  shrunk  from  appearing  by  the  side  of  their  elegantly- 
uniformed  French  allies.'    But  subsequently  a  subsid;-  of  six  millions  of 


(1)  The  term  lant  culottei  is  laid  by  Mr. 
P.  S.  Duponceau,  who,  as  the  secretary  of 
Baron  Steuben,  participated  in  the  privation! 
of  the  camp,  to  have  originated  on  this  oc- 
casion. The  superior  officers  were  sometimes 


ssys  Mr.  Duponceau,  "were  never  before 
brought  together.  The  Baron  loved  to  speak 
of  that  dinner  and  of  his  ennt  culoUet,  as  be 
called  us.  Thus  this  denomination  was  first  in- 
vented in  America,  and  npplied  to  the  brave 


accustomed  to  share  their  rations  with   the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Rovolutiimary  army 

less  fortunate  soldiers  and  subalterns.     The  at  a  time  when  it  could  not  have  been  foreseen 

Baron's  aids,   on   one  occasion,  invited  a  that  the  name  which  honored  the  followers 

number  of  young   officers  to  dine  at  their  of  Washington  would  afterward  be  assumed 

qaarters,  torn  clothes  being  an  indispensable  by  the  satellites  of  a  Marat  and  a  Robes, 

requisite  of  admission.    "  Such  a  set  of  rag-  pierre."— />r. /Jiinj/iV.i,',  r>;»coui»e  in  Cont' 

god,  and  at  the  same  time  merry  fellows,"  memoralion  of  Peter  S.  Duponceau,  LL.D. 


gg^  COLONIAL  OLOTII-MANt'FACTUBE. 

livres  bavins  been  gvauted  by  the  King  of  France,  and  ten  millions  n.ore 
b  wed  ;:;  the  Netherlands,  on  French  security,  su.ta'.  e  cloth.ng, 
p  icipaUy  EugliBl^  Cloth,  was  purchased  in  Holland  and  sent  to  Amev>c., 
a  d  t  e  0  d  Continental  currency,  " like  an  aged  nian,  expmng  by  t le 
d  cay  0?  nature,  without  a  sigh  or  groun,  fell  asleep  in  the  hands  o  t« 
f  ?        n«!  "     Bv  the  aid  of  so  much  coin,  and  a  bank  esiabhshed  by 

r  ro:x«o,.  o/p;.,.!,,,,...,  ...a  .u  «„,....  .*„  „r  bo... 

M  „i,  n,.'l»rs«cre  managoil -.vith  moro  acceptance  to  lh«  ooa  ol  tne 
^ar  'm3  0  >,er.,iLtlo.ot  peace,  the  .oldiers.  with  the  ,.n,e 
S;  t"at  U,ey  h.d  taUea  them,  laid  aelde  their  «,u,  for  the  ..pleutcnt. 
nf  thp  mechanic  and  the  husbandman.  •    u,„ 

''t  e"      -ss  with  which  men  who  had  distinguished  themselves  ,    th 

t  nf  war  retur..ed  to  their  former  occupations,  was  a  matter  of  as- 
'"''  '  t  u  Co"  to  foreigners.  But  if  they  are  honored  as  the  m- 
Ku^^  truments  of  our  political  freedom,  no  small  measure  o    cred  t 

nie  ,   i  "'"  ,     ,   T  twciitv  sons  and   brotners,  inty 

family.,  ..«I  have  "»' ^'""^''^  [^  ,,~  j   .hat  Tnevc,  did 

s,:r>=r:i9^:^^i-r;;:;:::r;:: 

»„„lformy.cr,a„t,:  «'»l 'I''' ""J ''°  '       °i" '"  7/L,  .^  .slave  I 

,„od.  V''»""'^;\ir"n:;.trw:  to"::;ury„,....t,h,..e 

shall  not  bo  worthy  of  life.     1  Have  u.t  sacriliced  as- 

are  the  sentiments  of  all  my  sister  AmerK-a,,.  lu.v    - 

semblies.  parties  of  l''--^'    ^"'  '^""'^  "'^\  "^^^^  .ople  fhroughout 
of  patriotism  ^'"'^-^-^^^^"j:::^    .  's  ';ti:n:nti  of  females,  what 

Tre  aa  with  one  heart,  determined  to  die  or  bo  free.'" 

(I)  Nilu'.  PrUoiplo.  auU  Act.  of  the  Ucvolutlon.  p.  805. 


PATRIOTISM   OF   AMERICAN   WOMEN— EFFECTS   OF   THE   PEACE. 


395 


ind  ten  millions  more 
ly,  suitaMe  clothing, 
and  sent  to  America, 
man,  expiring  by  the 
ep  in  the  hands  of  its 
I  bank  esiabUhhed  by 
ial  wisdom  of  Robert 
ICC  to  the  end  of  the 
ildiers,  wilh  the  same 
ms  for  the  implements 

shed  themselves  in  the 
s,  was  a  matter  of  as- 
ire  honored  as  the  in- 
nall  measure  of  credit 

of  the  toils  and  self- 
1  throughout  the  pro- 
to  provide  clothing  for 

Revolution,  on  whom 
mention,  though  made 
t  least  be  permitted  to 
which  animated  them, 
ty  and  patriotism.     "  I 
'l\iladelphiato  a  British 
mly  brother  I  have  sent 
ope  he  will  not  disgrace 
and  emulate  the  great 
sons  and  brothers,  they 
expense  In  my  table  and 
nas,  nor  bought  a  new 

und,  what  I  never  did 
^  stockii\gs  of  American 
in  my  mile  to  the  public 
I  once,  but  as  a  slave  I 

to  assure  you  that  these 
They  have  sacriliced  as- 
linery  to  that  great  'spirit 
(-8  of  people  thro\ighont 
liments  of  females,  what 
)lher8,  and  sous  ?  They 
"rco."' 

ilutiun,  p.  805. 


Another  instance  is  related  as  follows  : 
During  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  General  Lafayette,  being  at  Bal- 
timore,  was  invited  to  a  ball ;  he  went,  as  requested,  but  instead  of  joining 
in  the  amusements,  as  might  be  expected  of  a  young  Frenchman,  he  ad- 
dressed  the  ladies:  'You  are  very  handsome ;  you  dunce  very  prcttilv; 
your  ball  is  very  fine— but  my  soldiers  have  no  shirts.'  The  appeal  \vas 
irresistible ;  the  ball  ceased,  the  ladies  ran  homo  and  went  to  work,  and 
in  a  few  days  a  large  number  of  sliirts  were  prepared  by  the  fairest  hands 
in  Baltimore  for  the  gallant  defenders  of  their  country.'" 

The  immediate  effects  of  the  peace  were  alike  unfavorable  to  the  trade 
and  manufactures  of  the  country.     Exhausted  in  resources,  with  a  debt 
Effects  of     of  forty  millions  of  dollars,  and  no  public  revenue  systcni,  the 
thei'eac-6.    country  was  unable  to  meet  its  obligations.     The  public  secu- 
rities fell  in  value,  the  creditors  of  the  National  Government  were  ruined 
in  capital,  and  the  arrears  of  the  soldiers  were  unpaid.     Those  who  were 
not  themselves  paid  could  not  pay  others,  and  private  confidence  fell  in 
the  wreck  of  the  public  faith.     As  aliens,  the  merchants  of  the  United 
States  were  excluded  from  their  r)rmer  trade  with  the  West  Indies,  the 
fishermen  were  denied  access  to  several  ports  they  had  been  free  to  visit 
as  Colonists,  and  the  bounty  on  whale  oil  was  withdrawn.   In  the  absence 
of  any  power  to  regulate  commerce,  a  flood  of  European  manufactures 
was  poured  in  to  supply  the  exhausted  warehouses  of  the  country.     The 
peoi»le  of  all  clas.ses  were  but  too  ready  to  escape  from  the  restraints  to 
which  til  7  had  so  long  subjected  thom.^elves.     The  trade  of  the  8(ntes, 
which  had  once  been  so  valuable  to  Britain,  was  coveted  by  all  adven- 
turous traders,  and  merchandise  was  imported  far  beyond  the  wants  of 
the  country,  or  the  ability  of  merchants  to  jjuy.     Large  debts  were  ac- 
cumulated in  Great   Britain,   to  whose   muimfactures  Americans  were 
partial ;  and  by  the  treaty,  these  and  the  old  uncanceled  obligations  were 
to  be  paid  in  gold  and  silver,  d  which  the  States  were  speedily  druined. 
All  possibility  of  success  in  manufactures  was  for  a  time  excluded  by  the 
Buperabunda'ice  of  foreign  goods,  some  of  which  sold  twenty-five  per 
cent,  cheapci  than  in  London.     But  the  evils  produced  by  liie  absence 
of  an  efficient    ead  to  the  Government,  and  of  concert  in  any  plan  for  tlie 
regulation  of  trade  and  commerce,  at  length  led  to  the  organization  cf  an 
effective  central  authority,  under  whoso  actiou  all  branches  of  the  national 
industry  speedily  recovcrec. 

During  the  Revolution  much  of  the  limited  capital  and  kill  of  the  country 
had  been  employed  in  those  branches  of  manufacture  which  were  immedi- 
ately subservient  to  the  war.     But  the  household  industry  of  the  country 

lO  White'!  MoTDoir  of  .xiater.  109 


396 


COLONIAL   CI.OTII-MANUFACTURE. 


Imd  been  preserved  and  extended.  The  new  prospects  which  now  opened 
before  the  conntrv,  pointed  out  the  duty  and  policy  of  cherishing  these, 
and  of  introducing  new  ones.  The  several  States  pd.pted  sucl.  measures 
as  they  had  been  accustomed  to  in  their  Colonial  capacity  for  the  encour- 
nnrecent  of  trade  and  manufactures.  Di.scriminaling  and  other  duties 
were  laid  by  several,  but  without  any  uniformity,  and  were  all  annulled 
and  the  power  lodged  in  the  General  Congress  by  the  new  Constitu- 

'  The  increased  attention  which  had  been  given  to  wool-ijrowing  during 

the  war,  and  to  cotton  in  the  South,  created  a  desire  in  many  quarters  to 

procure  the  improved  machinery  by  which  the  manufactures  of 

fj":;";'"      England  were  boing  so  rapidly  extended,  and  which  France  was 


daohioery.   ^^^^  i-jhorlng  to  obtain.     In   1780,  an  a'  ociu 


was  fornicd 
in  Worcester,  Mass.,  for  spinning  and  weaving  cotte,.,,  a.  u  a  subscription 
raised  to  procure  a  Jennv  for  that  purpose.  On  the  30th  April,  it  was 
announced  in  the  Spy  that  "on  Tuesday  last,  the  first  piece  of  corduroy 
made  in  the  manufactory  in  this  town  was  taken  from  the  loom."  The 
manufacture  was  probably  continued,  since  Samuel  Brazier,  of  that 
town,  in   1790  advertised  for  sale  "jeans,  cord.v.oys.  federal  rib,  and 

cottons.'" 

The  year  following  this  attempt.  Parliament  raised  a  further  barrier  to 
the  attainment  of  textile  machinery  from  that  country  by  re-enacting  and 
extending  the  statute  of  1774  against  its  exportation.     It  was  enacted 
(21  Geo.  in.  c.  37)   that  any  person  who  packed  or  put  on  board,  or 
caused  to  be  brought  to  any  place  in  order  to  be  put  on  board  any 
vessel,  with  a  view  to  exportation,  "  any  machine,  engine,  tool,  press, 
paper,  utensil,  or  implement,  or  any  part  thereof,  which  now  is  o    h;^re- 
after  may  be  used  in  the  woolen,  cotton,  linen,  or  silk  manufactufo  ■.:  -htc- 
Kingdom,  or  goods  wherein  wool,  cotton,  linen,  or  silk  arc   uf-i   '.p 
any  model  or  plan  thereof,"  etc.,  should  forfeit  every  such  machine  '^v 
the  good.s  pncl-.ed  therewith  and  £200,  and  suffer  imprisonment  for  twelve 
months.     Th'j  like  penalties  attached  to  having  n  custody  or  power,  or 
collecting,  making,  applying  for,  or  causing  to  bo  made,  any  such  mo- 
chinery,  ami  the  forfeitures  were  to  go  to  the  use  of  the  informer  after  the 
e-penses  of  prosecution  were  paid.     The  exportation,  and  the  attempt 
to  put  on  bor.rd  for  that  purpose,  "  any  blocks,  plates,  engines,  tools,  or 
utensils  used  in,  or  which  are  proper  for  the  preparing  or  finishing  of 
th"  calico,  cotton,  muslin,  or  linen  printing  manufactures,  or  any  part 
thereof,"  wero  the  next  year  (1782)  prohibited  under  penalty  of  X500 
The  same  act  interdicted  the  transportation  of  tools  used  in  the  iron  and 


(1)  Llncoln'i  IIliU  of  Worceiter  Coanty,  p.  821. 


EFFORTS   TO   OBTAIN   TEXTILE   MACUINEIIT. 


397 


which  now  opened 
r  cherisMng  these, 
ted  such  measures 
ity  for  the  encour- 
aiid  other  duties 
were  all  nnnuUed 
:he  new  Constitu- 

lol-grovving  during 
1  many  quarters  to 
le  manufactures  of 
1  which  France  was 
cii;^:  ,  •  was  formed 
ftiu  A  subscription 
30th  April,  it  was 
I,  ])icce  of  corduroy 
1  the  loom."  The 
I  Brazier,  of  that 
■8,  federal  rib,  and 

a  further  barrier  to 
by  re-cnncting  and 
n.     It  was  enacted 
r  put  on  board,  or 
put  on  board  any 
engine,  tool,  press, 
ich  now  is  o    ?>.^ri!- 
manufactuft  •>'.'  'hi;- 
:  silk  arc  u;    L    >t 
y  such  machine  -"K 
risonment  for  twelve 
ustody  or  power,  or 
made,  any  such  ma- 
te informer  after  the 
)n,  and  the  attempt 
Bs,  engines,  tools,  or 
ring  or  finishing  of 
iictures,  or  any  part 
er  penalty  of  X500 
used  in  the  Iron  and 

S21. 


steel  manufactures.  Wool  or  stock  cards,  not  exceeding  4s.  per  pair, 
and  spinncr.s'  cards,  not  exceeding  1«.  6(/.  per  pair,  u.sed  in  the  woolen 
manufactures,  were  by  a  later  Act  (26  Geo.  III.  c.  16)  allowed  to  be 
exported.' 

These    statutes,  which   were    vigilantly  enforced,   along   with    those 
against  ertioing  artificers  to  emigrate,  proved  serious  obstacles  to  the  in- 
Progress  of  ti'oduction  of  machinery  botii  in  America  and  the  Continent  of 
MuTiliuery    Enropc.      In   1784,  a  Gerniaii   was  fined  £500  for  seducing 
infcurupe.    operatives  to  Germany;  but  ii  native  of  Amiens  succeeded,  the 
same  year,  in  importing  into  France  the  first  machine  for  spinning  cot- 
ton.    But,  two  years  after,  another  person  incurred  the  legal  penalty  for 
having  a  quantity  of  machinery,  with  a  view  to  export  it  to  Germany. 
Some  attempts  to  ol)tain  machinery  for  I'lis  country  miscarried  about  the 
same  time.     A  set  of  comi)lete  brass  -noJeis  of  Arkwriglit's  machinery 
was  made  and  packed  in  England  by  the  agent  of  Mr.  Tench  Coxe,  of 
Philadelphia,  in  1786,  but  woa  sei/cJ  on  the  eve  of  its  shipment,  a.id'tho 
object  defeated.'     Abel  Buell,  an  ingenious  mechanic  of  Killingswortb, 
Connecticut,  who  had  been  engaged  in  engraving,  type-founding,  and  the 
manufacture  of  copper  coin  for  the  State,  visited  England  about  the  same 
time,  ostensibly  to  purchase  copi)e-',  but  in  reality,  it  is  said,  to  obtain  a 
knowledge  of  the  various  kinds  of  machinery  used  in  the  Cloth-manufac- 
ture.    The  mechanical  resources  of  the  English  manufactures  had  at  this 
date  been  further  enriched  by  the  invention,  in  1774,  of  the  power-loom, 
by  Cartwright;   of  the  mule  jenny,  in  1775,  by  Crompton,  which  soon 
superseded  the  machine  of  Ilargrcaves ;  by  several  iniprovemonls  of  Ark- 
wright  ond  others  in  cardiiig,  drawing  and  roving,  and  above  all  by  the 
adaptation,  in   1783,  of  the  steam-engine  of  Watt  to  the  spinning  and 
carding  of  cotton  at  Manchester.     Cylinder  printing  was  invented  by 
Bell  in  1785,  and  t'.'e  use  of  acid  in  bleaching  was  introduced  at  Glasgow 
by  Watt  in  1786,  and  at  Manchester  in   1788.     These  and  some  minor 
improvements  had  increased  the  consumption  of  cotton  in  England  to 
11,280,238  lbs.  itf  1784,  valued,  in  its  manufactured  state,  at  £3,950,000. 
In  1787,  the  cotton  and  wool  used  on  hand  and  water-machines  amounted 
to  22,600,000  ll)s.,  worth,  in  the  raw  state,  £2,230,000,  anil  when  manu- 
facturod,  £7,500,000,  yielding  the  immense  profit  of  £5,270,000  sterling. 
The    total    value   of    the   woolen    branch   was   estimated    in    1783   at 
£16,800,000,  eqinil  in  value  to  all  the  exports  of  Great  Britain. 

Notwithstaniiiiig  the  difficulty  of  procuring  machinery  of  any  kind,  the 
complicated  evils,  tlna'jcial  and  moral,  growing  out  of  the  profuse  and 


(I)  Pope's  I.4W8  of  th«  Cuitomi  am'.  Ex- 
•its. 


(2)  White'!  Memoir  of  Sltler,  p.  71. 


398 


COLONIAL  CLOTII-MANLFACTURE. 


wanton  use  of  English  and  East  Inilia  goods,  which  were  introduced  m 
unlimited  quantities  and  sold  for  cash  or  credit  below  English  i  r.cea,  and 
the  facilities  for  obtaining  a  cheap  supply  of  cotton,  made  the  necessity 
for  creating  domestic  manufactures  to  be  deeply  felt,  h-  Phdadelphia, 
New  York,  and  some  parts  of  New  England,  much  interest  was  mant- 
fested  by  prominent  citizens  in  the  attainment  of  the  object  by  the  aid 
of  labor-saving  appliances.  A  Jenny  had  been  several  years  n.  use  in 
Philadelphia,  and  Mr.  Wetherill  had  conducted  throughout  the  war  a 
private  manufacture  o.  cotton  and  woolen  goods.  In  April.  1782,  he 
advertised  for  sale  at  his  manufactory  in  South  Alloy,  "  P/uVaJ./p/.ia 
Manvfaclurcs,  suitable  for  all  seasons,  viz.,  Jeans,  Fustians,  Everlast- 
ings.  Coatings,  &c.,"  which  he  is  believed  to  have  been  the  hrst  to  manu- 
facture in  this  country.* 

In  1786  the  Hon.  Hugh  Orr,  of  Massachusetts,  a  pioneer  in  manj 
useful  enterprises,  employed  two  brotliers,  Robert  and  Alexander  Bair, 
from  Scotland,  who  had  some  knowledge  of  cotton  machines, 
?;:oMaT  to  construct  for  him  at  his  works,  at  East  Bridgewater,  three 
"""**•  carding,  roping,  and  spinning  machines.     A  committee  of  both 

houses  of  the  legislature  was  appointed  to  examine  them,  and  re|,ort  what 
encouragement  ought  to  be  given  them.     Their  report,  on  November  16, 
recommended  a  grant  of  £200  to  enahle  the  brothers  to  complete  them, 
and  a  gratuity  to  the  makers  of  the  machines  after  their  completion  and 
delivery  to  a  committee  of  the  house.     Tins  was  concurred  in,  and  in  the 
following  May,  six  tickets  in  the  State  land  lottery,  in  which  there  were 
no  blanks,  were  granted  to  the  Barrs,  "  as  a  reward  for  their  ingenuity 
in  forming  those  machines,  ond  for  their  public  spirit  in  making  them 
known  to  this  commonwealth."     They  were  deposited,  by  direction  of 
the  General  Court,  and  subject  to  its  order,  with  Mr.  Orr,  who  was  re- 
quested to  exhibit  them,  and  explain  their  principles  to  any  who  might 
wish  to  be  informed  of  their  great  use  and  advantage  in  carrying  on  the 
woolen  and  cotton  manufactures.     Mr.  Orr  was  allowed  to  use  them  as  a 
compensation  for  his  trouble.     The  cost  of  the  machine  was  £187,  and 
they  are  believed  to  hav-  been  the  first  Jenny  and  stock  card  made  ia 
the  United  States. 

While  these  were  constructing,  Tliomua  Somers  presented  a  petition 
to  the  General  Court,  stating  that  in  consequence  of  a  circular  letter  from 
the  committee  of  the  tradesmen  and  manufacturers  of  Boston,  an  association 
of  the  tradesmen  and  manufacturers  of  Baltimore  was  formed,  in  the  fall 
of  178."),  to  apply  to  the  legislature  in  behalf  of  American  MnnufacturcH. 
Having  been  brought  up  to  the  cotton  manufacture,  he  had  visited  Eng- 

(1)  While'?  Memoir  of  Slalor,  p.  49. 


wm 


mam 


FIRST   COTTON   FACTORY   IN    NEW   ENGLAND. 


399 


ere  introduced  in 
liiglisli  in-ici'9,  and 
lade  the  necessity 

It;  Philiiddphia, 
nterest  was  niani- 
oltject  Viy  the  aid 
al  years  in  use  in 
ighout  the  war  a 
a  April,  1782,  he 
>y,  "  riiiladclphia 
fustians,  Everlast- 

Ihe  first  to  raanu- 

pioneer  in  many 
Alexander  Bair, 
'  cotton  machines, 
Bridgewater,  three 
committee  of  both 
m,  and  re|iortwhat 
,  on  November  16, 
to  complete  them, 
eir  completion  and 
jrrcd  in,  and  in  the 
n  which  there  were 
for  their  ingenuity 
it  in  making  them 
ed,  by  direction  of 
•,  Orr,  who  was  re- 
to  any  who  might 
•  in  carrying  on  the 
ed  to  use  them  as  ft 
inea  was  £187,  and 
stock  card  made  ia 

resented  a  petition 
I  circular  letter  from 
oston,  an  association 
B  formed,  in  the  full 
rican  ManufacturcH. 
he  had  visited  Eng- 


land at  his  own  risk  and  expense  to  prepare  machines  for  carding  and 
spinning  cotton.    But  he  was  only  enabled,  after  much  difficulty,  to  bring 
away  descriptions  and  models  of  such  engines,  with  which  he  returned  to 
Baltimore.     Finding  little  could  be  done  there,  he  set  out  for  Boston, 
and  having  lost  much  of  his  property  by  the  way,  he  asked  assistance  to 
begin  the  manufactory.     The  Assembly,  on  the  2d  March,  in  considera- 
lion  of  his  having  such  models  and  descriptions,  and  a  knowledge  of 
adapting  the  thread  for  and  of  weaving  dimities,  plain,  striped,  and 
checked  muslins,  calicoes,  jeans,  jeannettes,  and  other  cotton  manufac- 
tures, ordered  £20  to  be  deposited  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Orr  to  ent  arage 
him  in  a  trial.     Tiiis  model  of  an  early  and  i  ^perfect  form  of  the  Ark- 
wright  machine,  appears  to  have  been  exhibited  with  the  others,  and  was 
known  as  the  "  State's  Model,"     It  was  visited  by  several  manufacturers, 
among  others  by  Moses  Brown,  of  Providence.     Daniel  Anthony,  of  that 
place,  who  had  made  an  engagement  with  Andrew  Dexter  and  Lewis  Peck 
to  make  jeans  and  other  "homespun  cloth"  of  linen  warp  and  cotton 
filling,  to  be  spun  by  hand,  soon  after  its  completion  visited  it  with  John 
lleynolds,  a  woolen  manufacturer  of  East  Greenwich,  and  made  a  draught 
of  the  machine.     This  appears  to  have  been  laid  aside  for  a  time,  but  a 
machine  was  afterward  built  from  it,  and  put  in  operation  at  Providence. 
Mr.  Orr  did  not  escape  the  reproach  of  'vishing  to  supersede  honest 
manual  labor  by  the  introduction  of  such  machines. 

In  tlio  meantime  a  company  had  been  formed  at  Beverly,  Mass.,  in 
1787,  of  whic'ii  John  Cal)ot  and  Joshua  Fisher  were  the  principal  mana- 
Fir.tNew    gcrs,  to  manufacture  cotton.     One  or  more  Spinning  Jennies, 
tmfF„"r'Jor'y'fi''l'er  imported  or  made  from  the  State's  models,  were  ob- 
atBeroriy.   taiucd,  and  a  carding-machine  was  imported  at  a  cost  of  eleven 
hundred  pounds.     The  legislature  made  a  grant  of  £500  to  assist  the 
design.     The  factory  was  visited  l)y  General  Washington,  in  his  tour 
through  the  Eastern  States  in   1789.     It  was  mentioned  by  Brissot  De 
Warville,  in  October  of  the  previous  year,  as  "a  flourishing  manufacture 
of  cotton."     It  created  considerable  interest  throughout  the  country,  as 
the  first  attempt  in  New  England  to  manufacture  cotton  by  machine-. y, 
for  it  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Orr  either  designed  or  attempted  to  em- 
l)loy  his  machines  for  the  creation  of  a  manufacturing  business,  although 
permitted  to  use  them.     It  was  reported  in  distant  places  that  the  Bev- 
erly factory  was  carried  on  with  the  Arkwripht.  machines,  but  such  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  the  case  in  the  first  instance.     In  a  memorial  to 
the  General  Court,  in  June,  1790,  the  managers  state  that  they  had  en- 
countered m  )re  expense  and  difficulty  than  they  had  anticipated,  cspe. 
cially  in  the  purchase  and  construction  of   machines.     They  had  then 
expended  nearly  four  thousand  pounds.     Many  losses  and  great  obstacles 


■31 


400 


COLONIAL  CLOTtl-MANUFACTCUE. 


"f 


had  been  encountered,  to  which  other  attempts  would  not  be  liable,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  carding  machine,  which  could  then  be  obtained  for  £200. 
They  had  commenced  the  business  from  a  regard  to  the  public  advantage, 
and  had  sustained  heavy  losses  without  any  present  hope  of  emolument. 
But  their  efforts,  under  all  the  disadvantages,  had  proved  that  the  manu- 
facture was  practicable,  and  would,  when  established,  prove  sufficiently 
lucrative  to  support  and  extend  itself,  and  afford  a  supply  not  only  for 
domestic  consumption  but  a  staple  for  exportation.     Much  loss  of  male- 
rial  was    ccasioned  in  the  instruction  of  workmen,  whose  wages  had  to 
be  raised  to  prevent  their  desertion  when  half  instructed,  "  in  consequence 
of  the  competition  of  rival  manufactories."     The  greater  perfection  and 
beauty  in  foreign  goods  were  attributed  to  the  superior  skill,  which  work- 
men in  long  established  manufactories  exhibited,  "but  principally  (they 
say)  from  the  use  of  machines  which  your  petitioners  have  as  yet  found 
too  expensive  for  them  to  procure."    This,  we  suppose,  refers  to  the 
Arkwright  machines.'    The  managers  ask  that  the  General  Court  will 


(1)  The  expense  of  machines,  labor,  etc., 
for  manufaituring  cotton,  about  this  time, 
was  thus  estimiitcd  in  Philadelphia:  "One 
machine  for  carding  cotton  will  cost  about 
£60  ;  one  man  will  work  the  machine,  and 
card  about  20  lbs.  of  cotton  per  day.     One 
ipinning  machine,  commonly  called  a  jenny, 
with  40  spindles  (which  is  a  proper  number), 
will  cost  about  £13.     One  man  or  woman 
win  work  the  raiiohine,  and  will  spin  from 
t  to  8  lbs.  of  good  yarn  per  day,  of  a  suitable 
degree  of  fineness  for  good  jenns,  fustians, 
etc.  ...  A  woman  will  rope  (on  a  common 
wheel)  about  4  lbs.  per  day,  for  which  she 
reoeires  five  pence  per  pound.     One  pound 
of  cotton  yarn  will  fill  six  yards  of  very  good 
jeans— it  upuiiUy  fills  more,  but  then  the 
goods  are  proportionally  lighter.  Two  lbs.  of 
good  flax  from  the  swingle  will  make  1  lb. 
of  heckled  Bax— this  flux  being  spun  to  two 
doien  and  six  cuts  to  the  pound,  which  is  a 
proper-siiod  yarn  for  common  jeans.      18 
dosen  will  make  chain  for  50  yards ;  8  lbs. 
of  ootton  yarn  will  fill  these  60  yardi.    The 
cotton  yarn  spun  on  the  machines  in  Phila- 
delphia costs,  on  an  average,  about  1 3i  pence 
per  pound,  besides  the  carding  and  roping. 
The  man  who  turns  ttie  machine  Is  employed 
by  the  day.     Mis  wages,  when  the  days  are 
long,   are   about   throe   shillings  and   nine 
pence  per  day.  The  weivor  in  Philadelpliiu 


has  seven  pence  per  yard  for  weaving  com- 
mon jeans,  besides  having  his  chain  wound 
for  him.  and  the  winding  his  quills.  Ho 
will  weave  about  V  yards  per  day.  Women 
attend  on  the  weavers  to  wind  their  chains 
and  quills  for  about  seven  shillings  and  six- 
pence per  week,  and  find  themselves.  One 
woman  con  attend  three  looms.  The  dyers 
ask  four  pence  per  yard  fur  dyeing  jeans, 
but  they  may  be  well  afforded  at  half  that 
price.  The  following  is  the  estimate  of  the 
expense  on  50  yards  of  jeans: 

18  doz.  flax  yarn  will  make  the 
chain  for  60  yds.  of  jeans,  at 
18rf.  per  dozen £1 

Sji  lbs.  of  cotton  yorn  will  fill  the 
same,  at  6».  per  pound 2 

Weaving  50  yds.,  at  6d.  a  yard.. 

Dyeing  50  yds.,  at  Zd.  per  yard.. 

£5  14    « 
The  above  estimate  is  calculated 
for  8.)  yds.  of  very  good  jeans, 
such   as   will   sell   fur   3».  per 
yurd,  which  Is 7  10    0 


7».  Orf. 

S 

1  13    4 
12    6 


Profit £1  »*     • 

"  N.B.  The  price  is  supposed  to  bo  a  re 
tail  one.     The  calculation   of  expenses  li 
rather    high    than     otherwijo."— ^m«'-ieo» 
Minium,  vol.  v.  p.  225. 


MMHril 


iM 


lot  be  liable,  as  in. 
ibtained  for  £200. 
public  advantage, 
»pe  of  emolument, 
red  that  the  mann- 

prove  sufficiently 
upply  not  only  for 
^lueh  loss  of  male- 
hose  wages  had  to 
d,  "  in  consequence 
Iter  perfection  and 
:  skill,  which  work- 
t  principally  (they 

have  aa  yet  found 
pose,  refers  to  the 
Heneral  Court  will 

yard  for  weaving  eom- 
tiiivini;  111!  chain  wound 
rinding  his  quilla.  Ho 
rards  per  day.  Women 
irs  to  wind  their  ohnina 
seven  shillings  and  six- 
1  find  themselves.  One 
hree  looras.  The  dyera 
yard  for  dyeing  jeans, 
ill  afforded  at  half  that 
ng  is  the  estimate  of  the 

I  of  jeans : 

rill  make  the 
).  of  jeans,  at 

£1    r».  Orf. 

n  will  fill  the 

lound 2    1    S 

t  8(i.  a  yard...  1  13  4 
3ii.  per  yard...      12    6 

£&U    « 
i  is  calculated 
ry  good  jeans, 

II  for   3».  per 
7  10     0 

£1  :5     « 

e  is  supposed  to  bo  a  re 
luulatiiin   of  expenses   ii 
1     otiierwiso." — Amiriean 
226. 


PIBST   ATTEMPT   AT    WATER-SPINNINQ.  4fll 

in  lieu  Of  a  grant  of  land  previously  made,  afford  some  real  and  ready 
assistance  without  which  they  must  abandon  the  enterprise. ' 

They  afterward  discontinued  the  business  as  a  corporate  body,  and  it 

was  earned  on  by  individuals,  who  erected  a  mill  aithe  head  of  Bass 

^^^rlZ  ;f'""'"i^''"«"  ^y  ^"^«'-  ?«-«•••     This  also  proved  unprofit- 

'^    Te  t-7r    .""'  ''''r"''''^  '^•^"^  -i,h  a  portion  of  the  build- 

Hilh  large  capital,  was  incorporate.'  at  that  place  in  1841 

Although  this  establishment  appears  to  have  been  the   first  for  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  by  machinery  that  went  into  operation   iuN^l 
sXin.  ,t.  H  "^  '     '  f  "'"'  "'  ^^"■■^^^ter,  before  mentioned,  may  not  clain. 
vX:ie.      ,.  ^'''f'^'''  t  'ere  were,  at  the  date  of  the  petition,  as  therein 
intimated,  several  rival  establishments.     The  earliest  of  these 
was  that  attempted  at  Providence.     After  obtaining  a  dr.ug  t    f  m7 
Orr'.  machine.   Mr.   Anthony  hud  a  Spinning  Jenny  of  twenty-eight 
spmdles  built  also  in  1787,  on  the  model  of  the  Beverly  machi,   '    T 
wood-work  was  made  by  his  sou  Robert,  and  the  brass-work  by  Daniel 
Jackson,  a  coppersmith  of  Providence.     It  was  set  up  first  in  a  private 
Z117    A     T  "  '?-^"^™'"  "^  '''  market-house,  where 'it  wt 
?  nHl       f  P   '"'.  ^"^  ""''"'"  *"'  "'^°  constructed  for  him  by  Joshua 
l^indly  of  Providence,  from  patterns  of  that  at   Beverly.     Tiie  rolls   H 

carding.     A  sp.mung  frame  was  next  built  from  the  draught  of  the 

o    30  LI,     "'  ""if  *^7''"-     ''  '"'  '''''  "^^^^  «^  ^«-  ^'^■"'^'-  each 
or  3-  sp  ndles  .n  all,  and  was  operated  by  a  crank  turned  by  hand      The 

first  head  was  made  by  John  Baily,  a  clockmaker  of  Provide.ice,  and  the 

rest  of  the  machine  by  Lindly  &  Jackson.     In  1788,  Joseph  Alexande 

and  James  McKerrieB,  weavers  from  Sco.lund,  who  understood  the  use 

of  the  fly-shuttle,  came  to  Providence  to  weave  corduroy.     McKerries 

went  t.  East  Greenwich,  but,  under  the  direction  of  Alexander,  a  loom 

was  bu.lt  and  put  in  operation  in  the  market-house,  with  the  first  flv- 

shuttle  ever  used  in  Providence,  and  probably  i„  America.'    A,  th.-re 

was  no  person  who  knew  how  to  cut  the  corduroy  to  raise  the  pile  which 

formed  the  ribs,  and  gave  the  finish,  that  kind  of  Cloth  was  abandoned  after 

the  first  piece,  and  Alexander  removed  to  Philadelphia.     Thus  unsuc- 

^essfu..  the  owners  sold  the  spinning  frame,  which   was  too  heavy'  for 

hand-power,  to  Moses  Brown,  of  Providence.     It  was  removed  to  Paw- 

(1)  White's  Memoir  of  Slater,  p.  54.  read  about  tbi,  time,  before   the   Literary 

(2)  The  .pring  or  fly  .hultlowa.s  invented     and   Philosophl.nl    SoHetv  of  M  ,T 

to  have   been,  we  find  It  stated   in  an  emy     shuttid  ^ 

26  ■  ' 


402 


COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 


tacket,  and  attached  to  a  water-wheel,  for  which  it  was  also  fonnd  to  be 
ill-adapted  from  its  imperfections.     Mr.  Brown  also  purchaseu  he  card- 
in<r  machine  and  Jenny,  an  additional  spinning  frame,  made  from  the 
State  model  and  unsuccessfully  tried  at  East  Greenwich,  and  a  stoclung- 
loomlrom  John  FuUem,  an  Irish  stocking-weaver,  who  had  attempted 
the  business  also  at  East  Greenwich.     The  spinning  frames,  which  were 
employed  for  a  short  time  on  warp,  which  they  made  imperfectly  both  as 
to  quality  and  quantity,  were  laid  aside  until  some  one  could  be  found 
who  understood  their  use.     These  two  Arkwright  mach.nes  one  of  32 
the  other  of  24  spindles,  not  in  use,  a  carding  machine,  an  84  and  a  60 
spinning  jenny,  and  a  doubling  and  twisting  jenny,  constituted  the  pr  n- 
cfpal  maciinery  of  Almy  &  Brown,  at  Pawtucket,  when  Samue    Slater 
arrived.     The  account  of  Andrew  De-xter,  of  Providence,  «.th  the  firm. 
Bhows  a  charge,  in  May,  1789,  for  a  complete  spinning  jenny,  £24  4s.  lOrf., 
and  in  1790  for  a  jenny,  carding  and  spinning  ^^-^^^'^omM^i^e 
joint  and  equal  expense  of  Lewis  Peck  and  Andrew  Dexter,  £139  Us 
A  macliine  for  calendering  cotton  goods  was  also  charged  m  March 
1790      It  was  put  up  in  Moses  Brown's  barn,  and  worked  by  a  horse. 
One  of  the  jennies  purchased  by  Mr.  Brown  belonged  to  David  Buffum 
for  whom  it  had  been  operated  about  two  years  at  Newport  by  Joseph 
Anthony,  another  son  of  Daniel  Anthony, 

Just  a^  this  attempt  to  introduce  water  spinning  machines  had  proved 
unsuccessful,  a  letter  opportunely  reached  Moses  Brown  from  Samuel 
Slater  at  New  York.     Tliis  ingenious  and  enterprising  manu- 
^'S^m/tor.focturer,  to  whom  this  country  owes  so  much,  was  born  near 
Belper,  in  Derbyshire.  England,  June  9,  1763.     At  the  age  of  foui-teen 
he  went  to  live  as  a  clerk  with  Jedediah  Strutt,  the  inventor  of  the  Do  by 
ribbed  stocking  machine,  and  the  partner  of  Sir  Richard  Arkwright  n 
the  cotton  spinning  business  at  Milford,  near  Belper.     Having  continued 
vith  them  as'clerk  and  several  years  general  overseer  both  of  the  machinery 
and  manufacturing  departments,  till  August,  1789,  he  was  induced  to  turn 
his  thoughts  to  America,  in  consequence  of  the  great  interest  taken  by  he 
several  governments  in  the  establishment  of  manufactures.  A  notice  in  the 
the  newspapers  of  a  grant  of  £100  by  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  m 
Oct    1783.  to  John  Hague,  for  introducing  a  machine  for  carding  CO  ton, 

and  of  the  establishment  of  a  society,  with  legislative  encouragement  or 
the  manufacture  of  cotton,  determined  him  to  try  his  fortunes  in  this 
country.  He  sailed  from  London,  Sept.  13,  1789,  and  reached  New 
York  about  the  18th  November.  In  consequence  of  the  restrictions 
upon  the  emigration  of  artisans  and  the  exportation  of  models  and  ma- 
chiuery,  he  did  not,  on  leaving  Derby,  inform  his  family  of  his  destination 
pad  took  with  him  neither  patterns,  drawings,  nor  memoranda  that  could 


also  found  to  be 
rchaseu  the  card- 
I,  made  from  the 
1,  and  a  stock  in  g- 

0  had  attempted 
•ames,  which  were 
operfectly  both  as 
5  could  be  found 
ihines,  one  of  32, 
e,  an  84  and  a  60 
istituted  the  prin- 
eu  Samuel  Slater 
ice,  with  the  firm, 
,nny,  £24  4s.  lOd., 
,  completed  at  the 
Dexter,  £139  158. 
harged  in  March, 
worked  by  a  horse. 

1  to  David  Buffum, 
fewport  by  Joseph 

ichines  had  proved 
rown  from  Samuel 
enterprising  manu- 
ich,  was  born  near 
the  age  of  fourteen 
ventor  of  the  Derby 
chard  Arkwright  in 
Having  continued 
5th  of  the  machinery 
was  induced  to  turn 
interest  taken  by  the 
ires.  A  notice  in  the 
of  Pennsylvania,  in 
B  for  carding  cotton, 
B  encouragement,  for 
his  fortunes  in  this 
),  and  reached  New 
•  of  the  restrictions 
1  of  models  and  ma- 
ily  of  his  destination, 
lemorauda  that  could 


FIRST   SUCCESS  IN    WATER-SPIN'Nlxa    BY    SLATER.  403 

betray  his  occupation  or  lead  to  his  detention.     I„  New  York  he  wa, 
ElroL'rf  ?^J"'  "^"""^^^^"'""^  Company.^M::!^! 

York  manufactory,  which  had  but  one  card,  two  mad.    e"    nd'T Z 
spinnrng  jennies,  which  he  thought  were  not  w;rth  using     I  ;  "I  Zl 

ejlHraTylnt^rr^^^^^'  spinning,  either  for  stocking  or  twist.' 
Mr  Brown  accordingly  invited  him  to  come,  statin-  that  an  e^nor! 
mont  had  been  made  and  failed  with  the  first  frame  used  in  Imericr'a  d 
Fir.,„c««,.°f  «•'"?  !'•«'  all  the  profits,  as  well  as  the  credit  and  advaniages 
.'^lo^r  «f  P^r'-eet.ng  the  first  water-mill  in  America,  provided  he  wa 
Brown  y.  J\  ^'^'^o'nplish  it.  On  seeing  the  machines  of  Almv  & 
Brown,  he  declmed  having  any  thing  to  do  with  them.     A  contracrLt 

TwhicTsiteTw    TT"  *"  'T'-'  '''  Arkwright  series  ofllil 
\lTt     n  ?    ''"'  ''"'■'^"""  "'terest;  and  on  the  18th  January 

mo.  Mr  Brown  took  him  to  Pawtucket,  where  he  completed  the  mT 
chmory  ch.efly  with  his  own  hands.     On  the  20th  Decern    r  he  sta  "ed 
three  cards,  drawing,  and  roving  frames,  and  two  frames  o    72  sptd 
«n.ch  were  worked  by  an  old  fulling-mill  wheel  in  a  clothieJs  bu  Idi  V 
where  they  were  used  for  twenty  months,  at  which  time  seveTa  th     sand 

Zltt     T  T  """"'^*^'^  ^"  ^'^'^  ••^"^^'  notwithstanding  a  "^ 
tempt   to  sell  and  weave  it.     Early  in  1793.  Almy.  Brown  &  Slater  bui  t 

a  small  factory  (the  old  mill),  where  the  machinery  was  set  in  Itio 
and  .ncreased  as  occasion  served.     Thus,  after  unexpected  difficu Iti    ' 
delays,  and  expense,  arising  out  of  the  want  of  patterns,  suitable  materiai  ' 
and  workmen,  was  completed  and  put  in  operation  the  first  successM 
water-mill  for  cotton  in  the  United  States  '  "uccessiui 

The  accounts  of  Almy  &  Brown's,  successors  (the  former  a  son-in-law 
te  later  a  relative  of  Moses  Brown,  who  supplied  the  capital),  slow 
their  first  spinning  to  have  been  commenced  abont  the  11th  June  1789 
between  which  time  and  the  close  of  the  year  they  made  of  coriuroys 
royal  ribs,  and  denims,  etc.,  cottonets,  jeans,  and  fustians,  189  pieceV 
containing  4,556  yards,  which  sold  from  Is.  Sd.  to  4.s.  a  yard  From  the 
is  January  to  the  15th  October.  1791.  when  they  had  the  new  machL^ 

;tron8;3ra:dr '''''  ^-^  -'  '--^  --'''  ^'"^^-«'  «^«'  «^« 

During  this  time,  several  other  essays  were  made  in  cotton  spinning. 

nSlIZ  '""r  r"""""  "'  ''"'  •"""'y-    ""  '•»'•"  "  '«f«"'"'  to  Wlnto'a  Memoir  of 
■umc  It  e..  .„d  .ubeequent  .„oce„  of  Slater    Slater :  Philadelpbia,  1836. 
ana  th«  cotton  busineag  in  New  England, 


^Q^  COLONIAL  CL0TH-MAN13FACTVUE. 

,enni«  ot  Harare....  r.tt«  ..=  oM.ned  and  ..,p  for  »i«a  ,ood. 
of  linen  and  coUon  w.a  .p"«  f"™  '»"'  ^7"  lall,  b-'  Scotch  and 
IrUh  «eaicr».     When  good.  »"""?  "  j  ,j     jej  for  hard 

Herman  Vandausen,  a  German.  "^^^  ^^^V  ,'„  ^^^.^f  ,uieh  and  of  his 
printing  business.  He  ^;^^l^^^^^:^^  ,t  Providence),  and 
prints  are  in  the  cabmet  of  the  l*''^""'^*  ;„  ,„  families  for  the 

printed  India  cottons  and  the  <=«--;;";"^jX;„, ««  India  trader, 
people  generally.   AUhongh  encouraged  by  J^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^.^^^^ 

:^n=":c=:  r:r:rd,  wa.  soon ,.,« 

by  the  General  Government  asserted  was 

'The  Byfield  Factory  in  ^--^'-^^;^' :,^  :Va?  ot  established  until 
the  first  regular  factory  ^^  ^^^^^'^^^^^^^^^  the  manufacture  of 

n93    and  for  several  years  after,  was  conaut 

"trhroo.  .0  noHce,  a^ong  .he  e.orU  -e  a^-  ---J 

'» ^'n?rch^r.;sr e:;r:d"r re.,  as  an,  on. 

Factory.       ^  f  j^g  members,  in  connection  wiin  me  oi»     i  o 

_,ed  "r  Lre  InBuential  tl^n^other  in  gv^ng^o^^l^- 
the  cultivation  and  manufacture  of  ^«"«"    ^  .^  ^J^,,^  i,.,^  Uiis  conn- 

,.,e  before  -^^ ^:::::^::Z::::!L  m  Philadelphia, 
try,  and  probably  he  fir     at  emp  ^^^^^^^^     ^ 

by  the  Soc^^yf '";i"  "  when  th-  "Pennsylvania  Society  for  the 
that  time  and  the  year  1787.  «»'en  in  :         ^i .  instituted,  an 

encouragement  of  Manufactures  and  ^J  "f  ^^  f  ^^^^  ,,f,,,,a.  Mr. 
effort  to  obtain  the  ArUwr.ght  »-«=  "^J ^^'^  H'^  cotton  stuffs 
Wetherill  ^^^,  "^  ^rrNerTn^^riZ  -."^>er 

afterward  made  at  ^^^  "/^'^J^^^^^^.^  ,  ,„,^  ,f  eonnecting  link  between 
of  both  societies,  seems  to  ^^^  "^^^  ^.^^^,  ,f  Uie  United  States 


AN   ADDRESS   BEFOUr   THE   PENNSYLVANIA   SOCIETY. 


405 


for  mixed  goods 
ind-cn'iis  in  the 
by  Scotch  and 
mipted,  the  warp 
adapted  for  hard 
shirtings,  checks, 

3  been  attempted, 
lenced  the  calico 
which  and  of  hia 
Providence),  and 
n  families  for  the 
II,  an  India  trader, 
and  the  business 
apness  of  English 
( the  success  of  tho 
was  soon  provided 

been  asserted  was 
t  established  until 
he  manufacture  of 

nost  simultaneously 
Lion,  before  alluded 
slieve,  as  any  of  the 
and  individual  in- 
the  State  patronage 
-iving  an  impulse  to 
Juited  States.     We 
luced  into  this  coun- 
was  in  Philadelphia, 
purposes.     Between 
inia  Society  for  the 
;s"  wi  J  instituted,  an 
)een   defeated.      Mr. 
)rdinary  cotton  stuffs 
8S,  and,  as  a  member 
iiuecting  link  between 
)f  the  United  States 
of  the  same.     It  was 
Bcre»aries,  a  treasurer, 
s,  all,  except  tlie  com- 


mittee, chosen  annually  by  ballot.  Each  member  paid  an  admission  fee 
of  ten  shillings,  and  the  same  sum  annually  toward  a  general  fund  to 
defray  expenses  and  for  premiums.  Subscriptions  of  £10  or  upward,  to 
constitute  a  manufacturing  fund,  were  received  from  individuals  or  com- 
panies, for  the  purpose  of  establisliing  factories,  the  subscribers  to  be 
entitled  to  the  profits  of  the  same.  The  subscribers  were  to  be  owners  of 
the  ground,  buildings  and  iniprovenients  belonging  to  the  society,  etc., 
aud  the  shares  were  made  transferable.  Tlie  manufacturing  operations 
were  controlled  by  the  manuCacturing  committee,  chosen  annually  by  the 
subscribers  to  that  fund. 

By  appointment  of  a  previous  meeting,  Mr.  Tench   Coxe,  an  ardent 
and  influential  encourager  of  all  efiforts  for  the  promotion  of  manufactures, 
Addrcs,  of    delivered  an  address  before  the  Society  in  the  University  of 
^'""'^°'"'' Pennsylvania,  on  the  9th  August,  USt.  which  was  published 
at  their  request.     It  appears  from  his  remarks,  that  after  giving  relief  to 
the  industrious  poor,  which  was  one  object  of  the  Society,  the  employ- 
ment of  machinery  as  much  as  possible  in  their  operations  was  contem- 
plated  by  its  friends.     This  purpose  was  urged  in  reply  to  the  objection 
which,  among  many  others,  appears  to  have   been   made   against  the 
establishment  of  manufactories,  and  were   severally    combated   by   tho 
speaker,  that  they  were  injurious  to  the  health  of  the  work-people.     A 
proper  regard  for  the  interests  of  Agriculture,  as  the  most  important, 
was  recommended  in  any  measures  that  might  be  adopted  for  the  advance- 
ment of  manufactures.     In  this  connection  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in 
the  Southern  States  was  recommended  as  an  article  from  which  the  best 
informed  manufacturers  expected  the  greatest  profits,  and   upon  which 
some  established  factories  depended.     It  thrived  as  well  there,  he  said, 
as  in  any  part  of  the  world,  and  those  States  raised  it  formerly  when  the 
price  was  not  half  what  it  had  been  for  several  years  past.     It  was  then 
worth  double  the  money  in  America  which  it  sold  for  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, European  nations  having   prohibited  its  exportation  from    their 
colonies  to  foreign  countries.     Tho  great  progress  made  in  agriculture 
and  manufactures,  particularly  in  Pennsylvania,  since  the  year  1162,  and 
Btill  more  since  the  late  war,  was  adverted  to,  and  a  lengthy  list  of  articles 
then  made  in  the   State  was  given.     These  included  hosiery,  hats  and 
gloves,  wearing  apparel,  coarse  linens  and  woolens,  some  cotton  goods, 
wool  and  cotton  cards,  etc.     The  advantages  of  America  in  having  the 
raw  materials  and  market  at  home,  in   exemption  from  duties,  in  the 
ability  to  sell  for  cash  by  the  piece  instead  of  large  invoices  on  long  credits, 
OS  imported  goods  were  then  sold,  in  the  superior  strength  of  Ameri- 
can  liuens,  in  the  benefits  of  a  better  atmosphere  for  bleaching  linen  and 


^Qg  COLONIAL  CLOTU-MANUFACTUEE. 

ontton  '  were  severally  urged  as  so  many  inducementa  to  undertake  mann- 
alr^s         e       o^Lnded  the  exemption  from  duties  of  raw  materials 
ly    stuffs,  and  certain  implements;  premiums  for  useful  --n Uons  and 
iroces  es  •  the  invitation  of  foreign  artists  to  settle  by  grants  of  land,  and 
Sa  everV   n^igrant  ship  should  be  visited  to  ascertain  what  persons  were 
0    boa  d'capable  of  constructing  useful  machines  or  of  -nductmg  manu- 
?actures.     lie  wasteful  use  of  foreign  manufactures  was  "lu^trated  by 
he  L   that  the  importation  into  Philadelphia  alone  ot  the  finer  ku.d3 
of  CO      vest  and  sLve  buttons,  buckles,  and  other  trinkets  w..  sup- 
posed  to  amount  in  a  single  year  to  ten  thousand  pounds  and  cos    th 
wearers  sixty  thousand  dollars.     In  urging  the  benefits  to   he  ag  cu 
ruraU.  teresis  of  manufactures  in  their  midst,  he  ventured  the  assertion 
/at  the  valu    of  American  productions  annually  consumed  by  the  manu- 
al o    the  sf^^^^^^  of  the  makers  of  fiour.  lun.ber,  and  bar 
ton!  was  double  the  aggregate  amount  of  all  its  exports  .o  the  most 

^"Tl?B::rd  of  Managers,  in  November,  offered  a  .old  ^da^  of  tl. 
value  of  $20  for  the  most  useful  engine  or  machine,  to  be  moved  by  water. 
Z  or  otherwise,  by  which  the  ordinary  la'       >f  hands  in  manu- 
iirisS^'faciuring  cotton,  wool.  flax,  or  hemp,  s  be  better  saved 

than  by  any  then  in  use  in  the  State ;  and  also  for  raising  and  cleaning 
tgreatesfquantity  of  hemp.  flax,  or  cotton;  for  t^e  best  spenunens  o 
patterns  of  printed  linens  or  cotton  goods  stained  within  this  State  or 
Ttter  p  e««>  I'ound  volumes,  from  Pennsylvania  types  and  pape  for 
earthenwar  flint  glass  ware,  and  bottles;  for  the  greatest  quantity  of 
wo  1  aldof  bleac'hed  wax  fit  for  candles.  Thirty-dollar  P^-ums  or 
Tedals  were  offered  for  the  greatest  quantity  of  hemp  or  swingled  flax, 


(1)  A  company   of    English  merchnnta, 
with  a  large  capital,  was  about  being  form- 
ed.  it  i»  said,  before  the  Revolution,  to  im- 
port  the    brown  linens    of    Europe   to   be 
bleached  in  this  country,  where  the  superior 
sunshine  and  plenty  of  land  was  an  induce- 
ment.  Linens  had  long  been  sent  to  Holland 
to  be  bleached,  and  the  time  (six  to  eight 
months)  required  for  the  process  and   the 
extent  of  ground  occupied,  in  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  greatly  abstracted  from 
the  profits  of  the  manufacture.  The  discovery 
by  Scheele,  in  1774,  of  the  properties  of 
chlorine,  was  scarcely  less  valuable  to  the 
cotton  and  linen  manufactures  than  the  me- 
chanical inventions  of  the  same  age.    Bor- 
thoUet.  in  1785,  introduced  the  use  of  oxy- 
muriatio  or  hydrochloric  acid  in  bleaching, 


which  James  Watt,  in  the  following  year, 
carried   over  from    Paris   to   Glasgow.     It 
appears  not  to  have  been  employed  at  Man- 
cheater  until  the  year  after  the  date  in  the 
text.    Dr.  Henry,  of  that  city,  suggested 
the  use  of  chloride  of  lime  in  the  form  of 
bleaching  powders,  to  get  rid  of  the  noxious 
vapor.    The  time  of  bleaching  was  reduced 
by  these  meana  from  months  almost  to  at 
many  hours;  but  the   acid  was  supposed, 
not  without  reason,  probably,  in  the  infancy 
of  the  art,  to  injure   the  fabric.    Thoma* 
Cooper,  afterward  a  prominent  roan  iu  this 
country,  was  one  of  the  earliest  calico  bleach- 
ers by  this  method  in  Manchester. 

(2)  The  premium  in  this  br-^noh  wni 
givin  to  the  publishers  of  a  Gera»>.n  oook. 
iu  Lancaster. 


OPKllATIONS   OF   THE    MANIFACTUUINQ   SOCIETY. 


407 


)  undertake  mann- 
of  raw  materiala, 
'ul  inventions  and 
grants  of  land,  and 
what  persona  were 
conducting  maiiu- 
ft-as  illustrated  by 
of  the  finer  kinds 
trinkets,  was  sup- 
unds,  and  cost  the 
its  to  the  agricul- 
;urcd  the  assertion 
umed  by  tlie  niann- 
iir,  lumber,  and  bar 
xports  in  the  most 

gold  medal  of  the 
be  moved  by  water, 
xf  hands  in  manu- 
be  better  saved 
•aising  and  cleaning 
le  best  specimens  or 
ithin  this  State ;  for 
rpes  and  paper ;'  for 
greatest  quantity  of 
-dollar  premiums  or 
np  or  swingled  flax, 

tt,  in  the  following  year, 
1    Paris  to   Glasgow.     It 
re  been  employed  at  Man- 
year  after  the  date  in  the 
,  of  that  city,  suggested 
le  of  lime  in  the  form  of 
s,  to  get  rid  of  the  noxious 
of  bleaching  wag  reduced 
rom  months  almost  to  ni 
,t  the   acid  was  supposed, 
,n,  probably,  in  the  infancy 
ijure   the  fabric.     Thoma* 
i  a  prominent  man  in  thii 
of  the  earliest  calico  bleach- 
od  in  Manchester, 
lium    in    this    br-^noh    wni 
(Ushers  of  a  Qeriu'm  oook. 


and  the  greatest  number  of  smiths'  anvils;  and  fifty  dollars  for  the  great- 
est quantity  of  potash  and  pearlashes,  and  for  the  greatest  quantity  and 
variety  of  painters'  colors  made  from  fossils  and  earths  of  the  United 
States.  Of  the  propriety  and  value  of  premiums  and  honorary  rewards, 
when  judiciously  conferred,  in  stimulating  it.vention  and  competition  in  the 
arts,  there  can  be  little  doubt.  The  offer  of  this  Society  and  the  subse- 
quent award  of  a  large  sum  by  the  legislature  for  a  machine  for  making 
rolls  for  spinning,  which  was  probably  a  fruit  of  that  offer,  are  said  to 
have  finally  determined  Samuel  Slater  to  come  to  America.  The  pre- 
mium for  calico  and  linen  printing  probably  led  to  the  first  establishment 
of  the  former  business  in  the  United  States  by  John  Ilewson,  a  Ilevolu- 
tionary  soldier,  who  also,  in  March,  1780,  received  a  loan  of  £200  from 
the  State,  by  an  Act  of  the  legislature,  to  enable  him  "  to  enlarge  and 
carry  on  the  business  of  calico  printing  and  bleaching  within  this 
State.'"  How  far  the  discrimination  of  the  Society  in  offering  its  high- 
est premiums  for  chemical  products  may  have  contributed  to  the  com- 
mencement, about  this  time,  of  the  first  white-lead  manufacture  in  the 
United  States,  by  Mr.  Wetherill,  and  to  the  subsequent  eminence  of 
Philadelphia  in  the  chemical  branches,  it  is  impossible  to  say. 

The  Manufacturing  Committee,  of  which  S.  Wetherill,  Jr.,  was 
chairman,  in  the  autumn  of  1188,  soon  after  the  close  of  the  first  year 
Report  of  the  from  its  Organization,  made  a  report  to  the  Board  of  Managers 
cummutee.  ^f  ^i,^j^  operations  to  the  23d  of  August.  It  furnishes  some 
interesting  statements.  The  contributions  received  amounted  in  hard 
specie  to  £1321  lOs.  Gd.,  and  the  expenditures  for  machines,  utensils, 
and  fitting  up  the  manufactory,  to  £453  IDs.  2d.,  leaving  a  circulating 
capital  of  £8T4.  To  employ  the  poor,  they  had  purchased  flux  and  em- 
ployed  between  two  and  three  hundred  women  in  spinning  linen  yarn 
during  the  winter  and  spring,  and  engaged  workmen  to  make  a  carding 
machine  and  four  jennies  of  40,  44,  60,  and  80  spindles,  respectively,  for 
spinning  cotton.  Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  finding  artists  and  making 
machines  without  models  or  with  imperfect  ones,  and  obstructions  caused 
by  foreign  agents,  etc.,  they  did  not  get  the  first  loom  at  work  until 
12th  April,  1788.     The  number  had  since  been  increased  to  twenty-six, 

(1)  John  Howson,  it  is  said,  was  invited  who  inherited  his  father's  probity  and   bo- 

to  this  country  from  England  by  Benjamin  nevolcnce,  and  only  recently  died  at   the 

Franklin,  and  having  espoused  the  cause  age  of  93.     General  Washington  was  accus 

of  the  Revolution,  he  was  t.ikcn  prisoner  by  tomed   to    point,   with    patriotic    pride,    to 

the   British    at  the  battle  of   Monmouth,  domestic  fabrics  upon  the  person  of  Mrs. 

Having  made  his  escape,  fifty  guineas  re-  Washington  from  the  establishment  of  the 

ward  were  offered  for  his  re-capture,  dead  elder  IIew.«on.  He  was  elected  in  Oct.,  1788. 

or  alive.     Ills  prict  works  were  near  Rich-'  to  print  for  the  Society.     Robert  Taylor  was 

inond,  where   Dyottville  now   is,  and  were  his  competitor, 
suiitinued   by  Lis  son,  of  the  same  iiume« 


408 


COL'>NIAL   CLCTH  MANfFACTURE. 


''"T",      /„f  ,1    corllys.  aLercd  coHon,  cottous,  ll»x  linos, 
,».„«ract„,ed  o   JoaM,  ™  '^•3;  ^  „,„,  „„„.|,„|f,  o,-  2095  yds., 

tew  lincM,  and  liirdeyc,  4016  ,aM»,  01  wii  (, 

„ere  cot.ons,  .„d  U,cy  „.    f  ^^^ '"  ^^"7;.     c  -It  o)  proper 

rr^^df ::  v^r  :ir,,:ifi^:  t.  .e..,.  «.,es.„  „„„ 

":.L"'col:r:T'tr;:;r«'  M.n».er«,  co„sls«„.  or  Mess.. 
-,  nZ     «,d  Te.Kl,  Cose,  eonsidercd  this  eNl.il.it  of  tl.e.r  o,,e,a- 

tioM  as  Liitiily  eneourag...?,  espcoiully  as  tlie  p.  lee  o- 

„i„„pe„ce  aed  te„pe,.ce  the  poaad  to  "''"f  ""'■  jlr  a]  ^0,,  had 

,„„e,  on  aeeoant  of  inereased  a.teuUoa  to  •  «  «"'j  «»  -  '         ';„„     ,„„ 

"'- ^-'-^-^ 'Vii:  i:;:  t  ;:i .  e.d:iv:io.:  s,.Led  i.:  the 

groutly  increase  the  prol.t     t-iru u.g  ^^^^_^^^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^ 

eould  now  be  imrchased  for  £60,  '^"^'^J^     J  proportion. 

,.  n5.ana  -'"- ;'"»'^r  "^«;:;::X^"^er^rl.i  nlailc  the 
Two  siM»ariitc  i>nd  ii)dei.cmlent  estimates  Dydiuuu  i 

r  of  i  .iven  .„.,i.y  of  oli.e.eo,on.a i-;;;;     —  :       It  als: 
lh,x  LeiaB  r,u.>.l  at  T'l-  «■"  ' '  "'-■/"■'.     |„„.ri„„„  |5„„,ls  .-ere  above 

t'ti  'i';:;'.ti: :.;;? :  ,.  ^:;' u„.?.;f i;;;ot.ed'  xh.  con„nit,ee 
""  '"'■"'":;;i:,:r;r:e,r  f  .-a,!!^^^  >. '..,  s„h.cHp. 

the  stronptst  tenns   he  F"«""   »  ,       ^|,.|,  ,,„|„ce  ao.ao 

;;:;r';L:nr°:u:!rei:".a:'':/=;et., .  o,.detta..  u.e  h„s,. 

'"on  the  -^Oth  Mareh,  pre.iou,  to  the  openin,  of  this  .nannfaelor,  .h, 
le^Ialre  of  l-c«»sylvauia  passed  aa  "  Aet  to  eneo-rage  and  protee.  th. 


■■•Mi 


mmm 


THE   STATE   SUBSCKIBES   TO   THE   FACTORY. 


409 


ufCiist,  the  following 
1,  67,he!*vcr  fustian, 

i_totai,  7, in  yds. 

i  of  jeans,  corduroys, 
of  jeans,  cotton  and 
i  5s.  11<'-     'i'lie  net 
!  rate  of  30  per  cent 
;t  of  November,  they 
,  cottons,  flax  linens, 
iic-half,  or  2095  yds., 
The  entire  product 
lu  the  want  of  proper 
aching  business,  only 

onsisting  of  Messrs. 
xhibit  of  their  opcra- 
of  flax  had  fallen  from 
lid  would  probably  be 
ation  ;  and  cotion  had 

or  2s.  2'7.  The  price 
kation  succeed  in  the 
;ed  by  the  inantifacture 
ormer  liigh  rates,  one- 
1  by  niacliinery,  it  was 

horses  or  water,  must 

which  they  paid  £100, 
r  which  they  paid  £28, 
n  price  in  proportion, 
rent  persons  made  the 
liiion  cliuiu,  2.s\  5'i.  oi>d 
,  which  sold  for  3s.  3i/. ; 
lid,  weaving  at  Id.,  and 
•rican  goods  were  above 
ported.   The  Committee 
le  clearest  conviction  of 

leave  to  recommend  in 
iicture  by  fresh  subscrip- 
valnc  shall  induce  some 
to  undertake    the  busi- 

of  this  mnnuraotory,  the 
ncourage  and  protect  the 


Manufactures  of  the  State."     This  Act,  which  was  limited  to  two  years, 
prohibited,  under   certain   penalties,  the  exportation    of  manufacturing 

machines,  the  scarcity  of  whicli  was  the  ffreat  obstacle  to  such 
eucourKge-    Undertakings.   Tiiis  Act  is  stated  by  the  editor  of  the  American 

Museum,  M.  Carey,  to  have  owed  its  existence  to  tlie  fact  that 
in  the  year  1787,  two  carding  and' spinning  maciiines  in  the  po.ssession 
of  a  citizen  of  Piiiladelphia,  and  calculated  to  save  tlie  labor  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  persons,  were  purchased  by  the  agency  of  a  British  artisan, 
packed  up  In  cases  as  common  merchandise,  and  shipped  to  Liverpool. 
A  quantity  of  cotton  seed  is  also  stated  to  have  been  soon  after  purchased 
in  Virginia  and  burned,  in  order  to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  extension  of 
the  cotton  manufactures  in  America,  and  their  injurious  cfl'ects  upon  the 
importation  of  Manchester  goods.  In  October,  1788,  a  reward  of  £100 
was  given  John  Hague,  of  Alexandria, Va.,  for  a  carding  machine  completed 
for  the  Society  in  March  of  the  ensuing  year,  when  the  legislature  passed 
"An  Act  to  assist  the  Cotton  Manufactures  of  tliis  State."  Tliis  Act  was 
designed  to  assist  "  The  Manufacturing  Committee  of  the  Pennsylvania  So- 
ciety for  the  encouragement  of  Manufactures  and  the  useful  Arts,  and  under 
whom  a  manufactory  of  cotton  articles  has  accordingly  been  established  with 
great  prospect  of  success  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  but  the  sums  sub- 
scribed to  which  are  inadocpiate  to  the  prosecution  of  the  plan  upon 
that  extensive  and  liberal  scale  which  it  is  the  interest  of  this  State  to 
promote."  It  authorized  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  to  subscribe  in  the 
Jiame  and  for  the  use  of  the  State  for  one  hundred  shares,  of  £10  each, 
in  the  manufacturing  fund  of  the  said  Society  ;  which  was  done  accord- 
ingly, and  an  order  drawn  upon  the  Treasurer,  Dr.  Kittcniiouse,  in  favot 
of  Christopher  Marshall,  Jr.,  Treasurer  of  the  Society,  for  the  sum  of 
one  thousand  pounds,  April  9,  1789.'  The  manufactory  was  burned 
down  on  the  night  of  the  24th  March,  1790,'  and  evidence  having  been 
obtained  that  it  was  fired  by  design,  a  reward  was  oflered  by  the  State 
for  the  detection  of  the  culprit. 

The  earnest  recommendation  of  Mr.  Coxe  and  the  efforts  of  the  So- 
ciety to  introduce  the  manufacture  of  cotton  are  i)elieved  to  have  had  much 
Influence  of  inflnenco  with  the  members  of  the  Convention  nsseinl)led  in 
ihosocieiy.  piiiliuleiphia,  at  the  time  of  its  organization,  to  frame  a  Con- 
stitution under  which  a  more  eHicicnt  government  could  be  adopted  to 

(1)  Tiftwn  nf  Ponaaylvanlo.  Culonlul  He-  Btroot.'niiw  No.  .122,  wan  cnliri'l.v  iliintroynil 
cords,  xvi.  61.  bv  firo,  to){e»tu'r  with  n  riiiatitity  of  ^"DiI  inH- 

(2)  "Miircti  J».  1700.— About  11  o'clock    chincry."— .S'*n//H»'  Chnm.  Titlilm. 

»t   nltfht,    ttio    Vulien   Maniirnctory   nt   the  The  iiite  of  this   fiictdry  iliii»  njijionrK   to 

8   W.  corner  of  Market  anil   Ninth  flreets,  have  Ijccn  Ihu  mino  ii,"  Ihiit  of  the  .MMMiifao. 

rhil»il(l|ihia,     R(ijuintnj(     Tctcr     Jtiirkoc'i  tiirinn  Sorliity  of  177.'>,  niid  wim  nul.iii  of 

houio,  then  culled  thv  upper  end  uf  Market  Wllllatu  Uingliuiu  ut  i4()  pvr  iiiiiiuiu. 


'^  COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 

remedy  the  numerous  evils  arising  under  the  old  Confederation.     The 
Southern  dele-^ates,  on  returning  home,  generally  recommenaed  tl    cult.- 
vat       0    cotton,  and  with  such  success  as  to  secure  increased  a  tent.on 
0       t  crop     The  same  inQuence  and  the  necessity  of  a  revenue  induced 
hetr  t  Congress,  of  which  Mr.  Clymer  was  a  member,  to  protect  the 
'row     of  the'raw  material  and  its  manufacture  by  a  duty  of  3.J  a  pound 
Tf^^igu  cotton,  and  of  five  per  cent.,  which  was  soon  after  .ncre  sed 
Z  welve  and  a  half,  on  foreign  manufactured  cottons.     There    s  htt  o 
do  bt  that  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  derived  i-P-^^  ^^^^^^^^ 
the  formation  of  his  fiscal  scheme,  and  much  material  for  h  s  able  report 
onMlufactures,  from  the  statesmanlike  views  and  -ura  e^  - 

•  t„„f  Mr  Poxp     In  his  recommendation  of  the  cotton  cuiiuro 

trrS  oTa  re-aJt  staple,  and  of  -n"^-----;/:: 
firmest  supports  of  a  prosperous  agriculture  and  commerce,  the  latter  was 
u  "mitt  ng  and  enthusiastic.     His  writings  on  the  subject  constitute  a 
XC  source  of  information  respecting  the  state  of  i-x^-try  during  a 
number  of  years  succeeding  the  peace.     His  review  of  the  work  of  Lo  d 
ShTffie  d  is  an  able  refutation  of  the  errors  of  that  writer,  who  opp  sed 
fhe  Ub  ral  commercial  treaty  with  the  late  Colonies,  introduced  in     ar- 
UmXMr.Pittin  1^83.  on  the  ground  that  they  had  forfeited  be 
S  gcB  of  British  subjects  •,  that  no  treaty  with  them  co.H  be  binding 
on     Uhe  States,  and  that  they  must  necessarily  remain  dependent  chie  y 
upon  Great  Brit  in  for  most  kinds  of  manufactures,  in  which  they  could 
never  rival  the  former,  and  that  they  had  few  surplus  product.oi.s  which 
the"emaining  Colonies  of  the  Cr.wn  could   not  furnish  with  equal 

^' wl'learn  from  the  writings  of  Mr.  Coxe,  that  Pennsylvania,  within  a 
a  year  or  two  after  if  not  before  the  destruction  of  the  .m..!  -^^-'^^^^ 
^  above  referred  to.  was  in  possession  of  a  full  set  of  the  Ark- 

L\°urL'     aright  machinery  for  spinning  cotton,  as  well  as  the  complete 
ISKi-tT"  ^orks  of  the  wator-mill  for  spinning  hemp  and  worsted  yarn 
He  strongly  advocated  the  introduction  of  ma.uifactures  on  a  large  sea  o 
commensurate  with  the  increased  abilities  and  wants  of  the  country.     Ho 
drrup  and  published  the  detaiH  of  a  plan  for  a  manufacturing  town  u. 


(1)  Wnilnm 


PoUar-t,    of     Philndelphla,    d.lphln.  »nJ  at  Ilnrtford   C.>r.n..  -"'  I"'";'; 
'  -     -      At  I'hilndelpliiii,  Jiiliii  Uutler, 


Whi«  to  have  beon  the   n..t  water-fr.m.    earned  on  ut  111   N.  Tl urd  ■t„  Hn     a  i«  . 
Willie   10    nave     "  ij.,iinU   from  (Ircut  Hrlui.  nUo  iimde  them. 

..„M.,1  thpro.     The  want  of  .uocoH  on  the     Uarliek,  Irom  ur(»i  i  r 


erected  Ihrro.     Tho 


p„t  of   .he    mven.or.   retarded  the  coUoo     Felix  Cn.wford  made  .lying  .huttlc.  at  th.* 
Lnufactur.  In  Philadelphia.     Cotton  «»-    time  at  304  8.  Second  ... 
ohlnery  of  all  kinds  wan  then  made  at  Phll»- 


AM 


FACTORY   AT   PATTERSON,  N.  J. — IIOtSEIIOLI)    MANUFACTURES.        411 


!onfederation.     The 
smmenned  the  culti- 

increased  attention 
of  a  revenue  induced 
iber,  to  protect  the 
duty  of  3d.  0,  pound 
soon  after  increased 
jns.  There  is  little 
d  important  hints,  in 
al  for  his  able  report 

accurate  knowledge 
of  the  cotton  culture 
factures  as  one  of  the 
nraerce,  the  latter  was 
0  subject  constitute  a 
)  of  industry  during  a 
'  of  the  work  of  Lord 
;  writer,  who  opposed 
iS,  introduced  in  I'ar- 
they  had  forfeited  the 
hem  covli  be  binding 
nain  dependent  chiefly 
IS,  in  which  they  could 
)lu3  productions  which 
ot  furnish  with  equal 

Pennsylvania,  within  a 
f  the  btni'll  tnan-'fyotory 

a  full  set  of  the  Ark- 
ts  well  as  the  complete 
mp  and  worsted  yarn.' 
actures  on  a  large  scale 
iits  of  the  country.     lie 

manufacturing  town  in 


t  Ilnrtford,  Cnnn.,  and  Prnvl- 
At  l'hil»Jelpliiii,  John  Uutler, 
iiie  Milker  mill  I'liinu  Miikor," 

HI  N.  Tliinl  It,,  iin.i  n  Mr. 
(Ircut  Hriluii.  hUo  innda  tlii'in. 
r.l  imia»  lli  ing  lUulllci  at  tUM 

SocunU  at. 


the  interior  of  the  State,  which  should  be  to  Philadelphia  what  Man- 
chester, Leeds,  Birmingham,  and  SheCTield  were  to  their  respective 
seaports.  A  capital  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  raised  either  by 
the  subscriptions  of  an  associated  company,  by  lottery  tickets,  or  by  an 
appropriation  of  State  funds  to  that  amount,  was  to  be  invested  in  tiie 
purchase  of  two  thousand  acres  of  land,  whereon  the  factories  for  all 
branches  of  manufacture,  dwellings,  and  other  aj)purtenanees  of  a  com- 
plete manufacturing  village  were  to  be  erected,  to  become  tlie  great 
support  of  the  rural  population  around.  Navigable  coniniunication  with 
the  city  and  the  interior,  an  ample  water-power  and  access  to  wood  and 
coal,  etc.,  were  the  conditions  which  should  determine  its  selection.  The 
suggestion  was  afterward  acted  upon  by  a  "  Society  for  the  establislimcnt 
of  useful  Manufactures,"  whicli,  under  tlie  patronage  ot  tlie  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  and  with  a  large  capital  in  shares  of  $400  each,  was 
chartered  in  November,  1791,  by  the  legislature  of  New  Jersey,  with 
extensive  privileges  to  carry  on  all  kinds  of  Manufactures  at  the  Fails 
of  the  Passaic.  Although  not  immediately  successful,  the  enterprise  was 
the  foundation  of  the  present  active  town  of  Patterson,  which  not  many 
years  after  became  the  seat  of  numerous  cotton  factories,  that  having  been 
the  first  in  the  State. 

We  are  furnished  from  the  same  source  some  interesting  particulars 
of  the  state  of  other  branches  of  manufactures  at  this  time  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  neighboring  States,  and  particularly  of  the  family  manu- 
factures. 

In  nearly  all  the  States  there  had  been  a  great  increase  in  the  quan- 
tity and  quality  of  the  household  productions,  and  in  nniny  of  them  small 
incre»t«. and  manufacturing  establishments  for  woolen,  linen,  and  cotton,  as 
H*u»eh»id  ^'-"  "**  other  descriptions  of  goods,  wire  eipringing  up.  The 
M»uufacnir««.  average  exports  of  British  manufactures  to  the  United  States 
for  several  years  preceding  1789,  notwithstanding  a  great  increase  of 
population  in  the  States,  were  nearly  half  a  million  dollar.:  less  than  the 
average  of  several  years  preceding  the  war.  But  the  trade  which  had 
opened  with  India  and  China  supplied  largo  quantities  of  muslins,  cali- 
coes, and  other  cottons,  nankeen.s,  and  silks  from  those  countries.  The 
profits  of  this  commerce,  in  which  it  was  not  unusual  for  the  merchant  to 
Bell  such  goods  by  invoices  morked  one  hundred  per  cent,  above  the  price 
at  Calcutta,  caused  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  trade.  British  manu- 
factures, at  the  same  time,  in  order  to  drive  India  goods  from  the  market, 
supplied  their  cottons  in  unlimited  quantities  and  u])on  the  easiest  credit. 
These  causes  combined,  raised  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  tiie  suc- 
cessful csti'l)lishment  of  the  cotton  manufacture  in  these  States.  As  the 
American  trade  was  now  an  open  one,  the  importations  of  duck  and 


m 


COLONIAL  CI.OTII-MANUFACTUBE. 


Other  liuo.s  from  Russia  and  Ilollaud  also  ^'^^'^r^  f..^'  ^ 
than  twenty-two  ships  arrived  in  American  ports  m  the  yeo:  1.90  f.om 
ScPe"  sburg.  ladL  with  cordage,  tickings,  drillings.  d.a,er  broad 
narrow  and  printed  linens,  crush  sheeting,  rovers'  duck.  hen>p.  flax,  ad 
rT  Notwfthstanding  these  large  importations,  there  hud  been  a  v  .  y 
great  and  general  increase  ia  the  number  of  manufactures  and   u.  the 

''':^^;^  i:burof  Philadelphia,  in  a  total  potation  of  .^,0^ 
co^l^d  exclusive  of  carpenters,  masons,  and  other  han,cr.a.  2^0 
persons  who  might  properly  be  denonunated  "--/-'-'  %J^^ 
one-fourth  of  the  8,600  adult  males  it  was  supposed  to  cont.  beva 

inland  towns  of  the  State,  and  so.ne  in  other  States.  '^^^^^'^^J^ 
portion  of  manufacturers.     The  extent  of  ^^  ^'-^'^  ^^;';^*      '  .    f  J 
future  increase  were  overlooked   hy  Lord  Sheffield.         lit   uomj-  «  « 

of  it  cither  in  this  country  or  in  Europe.     In  all  the   Stat  s  '"""  ^^^ 

Household    Manuianuit!,         k  ..piLrhhorhood  in  Virginia,  on  a 

M»nufKci,.re«i3  fumishod  u\  thc  case  of  one  neigUDOinoou  .  h 

tn  Southern   '"         ,,      .  I    ,.„  .iw,  whites  were  to  the  blacks  as  one  to 

Colonies.      navigable  river,  where  the  whites  were  w  i 

»v  f„milic-<,  ricli  and   poor  taken  indiscriminately,  it  was 

$21.50.     There  was  but  one  family  in  t  -  iwtn.y  i  m 

'' Anoiher  example  of  twenty  families,  taken  In  the  Bame  indisorimimUe 

way  f  r.i«Ued  the  following  F-'^-'-'-'f  f-'''>' "'  "^j^'l^'^/^^;',,!' 
;Ss-.  woolen,  344  yards;  cotton,  IGBl  yard.;  Htook.n.s.  4  piU 
,hoes  made  on  the  estates.  1>1  pairs;  total  value,  $1701.  ^J'^««  ^  « 
cons  dered  fair  averages  of  the  family  manufactures  generally.  n  ho 
3t:countles  of  ^ccomac  and  Non...-.  Virgni.  n  a  d  .^ 
containing  2729  families,  it  was  ascertain..!  that  315-000 
Cloth  were  made  in  a  year,  45,000  yards  of  woolen,  30,000  J  aids 


HOUSEHOLD   MANUFACTURES  IN   THE   SOUTHERN   STATES. 


413 


increasi'd.  No  less 
the  yei>;  KOO  from 
ings,  diniicr,  broad, 
uck,  hemp,  flax,  and 
leie  had  been  a  very 
afuctures  and   in  the 

lopulation  of  43,000, 
er  hnndicrafis,  2,200 
ivfaditrcrs,  or  ovfi- 
to  contain.     Several 
s,  excetnled  that  pro- 
ihoid  industry  and  its 
"Tlie  progress  and 
itural  industry,"  Mr. 
that  has  been  formed 
the   States  inhabited 
tnres  are  iiiiown  to  be 
IS  for  the  use  of  the 

ous,  and  near  the  sca- 
ined,  tliis   branch    of 
losed.     An  iihistratiow 
hood  in  Virginia,  on  ft 
0  the  blacks  as  one  to 
Indiscrimiiuitely,  it  was 
both  colors,  there  were 
1907   yards;  of  negro 
f  course  and  108  of  fine 
rth  60  cents  per  yard, 
,  of  their  industry  was 
IS  $267,  and  tl>c  lowest 
»ty  that  did  not  mauu- 

the  same  indiscriminate 
industry.  Linen,  1095 
;  BtockinRS,  174  pairs; 
uc,  $1701-  Tliesc  were 
;ures  generally.  In  the 
1,  "Virginia,  in  a  district 
315,000  yards  of  ilaxen 
woolen,  30,000  yards  of 


cotton,  and  45,000  of  linen  and  woolen  Cloth,  besides  a  quantity  of  coarse 
stockings.  All  tlie  shoes  and  three-fourths  of  the  Clothiiiff  were  made  ia 
the  country  from  materials  grown  on  the  farms,  including  the  cotton 
used.  Four  other  counties  sliowed  an  average  of  nearly  200  yards  of 
cotton,  woolen,  and  line  made  in  each  family,  and  five-sixths  of  all  the 
apparel  worn  was  produced  in  the  same  way.  So  great,  had  been  the  in- 
crease of  this  industry  in  Virginia,  that  a  few  years  later  it  was  believed 
that,  throughout  the  State,  three-fourths  of  all  the  Clothing  was  manufac- 
tured by  the  people,  who,  before  the  war,  had  imported  seven-eigliths  of  it. 

In  South  Carolina,  the  family  manufactures  in  interior  parts  of  the 
State  furnished  a  sufficient  supply  of  substantial  middling  and  coarse 
cotton,  woolen,  and  linen  goods.  It  was  the  same  in  Georgia.  In 
Xortb  Carolina  they  were  nearly  as  attentive  to  domestic  manufactures 
as  in  Virginia,  and  some  good  cotton  stulfs  were  made. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  M.  De  Warville,  August  15, 
1786,  observes,  "  The  four  southernmost  States  make  a  great  deal  of 
cotton.  Their  poor  are  almost  entirely  clothed  in  it  in  winter  and  sura 
mer.  In  winter  they  wear  shirts  of  it,  and  outer  clothing  of  cotton  and 
wool  mixed.  In  summer  their  shirts  are  linen,  but  the  out«.r  clothing 
cotton.  The  dress  of  the  women  is  almost  entirely  of  cotton,  manufac- 
tured by  themselves,  except  the  richer  class,  and  even  many  of  these  weai 
a  good  deal  of  homespun  cotton.  It  is  as  well  manufactured  as  tht 
calicoes  of  Europe."  In  his  Notes  on  Virginia,  written  in  the  previous 
year,  he  opposed  the  establishment  of  manufactures,  believing  that  the 
people  would  be  more  happy,  virtuous,  and  prosperous  as  an  ngrieulturul 
people  than  they  could  be  with  the  vices  and  evils  of  manufacturing  towns 
in  their  midst.  His  views  afterward  underwent  a  change,  and  he  became 
an  advocate  of  domestic  man  ."actures.  He  even  became  himself  a  manu- 
facturer in  the  household  way,  and  employed  two  s])inning  jennies,  a 
carding  machine,  and  loom  with  flying-shuttle,  by  which  ho  made  more 
than  two  thousand  yards  of  Cloth  which  his  family  and  servants  required 
yearly.  Previous  to  this,  however,  we  find  him,  in  1788,  writing  to  Mr. 
Pigges,  that  "in  general  it  is  impossible  for  nianufuclures  to  succeed  in 
America  from  the  high  price  of  labor,"  and  that  it  was  "not  the  policy 
of  the  government  of  that  country  to  give  any  aid  to  works  of  anjr 
kind." 

In  Connecticut,  according  to  Mr.  Coxc,  the  household  mannfacturej 
were  such  as  to  furnish  a  surplus  sold  out  of  the  State.  New  England 
iiouKeiinid  li"«"s  Iind  BlTectcd  the  price  and  the  importations  of  that  article 
lu'wl-w*"""" '^''"'"  ^^^  York  to  Georgia.  The  household  manufactures 
Kuxinnd.  (exclusive  of  those  made  in  regular  factories)  iiichMicd  woolen 
and  linen  cloth,  sail  cloth,  bed-licks,  some  cotiun  goods,  hosiery,  nuiU 


^  COLONIAL  CLOTU-MANfFACTURE. 

and  spi.es.  so^e  sU.  buttons.  .anaUercMeTs  .-s  and  stuff,  sewin,. 
.Uk.  threads,  ^-ges.  and  pot  an    F      as^  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^ 

In  Massachusetts  the  importation  ot  torub  ,„Uvtion  had 

o„e-ha,f  than  it  was  -enty^ears  ^^^l^^.^  urticies 
greatly  increased    and  conB.de.a        q  ^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^,^^^ 

were  shipped  ou  of  « «  St^;-  ^^^  ^f  ^^^estic  production.  In  a 
cargoes  gave  ev.cence  of  '^l^'!^^^^  „,  ,,^  ,,o«sand  pairs  of 
regular  ^^^ory  there  w.^^^^^^^  ,,,  ,,„estic  manufactures 

cotton  and  ^ooXj'^!^^,  c  "etly       P    ^  ^^^^,^^^^  ^„^  jso.OOO  pa.rs 

througiiout  tlie  Union;  1<^^^*^"' •"', "  ,^^,,  .r  ^ynn,  of  which  10,355 
of  stuff  and  sillc  shoes  in  ^^VT'pk,  IhL  in  a  year.  Thread  and 
pairs  ^.ere  shipped  by  one  family  to  rjuladelph  a  in  a  r.  ^^  ^^^^  .^ 
silk  lace  and  edgings  to  the  amoun    of  4  ,979   y  ^^.^^ 

f..nics.  and  not  in  ^gular  ;;^--;;  ;^3r:peci.enl  of  these  new 
contained  4.562  inhabitants.    P»«e'Yp  was  a  seaport,  and  lace  a 

manufactures  were  «.f '^^'^^^-^^J^^J^^/twus  in   Massachusetts  and 
compact  article  easily  imported      Other  tow  ^^^^^^.^^ 

Connecticut  -^;;^-;:V.s:  ^  r^d^Clic  ::d;^^      credit,  and  the 
troubles  growing  ou.  of  tho  aisoratrt    v  .       Yaif^ral  govern- 

beavy  importations  of  foreign  ^^f^^Z^^^^  i»  ^aLchu- 
„ent  could  not  relieve.  P^^^^^^j;:"'";^';  °  Uons  against  the  use  of 
setts  in  n86.  and  renewed  the  f«;°f ^^'*'^,„,Jie  „,anufactures. 
in^ported  goods  and  for  the  P^^^ ^^    .,      /^r^tive  efforts  of  the 

^^::i!r::::^::^r:::z^--^  ^.  oovemor  bow. 

-de.     The  number  of  regular  fa^^^^^^^^^^^ 

portion  to  the  population.      Ihe  nne  p^^^i^^nce  and  vicinity, 

branch,  and  cotton-mills  were  in  operat     i.     In  Pro-  ^^^^^^.  ^^ 

30.000  yards  of  woolen  Cloth  were  -      '"  ^^^^'J^..^.^,  ,,,  of  car- 

,ear  25.265  yards  o. en        58  o^  otto  ,^,^^^^^^^  ^_^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^, 

peting.  and  4,093  pair  o^  s      J  ^^^^.^^^ 

fringe  were  made  all  of  which  wer  .^^j^.ted  the  extent 

'"CCS  t  uLt «,-  Mi-^-""  '»'  '—*  ''°*"'' 


EXTENT  OF  HOUSEHOLD  MANUFACTURES. 


415 


and  stuffs,  sewing- 

ifactures  was  less  by 
igh    population  bad 

home-made  articles 
•niture,  and  outward 
»  production.      In  a 
I  thousand  pairs    of 
Qmestic  manufactures 
ST,  and  150,000  pairs 
mn,  of  which  10,355 
1  a  year.     Thread  and 

yards  were  made  in 
xa  of  Ipswich,  which 
specimens  of  these  new 
ft  seaport,  and  lace  a 
in  Massachusetts  and 
extent.     The  financial 

private  credit,  and  the 
Bcient  Federal  govern- 
iry  spirit  in  Massacba- 
ons  against  the  use  of 
domestic  manufactures. 

the  native  efforts  of  the 
red  by  Governor  Bow- 

[»me  progress  bad  been 
ormer  was  great  in  pro- 
actures  were  a  leading 
Providence  and  vicinity, 
90,  and  in  the  following 
55  of  woolen,  512  of  car- 
loves,  and  260  yards  of 
ibric3. 

Hire  indicated  the  extent 
which  they  bad  no  estab- 

iUs  for  household  woolens, 

»ut  Pennsylvania.     There 

nber  of  oil-mills  indicated 

linen  factories  existed,  a 


vast  household  manufacture  of  linen  was  to  be  inferred.  The  sale  of  spin- 
ning-wheel irons  from  one  shop  in  Philaflelphia,  in  1790,  amounted  to 
1,500  sets,  nearly  all  for  domestic  use  in  families — an  increase  of  twenty- 
nine  per  cent,  over  the  previous  year.  In  Lancaster,  the  largest  inland 
town  in  the  United  States  in  1786,  were  about  700  families,  of  whom  234 
were  manufacturers,  in  which  were  included  14  hatters,  36  shoemakers, 
25  tailors,  25  weavers  of  woolen,  linen  and  cotton  Cloth,  3  stocking 
weavers,  and  4  dyers.  Within  ten  miles  of  the  town  were  4  oil -mills,  5 
hemp-mills,  and  1  fulling-mill,  which  indicated  a  predominance  of  the 
linen  branch  in  their  manufactures.  The  increase  must  have  been  great 
in  the  four  subsequent  years.  Lancaster,  York,  and  Berks  Counties 
were  among  the  most  active  in  manufactures  of  any  in  the  State,  and 
probably  in  the  Union.  Delaware,  Bucks,  Chester,  and  Montgomery 
had  also  very  numerous  manufactures  and  much  household  industry. 
Pittsburg,  Bedford,  and  Huntingdon,  in  the  Western  part  of  the  State, 
had  respectively  130,  40,  and  85  families,  and  the  number  of  manufac- 
turers in  ruch  was  severally  40,  15,  and  23.  Washington,  near  the  Ohio, 
and  still  more  remote,  had  grown  up  since  the  war,  and  numbered  32 
manufacturers  of  25  diflferent  kinds.  Twenty-seven  per  cent,  was  the 
lowest  and  thirty-seven  per  cent,  the  highest  proportion  of  manufacturers 
to  the  whole  population  in  those  villages,  which  exceeded  that  of  any  of 
the  older  towns,  and  indicated  the  value  of  manufactures  to  the  agricul- 
tural population. 

Frederick  and  Elizabeth,  towns  in  Maryland,  and  Stanton  ond  Win- 
chester, Virginia,  and  som?  other  southern  towns,  were  believed  to  ex- 
hibit equal  advance  in  domestic  industry.  The  last-named  employed 
8  or  10  hatters,  whose  manufacture  was  in  much  repute,  and  sold  for  one 
dollar  each,  and  eleven  dollars  per  dozen.  They  were  made  of  wool,  which 
was  of'cn  ordered  from  Philadelphia,  and  brought  one-third  of  a  dollar 
per  pound.  There  were  several  oil-mills,  which  paid  2>i.  to  2.s.  6rf.  a 
bushel  for  flax-seed.  There  were  eight  or  nine  weavers  and  two  spinning- 
wheel  makers. 

Such,  taking  a  part  for  the  whole,  was  the  vast  scene  of  domestic 
household  manufactures  which,  at  the  commencement  of  our  national 
existence,  was  presented  throughout  the  whole  country.  With  few  ex- 
ceptions, the  spirit  of  a  self-dependent  industry  animated  more  or  less 
every  household,  from  that  of  the  wealthy  planter  of  the  olde.st  towns 
to  the  bark  or  log  cabin  of  the  frontier  settler  on  the  Scioto  or  the 
Alabama. 

In  the  absence  of  anything  like  correct  or  general  statistics  of  the 
industry  of  the  States,  no  reliable  estimate  can  be  formed  of  the  njjrgre- 
gate  of  their  family  manufactures.  The  writer  from  whom  we  have  drawn 


m 


COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANLFACTUUE 


the  foregoing  particnlars.  ventured,  however,  to  nrnke  a  computation  of 
the  value  of  hosiery  and  Cloths  of  wool,  flax,  hemp,  and  cotton  produced 
annually  in  1790,  on  the  basis  of  the  partial  returns  from  Virginia.    Iha 
population  of  ihut  State,  exclusive  of  Kentucky,  wa.  70,825  families. 
Taking  the  lowest  of  the  returns,  which  gave  the  rate  of  183^  to  cmcIi 
family  and  rejecting  one-third  and  odd  numbers  for  u  moderate  calcula- 
tion be  obtained  the  sura  of  $3,900,000  as  the  value  of  household  manu- 
factures  alone,  exclusive  of  the  work  of  regular  tanners,  shoemakers 
blacksmiths,  weavers,  and  other  tradesmen  in  Virginia.     Com  ated  at 
the  same  rate,  the  population  of  the  United   States,  taken  at  3,900,000 
persons,  would  yield  a  value  of  above  twenty  millions  of  dollars  annually 
of  such  manufactures.'     It  is  at  least  certain  that  this  species  of  industry 
combined  with  the  product  of  regular  factories  for  the  production  of 
various  species  of  Cloth,  leather,  etc.,  went  very  far  toward  a  full  supply 
of  the  necessary  clothing  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  population.     And 
when  the  great  economy  to  which  the  entire  population  outside  of  the 
large  towns  had  been  long  inured,  and  the  less  artificial  wants  of  all  com- 
pared  with  those  of  the  present  ge..?ration  are  taken  into  account,  it 
may  be  questioned  if  the  people  of  that  day  were  not  as  really  mde- 
pendent  of  other  countries  for  such  necessaries  as  their  descendants  at 

^^Thrgreat  attention  which,  since  the  Peace,  had  been  given  to  the 
Increase-  and  improvement  of  the  wool  of  the  country,  had  called  into 
existence  many  small  manufactories  of  woolen  Cloih.      Our  previous 
pages  will  show  that  wool  had  all  along  been  an  object  of  encourage- 
ment  in  the  several   Colonies.      Rapid  progress  was  made,  after  the 
war    in  agriculture;  and  Agricultural    Societies,  which,  within  a  few 
years    were  formed  in  most  of  the    States,  contributed  much  to  that 
end  L  associations  for  the  promotion  of  Arts,  Science,  and  Manufac- 
tures  did  in  the  mechanical  branches.     The  Philadelphia  Society  fot 
Promoting  Agriculture,  formed   in   March,  1785,  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  earliest  of  these  useful  organizations.   But  the  first  incorporated 
iu  this  country  was  the  "  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture,"  in 
South  Carolina,  which  was  chartered  the  same  year.     This  society  turned 
its  attention  to  the  introduction  of  new  staples  and  the  improvement  of 
old  ones.     In  adiiition  to  premiums  or  medals  for  the  best  mode  of 
destroying  the  caterpillar  which  infested  the  cotton  plant;  for  a  practi- 
cable  method  of  discharging  stains  from  cotton  and  rendering  it  perfectly 
white ;  for  the  production  of  rice,  olives,  vines,  oils  of  olives,  castor  sesa- 
mum,  cotton,  and  sunflower  seeds,  for  senna,  cassia,  rhubarb,  hops,  mad- 

(1)  View  of  the  Unitud  StatM,  262. 


tm 


mm 


IN  CAROLINA — BTOCKlNQ-WEAVINa  IN   CONNECTICUT. 


417 


le  a  computation  of 
),nd  cotton  produced 
Tom  Virp;inia.    Tha 
v&.  70,825  families, 
■ate  of  |83^  to  encli 
b  moderate  calculu- 
of  household  manu- 
tanners,  shoemakers, 
inia.     Com^-Jted  at 
,  taken  at  3,900,000 
18  of  dollars  annually 
s  species  of  industry, 
r  the  production  of 
toward  a  full  supply 
le  population.     And 
ation  outside  of  the 
:ial  wants  of  all  com- 
iken  into  account,  it 
3  not  as  really  iude- 
their  descendants  at 

d  been  given  to  the 
ntry,  had  called  into 
loih.      Our  previous 
object  of  encourage- 
was  made,  after  the 
which,  within  a  few 
ibuted  much  to  that 
cience,  and  Manufac« 
ladelphia  Society  fot 
,  is  believed  to  have 
the  first  incorporated 
)n  of  Agriculture,"  in 
.     This  society  turned 
I  the  improvement  of 
or  the  best  mode  of 
)n  plant ;  for  a  practi- 
l  rendering  it  perfectly 
I  of  olives,  castor  sesa- 
a,  rhubarb,  hops,  mad- 


der, figs,  etc.,  it  offered  a  medal  to  the  person  who  should  first  establish 
and  keep  within  the  State  a  flock  of  sheep  of  the  true  merino  breed. 
This  api)ears  to  have  been  the  earliest  effort  to  procure  that  valuable 
animal  for  America ;  and  it  is  creditable  to  the  people  of  Carolina, 
that  their  effort  to  obtain  the  breed  was  rs  early  as  the  first  intro- 
duction of  Spanish  sheep  into  Silesia,  which  afterward  became  so  cele- 
brated for  its  wool.  The  German  province  procured  the  stock  in  that 
year,  and  France  during  the  next,  but  it  was  not  introduced  into  these 
States  until  the  year  1802-9,  when  Mr.  Jervis  and  Colonel  Humphreys, 
and  Cliancellor  Livingston,  of  New  York,  sent  to  America  the  merino 
wooled  sheep. 

Indeed,  Carolina,  in  which  the  useful  arts  had  not  before  met  with  the 
encouragement  they  deserved,  seemed  about  this  time  to  have  awakened 
to  a  sense  of  their  importance.  The  legislature,  in  the  previous  year, 
enacted  a  law  for  the  encouragement  of  the  Arts  and  Sciences,  which,  as 
recommended  by  Congress,  secured  to  authors  the  copyright  of  books, 
and  to  inventors  of  useful  machines  the  benefits  of  their  discoveries.  A 
correspondent  of  the  American  Museum,  writing  from  Charleston,  in  July, 
iT90,  states  that  a  gentleman,  well  acquainted  with  the  cotton  manu- 
facture, had  already  completed  and  in  operation  on  the  High  Hills  of  the 
Santee,  near  Statesburg,  ginning,  carding,  and  other  machines,  driven  by 
water,  and  also  spinning  machines  with  84  spindles  each,  with  every 
necessary  article  for  manufacturing  cotton.  If  this  information  be 
correct,  the  attempt  to  manufacture  by  machinery  the  cotton  which  they 
were  then  beginning  to  cultivate  extensively  was  nearly  ns  early  as 
those  of  the  Northern  States.  A  fulling  and  dressing-mill  for  fine  and 
coarse  woolens  was  also  at  work  on  Fishing  Creek,  near  the  Catawba 
River,  which  was  kept  fully  employed  by  the  spinners  and  weavers,  and 
the  operations  of  dyeing,  fulling,  and  pressing  were  well  performed  by 
artists  from  Great  Britain.  A  fulling-mill  had  been  still  earlier  erected 
in  Pendleton  district,  on  Cane  Creek,  which  afterward  suspended  opera- 
tions for  want  of  workmen  acquainted  with  the  business.  Cotton  gins 
were  worked  by  water  in  that  district  about  this  time.  The  ordinary 
wool  of  the  country  had,  however,  been  somewhat  improved  by  atten- 
tion, and  attempts  were  made  to  manufacture  it  in  a  better  manner  and 
on  a  larger  scale  than  before. 

As  early  as  l'?36,  John  Davis,  a  clothier  of  Connecticut,  proposed  to 
"  instruct  the  people  in  the  process  of  woolen  manufacture ;"  and  in 
sionkini?  1787,  Samucl  Loomis,  of  Colchester,  announced  that  he  was 
Connecticut,  "prepared  to  introduce  a  new  epoch  in  the  manufacture  of 
wool,  cotton,  flax,  hemp,  and  silk  upon  a  new  constructed  plan."  Much 
of  the  wool  in  early  times  was  combed  and  spun  for  worsted,  and  a  uou- 

m  . 


m 


COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTUBE. 


Wonloa 
fuctory  at 
HiUtfoid. 


siderable  part  of  it  u«ed  in  the  stocking  mannfacture.  In  1777,  Jamos 
W  lu^^^^^  Btocklng  weaver  from  abroad,  petitioned  the  ^sse.ni>ly  of 
I  eeticut  for  a  loan  of  £100,  to  ercet  stocking-loom,  and  a  n.ach.ne 
t? ;: rUterials.     He  professed  a  thorongh  j^.'-vle^i.e  « U,  ..„- 

facture  of  silk,  cotton,  and  worsted  .tockings,  wh.ch  he  could  m.vKe  as 
dlTa.  any  imported  ;  but  his  petition  was  not  allowed.    In  to  fol  ow- 
^gear  BenjaLin  Hanks,  of  Windham,  afterward  the  inventor  of  an 
|e    ::;  self-winding  clock,  al.o  sought  from  the  ^^^'^^^^ 
fo? making  stockings  in  loon.s.     In  1789,  Thomas  Hubbard  and  Clms 
onlTer  Lefungwell,  of  Norwich,  who  had  erected  eight  stocku>g-loom  , 
r.ked  for  themselv:.  and  their  apprentices  an  exemption  from  poll  taxes, 
which  was  granted  by  the  lower  but  re.  >sed  by  the  upper  House. 

About  the  same  time  a  woolen  manufactory  was  estabhshed  at  Ha   - 
ford  under  the  patronage  of  Col.  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  and  -th  oncou  ' 
ngemen^  from  the  legislature.     We  are  informed  by  De  War- 
vUle    that  between   September,  1788.  and   September,  1789 
about  five  thousand  yards  of  Cloth  were  made  there,  some  of 
which  sold  at  five  dollars  a  yard.     General  Washington   while  on  h>s 
:  1  tour  in  the  latter  year,  visited  U  i-ompany  with  Co    ^ds- 
worth    Mr.  Ellsworth,  and  Col.  Jesse  Root,  on  the  26th   Octobe     a 
Tvh       time  it  "seemed  to  be  going  on  with  spuit."  "The.r  broadcloths." 
y^  reconls  in  his  diary  of  that  date,  "are  not  of  the  first  quahty  as  yet. 
but  they  are  good,  as  are  their  coatings,  cassimeres,  serges,  and  eve- 
U?ti  g      of  the  first,  that  is,  broadcloth,  I  ordered  a  su,t  to  be  sent  to 
1  at  New  York,  and  of  the  latter  a  whole  piece  to  make  breeches  for 
mv  servants      All  the  parts  of  this  business  are  performed  at  the  mana- 
Story,  except  the  spinning-this  is  done  by  the  country  people,  who 
arepad  by   he  cut.'"     He  is  said  to  have  read  his  speech  to  Congress 
in  the  ensuing  January,  in  a  full  suit  of  broadcloth  made  at  t  e  Hartford 
fLtory,  and  presented  by  the  owners.     Cloths  of  gray-m,xed  or  pepper- 
and  s  1    colors  were  well  made  at  this  factory;    and  many  prominent 
Tent  emen    including  Mr.  Wadsworth.  an  active  patron   of  domestic 
fnd  stn   Mr  Jay.  the  minister  to  France,  and  Baron  Steuben,  set  the 
xamp  l^f  wearhig  them.     The  latter  is  said  to  have  invented  a  button 
expressly  to  be  worn  with  them,  which  was  made  from  the  conch  she  l. 
ikl  the  wampumpeage.  or  Indian  coin.     Robert  P.erpont    a  Cloth- 
dresser  of  Hartford,  in  the  seven  months  following  September    1789, 
finished   at  one  press  8,134  yards  of  Cloth,  of  which  5,282  yards  were 

^"  The^Prtident  remarks  in  his  diary,  that  he  did  not  hear  much  of  the 


(1)  Everett's  Mount  Vernon  ropers,  No.  10,  p.  94. 


NEW  ENGLAND  FACTOKIES   VISITED  BY  WA8HI.NUT0H. 


419 


!.  In  1777,  JamM 
J  the  ^sseinl)ly  f>f 
Bins  and  a  machine 
A'leJge  of  the  nvmu- 

he  could  make  as 
kved.    In  the  follow- 

thc  inventor  of  an 
Assembly  ;•  premium 
[lubbard  and  Cliris- 
inrht  stockin<?-looms, 
tion  from  poll  taxes, 
ipper  House, 
establisiied  at  Ilart- 
rth,  and  with  encour- 
iformed  by  De  War- 
id   September,  1789, 

made  there,  some  of 
hington,  while  on  his 
any  with  Col.  Wnds- 
he  26th  October,  at 
"  Their  broadcloths," 
he  first  quality  as  yet, 
res,  serges,  and  evcr- 
d  a  suit  to  be  sent  to 

to  make  breeches  for 
erforraed  at  the  manu- 
3  country  people,  who 
is  speech  to  Congress, 
I  made  at  the  Hartford 
gray-mixed  or  pcpper- 

and  many  prominent 
e  patron  of  domestic 
Baron  Steuben,  set  the 
have  invented  a  button, 
B  from  the  conch  shell, 
jrt  Pierpont,  a  Cloth- 
(ving  September,  1789, 
vhich  5,282  yards  were 

d  not  hear  much  of  the 
to,  p.  U. 


.it,#n  manufacture  while  at  New  Haven,  and  that  it  seemed  to  be  less 
jmportiint  than  he  had  been  led  to  believe.  He,  however,  "saw  samples 
of  lustring  (exceedingly  good)  which  had  been  manufact.ired  from  the 
cocoons  raised  in  the  town,  and  silk  thread  very  Cue."  All,  except  the 
weaving,  was  the  work  of  private  families. 

A  cotton  manufactory  on  a  large  scale  was  not  long  after  started  at 
New  Haven,  but  was  less  successful  than  some  others  of  the  kind.  A 
du.'k  factory  was  also  commenced  at  Hartford ;  and  another,  chiefly  sup- 
plied with  hemp  from  Connecticut,  was,  about  the  year  1788,  set  on  foot 
at  Springfield,  Mass.  During  the  next  seven  years,  it  yielded  a  hand- 
some profit  to  its  owners.  At  the  end  of  that  time  it  employed  twer.ty 
men.  Duck  was  made  in  many  of  the  farmers'  houses  also,  in  Connecti- 
cut and  other  parts  of  New  England. 

In  1788  or  '89,  a  large  manufactory  of  sail  duck  was  established  on 
Frog  Lane,  in  Boston,  where  a  building  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  long 
and  two  stories  high  was  erected  for  the  purpose.  The  company  was 
incorporated  by  the  General  Court,  and  encouraged  by  a  bounty  upon  its 
manufacture.  The  regulations  adopted  by  the  employees  secured  admir- 
able order  and  great  perfection  of  workmanship.  The  weavers  and 
spinners  were  each  formed  into  a  society  for  mutual  aid  of  the  members, 
with  a  system  of  laws  for  its  governance.  Quarrels,  profanity,  or  other 
misconduct  were  immediately  adjudged  on  the  spot  by  a  jury  of  the 
weavers,  and  a  fine,  deducted  from  the  wages  of  the  ofl'ender,  went  into 
a  common  fund  for  the  relief  of  sick  members.  Careless  workmanship 
was  punished  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  goods,  if  unsaleable,  were  to  be 
made  good.  The  spinners  admitted  none  into  their  company  cxce()t  by 
vote.  Their  measures  to  promote  industry  and  self-government  were 
very  successful.  The  duck  made  at  the  establishment  was  said  to  be  the 
best  ever  seen  in  America,  and  sold  lower  than  imported  sail-cloth.  Tiie 
ship  Massachundts,  of  eight  hundred  tons,  about  the  year  1790,  had  her 
sails  and  cordage  wholly  of  Boston  manufacture.  The  factory,  in  1792,  pro- 
duced about  two  thousand  yards  of  duck  weekly,  and  employed  four  hundred 
hands.  Its  annual  production  for  a  number  of  y<:ars  after  was  between 
two  and  three  thousand  holts,  of  forty  yards  each,  worth  thirteen  dollars 
per  bolt.  President  Washington,  who  on  all  occasions  manifested  an 
interest  in  the  struggles  of  the  infant  minufactures  of  the  country,  and 
visited  such  factories  as  came  in  his  way,  thus  speaks  of  the  duck  manu- 
factory at  Boston  and  of  the  card  factory  before  mentioned,  under  the 
date  October  28,  1789:  "They  have  28  looms  at  work,  and  14  girls 
spinning  with  both  hands  (the  flax  being  fastened  to  the  waist).  C'hil- 
dien  (girls)  turn  the  wheels  for  them,  and  with  this 'assistance  each 
spinner  can  turn  out  14  pounds  of  Thread  per  day,  when  they  stick  to  it ; 


Igq  COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTUBE. 

at  e  in  tlio  evenine.     lUcj  Mc  <1»V-  «  The  number  ot  hai.d.  no.' 

girl,  otclmracter_no„c  o.her,  .re  adm.ltod.     T""  "  J  „. 

pect  to  .»ere..e  the.»  to     ^     fl  ■»  >»  ^.„„t„i„„,  rtere  I  w.» 

.dvantnee.     From  henee  I  »ert  to    M  c  ^^^^^ 

informed  about  900  f-"'-'  ™;,^"tl,:;'  .'"  TehiZ  for  executing 

°"  ''""rtlf  rte»oA  r    niw  1  Ceditiou,  n,anner,  e^peei.li,  in 

::l?arr:;:  rrdn^tbi:  InSor,  ,.«  .ee„  ,.u.,ed  into 

""I'Ltlth  manufaetor,  w.,  aUo  commenced  at  Haver*  Mass.  in 
n«  vhich  several  years  »f.er  MB  in  a  promismg  condition,  but  did 
lo   aiili   Lcced      Factories  ot  the  same  kind  were  likewise  cs.abl.iied 

Telrr L™:  ule  ;t  the  lU..or.  woolen  factory  wa3  co^.enced 
another  vL  set  up  at  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  which  produced  between  five 
anothtr  was       u^,  ,,   ,  r,,  .■.       ri„    Another  was  in  operation 

and  six  thousand  yards  of  fulled  ClotU  yeariy.   jv  „.„„,sed  twenty- 

ia  Watertov'^  in  1790.     Middlesex  County,  in  1796,  pos.e.sed  tweniy 

establishments  in  dressing  and  dyeing  it.     In  ^"^  °       ^  ,  j    ^,93 

rsf  Worrpster  the  fulling-mills  and  clothiers'  works  had  increasea  in  1  i  1;^ 

spun  fabrics  of  the  farmers.     ^  creditable  manner. 

rFSeS:-=x:rS-— n:tzs 

Z:^  :r::S^>:lt;are  -openbueketwater.bee... 
rcuiring  a  stron,  "»^/j-';.7:  ;r  J-fS  an'd^^nisbing 
Si:t°"kr':c::Tfr;:notberor.n  improved  plan,  wa,  built  in  the 
fowtnear  the  p"es::^sit.  of  the  PituSeld  Woolen  Company's  Mills,  h, 

(t)  Mount  Vernon  Paperi,  No.  12,  112. 


FIRST   FINE   BnOABCLOTII — WOOL   HATS. 


421 


),  therj  13  no  other 
rooming  and  return 
cd  families,  and  are 
lumber  of  hands  now 
ut  the  Managers  ex- 
ic  utility  and  private 
[factory,  where  I  was 
I  purpose  or  another, 
chines  for  executing 
manner,  especially  in 

stroke.     They  have 
1  undersell  the   im- 

been  smuggled  into 

t  Haverhill,  Mass.,  in 
ig  condition,  but  did 
re  likewise  established 

and  Newport,  R.  I. 

concerns.  The  large 
unsettled  state  of  the 

a  tendency  to  foster 

ctory  was  commenced, 
produced  between  five 
other  was  in  operation 
196,  possessed  twenty- 
ag  a  large  amount  of 
fulling-mills  and  small 
old  agricultural  county 
s  had  increased  in  1792 
ployed  upon  the  horae- 
jt  and  deep-blue,  which 
in  a  creditable  manner. 
)r  its  cotton  and  woolen 
use,  "  an  old-fashioned, 
pen  bucket  water-wheel," 
in   1170  by  Valentine 
ar  fulling  and  finishing 
3d  plan,  was  built  in  the 
len  Company's  Mills,  by 

,  112. 


Deacon  Barber.  Jacob  Ensign  and  others  followed,  and  fulling-niilU 
soon  became  numerous.  Tiie  first  fine  broadcloth  made  in  the  United 
States,  it  is  believed,  was  produced  at  Pittsfield  in  1804,  from  the  fleeces 
of  imported  merino  sheep.  It  was  made  by  Arthur  Scholfield,  who  came 
to  the  country  in  1789  with  Samuel  Sinter.  With  several  other  English 
operatives,  chiefly  from  Oldham  and  Snddleworth,  he  had  previously 
established  at  the  Fails  of  Parker  River,  in  the  parish  of  Byefield,  New- 
bury, the  first  incorporated  woolen  factory  in  tiie  State,  and  probably 
the  largest  then  in  the  country.  Having  proved  unprofitable  in  their 
hands,  the  shares  were  one  by  one  transferred  to  William  Bartlett,  and 
by  him  to  John  Lee,  one  of  the  original  company,  who  in  1806  converted 
it  into  a  cotton  factory.  Mr.  Scholfield,  like  Slater,  was  compelled  to 
construct  his  machinery  at  Pittsfield  without  patterns  or  drawings,  and 
was  even  forced  to  return  to  England  to  refresh  his  memory  before  he 
could  complete  a  wool-carding  machine,  which  was  put  in  operation  in 
1801,  and  carded  wool  at  12|  cents  a  pound.  In  1808  he  manufactured 
a  piece  of  black  broadcloth  of  13  yards,  which  was  presented  to  President 
Madison,  and  a  suit  from  it  was  worn  by  him  at  his  inauguration. 

The  manufacture  of  wool  and  fur  hats  has  been  several  times  incident- 
ally mentioned  in  the  foregoing  pages.  The  former  branch  was  a  very 
early  and  a  very  considerable  department  of  the  woolen  manufacture. 
Nearly  every  State  in  the  Union  was  engaged  in  the  business,  and  in 
some  of  them  there  was  scarcely  a  town  that  did  not  make  more  or  less. 
Within  the  period  comprised  in  this  review,  the  hat  manufacture  had 
increased  in  Pennsylvania ;  there  were  manufactured,  as  ascertained  by  a 
report  to  the  Manufacturing  Society  of  Philadelphia,  over  one  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  wool  and  upward  of  fifty-four  thousand  fur  hats  annually. 
The  four  counties  beyond  the  AUeghanies  made  of  the  former  kind  10,140 
and  of  fur  hats  2,200  in  a  year,  having  33  hatters.  There  were  68  hatters 
in  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia,  who  made  31,627  fur  and  7,000 
wool  hats  yearly.  In  Berks  County  there  were  38  hatters ;  in  York,  26 ; 
in  Lancaster  and  Cumberland,  16  each;  in  Delaware  and  West  Ciiester, 
14  each ;  and  6  to  12  in  each  of  the  others,  making  a  total  in  the  State 
of  315  hatters.  No  county  was  without  several.  Wool  was  to  some 
extent  imported  from  the  Eastern  States.  The  greater  plenty  of  wool  in 
New  England  had  rendered  hatteries  numerous  there  also.  The  county 
of  New  London,  Connecticut,  in  1791,  contained  17  hatters,  who  made 
yearly  10,000  fur  and  wool  hats.  American  hat-makers  were  then  able 
to  obtain  contracts  for  supplying  the  army  with  hats,  by  underbidding 
the  importers  in  sealed  proposals. 

The  business  was  also  conducted  to  a  large  extent  in  several  other 


^22  COLONIAL  CLOTH-MANUFACTURE. 

States,  ana  notwithstanding  the  more  limited  supply  of  wool  in  Yi-ntaia 
ftnd  the  interior  parts  of  Carolina. 

„g„>.r  a„d  l.»-YfK,'rn^  w  »  T  r  X'tiou  of  lh»  Constitution 

brandies  of  Us  indostry.     llio  stmt  no,      . 

feebi.  barrier  to  the  Hood  of  '""If "j;;^':  rl  «  oj  si  tor  States, 

«"  T  '"Vl"  T:,,:X\e:Con«re     aWne  possessed  t.,e  power 
were  all  repealed,  and  he  "e"  "'  ^     «     „„, mion  of  toreisn  goods 

r^?::^lrr::dt9^r3{^^^^^^ 

i„aeea  added  to  the   State  and  ^^'^  '1^^     ^^  uJir  i  .crc'e.  seemed 
,,,.em  of  finance  to  -  -  -1-  V^^l^^^^  ,,,  ,.,,,,.,. 

to  be  hastening  a  general  bankrnptcy  oi  ^^ 

,b,  people.  "  """  "  ,7„„„,.,  of  .  eontmoo  dnnjer,  seemed  lo  l,o 
„,.  ^^'^^'^  ^^f2.tl  tsTL..  of  returning  prosperity  wore  nbou. 
rlslri'll^yiuteaeh  ntcunber  of  tl,e  Oonfederao,  ..a.ust  tU. 

°r '"  rrortroii^nt:';:" :  r::::.^"" »'  ",o  „»«  oove™. 

b,  the  Mend,  of  American  Manutaetu    s  _  "^J^  ,,„„,  „i,^ 

..re  suirerer.,  was  its  ra,ilo..,on  •»■ ''  f  °  /."'.^e       ».  in  the  resto- 
the  maunfacturer.  and  meehan.es  «' '"" ^"^-  ,  '"'ii,„.,  „,„,  „,  the 

-r  fjTirt  r:;„::'r"r:.o":n":,po...eri.hin,  .m, 

national  laith,  and  in  ine  «.  ff,.„,.rul  revenue  svstem,  the 

srs  r  ct\::;;t:::r::;.  --  - --  -- 

1    »  ™nn      Mii'oiim.  shows  tho  nmin'ricnl  Ptrcn^lh   of 
.trati.n.  In  .o.oe  of  the  Suite,  .o  .;e.e.,ra,        '  »  ^   „  .h«  ,...j..r«..ory  cl,«r,....,r 


IH.  HtU  ption  of  the  new  Con-tUu.  t.n.  .....  on,,  .  .  ^^^^^^  ^^^^,^.^^  ^,^^ 

U.0  ,o..t.  .nd   .enli..,e-..  «.iop.e   .    .<-  «'  ,^«^^^,,,  ,,„    ,„„ „„. 

to  ,ho  u„wo.,.e..  exhii..n.,inn  .t  .   e  ^       -  K  ^^^^^^^^„^^„^  ,„, 


mind  0,1  the  oco«.l..n.  The  .UM.i..ni.i.-M.".. 
,1  York.  In  l'onn..vlvHni«.  of  which  nn  In- 
t,r«.ting  .oouuot  will  be  found  In  Crcy  • 


wl,U;h  the  new  Cou.litullon  met  in  leverul 
Stului. 


CONGRESS   ENCOmiAOES  AND   PROTECTS   MANUFACTURES. 


423 


,'  of  wool  in  TiiHtaia 


country,  both  of  the 
as  evident  to  every 
n  of  the  Constitution 
•ed  upon  tlie  country 
ts  trade  with  foreign 
sary  protection  to   all 

wiiich  had  opposed  a 
J  that  flowed  in  after 
lucts  of  sister  Slates, 
}  possessed  the  power 
tition  of  foreign  goods 
ictures,  and  many  had 
•ices,  scarcity,  and  high 
enormous  importations 
f  the  country,  with  no 
,  their  increase,  seemed 
,ion,  when  the  enlarge- 
y  some  of  the  wiscat  of 
d,  the  bonds  whieli  held 
in  danger,  seemed  to  bu 
g  prosperity  were  about 
:!onfederacy  against  the. 

Jon  of  the  new  Govern- 
3re  zealously  urged  tluiu 
^ith  no  class,  where  all 
•eater  rejoicing  than  with 
They  saw,  in  the  resto- 
tho  maintenance  of  tho 
0  an  imimverishing  and 
nerul  revenue  system,  the 
ble  mannfiictures,   which. 

iw»  tho  niiimTicnl  pfrcnKlh  i>f 
•turor«  ntiil  moi'lmnicn  In  llio 
wiato  tli9  (>l.jiir«iit»ry  cliHr«cl>r 
lie  iii«eni.mf>  to«M«  oxhiliitK  llie 
MiRundoreil  by  tho  opp">itii<'> 
lew  Cou.lilutlun  mot  in  leverul 


under  every  adverse  circumstance,  gave  encouraging  prospects  for  the 
future. 

The  inability  of  the  manufacturers  of  the  country  to  contend  at  once 
with  tlie  maoliinery  of  Europe,  and  particularly  of  England,  which  they 
were  yet  unable  to  obtain,  and  with  the  low  prices  and  extended  credits 
which  the  state  of  foreign  trade  then  arrayed  against  them,  rendered  the 
encouragement  and  protection  of  their  interests,  equally  with  those  of 
comnuTco,  an  olijoct  with  the  first  Congress.  Henct',  as  Mr.  Pitkin  ob- 
serves, "in  laying  duties  on  imports,  in  July,  1789,  Congress  had  refer- 
ence, as  the  preamble  of  the  Act  imposing  them  declares,  to  '  the  en- 
couragement and  protection  of  manufactures.'  Tiiis  was  also  openly 
avowed  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  the  debates  on 
the  first  tariff  established  by  the  General  Government." 

"The  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  (Hamilton),  whose  powerful 
mind  seerai-d  intuitively  fully  to  comprehend  every  subject  to  which  it 
bent  its  force,  was  the  great  advocate  of  American  Manufactures. 

"In  his  celebrated  report  on  this  sid)ject,  presented  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  January,  1791,  every  argument  was  used,  and,  we  may 
truly  add,  exhausted,  in  favor  of  the  policy  and  exi)ediency  of  protecting 
and  '^''r.'ouraging  this  branch  of  domestic  ecoui'iny." 

In  the  lucid  report  of  Mr.  Hamilton  we  shall  hereafter  furnish  oflicial 
evidence  of  the  state  of  manufactures  at  the  commencement  of  our  national 
existence. 

We  shall  only  add  in  this  place,  that  tho  assistant  Secretary,  Mr. 
Co.\e,  about  this  period,  asserted  that  the  manufactures  of  the  United 
States  were  certaiidy  greater  than  double  the  value  of  their  exports  iu 
imtive  commodities,  and  much  greater  than  the  gross  value  of  all  their 
imports,  including  the  value  of  the  goods  exported  again. 

(I)  View  of  tha  UdUcJ  Stut«l,  p,  430. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

TANNING  AND  THE  MANUFACTURES  OF  LEATHER. 

THE  manufacture  of  tanned  Leather,  and  of  tawed  and  dressed  skin. 

of  dLlt  kinds,  and  their  conversion  to  the  --^^  "T^nt  r    k 
J  .;♦„  havp  attained  in  th  a  country  almost  the  tront  rauK 

rX  cW      Itlo^  irX    The  .aking  of  Leatl.er  and  of  Us 
Inufacrred  products  probably  employs  a  larger  number  of  separate 
Zbthm  nts  of  various  sizes,  furnishes  occupation  to  a  greater  num- 
Tr  of  hands  and  yields  an  annual  result  of  higher  value  than  any  one 
ra"  It  rtl    voo/lne  perhaps  excepted.     It  is  a  strong  support  to 
Tag  ic    t  re  of  the  country,  and  to  the  commercial  interests,  .nterna 
A  fo  Xn  of  its  principal  centres  of  trade.     Its  relations  to  these  great 
:1        a'd  to  I'     mestic  comfort  and  the  mechanical  arrangements 
of'  hlwe  people,  render  not  less  applicable  to  ourselves  than  to  any 
other  nltion  L  suggestive  observations  of  an  English  author  upon  the 

"'in  :l^oTab;oad  on  the  instruments  of  husbandry,  on  the  imple- 
ments u!dn  most  mechanic  trades,  on  the  structure  of  a  «ult,tude  of 
Tngtes  and  machines ;  or  if  we  contemplate  at  home  the  necessary  part 
of  our  clothing,  breeches,  shoes,  boots,  gloves,  or  the  furn.ture  of  our 
houses      e  3ooks  on  our  shelves,  the  harness  of  our  horses,  and  even  the 
s«b2c    of  our  carriages,  what  do  we  see  but  instances  of  human  m- 
dustry  exerted   upon   Leather?     What   an    aptitude    has    tins  sn.gle 
ISa    in  :  variety  of  circumstance,  for  the  relief  oj  -  nec..Ue. 
and  supplying  conveniences  in  every  state  and  stt  ge  o    Me      W.thou 
it  or  even  without  it  iu  the  plenty  we  have  it,  to  what  difficulties  should 

^'I'grrlnltry,  according  to  the  Census  of  1850.  employed  In  the 
uld  States,  in  its  several  allied  and  dependent  branches,  whern 
I  uU,er  and  skins  are  the  chief  material,  over  146.000  hands,  and  yu-  dcd 
Lrag    cgate  product  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  dollar.. 


(424) 


(t)  Dr.  C»mpl.«U'.  PoUtlc*!  Survey  of  Great  Urltuln. 


BATHER. 

i  and  dressed  skius 
0U9  purposes  of  ele- 
Imost  the  front  rank 
Leather  and  of  its 
number  of  separate 
1  to  a  greater  num- 
:  value  than  any  one 
a  strong  support  to 
ial  interests,  internal 
lationa  to  these  great 
mnical  arrangements 
jurselves  than  to  any 
flish  author  upon  the 

andry,  on  the  imple- 
ire  of  a  multitude  of 
36  the  necessary  parts 
the  furniture  of  our 
r  horses,  and  even  the 
istancua  of  hnrauu  in- 
tuile  has  this  single 
ief  of  our  necessities, 
[go  of  life  1  Without 
A-hat  difficultios  should 

1850,  employed  in  the 
cut  branches,  wherein 
000  lianda,  and  yielded 
lirty  millions  of  dollars. 

Kt  UrlUln, 


l> 


■^ 


'".       Y 


(  ( 


1 


XTI. 


VAN';: 


of  a'f'  : 
CI''" 


the  agrici-nu'i  ••.     ■ 

of  ib«  • 

otber  in.  i  ..    •       t  - 

(v\  on  tlw 


XTIiHKa   &f   I.£,V'fUEn. 

,,,,,„,  .„  ,  .  ittwed  and  dres?c4  sUm 
nnv.r*ion  U)  t.bp  uumerowa  purposes  of  i?,l«- 
u.ud  5n  tins  conntry  almoHl  tlia  froat  i-«i«k 

•";,•■  lUttUnss' of  LtMtii."'  Mi.i  ..r  ^ts 

-vnt'ton  to  a  greater  mim. 
',,  r  vfiliio  Ui:*n  -'"J  '^"*' 
.   wi>  .;ig  siipporl  10 
. rests,  intcrnul 
,itoU'»n3  10  tliese  prreat 

solves  than  ti)  ^ny 
.  KnirUah  ftutUbr  upoa  Uio 


\ 
en  a^: 


(424) 


me  Uin«nrrti  s 


.,.  V,  .,1,    r  ''    .m:.,C- 

iiiB  the 

I    ifU!  furuiua-'  <•!  "■", 

ttun.   ■- ...     Sir  hnrtcs,  iviui  etcH  tbo 

.4„  i,Hi  i,,,!iiiicin  of  liiirami  In* 

,..   hna    tbW  .xutiilo 

.,f  otir  uwosi»>i-itJs, 

_     of  lir«l    Without 

s*ba4  dlffiouUios  fthoaUl 


I  J    wlmrem 

t  ha«d8,  and 
«4ittyradllon*(.)f  iwui*'!. 


iula. 


.VTUER. 


I  and  dres?orl  «k?n« 
3U8  pnrposes  ■ 

ttiosl  tba  froal  n>;iiv 


noiiii 
1  to 
va\uv  I.' 


.1 


;  ;n. 

UP 
10 


'.ferests,  internal 
aliens  10  tliese  ^reat 

Ives  than  ti)  a,!'}* 
Uah  ftulhor  upon  tlio 

•of 
tho  turoiici,'  *'i  our 
tijiMCfs  of  li^iwmi  in- 

^e  of  life  1    Without 
fhai  rtiflicuUios  frHotjUl 

lVi50,  fiiM"   •  ■■  •''  ^l'- 
,utj  jiiitUluti*  of  liolUr*. 


.._,j:FB^-SENT^.3.,^^^ 


iirrzER  a>i?JS5m£T?i£iRS 


©#• 


5*?r  ^S4^V^^" ' 


.--  a  ifii^  r,  'ti  . 


wjai,f»»j  'jiAt-''' 


i.iln. 


■:. 


ANTIQUITY  OP   LEATHER- MAKING. 


425 


Its  present  magnitude  has  been  of  comparatively  recent  growth,  and  is 
due  in  part  to  the  increase  of  wealth  and  luxury,  to  the  extension  of  our 
mechanical  industry  and  our  foreign  commerce,  but  more  than  all,  to  the 
mechanical  inventions  and  the  scientific  principles  applied  during  the 
present  century  to  the  manufacture  of  the  crude  material.  The  tanning 
and  dressing  of  Leather  and  skins,  during  the  ante-revolutionary  period, 
was  quite  a  primitive  and  empirical  art.  It  received  little  aid  from 
chemistry  or  machinery,  by  which  the  processes  have  been  abbreviated, 
economized  and  cheapened,  and  the  product,  in  its  variety  and  perfection 
of  finish,  adapted  to  all  the  purposes  of  taste  and  utility  that  a  high  civi- 
lization has  created. 

The  art,  however,  is  one  of  very  high  antiquity.  The  pictorial  tableaux 
inscribed  on  the  tombs  of  ancient  Egypt  clearly  represent  the  tanner,  the 
Antiqnity  curricr,  and  the  shoemaker  engaged  in  the  various  stages  of 
of  the  Art.  ^j,gjp  gp^g^  ^jjjj  tj^g  materials  and  implements  of  their  trades 
disposed  about  them.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  leather  slice 
of  the  shoemaker,  in  nearly  its  present  form,  with  the  blade  painted 
yellow,  to  show  that  it  was  made  of  brass,  as  well  as  the  awl,  are  plainly 
delineated  among  the  tools  that  symbolize  the  trades  practiced  over  thirty 
centuries  ago.  So  numerous  were  the  leather-makers,  that  a  particular 
locality  in  ancient  Thebes  was  assigned  them  with  the  dyers  and  fullers 
of  cloth.  These  they  appear  to  have  equaled  in  chemical  skill,  as  shown 
by  the  various  colors  given  to  the  skins  arranged  on  shelves  in  their 
workshops.  The  remnants  of  Leather  found  in  Theban  tombs  reveal  the 
use  of  the  acacia  and  other  trees  in  the  tanning  process.  The  Jews, 
after  the  Exodus,  probably  practiced  the  knowledge  learned  of  the  sub- 
jects of  the  Pharaohs,  in  preparing  the  rams'  skins,  dyed  red,  for  the 
service  of  the  tabernacle.  Whether  the  art  of  dyeing  Leather  in  the 
manner  so  long  practiced  on  the  eastern  and  southern  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  which  Europe  obtained  with  diflficulty  only  toward  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  has  thus  descended  to  us  from  the  Leather 
manufacturers  of  Egypt,  we  leave  to  those  more  learned  in  such  matters 
to  determine. 

It  is,  however,  an  interesting  fact  in  the  history  of  the  art,  that  bronze 
leather-slices,  similar  to  the  Egyptian,  have  been  found  in  large  numbers 
Leather-  J"  *''>8  scpulchres  of  ancicut  Mexico,  indicating  a  knowledge 
^mon"fho  of  Leather-working  by  a  people  possibly  coeval  with  those 
iudi«nB.  among  whom  the  arts  were  cradled  in  the  Eastern  Continent 
Among  their  successors  at  the  period  of  the  conquest,  and  the  more  bar 
barous  tribes  of  other  parts  of  the  continent,  the  knowledge  of  Leather- 
dressing  wag  confined  to  the  preparation,  in  various  styles  suitublo  foi 
clothing,  or  the  skins  of  wild  beasts  and  birds— for  they  had  no  domesti"" 


426 


COLONIAL  IJIATHER-MANUFACTUEE. 


animals     Considerable  skill  was  evinced  in  the  dressing  of  buffalo,  deer, 
elk  and  other  skins  for  that  purpose.     As  robes  for  externa,  wear,  they 
were  prepared  with  the  wool,  hair,  or  feathers  on,  and  for  under  garments 
ihe  smaller  skins  were  made  into  a  kind  of  chamois  Leather  by  removing 
the  hair  and  dressing  them  with  the  brains  of  the  animal,  which  rendered 
them  very  soft  and  pliable.     A  squaw  could  thus  prepare  eight  or  ten 
skins  in  a  day.     Morton,  an  early  historian  of  New  England,  mentions 
that  the  northern  Indians  converted  their  skins  "into  very  good  leather, 
making  the  same  plume  and  soft,"  and  that  the  moose  skins  "they  com- 
monly dress  bare  and  make  them  wondrous  white,  and  stripe  them  with 
Bize  round  about  the  borders  in  form  like  lace  set  on  by  a  Tayler,  and 
Bome  they  stripe  with  size  in  workes  of  severall  fashions  very  curious, 
according  to  the  several!  fantasies  of  the  workmen,  wherein  they  strive  to 
excel  one  another."    The  moccasins  and  leggings  were  usually  made 
from  the  moose  skins.     In  the  coloring  and  pictorial  embellishment  of 
these  skins,  the  southern  Indians  in  early  times  appear  to  have  ex- 
celled any  of  a  later  period.      "The  skins,"  says  an  early  Spanish 
historian,  "  are  well  corried,  and  they  give  them  what  colour  they  list,  so 
perfect  that,  if  it  be  red,  it  seemeth  a  very  fine  clothe  in  graine,  and  the 
black  is  most  fine,  and  of  the  same  colours."     But  the  American  Indians, 
like  all  savage  and  nomadic  races,  possessed  no  domestic  animals,  except, 
perhaps,  a  few  llamas  and  vicunas,  owned  by  the  more  civilized  Peruvians. 
The  possession  of  domestic  cattle  has  been  held  to  mark  the  boundaries 
between  savage  and  civilized  life,  as  the  extent  of  the  Leather  manufac- 
ture has  been  regarded  as  a  fair  measure  of  the  degree  of  civilization 
among  cultivated  nations.'    Nothing,  therefore,  entitled  to  the  name  of 
a  Leather  manufacture,  existed  among  the  natives  of  this  continent. 
Although  they  preserved  and  hardened  the  coarser  skins  by  smoking 
them  they  appear  to  have  been  ignorant  of  the  properties  of  certain 
astringent  barks  and  vegetable  substances  to  condense  the  membranes 


(1)  The  Empire  of  Jnpnn  forms,  in  some 
measure,  an  exception  to  the  general  en- 
oouragoment  of  manufiictureB  of  Leather 
among  nations  at  all  ailvanceti  in  civiliza- 
tion. Shoes  of  leather  are  not  worn  by  that 
people,  but  Leather  is  manufactured  for 
some  other  purposes.  The  tanners,  workers, 
and  dealers  in  Leather  are,  by  a  singular 
national  prejudice,  confined  to  their  own 
villages  exclusively,  and  are  not  even  per- 
mitted to  enter  the  cities,  except  as  execu- 
tioner*.   They  do  not  even  form  a  catte,  or 


class,  of  which  there  are  eight  several 
grades ;  and  they  are  not  estimated  in  the 
census,  nor  their  villages  taken  into  ac- 
count in  the  estimation  of  distances.  A 
vessel  once  used  by  a  Leather-dresser  or 
dealer  is  thrown  away.  The  prejudice  in 
which  this  social  ban  originated,  is  believed 
to  be  connected  with  the  Asiatic  doctrine 
of  the  metempsychosis  and  the  transmission 
of  souls  through  the  bodies  of  animali,  as 
the  Japanese  do  not  cat  the  meat  of  horned 
cattle. 


JFIBST   INTUODUCTION   OF   NEAT   CATTLE. 


42T 


ig  of  buffalo,  deer, 
;xternai  wear,  they 
for  under  garments 
•ather  by  removing 
lal,  which  rendered 
epare  eight  or  ten 
England,  mentions 

very  good  leather, 
3  skins  "  they  com- 
d  stripe  them  with 
n  by  a  Tayler,  and 
hions  very  curious, 
lerein  they  strive  to 
were  usually  made 
il  embellishment  of 
ppear  to  have  ex- 
!  an  early  Spanish 
t  colour  they  list,  so 
e  in  gralne,  and  the 
3  American  Indians, 
stic  animals,  except, 

civilized  Peruvians, 
mark  the  boundaries 
he  Leather  manufac- 
iegree  of  civilization 
itled  to  the  name  of 
!S  of  this  continent. 
;r  skins  by  smoking 
jroperties  of  certain 
lense  the  membranes 

there  are  eight  several 
'  are  not  estimated  in  tho 

villngea  takeo  into  no- 
itnation  of   distances.     A 

by  a  Leather-dresser  or 

away.  The  prejudice  in 
ban  originated,  is  believed 
with  the  Asiatic  doctrine 
hosis  and  the  transmission 

the  bodies  of  animali,  as 
not  cat  the  meat  of  horned 


and  correct  their  septic  tendency,  upon  which  the  whole  process  of  tan- 
ning depends. 

As  no  domestic  animals  were  found  in  America  by  the  European 
settlers,  some  time  must  necessarily  elapse  before  their  natural  increase, 
where  many  exterminating  causes  existed,  would  furnish  a  regular  supply 
of  skins  for  the  tanner. 

Columbus  is  said  to  have  brought  the  first  domestic  cattle  to  America, 
on  his  second  voyage  in  1493.     They  were  taken  to  Newfoundland  and 
First  cattle  Nova  Scotia  by  the  Portuguese,  in  1553,  and  increased  rnpidly. 
iQAiueiica.  gjack  cattle,  horses,  swine,  and  sheep,  were  introduced  into 
Florida  about  the  year  1565,  and  neat  cattle  into  Canada  by  the  French, 
in  1608.     In  the  following  year,  we  find  the  first  permanent  English 
colony  in  Virginia  in  possession  of  between  five  and  six  hundred  hogs,  as 
many  fowls,  some  goats,  sheep,  and  horses.     These  were  all  killed  or 
carried  off  by  the  natives,  or  were  eaten  even  to  the  skins  of  the  horses 
by  the  impoverished  colonists.     In   1610,  or  earlier,  kine  were  brought 
by  Sir  Ralph  Lane  from  the  West  Indies  to  Virginia,  where  the  killing 
of  any  domestic  cattle  was  that  year  forbidden  on  pain  of  death.     The 
most  timely  and  unexpected  accession  of  cattle  was  the  next  year  made 
\^;  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  who  arrived  with  three  hundred  emigrants,  one  or 
two  hundred  cows,  some  swine,  and  ample  provisions  for  the  infant  settle- 
ment.    To  this  stock  were  added  a  few  obtained  two  years  aflei-  by 
Argall,  in  a  successful  raid  upoft  the  French  settlements  of  Acadia.     In 
1620,  the  cattle  had  increased  to  about  500,  "  much  bigger  of  body  than 
the  breed  from  which  they  came ;  the  horses  also  more  beautiful  and  fuller 
of  courage.'"     In  a  list  of  tradesmen  to  be  sent  to  the  Colony  the  same 
Tanners  sent  y^^f"  "^^^   enumerated   Tanners,   Leather-dressers,  and    Shoe- 
to  Virginia,  makers.      These  and  other  tradespeople  are    represented  to 
have  made  comfortable  livings  by  their  arts  in  1649,  when  the  cattle,  in- 
cluding bulls,  cows,  and  calves,  numbered  20,000  ;  which  was  ten  thou- 
sand  less  than  they  were  in  1639.     Although  the  industry  of  the  people 
had  been  unwisely  directed  to  the  cultivation  of  silk,  vines,  and  olives, 
rather  than  to  the  raising  of  corn  and  cattle,  they  had  also,  in  1649,  200 
horses,  3,000  sheep,  5,000  goats,  and  many  swine.    Cattle  were  thus  early 
exported  to  New  England,  and  many  were  killed  to  supply  the  shipping, 
which  in  Christmas  of  the  previous  year  amounted  to  ten  sail  from  Lon- 
don, two  from  Bristol,  twelve  from  Holland,  and  seven  from  New  Eng- 
land.    This  lively  trade  supplied  the  population,  which  then  amounted 
to  about  twenty  thousand,  with  shoes  and  the  necessary  supplies  of 
Leather.    But  the  earliest  mention  we  find  of  an  attempt  to  manufacture, 


(1)  A  Declaration  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  p.  5. 


428 


COLONIAt  LEATHER-MANUFACTURE. 


though  doubtless  there  were  earlier  ones,  is  in  a  publication  of  this  date. 
The  enterprise  of  an  old  settler,  Captain   Matthews,  a  member  of  the 
legislature,  is  strongly  commended  in  several  branches  of  industry.     He 
employed  a  large  household  in  raising  and  manufacturing  hemp  and  flax 
into  linen.     He  had  also  erected  a  tan-house  and  manufactured  Leather, 
and  kept  eight  shoemakers  constantly  engaged  in  their  trade.     He  had 
forty  negroes  trained  to  mechanical  pursuits.     This  prosperous  planter, 
we  are  told,  had  abundance  of  wheat  and  barley  ;  "kills  stores  of  Beeves 
and  sells  them  to  victuall  the  ships  when  they  come  thither ;  hath  abund- 
ance of  kine,  a  brave  Dairy,  swine,  great  store,  and  Poltery :  he  married 
the  Daughter  of  Sir  Tho.  Hinton,  and,  in  a  word,  keeps  a  good  house, 
lives  bravely,  and  a  true  lover  of  Virginia;  he  is  worthy  of  much  honor.'" 
In  1656  Yirginia  is  represented  to  have  been  exceedingly  replenished 
with  neat  cattle  and  other  domestic  animals,  except  sheep  ;  and  the  sale 
of  beef,  pork,  and  bacon,  to  the  shipping  and  for  the  West  Indies,  was 
a  source  of  much  profit.     But  the  manufacture  of  Leather  appears  not  to 
have  kept  pace  wi       be  supply  of  hides  and  skins. 

The  first  indication  of  a  general  interest  in  the  subject  of  domestic 
manufacture  was  given  in  several  statutes  of  the  legislature,  in  1662,  for 
„h«a«ee  the  eucouragcment  of  different  branches  of  industry.     Among 
to^bee^eaed.  Q^jjgp  things,  it  was  enacted  that  tan-houses  should  be  erected 
in  every  county,  at  the  county  charge,  and  a  provision  of  tanners,  cur- 
riers  and  shoemakers  for  making  the  hides  of  the  country  into  Leather 
and  'shoes.     An  allowance  was  to  be  made  to  every  inhabitant  of  the 
country  for  every  dry  hide,  at  the  rate  of  two  pounds  of  tobacco  per 
pound  ;  and  shoes  were  to  be  sold  at  thirty  and  thirty-five  pounds  of 
tobacco  for  the  six  largest  sizes,  etc.     The  exportation  of  hides  out  of 
the  country  was  forbidden  under  penalty  of  one  thousand  pounds  of 
tobacco  for  every  hide  so  exported.     Mares  and  sheep  were  not  to  be 
exported  on  pain  of  forfeiting  treble  their  value.     The  low  price  of  to- 
bacco was  the  chief  incentive  to  the  efforts  made  at  this  time  to  create  a 
more  varied  industry.     The  same  cause,  greatly  aggravated  by  the  in- 
crease  of  slave  labor,  which,  as  Lord  Culpepper  staled,  made  them  "too 
many  for  that  and  too  few  for  anything  else,"  and  the  enforcement  of  the 
Trade  Acts,  produced  in  1682  another  Act  in  Virginia  for  the  advance- 
ment  of  manufactures.     In  addition  to  the  encouragement  of  the  cloth- 
manufacture,  it  was  ordered  (anno  1682,  ch.  4)  that  no  person  shall  "  ex- 
port out  of  Virginia  any  Iron,  wool,  wool  fells,  skins,  or  hides,  or 
Leather,  tanned  or  untanned,  or  any  deer,  oxe,  steer,  bull,  cow,  or  calf, 
or  lay  the  same  aboard  any  ship  or  vessel,  unless  it  appear  by  oath  of  the 


(1)  A  Perfect  Description  of  Virginia,  p.  13. 


TANNING   ENCOURAGED   IN    VIRGINIA   AND   MAUTnAND. 


429 


sation  of  this  cJate. 
a  member  of  the 
1  of  industry.     He 
ing  hemp  and  flax 
ufactured  Leather, 
ir  trade.     He  had 
prosperous  planter, 
Is  stores  of  Beeves 
ither ;  hath  abuiid- 
oltery :  he  married 
eeps  a  good  house, 
ly  of  much  honor.'" 
edingly  replenished 
heep  ;  and  the  sale 
le  West  Indies,  was 
,ther  appears  not  to 

subject  of  domestic 
ilature,  in  1662,  for 
industry.     Among 
•s  should  be  erected 
ion  of  tanners,  cur- 
ountry  into  Leather 
7  inhabitant  of  the 
inds  of  tobacco  per 
lirty-fivc  pounds  of 
ion  of  hides  out  of 
housand  pounds  of 
deep  were  not  to  be 
rhe  low  price  of  to- 
this  time  to  create  a 
Ijgravated  by  the  in- 
,ed,  made  them  "too 
le  enforcement  of  the 
inia  for  the  advance- 
igement  of  the  cloth- 
no  person  shall  "  ex- 
,  skins,  or  hides,  or 
er,  bull,  cow,  or  calf, 
appear  by  oath  of  the 

.15. 


owner  that  it  is  to  be  carried  directly  to  some  Tann-house  or  smith's  in 
the  country,  to  be  there  wrought  up."  The  price  was  that  year  fixed 
for  dressed  buckskins — which  were  abundant,  and  entered  largely  into  the 
clothing  of  the  inhabitants — at  2s.  4^d.  eu'h  ;  undressed,  \x.  2(1.  ;  and 
of  doeskins  dressed,  each.  Is.  Od. ;  undressed.  Is. ;  wheat  iiuing  4s'.  per 
bushel,  and  tobacco  10s.  per  hundred-weight — at  which  prices  all  these 
articles  were  to  be  received  for  del)ts.  Tradesmen  of  all  kinds,  who 
would  settle  in  the  Colony,  were  made  free  from  arrest  for  debts  pre- 
viously contracted. 

These  legislative  efforts  to  preserve  cattle  and  hides,  and  to  promote 
the  manufacture  of  Leather,  appear  to  have  been  rendered  necessary  by 
the  bad  economy  of  the  people,  with  whom  live  stock  seem  to  have 
been  little  valued.  If  we  may  accept  the  statements  of  Mr.  John  Clayton 
to  the  Royal  Society,  in  1688,  cattle  were  much  neglected.  They  were 
provided  with  neither  hay  nor  shelter,  but  were  allowed  to  wander  at 
large — except  for  cowpenning  their  tobacco  patches,  the  only  system  of 
manuring  practiced.  Some  planters  lost  twenty  and  thirty  in  a  spring 
by  starvation  and  various  accidents.  There  were  many  wild  cattle  in 
unfrequented  parts.  The  cows  were  not  even  milked  in  winter,  a  preju- 
dice prevailing  that  it  would  kill  them.  The  price  of  a  cow  and  calf,  he 
says,  was  50s.,  "sight  unseen,  be  she  big  or  little,  they  are  never  very 
curious  to  examine  that  point." 

The  legislature  of  Maryland  also  endeavored,  in  1681  and  the  following 
year,  to  create  an  interest  in  home  manufactures,  but  with  no  great  suc- 
Leather-  ^css.  Laws  Were  enacted  to  promote  tillage  and  tiie  raising 
"cou'a  ed  °^  provisions  for  exportation,  and  for  restraining  the  exportation 
In  Maryland.  Qf  Leather  and  hides  by  the  imposition  of  a  duty,  intended  for 
the  encouragement  of  tanners  and  shoemakers. 

Beverley,  who  wrote  a  few  years  after  this,  represents  the  hats  and 
Leather  of  the  Virginians,  as  well  as  their  shoes  and  clothing  generally, 
to  be  derived  from  England,  notwithstanding  a  plenty  of  furs,  and  skins, 
and  wool.  A  few  hides,  he  says,  were  "  with  much  ado  tanned  and  made 
into  servants'  shoes,  but  at  so  careless  a  rate  that  the  planters  don't 
care  to  try  them  if  they  can  get  others ;  and  sometimes,  perhaps,  a  better  man- 
ager than  ordinary  will  vouchsafe  to  make  a  pair  of  breeches  of  a  deerskin." 
In  New  England,  during  this  time,  the  manufacture  of  Leather  had 
'become  an  established  branch  of  domestic  industry.  Slock  husbandry, 
upon  which  the  Leather  business,  notwithstanding  large  importa- 
tions of  foreign  hides,  is  greatly  dependent,  was  an  early  and 
EnKiand.  profitable  rcsourcc  of  the  New  England  people.  The  first  neat 
cattle  were  introduced  into  the  Plymouth  Colony  by  Edward  Winslow, 
in  the  spring  of  1624,  and  consisted  of  three  heifers  and  a  bull,  to  which 


Th«  art 
in  New 


430 


COLONIAL  LEATHER- >UNL'FACTURE. 


were  added  12  cows  sent  to  Cape  Ann  in  1626,  and  30  more  lu  1629. 
With  the  emigration  to  Massachusetts  under  tlie  first  charter,  in  1629, 
were  sent  140  head  of  neat  cattle  and  some  horses  and  goats.     Among 
the  estimates  of  the  company  were  20  cows  and  bulls,  at  £4  each.     As 
in  Virginia,  many  of  these  were  probably  sacrificed  to  supply  the  wants 
of  a  starving  population,  or  fell  by  the  arrow  and  the  hatchet  of  the  In- 
dian who  hovered  on  the  skirts  of  the  distressed  settlements.     Of  three 
hundred  kine  and  a  number  of  other  cattle,  shipped  in  the  following  year 
with  the  larse  emigration  that  accompanied  Governor  Winthrop,  more 
than  half  dic^d  on  the  passage  and  during  the  ensuing  winter  while  a  dire 
mortality  invaded  nearly  every  family  of  the  emigrants.     M.lch  cows,  m 
consequence,  rose  in  value  to  Iwenty-five  and  thirty  pounds.     1  he  con- 
tinued accessions  of  people  from  England  made  it  the  .uteres    of  the 
owners  of  stock  to  increase  them  to  ihe  utmost.     Notwithstanding  the 
frequent  scarcity  of  food,  the  depredations  of  wolves,  and  the  savage 
foravs  of  the  natives,  the  increase  of  cattle  was  very  rapid.     By  the  rise 
i„  price  of  corn  and  cattle,  Mr.  Bradford  says,  "many  were  much  en- 
riched  and  comodities  grue  plentifull ;  and  yet  in  other  regards  this 
benefite  turned  to  their  hurte,  and  this  accession  of  strength  to    heir 
weaknes     For  now  their  stocks  increased,  and  y«  increase  vendible,  ther 
was  no  longer  any  holding  them  togeather,  but  now  they  must  of  neces- 
silie  goe  to  their  great  lots  ;  they  could  not  otherwise  keep  their  katle. 
and  having  oxen  growne,  they  must  have  land  for  plowing  and  tillage. 
And  no  man  thought  he  could  live,  except  he  had  catle  and  a  great  deale 
of  ground  to  keep  them,  all  striving  to  increase  their  stocks.        This 
earl  V  disposition  to  migrate,  led,  in  the  autumn  of  1635,  a  company  of  sixty 
pilgrims,  with  their  women,  children,  and  cattle,  through  the  untracked 
forests  of  Massachusetts  to  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut,  where  they  suf- 
fered again  tho  privations  of  the  earlier  pioneers  of  New  England,  losing 
many  of  their  cattle,  but  preserving  a  remnant  to  stock  the  future  home- 
steads of  the  Colony.     The  following  June  witnessed  a  larger  pilgrimage 
from  the  Bnv  settlements,  v^-ending  its  slow  way.  with  droves  to  the 
number  of  160  head  of  cattle,  across  the  mountains,  swamps,  and  fords 
of  the  same  wilderness  track.     The  emigrants,  subsisting  upon  the  milk 
of  their  kine,  and  these  upon  the  browse  of  the  forest,  thus  planted,  under 


(1)  History  of  Plymoath,  302.  There 
were  in  1637,  nccoraing  to  Grahnm,  but  37 
plows  in  Ml  M.issacliiisetts.  As  John  Black- 
leach,  of  Siilcm.  had  not,  in  1638-9,  "suffi- 
cient land  to  maintain  a  plough"  on  his 
farm  of  300  acron,  "  the  towno,  for  the  fur- 
thering of  his  endeavors  in   plowing  and 


for  his  encouragement  therein,"  allow  him 
more  land.— /'«?('«  Salem. 

The  isolation  occasioned  by  this  greed 
of  land  was  regarded  as  an  evil  in  Virginia 
and  New  England,  and,  while  it  multiplied 
settlements,  contributed  to  their  insecurity. 


THE  FIRST  NEW  ENGLAND  TANNERY — LYNN. 


481 


30  more  in  lfi29. 
t  charter,  in  1629, 
id  goals.     Among 
I,  at  £4  each.     As 
)  supply  the  wants 
hatchet  of  the  In- 
lements.     Of  three 
I  the  following  year 
or  "Winthrop,  more 
winter,  while  a  dire 
;8.     Milch  cows,  in 
pounds.     The  con- 
the  interest  of  the 
[otwithstanding  the 
es,  and  the  savage 
rapid.     By  the  rise 
any  were  much  en- 
other  regards  this 
if  strength  to  their 
urease  vendible,  ther 
they  must  of  neces- 
ise  keep  their  katle, 
■(lowing  and  tillage, 
tie  and  a  great  deale 
leir  stocks.'"    This 
),  a  company  of  sixty 
ough  the  untracked 
icut,  where  they  snf- 
'few  England,  losing 
)ck  the  future  home- 
l  a  larger  pilgrimage 
with  droves  to  the 
3,  swamps,  and  fords 
isting  upon  the  milk 
t,  thus  planted,  under 
• 

ment  therein,"  allow  him 
r  SaUm. 

jccaaionod  by  this  greed 
(led  as  an  evil  in  Virginia 
1,  and,  while  it  multiplied 
ibuted  to  their  insecurity. 


an  organized  government,  the  arts  of  civilized  life  and  a  new  embryo 
coiTimonweallh,  upon  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  savage.  During  the 
Pequot  and  other  Indian  wars  which  followed,  live  stock  was  a  precarious 
property,  but  iieverlhulcss  continued  to  increase,  and  furnished  articles 
for  exportation. 

New  Hampshire,  about  the  year  1632,  obtained  its  first  cattle,  of  a 
large-sized  breed,  from  Denmark,  through  Captain  John  Mason  and  his 
associates.  In  1645,  one  hundred  oxen  were  driven  from  Capt.  Mason's 
plantation,  near  Portsmouth,  to  Boston,  and  sold  at  £20  a  head.  Maine 
was- chiefly  stocked  from  the  same  large,  dun-colored  breed,  which  were 
valued  in  the  lumbering  business  for  their  size. 

The  continued  arrival  of  new  settlers  in  New  England  kept  up  the 
demand  for  cattle,  and  maintained  their  prices  at  £20  to  £30  a  head. 
Their  numbers  were  consequently  multiplied,  but  being  too  valuable  for 
slaughter,  the  herds  probably  furnished  little  material  for  the  tanner. 
But  the  sudden  reduction  of  the  price  to  £5  a  piece,  by  the  subsequent 
stoppage  of  emigration  from  Europe,  found  neat  cattle  and  other  stock 
well  diffused  over  the  country;  and  the  Colonists  became  consumers  and 
exporters  of  beef  and  other  meats,  perhaps  beyond  any  others  in  propor- 
tion to  their  numbers.  As  a  people's  industry  is  so  often  shaped  by  the 
physical  conditions  which  surround  them,  and  the  presence  of  a  raw  ma- 
terial is  a  strong  incentive  to  manufactures,  it  is  no  extravagant  conjec- 
ture, that  the  abundance  of  the  integuments  furnished  by  their  stock- 
raising  led  several  of  the  old  towns  of  New  England  into  the  shoe  and 
leather  manufacture,  for  which  they  have  been  long  noted.  Mr.  Higgin- 
son,  of  Salem,  in  1630,  mentions  the  extraordinary  increase  of  cattle 
and  "store  of  sumacke  trees,  good  for  dying  and  tanning  of  Leather." 

Among  those  who  excelled  in  stock  husbandry  were  the  first  settlers 

of  Lynn,  who  were  principally  farmers,  and  had  large  numbers  of  horned 

cattle,  sheep,  and  goats.     For  many  years  before  their  lands 

En"i*nr    were  divided  or  fenced,  their  neat  cattle  were  kept  in  a  com- 

Tannery.      ^^^  j^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  oversecr  or  hayward,  and  the  island  of 

Nahant  was  the  common  sheepwalk,  where  the  flocks  were  attended  by 
a  public  shepherd."  Whether  the  bovine  and  ovine  wealth  of  the  farmers 
of  Lynn  promised  a  better  supply  of  material  does  not  appear.  But  at 
the  village  of  Swampscott,  in  that  town,  was  erected  the  first  Tannery 
in  New  England.  The  first  white  settlers  of  Lynn  were  Edmund  and 
Francis  Ligalls,  from  Lincolnshire,  England.  The  former,  in  1629, 
settled  as  a  farmer  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town,  where  the  site  of  his 
residence  is  still  pointed  out  on  Fayette  street.     His  brother  Francis 

(1)  Lewis'  Hist.  Lynn. 


432 


COLONIAL   LEATHER-MANUFACTURE. 


built  Q  tannery  on  Humphrey's  Brook,  where  it  is  crossed  by  a  stoue 
bridfre  but  the  precise  date  is  not  .stated.  The  vats  were  filled  up  m 
1825  '  The  first  shoemaker  known  in  Lynn  was  Philip  Kertland,  from 
Sherrington,  in  BuckinKhamsnire,  who  settled  there  in  1635.'  John 
Uarbert,  a  shoemaker   from    Nottingham,  settled  at   Salem  the  same 

^' Among  the  outfits  provided  for  the  Colony  in  1629,  shoes  "from  ten 
to  thirteen,"  for  men,  principally  of  neats'  Leather,  are  charged  at  2s.  to 
28.  U.  par  pair,  with  a  large  proportion  of  Leather  and  bull  clothing 
Buch  as  "sutes,  dublett  and  hose,  of  leather  lyned  with  oiled  leather 
gloves  of  calves'  leather  and  of  tanned  sheepskins,  leather  girdles,  "dub- 
letts  and  breeches  of   oyled  lether,"  '' breeches  of  leather  drawers  to 
serve  to  weare  with  booth  their  other  sutes."     In  the  Company's  letter 
.0  the  Governor  in  April,  1629,  they  ^ay,  '<  Wee  have  made  our  servants 
ttuparell  of  cloth  and  lether,  which  lether  is  not  of  oyle  skinns,  for  we 
fiud  them  over  ueere.-    For  many  years  the  dress  of  servants,  and,  to 
some  extent  c'  al'  the  active  classes,  consisted  in  part  of  leather  dressed 
as  "buff  leather,"  or  tanned  ;  and  many  deer-skins,  obtained  by  the  mus- 
ket  of  the  planter,  or  in  trade  with  the  natives,  furnished  materials  for 

this  serviceable  apparel.  .  ,     n, 

The  letior  cf  the  Company  also  commends  to  the  care  of  the  Governor, 
Thomas  Beard,  a  shoemaker,  who  was  to  be  maintained  at  the  public 
charge  for  £10  a  year,  3..d  to  be  under  the  Governor  s  direc- 
tlTX'  tion  as  to  his  ph.ce  of  employment.  A  supply  of  hides  for  his 
ft..t«.uit..H.  ^^^^  „ecoinpanied  him  in  the  MayHower,  for  which  he  was  to 
pay  freight  at  X4  a  ton.  It  was  directed  that  fifty  acres  of  land  should 
le  allotted  him  as  one  that  transported  himself  at  his  own  charge.*  Ihis 
person  appears  to  have  been  the  first  of  "  the  gentle  craft  of  leather  in 
Massachusetts,  but  we  are  not  informed  where  he  sellled. 

Among  the  early  inhabitants  of  Boston  were  George  llun,  a  tanner, 
who  was  made  a  freeman  in  1637.  but  died  in  1640 ;  Jeremy  H;'"''""  or 
IJut^hins,  also  a  tanner,  took  the  freeman's  oath  in  1640  ;  and  ^V  il  lam 
Copp,  a  shoemaker,  the  owner  of  Copp's  (previously  Snow)  llill,  at  the 
North-Knd,  who  took  the  oath  in  1641."  ,.,    ...wi 

in  October,  1640,  it  was  declared  by  the  General  Court  that  "^\herea8 

we  are  informed  of  the  neglect  of  many  in  not  saving  such  hi.les  and  skins 

as  either  by  casualty  or  slaughter  come  to  hand,"  all  such  hides 

.    ^%IZ    piiould  be  preserved  to  be  tanned,  or  the  owner  should  forfeit 

iuM'"'"    the  skin  and  £12.     This  order  implies  the  existence  of  tau- 


(1)  lliirlior'u  Ui'^t.  Coll.  nf  Mam. 

(2)  Lewis'  L.viin. 
(J)  Foll'n  .^^iili'in. 


(4)  Fi'lt'»  Annals  of  ."9aleni,  1.  6,  49. 

(6)  Il'i'l.  i.  102. 

(6)  Dowburn'i!  Buiton  Nutiont,  p.  40. 


1  crossed  by  a  stoue 
its  were  filled  up  ia 
•hilip  Kerlland,  from 
ire  in  1635.'  John 
at    Salem  the  same 

)29,  shoes  "from  ten 
are  cimrged  at  2.s.  to 
er  and  buff  clothing, 
,  with  oiled  leather," 
leather  girdles,  "  dub- 
f  leather  drawers  to 
the  Company's  letter 
ve  made  our  servants' 
jf  oyle  skinns,  for  we 
ss  of  servants,  and,  to 
sart  of  leather  dressed 
obtained  by  the  mus- 
irnished  materials  for 

!  care  of  the  Governor, 
intained  at  the  public 
the  Governor's  direc- 
iupply  of  hides  for  hia 
',  for  which  he  was  to 
y  acres  of  land  should 
his  own  charge,*  This 
tie  craft  uf  leather"  in 
settled. 

Jeorge  llun,  a  tanner, 
0  ;  Jeremy  llouchin  or 
in  1640;  and  William 
usly  Snow)  Hill,  at  the 

il  Court  that  "  Whereas 
ng  such  hides  and  skins 
to  hand,"  all  such  hides 
10  owner  should  forfeit 
'8  the  existence  of  tan- 

nnnUof  Paloni,  i.  ft,  49. 

103. 

u'f  Uojton  Nutiiini",  p.  40. 


CL'UIOUS   EARLV   LAWS   HEBPECTINO   LEATHEB. 


433 


neries  to  which  they  could  be  sent.  It  is  probable  that  tanneries  were 
established  in  Boston,  Charlestown,  Watertown,  and  other  of  the  first 
settled  towns,  very  soon  after  their  occupation.  The  cattle  in  the  Prov- 
ince nuiiihered  at  this  date  twelve  thousand.  In  Watertown  two  search- 
ers and  sealers  of  Leather  were  appointed  by  order  of  the  court  in  1638. ' 
Leather  .searchers,  in  conformity  with  an  Act  of  the  General  Court,  were 
appointed  in  Salem  in  1642.  This  Act,  passed  June  14th  of  that  year, 
was  the  first  general  law  of  the  Assembly  to  regulate  the  uinnufucture 
of  Leatlier  in  Massachusetts,  and  shows  that  it  was  already  becoming  an 
established  industry. 

It  ordered  that  "  no  Butcher,  Currier,  or  .shooe-maker  shall  exercise 
the  trade  of  a  tanner,  on  th*;  forfeiture  of  6.s.  8(/.  for  every  skin  he  shall 
tann,  while  they  use  any  of  the  trades  aforesaid,  nor  shall  any  tanner 
use  the  trades  of  Dutcher,  currier,  or  shooe-maker  under  the  like  penalty." 
A  clause  prohibiting  any  but  tanners  from  buying  or  even  bespeaking 
any  raw  hides  of  ox,  bull,  steer,  or  cow,  in  the  hair,  was  soon  after  re- 
pealed. No  Leather  over-limed,  or  insufficiently  tanned,  or  not  thor- 
oughly dried  after  tann...g  might  be  exposed  for  sale.  Tanners  putting 
Leather  into  hot  or  warm  "moors,"  or  setting  their  "  fatts"  in  places  im- 
proper, where  the  Leather  would  heat  and  burn,  were  to  forfeit  £20  for 
each  offense.  Curriers  were  not  to  dress  any  Leather  imperfectly  tanned 
or  dried,  nor  use  "any  deceitful  or  subtil  mixture,  thing,  wcy,  or  means 
to  corrupt  or  hurt  the  leather,  nor  curry  any  8(de  leather  wi'n  any  thing 
but  with  good  hard  tallow,  nor  with  less  than  the  leather  would  receive  ; 
nor  dress  or  curry  any  upper  leather  but  with  good  and  sufficient  stuff, 
not  salt,  and  should  thoroughly  liquor  it  until  it  would  receive  no  more  ; 
they  were  not  to  bun;  or  scald  any  leather  in  the  currying,  on  forfeiture 
of  every  hiile  marred  by  unworkmanlike  handling,  to  be  judged  by  the 
oath  of  8ii!licitnt  witnesses.  Every  town  requiring  it  was  to  have  one  or 
more  sealers  or  miirkers  of  leather,  who  were  to  receive  as  fees  \d.  per 
hide  f  all  parceh  under  a  certain  number,  and  5</.  and  C</.  for  every 
dicker  above,  to  be  paid  by  the  tanner  at  the  time  of  .wding."^ 

On  the  4th  Nov.,  1646,  a  law  was  made  to  prohibit  the  exportation 
of  raw  hides,  skins,  fells,  or  unwrought  leather  on  pain  of  forfeiting  the 
goods  or  the  value  thereof,  and  a  like  penalty  to  the  master  of  any  vessel 
that  should  take  them  on  board.  The  exportation  of  raw  hides  or  skins 
imported  from  other  parts,  and  of  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  as  beavers, 
xnoosc,  bears,  and  otters,  was  permitted. 

Among  the  most  ancient  of  those  companies  or  fraternities  of  different 


(I)  Boiiil'it  IHkL  of  WuUrt'iWri. 


(2)  RiH-.>nl»,  vol.  ii.  p.  17.     AtirUlK.raent 
of  rimitaliim  Lawn.  buU'loii,  1704,  p.  66. 


mm 


.^  COLONIAL  LEATHER- MANCFACTL'UE. 

trades  which  arose  in  Europe  upon  the  decay  of  the  feudal  system,  with 
cenai^ei  c  p  ivileges  and  powers,  to  regulate  the  profits  membersh.p, 
rdrheTa^ai;-,,  of  the  corporation,  were  the  cordwainers  eo.pan,  u. 

Xr:^  L^Jhf  slt^f  appren.ice.hips,  perhaps  serve.  ^ 
useful  pun-ses  in  their  day.     But  by  limiting  the  exercse  of  tl  «   f  ^« 
lemhe  B  of  the  guild,  and  by  the  injurious  monopohes  estaW   he^  by 
he"  charters  and  bv-laws,  the  freedom  of  industry  was  cnppled  to  a 
h      fu    ext"  t       Wi^h  the    numerous  public    and   private   commercu^l 
llnol       whieh  became  a  serious  evil  under  the  Stuarts  most  of  these 
"       b  di"s  r  re  s.ept  away  by  an  Act  of  Parliament  in  1C24.  and  pnt- 
.    Tu.\  to  fourteen  years  for  ne^v  manufactures  or  inventions,  and  a 
;r    ^     1     elnioL  Ltained.    The  .gislators  of  Massachusetts  early 
r'ured  the  benefits  of  an  untramme.ed  industry  by  decreeing,  ml  41 
Zt  "there  shall  be  no  monopolies  granted  or  allowed  among  us  bu    of 
sudi  new  inventions  ..  ne  profitable  to  the  country,  and  that  for  a  short 

''TnK,48,the  coope"s  and  shoemal  ors  of  Boston  and  the  vicinity  had 
BO  far  incr  ased  in  number,  that  each  craft  sought  and  obtamed  ce.-,a,n 
"corporate  privileges  from  the  legislature.     The  General  Court 
fX:)'::^.,    ijoston,   on    18th   October,   granted  to  "  R'.chard   ^^ebb. 
James  F"--cll,  Robert  Turner.  Edmund  Jackson,  and  the  rest  of  the 
sherakers,"  an    Act    of   incorporation   with    power  to    regulate  the 
ralcfor  t  ree  vear..'      Although  no  political  or  c.olusive  pnv.  lege 
bind  th.  rcgulaUon  of  their  own  trade  atVuirs  appear  to  have  be  n 
rt   ,  Johnson,   a  cotemporary.  considered  it^of  much  service  to 
'art      H.  observes:  "All  other  trades  have  here  fallen  into  their 
ranks  and  places  to  their  great  advantage;  especially  coopers  and  shoe- 
"Ik  rs    vlo  had  either  ,f  them  a  corporation  granted,  innclnng  them- 
selves  by  their  trades  very  much."     "  As  for  tanners  and  shoe- 
T7V    mn\ers"he  adds,  "  it  being  naturalized  In  these  occupations 
--^        Thave  a  higher  reach  in  managing  their  manifactures  than 
oti.er  men  in  New  England,  and  having  not  changed  'heir  nature  in  this 
Te ulTthcm  both  they  have  kept  men  to  their  ^^^^^^^^^^^,^^ 
doubling  the  price  of  their  commodities  according  to  the  rate  tl  ,y  v  ere 
or  in  England,  and  yet  the  plenty  of  Leather  is  beyond  what  the 
U I  ,     re  com' ing  the  number  of  the  people,  In.t  the  transpor  .t.on  cf 
b     t        l'  .hoes  il  forraign  parts  hath  vented  all,    owcver '•     Can^ 
makers,  glovers,  fell-mongers,  and  furriers  are  also  mentioned  in  a  lengthy 

(1)  RcPorJ*,  U.  249. 


DM 


BnOlS   EXrOUTED   FROM   MASSACHUSETTS  TO   ENGLAND. 


435 


feudul  system,  with 
profits,  membership, 
[liners'  company,  iii- 
1,  and  the  curriers' 
ed  corporations,  in 
;rhaps  served  some 
icercise  of  tlie  trades 
)olies  establislie-^  by 

was  crippled  to  a 
private  commercial 
tuarts,  most  of  these 
nt  in  1C24,  and  pat- 
or  inventions,  and  a 

Massachusetts  early 
r  decreeing,  in  1641, 
^cd  among  ns  but  of 

and  that  for  a  short 

and  the  vicinity  had 
and  obtained  certain 

The  General  Court 
to  "Richard  Webb, 
,  and  the  rest  of  the 
>wer  to  regulate  the 
r  txclusive  privileges 

appear  to  have  been 
t  of  much  service  to 

here  fallen  into  their 
illy  coopers  ami  shoe- 
anted,  inriching  them- 
!  for  tanners  and  shoe- 
1  in  these  occupations 
leir  manifactures  thuii 
;ed  their  nature  in  this, 
tander  hitherto,  almost 
^  to  tlie  rate  th  .y  were 
-r  is  beyond  what  they 
t  the  transportation  cf 

ftli,  however."     Canl- 

mentioned  in  a  lengthy 


list  of  those  who  hud  "  orderly  turned  to  their  trades"  in  1C51.  The 
shoemakers  and  timners  appear  not  to  have  been  the  only  ones  who  pus- 
sessed  the  secret  of  advancing  their  own  interests  by  arts  often  regarded 
as  of  later  origin.  "  As  for  tailers,"  says  this  writer,  "  they  have  not 
come  beliind  tlie  former,  their  advantage  being  in  the  nui-lurc  of  new 
fashions  all  one  witli  England,"  and  some  "  have  a  mystery  beyond 
others,  as  have  the  vintners.'" 

That  Leather  should,  within  little  more  than  twenty  years  from  the 
first  settlement,  have  become  relatively  more  plentiful  than  in  England, 
and  that  boots  and  shoes  should  in  the  same  time  become  nn  article  of 
export,  appears  almost  incredible.  We  find,  indeed,  the  scarcity  of  Leather 
expressly  assigned,  in  a  sumptuary  law  in  1651,  as  the  reason  for  pro- 
hibiting, along  with  gold,  silver,  silks,  laces,  and  other  extravagances  of 
dress,  the  wearing  of  great  boots  by  those  whom  the  Selectmen  should 
consider  unable  to  afford  it.  Shoes  appear,  howovcr,  to  have  been  thna 
early  exported  by  the  merchants  of  Boston,  who  already  obtained  a  few, 
chiefly  of  calfskin,  from  Lynn,  where  the  business  had  begun  to  take 
root. 

SlulT  shoes,  for  women's  usi  afterward  extensively  manufactured  at 
Lynn,  were  at  tliis  early  date  only  worn  by  the  most  wealthy,  and  upon 
wedding  occasions  by  the  less  opulent,  who  thenceforth  preserved  them 
ns  too  delicate  for  ordinary  use.  Even  calf  shoes  had  before  the  Revolu- 
tion but  a  limited  use,  and  morocco  leather  was  not  made  in  this  country 
until  after  timt  date.  Of  the  laboring  classes,  neats'  leather  shoes  formed 
the  principal  wear  during  the  Colonial  period. 

It  was  probably  found  inexpedient,  where  there  was  a  general  scarcity 
of  mechanics,  to  attempt  to  restrict  the  workers  in  Leather  too  closely  to 
one  brancli,  as  contemplated  in  the  Act  of  1G42.  A  memorial  from 
Nathaniel  Bishop  and  Hope  Allin,  curriers,  to  the  General  Court  in 
10(56,  praying  that  tanners  and  shoemakers  might  not  be  allowed  to  carry 
on  currying,  was  therefore  not  granted.'  In  KIT 7,  Hugh  Mason,  one  of 
the  first  searchers  and  sealers  of  Leatlier  at  Watertown,  appealed  to  the 
Asseml)'y  on  the  subject  of  a  law  prohil)iting  the  exportation  of  tunned 
Iicather. 

In  1000,  the  town  of  Newbury,  on  certain  conditions,  granted  Ebe- 
nezcr  Knowlton  nine  rods  of  land  "for  the  setting  up  of  a  tanning  trade" 
at  tlint  place.'  Tanners  and  shoemakers  were  probably  to  be  found  in 
most  towns  in  the  Colony  at  tluit  date.  George  Bniniiull  carried  on 
tanning  at  Fiilmoutli,  in  Maine,  between  1080  ai,d  ICOd. 

In  Connecticut,  during  this  time,  the  inhabitants  had  continued  to  hv 


(1)  Wond«r-vrorklDf(  Providence. 

(2)  Ilccora»,  vol  vl.  ai'3. 


(.3;  Odfflu't  Hist,  or  Notvljiir^, 


COLONIAL  LEATHEH-MANUFACTUUK. 

almost  exclusively  agricultural.     Mecbanlcs  of  all  ^inds  were  few  and 
Manufactures  bad  scarcely  been  attcnpted.     ^^-/^Vr  atUe  ^^ 
able  portion  of  their  farm  produce.     Pork,  beef,  fat  cattle,  ..nd 
rt«'      horses  were  sold  in  considerable  quantities   to  Boston,  J.ew 
connecticai.  ^^^^  ^„^  ^1,^  ^cst  ludics.     In  May,  1651,  it  was  affirmed  in 
Court  that  100  beeves  were  killed  in  the  town  of  Fairfield  the  prevous 
year      Tanning,  as  one  of  the.  simplest  of  the  arts,  and  a  suppor   of  he 
iZk  husbandry  of  the  Colony,  was  commenced,  as  in  M>.ssachuse  ts. 
nrmost  w  h  the  first  settlement.     As  early  as  February,  1640,  among  the 
earliest  enactnients,  it  was  ordered  that  skins  should  be  pre- 
^"'^'r'  served  under  p^nialty  for  the  use  of  the  tanner,  and  that  hemp 
---"*    a      L  shouUl  be  s'o wn  for  the  manufacture  of  linen  and  eord- 
•That  the  country  may  be   oettcr  enabled  to  kill  yearly  some 
Eves  f'  st  !    of  leatlfer,"  it  was  ordained.  September,  1642  that  no 
Svesiould  be  killed  in  the  Colony  without  the  permission  o    two  per- 
ons  a,  pointed  by  the  Court  in  each  town  for  that  purpose^    In  1 654,  a 
comi^  'eo  was  appointed  to   J -aw  up  rules  respecting  the  sealing  of 
eaZ  td  officer' for  tha       .  v  .e  in  each  town  were  appointed  by  the 
Co    t  o"  ober,  165G,    At  the  same  time,  the  Court.  "  taking  into  seno 
L„"  den  t  on  the  several  deceits  and  abuses,  which  in  other  places  ha^ 
ZTZ\  are  commonly  practiced   by  the  Tanners,  curriers,  butchers, 
wl  so    Lather,''  enacted  a  law,  similar  to  the  MassaehuseUs 
aw  of  m2,  prescribing  the  mode  of  tanning,  dressing,  and  insp  et^ 
font  er      Butchers  were  enjoined  not  to  gash  or  cut  ox  or  cow 
Se    :Jno  tf,        wastooifer'forsale  Leather  imperfectly  tanned  or 
Hed     No  person  "using  or  occupying  the  mistery  of  tanntng,  to  se 
y  of  the  fa  ts  in  tann  hills  or  other  places  ^^'--/.^^-^ -,  ^'^^ 
p  t  into  tann  in  the  same  shall  or  may  take  any  unk.nde  heatos,  no     luU 
J     ^ut  leather  into  any  hott  or  warm  o..es  whatever.  «"  P-    of  i  0  f 
every  oflence."     Curriers  were  not  to  "burn  or  scald'    he  hu  es  or 

r  i"  ..f  u.e  co,o„,v ».  pain «'  '"j^.-^  ric'i'rit: 

Leather  was  in  March,  1C.GI--2,  increased  to  m.  a  dicktr, 
.lii-kiT  and  4'?.  hy  the  single  hide.' 

,„  t'h    New  lluven  Colony,  then  a  separate  jurisdiction,  there  wu»  also 
i„  ';C56  a  law  ou  this  subject,  made  in  consideration  of  "  the  damage  or 

^X)  Co,onUineoord,ofOo«n..l*o«^  .  l.V  .p.  6J,  f.,  m  835.  m  377. 


inds  were  few,  and 
Lock  foiiued  a  vain- 
beef,  fat  cattle,  und 
13   to  Boston,  New 
1,  it  was  affirmed  in 
nirSeld  the  previous 
ind  a  support  of  the 
3  in  Massachusetts. 
.ry,  1640,  among  the 
kins  should  be  pre- 
nner,  and  that  hemp 
re  of  linen  and  cord- 
to  kill  yearly  some 
ember,  1642,  that  no 
srmission  of  two  per- 
purpose.     In  1654,  a 
cting  the  sealing  of 
ere  appointed  by  the 
/'taking  into  serious 
in  other  places  have 
•s,  curriers,  butchers, 
to  the  Massachusetts 
Iressing,  and  inspcct- 
ih  or  cut  ox  or  cow 
imperfectly  tanned  or 
cry  of  tanning,  to  set 
the  woozes  or  leather 
kinde  heates,  nor  sliall 
vcr,  on  pain  of  £20  for 
r  scald"  the  hules  or 
able  men  for  sealtTb  ol 
dicker  (of  ten  hides), 
the  law  in  the  follow- 
the  town  where  i'  v/aa 
ling  the  transportation 
The  price  lor  seaUng 
d.  a  dicker,  12 J.  a  half 

isdiction,  there  was  also 
lion  of  "  the  damuge  or 

I,,  Sf.".  335,  2»8,  377. 


LEATHER  AND   SUOES   IN   CONNECTICUT — THE   SIZE-STICK. 


43t 


injury  which  many  sustaine  by  the  ill  coming  of  Leather,  and  by  the 
shooe-raakers  ill  making  it  up  into  shooes  and  boots."  In  each  town 
where  a  tanner  or  shoemaker  was  employed,  there  were  to  be  one  or  more 
sealers  of  Leather,  who  were  to  be  under  ooth  not  to  seal  any  leather  but 
such  as  they  should  judge  "sufficiently  tanned  and  fit  to  be  wrought  out 
and  sold  in  shooes  and  boots."  Of  this  they  were  to  distinguish  by 
Laws  of  separate  marks,  two  qualities,  that  which  was  well  tanned  and 
New  Havon.  fj^  f^j.  uppgp  leather  and  outer  soles,  and  another  which  was 
less  perfectly  tanned,  or  was  defective  either  in  the  liming,  beaming,  or 
by  frost,  or  in  drying,  but  was  suitable  for  inner  soles  but  not  for  other 
uses.  Leather  insufficiently  tanned  was  not  to  be  scaled  at  all,  and  shoe- 
makers using  it,  or  employing  the  second  quality  for  outer  soles  or  uppers 
of  boots  or  shoes,  or  using  any  other  deceit  in  making  up  their  ware,  were 
to  make  restitution  to  the  injured  parties.  No  imported  hides  were  to 
be  used  until  sealed. 

In  the  following  year,  the  Court  at  New  Haven  received  complaints 
from  Stamford  of  the  excessive  prices  of  boots  and  shoes  at  that  place, 
as  for  instance,  "si.x  shillings  for  a  pair  of  shoes  of  the  tenns,  and  thirty 
shillings  for  a  pair  of  bootes  as  good  as  which  may  be  bought  here  for 
twenty  shillings,  which  the  Court  thought  was  great  oppression,"  and 
therefore  ordered  these  shoemakers  to  make  satisfaction  for  what  they  had 
done  amiss,  and  to  reform  in  future,  or  answer  at  the  next  Court  of 
Magiiitrates. 

Complaints  were  also  made  of  wrong  done  in  the  sizes  of  shoes  ;  and 
the  Court  having  been  informed  that  William  Newman,  of  Stamford, 
"  hath  an  instrument  in  his  hand  wliieh  he  brought  out  of  England,  which 
is  thought  to  be  riglit  to  determine  this  question  between  the  buyer  and 
seller,  did  ordain  that  the  said  instrument  should  be  procured  and  sent  to 
New  Haven,"  and  if  approved  by  the  next  Court  of  Mugis- 
Mi'k  fl"t  trates,  after  taking  suitable  advice,  a  standard  was  to  be  made 
"""^  from  it,  from  which  the  several  plantations  in  the  Colony  werfl 

to  be  supplied,  with  a  rule  to  which  all  sizes  were  to  conform.  This 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  introduction,  at  least  in  Connecticut,  of 
that  useful  little  implement  the  size-stick,  or  some  equally  infallible 
measure  of  the  pedal  developments  of  our  forefathers.  These  several 
ordinances  respecting  tanning  and  its  accessory  branches,  exhibit  them 
to  us  in  their  primitive  rudeness.  The  very  limited  "assortments"  of  a, 
cordwa  n»!r's8hop  in  that  day  gave  the  latter  somewhat  more  Procrustean 
power  than  lie  now  possesses.  But  that  he  sometimes  failed  also  in 
making  the  complete  "  fit"  which  is  the  artistic  boast  of  his  moileru 
representative,  should  be  no  matter  of  wonder,  since  the  intrduction  of 
ehoes  wholly  of  leather,  in  their  present  form,  was  a  recent  event.     It  is 


I ;, 


COLONIAL   LEATHER-MANUFACTURE. 

I8M    im    Llied  II..  prices  t»  be  charsed  by  ,r.,.ncr«  ..,d  shoe- 

erLby  ^<^Ti». .- »« .-- ''>»-'^  "T™  ^Mdt:  "t1:i  : 

two  nence  a  pound  tV.r  -reen,  and  fonr  lu-nce  for  dry  ludts.     1  he  scum 
ZJZ    IL  at  tlH-oe  pence  a  pound  for  green,  and  sixpence  for  dry 
h  des   which  was  to  be  legibly  set  upon  them  that  the.r  v.h.e  m,gh    be 
k  own  wl  en  tanned.    Sho'nakevs  were  not  permitted  to  charge  for  sh  es 
ab  r  fie  and  a  half  pence  a  si.e  "for  ail  playne  and  -oden-hee   d 

hoes  o    all  Hi/.,  above  men's  sevens.     Three-soled  shoes  wel  made  and 
to.I     not  above  seven  and  a  half  pence  a  si^e  for  well-wronght 

Freeh  falls  "     Every  shoe  was  to  be  marked  with  its  proper  s,ze,  and 

^::t.  ;urpose  e4 -^--- Xi^  t  :r  .tiin: 
riir:^- -:::"  ::t  :r  :^:ong  t..  buyer,  or . 

"l  love  the  price  decreed,  u.volved  the  forfeiture  of  the  shoes  or 
wares.* 


(1)  Shoes,  In  much   their  present  form, 
were  doubtless  earlier  worn.    There  appeurs 
to  have  been  no  materiiil  change  in  their 
,tylo  after  the  settU'inent  of  MnHxachus'Mt.f, 
when   shoes  Vfore  ordered   (162«)  of  largo 
size,  ttt  two  to  two  shillings  and  Mxpen™  a 
pair,  for  the  use  of  the  emigrants.     Shoe- 
strings, as  now  worn,  took  the  place  of  the 
shoo-rose  under  the  Slunrts,  and  buokles, 
rpjombling  the  horse  bean,  came  into  u^e 
•hoal   1689.     Boot!  of  large  siie.  and  for 


beaux,  of  flimsy  Spanish  leatbor,  were  then 
,nu.di  worn  in  England,  but  were  not  ap- 
proved of  in  MaHsachusotts,  and  were  not 
very  generally  used  here  before  the  RovoIh- 

tion. 

(2)  New  Haven  C(.'.onial  Records,  by 
Charles  J.  Iloadley,  A.M.,  1858,  vol.  11.  pp. 
2Ki,  ;?ni,  472.  4«9. 

(.■!)  Colonial  Records  of  Connecticut,  vol. 
ii.  p.  325. 


t  trading  lionse  was 
Technical  iuiprove- 
lie  Leather  business, 
ce  of  the  shoemaker 
IT  and  currier,  which 
eavored  to  prevent 
ecent  t'nes  has  been 
ics,  securing  greater 

in  10r,2,  to  prohibit 
,hat  Connecticut  had 
lemeut.  But  in  May 
cs,  on  account  of  the 
!ourt  to  proliibit  the 
ed  leather,  except  iu 

cut,  at  Hartford,  Oct. 
jy  tanners  and  shoe- 
more  for  tanning  than 
ry  liides.     The  selling 
,  and  sixpence  for  dry 
their  value  might  be 
;ed  to  charge  for  shoes 
ne  and  wooden-heeled 
:d  shoes  well  made  and 
size  for  well-wrought 
h  its  proper  size,  and 
y  liim  a  true  and  just 
.     To  make  "  shoes  or 
•ong  liie  buyer,"  or  to 
iilure  of  the  shoes  or 


y  Spanish  lontbor,  wore  then 

Engliind,  but  were  not  ap- 

M.iHflttchui'otli",  and  wore  not 

used  here  before  the  Revoln- 

dTon    Cc'.oniivl    Records,  by 
,i,.lU-y,  A.M.,  1858,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
4H9. 
1  Becorda  of  Conneotiout,  vol. 


TANNING   IN   CONNECTICLT,  UUODE  ISLAND,  AND   NEW   YORK.       439 

Tlie  adult  male  population  of  Connecticut  was  at  this  time  2,3G3,  and 
the  whole  about  12,000.  Its  yearly  exports  were  short  of  £9,000.  Its 
towns  and  the  neigliboring  settlements  of  New  England,  had  been  greatly 
impoverished  and  burdened  with  debts  by  the  war  with  King  Philip, 
wiiich  still  raged,  and  the  cattle  and  other  resources  of  the  people  were 
much  diminished.  In  1680,  however,  beef  sold  for  2^d.  and  butter  for 
(id.  a  pound ;  and  the  tegumentary  products  of  their  herds  probably  em- 
ployed a  good  number  of  small  tanneries. 

The  principal  exports  of  Rhode  Island  at  the  same  period  were  pro- 
visions and  horses,  grazing  being  a  general  occupalion  throngiiout  tlie 
Eastern  Colonics.  The  conversion  of  hides  into  coarse  Leather,  which 
in  early  Colonial  times  was  often  rudely  elfected  l)y  tlie  farmer  for  liis  own 
domestic  use,  was  doubtless  commenced  long  before  this  in  the  Narra- 
gausett  settlements.  The  arts  of  the  tanner,  currier,  and  cordwainer 
were  placed  under  legal  control  in  February,  1706-7,  by  a  Colonial  law 
"for  preventing  of  deceits  and  abuses  by  tanners,  curriers,  and  sho«- 
makers.'" 

In  New  York,  which  now  holds  so  conspicuous  a  place  in  the  Leather 
trade  and  nianufiicture  of  the  wurkl,  among  the  useful  arts  early  intioduced 
l)y  the  Dutch  ancestifs  of  the  I'rovince,  was  llial  uf  me  tanner. 
jiowYirkin  Domestic  cattlc  wcpc  imported  i«to  New  Netherlands,  under 
e»riytiuio».  ^^^^  putroimgc  of  the  "West  luHilia  Company,"'  in  the  spring  of 
1625,  by  t'.e  Hon.  Fieter  Evertsen  llulst.  lie  shipped  thither,  with 
extreme  care,  103  head,  consisting  of  horses,  cows,  hogs,  and  sheep,  for 
breeding;  each  animal  having  its  own  stall  covered  with  three  feet  of 
sand,  and  a  separate  attendant.  For  many  years,  however,  the  price  of 
horned  cattle  made  thorn  too  valuable  for  fretjueiit  slaughter.  A  cow  in 
1627  was  worth  £30,  and  a  pair  of  oxen  £40.  In  1650,  when  the  com- 
pany supplied  each  tenant  not  only  with  land,  tenements,  and  tools,  but 
with  4  cows,  as  many  hor.ses  and  other  animals,  to  be  restored  in  six 
years,  a  cow  and  calf  were  worth  £40.  The  city  of  New  York,  in  1678, 
killed  400  beeves;  in  1694,  nearly  4,000. 

The  first  tannery  in  the  I'rovince  of  which  we  have  found  any  mention, 
was  owned  by  one  of  four  brothers  named  Evertsen,  who  settled  as  early 
as  1638,  some  at  I'avonia  and  some  on  Manhattan.  The  locality  of  tho 
tannery  is  not  mentioned. 

At  llenssehicrwyck,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  great  mannfuc- 
toriesof  sole  leather,  it  appears  i)y  the  account  books  of  the  I'litroon  al»oul 
this  time  that  imported  sole  leather  co.st  46  cents,  and  upper  leather  and 
(jhocnmkcrs'  yarn  60  cents  per  pound.  Shoes  were  fkora  two  to  four  florins 

;l)  R.  I.  Coloni»l  Records,  vol.  iv.  p.  7. 


mm 


^  COLONIAL  LEATHER- MANUFACTURE. 

r"T"vr  r;r;.\ri!::t:;Nr ::  Bid .,,,  w,, 
"r.;-™.  Ten  ^^^■^''-"■^-/"•'ztr^^^^^^ 

.     ,  1    „  ^f  «i.o  trnrlp  resided  on  the  Heere  uui^,  """ 

,,„e,pa.  -;^  -  ^  «;:;:t  :„a  Pear,.     Hi,  .an  pit.  o=e„„iea  ».e 

TenEyck's  «^'^^^^'''  .    •  j      f  Bi'oad  stPfct  above  Beaver. 

Tannery.        ro\  mars  IV  lotS  Oil  UlC  WeSl  Blue  ui    xji 

tanning  and  other  branches  oi  .hoetnaker,  occupied 

Dh-ck.  Tobias,  and  Coenraet.  J^  ^-^ ;;  f  , ,  ^^,,,,,   „a.ers  of  the 

i=-a£:'^::r::re::^i;.H-„- 

their  business.  nnsture,"  vhoi-e  Mr. 

On  this  tract,  previously  known  as  the     .h    P  P 

Ten  Kyck  owned  a  large  parcel  of  ^^-j;^;^  '^0  F^i-«  o.:ca- 

r'''l?o:'rratrA      rk.niillfor  .rindin.  the  bark   was  owned 
fronting  on  the    auer.     a  .....ines^      He  soon  after  removed 

„.„d  bs  l.lm,  Jacob  Al,r»l.»..|.  """"'■■"•  ,'^  ,,',,„„,  a„.l 

from  the  ci(y  limits,  to  accommodate  the  unpiovtracni 

metropolis.'  A,„iros  and  his  Ooiincli  Kpiioinled 

LtopolTiasIu^wea  .vo  ,J arter  b,  U,e  ,no,c  i,»„o„.„.  one  e.... ■ 

(1)  Vulentlne's  Hi»t.  of  the  City  of  Now  York. 


EARLY  TANNERS  OF  NEW  YORK— THE  " SWAMP." 


441 


;rs  and  shoemakcra 
t  Manliattan. 
lutch  capital  at  the 
Adrian  Van  Laar, 
3  latter  trade,  both 
jn  Broad  and  Wil- 
corner  Broad  and 

imnufncturer,  and  a 
e  Graft,  now  Broad 
1  pits  occupied  seve- 
itreet  above  Beaver, 
tial  citizen,  and  the 
ccupy  in  respectable 
decease  in  1680,  the 
rried  on  by  his  sons, 
shoemaker,  occupied 
everal   others  of  the 
oad,  north  of  B.-aver 
1   afforded  acoomino- 
;tomary  appendage  to 

pasture,"  vhere  Mr. 
iliu'.lcnbrook,  a  shoe- 
Gl,  his  premises  occu- 
now  Exchanire  I'lac-', 

the  bark,  was  owned 
[e  soon  after  removed 
5t  dwellings  in  the  city 
mu\  dollars  each  were 

EycU  Jr.,  and  John 

wealthy  lircwcrs  and 
lied  up,  wHli  the  ditch 
xchidcd  (13  a  nuisance 
,veracnts  iu   the  rising 

his  Oouncti  iipiiolnlcd 
ers  from  exercising  the 
xnghorne.  this  petty 
)re  important  one  estab. 

»  York. 


m 


lished  by  the  Bolting  Act,  which  was  of  much  value  to  the  city.  It  was 
also  ordained  in  1676,  "that  no  butcher  be  permitted  to  be  currieK,  or 
shoemaker,  or  tanner;  nor  shall  any  tanner  be  either  currier,  shoemaker, 
or  butcher ;  it  being  consonant  to  the  laws  of  England  and  practice  in 
the  neighbour  Colonys  of  the  Massachusetts  and  Connecticott.'" 

At  that  time  there  resided  on  the  north  side  of  High  street,  between 
Broad  and  William,  a  worthy  citizen,  John  Harpending,  who,  by  assidu- 
ous industry  in  his  trade  of  tanner  and  shoemaker,  had  acquired  n  respect- 
able fortune,  and  whose  moral  and  religious  character  procuied  him  the 
highest  esteem.  With  several  others  of  his  trade,  he  soon  after  purchased 
a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  east  side  of  Broadway,  extending  nearly  to 
Gold  street,  and  from  Maiden  Lane  north  to  Ann  street.  To  this  dis- 
trict, afterward  long  known  as  the  "Shoemakers'  Land,"  the  leather 
fraternity,  expelled  from  their  former  quarters,  removed  their  tanneries. 
They  established  them  outside  the  city  walls,  along  the  fenny  line  of 
Maiden  Lane,  on  the  north  side,  eastward  from  William  street.  The 
original  proprietors  of  this  estate,  now  the  centre  of  commercial  wealth, 
were  Coenraet  Ten  Eyck,  Jacob  Abrahams,  John  Harpending,  and 
Carsten  Luerse ;  and  in  1696  they  were,  in  addition  to  the  last  two, 
Charles  Lodwick,  Abraham  Santfort  (Jacob  Abrahams),  and  Ileiltje 
Cloppers.  The  value  of  lots  here,  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century, 
was  about  £30  currency  of  that  day.  Tiie  site  of  the  "North  Dutch 
Church"  was  the  gifi  of  Mr.  Harpending,  who  obtained  a  large  share  in 
tlie  division  ;  and  the  present  John  street  is  said  to  have  derived  its  name 
from  that  early  proprietor  of  the  district.  From  this  region  the  tanners 
were  once  more  driven,  in  tlie  march  of  improvement,  to  the  borders  of 
the  Fresh-water  ^oncf  bcyV-nd  the  common,  and  to  Bceknian's  Swamp, 
where  many  of  thera  remained  to  the  beginning  of  tl"  present  century, 
and  one  or  two  much  later. 

Tills  locality,  still  known  as  the  "  Swamp,"  where  the  couiniercial  in- 
terests of  the  trade  yet  centre  and  wield  an  influence  second  to  few  in 
the  city,  was  in  the  infancy  of  the  city  called  the  "Qreppel 
Bosch,"  or  "  Tangled  Briars,"  from  the  shrub's  which  occupied  the 
hiw  grounds  in  that  place.  Several  acres  of  the  swamp  were  purchased 
ill  1734  by  Jacobus  Roosevelt,  for  the  sum  of  £200,  from  the  corpora- 
tion, liiough  it  was  at  the  same  time  claimed  by  the  heirs  of  Jacob 
Leisler.  Having  been  divided  by  the  purchaser  into  lots,  they  were 
principally  taken  by  the  tanners,  who  occupied  much  of  the  entire  space 
included  between  Cliff  and  (lold  and  Ferry  and  Frankford  streets,  and 
the  north  side  of  Frankford,  between  Cliff  ami   Duke.     In  this  noted 

(1)  Dunlop'B  Hist,  of  New  York  i  Appendix,  p.  128. 


The  Swamp. 


mam 


^^^  COLONIAL  LEATHER-MANUFACTURE. 

;>        !l„i  l,v  llic  Orst  »hlle  settlers  at  Elizobelhtown,  m  1(.(.0.  J«lm 

B.,iri....-  i°,  „„  ,„  .,,e  town  by  several  ot  that  name  from  tlie  bisl.  -» 
K;""  cl:  1  ™  .rEd/ards,  a  grandson  of  the  eminent  JonaUran 
Ed„ards,r;:deseonda„t  b,  ^<- ^;;^« ^^  ^T^l^^^ 
mannfactare  in  this  conntr,  ,s  "'^f '-l  '»y;™  f  *  b„„  ,„  Eliza- 
meehanica,  aids  ithase„r^^,,e  .    ^^^^  „„,.,,  ,„,„    „ 

bethtown   in   1770,   ana   learutu  ..„„,.„  „ffipprg  who  earned  it 

Mathia,  Osdcn  and  Oli.er  Speneer.  '^'^""J^J ^^'Zl>^,  rf.er.ar.1 
on  in  that  town.     At  Northampton,  Mass    »"«™  "■■^''  ^„  ,      4 

conducted  the  business  .ith  »;"^-;    ;;t ltd  .n/patent'edl 
the  first  bark-m>ll  by  water.     He  ^""1™'  ''J,,,,,,  or  fnllins-stocUs,  and 

s  ^:::t:  z  sr^xr:  rx" ":::,.,  *h  are 

""E::tT"ey  was  probably  supplied  with  eattle  from  ^^J'^ll^. 
Dnt       Ts  early  as  1668,  beet  sold  for  2W.  .  pound  and  50s.  a  barrel , 

A      1 ««  .reen  hides  brought  3<i.  and  dry  hides  6<i.  a  pound, 
and  in  1615  green  nmis  "'     h  Injited   mechanics 

About  this    ti.e,  the  P-P^-tor    of  Ea^  Jersey  in  ^^^^^ 

to  settle  in  Newark,  setting  apart  to   ^^^  ^^^^^   77^  ^^^^,^^^  ,,,  fi^st 

roside  there  a  lot  of  land  as  a  gift.     Ihe  town  retei* 
setti.mpnt    '^c^''*^  \"*-'''  wi.itphead  from  Elizabetbtown  about  the 

o(  Newark,  shoemikcr,  Samuel  Wlnteheau,  irom  1.1  onmmunitv 

year  1676.     Ue  was  "  formally  admitted  a  memto  »'  '>>«-— ^ 
L  eondition  on.is;»Pi;.y;;«  ■' -^;    -    „  Xo"  ron/  of  the 

''oXr^-f  ;iru:br:tLy  »,  a  means  of  increasing  the  suppiy. 

.!     ,       „.         (9^  Bnrlier's    and  Howe's   Hist.  Coll.  of 
•   (1)  For  most  «f  the  above  partlcularB  wo         (2)  Burner 

,rl  indebted  to  Valentine's  History  of  the     New  Jer-y-^^^^.^  j,^a.r..y,  298. 

City  of  New  York.  ^ 


i 


J. 


EARLY   TANNERIES  IN   NEW   JERSEY   AND   rENSSYLVAMA. 


443 


on,  accumulated  vast 
waged  mimic  battles 
s  from  the  tan-yards, 
city  palisades,  on  the 
ond,  near  the  junction 

sey  from  Long  Island, 
htown,iu  1C.60.   John 
and  tanning  was  car- 
ue  from  the  first.     To 
the  eminent  Jonathan 
I  Ogdefls,  the  Leather- 
!  of  the  most  valuable 
rds  was  born  in  Eliza- 
f  his   uncles,   Colonels 
officers,  who  carried  it 
Mr.  Edwards  afterward 
)ved  to  have  employed 
ented  and  patented  the 
1,  or  fulling-stocks,  and 
inual  labor  effected  by 
manufacture.    He  after- 
ive  tanneries,  which  are 

from  New  York  by  the 
ound  and  508.  a  barrel ; 
es  6d.  a  pound, 
jrsey  invited    mechanics 
f  every  trade  who  would 
he  town  received  its  first 
Elizabetbtown  about  the 
smber  of  the  community 

The  first  tannery  in  the 
ransportation  out  of  the 
ly  hides  or  tanned  leather 
laps  designed  as  a  remedy 
inds,  and  the  duties  which 
trarily  levying  on  imported 

8  of  increasing  the  supply. 

ir'a   and  Howe's  Hist.  Coll.  of 
ehead'a  Eaat  Jersey,  298. 


The  circumstances  of  the  Trovincu  were  favorable  for  gruziii!;,  and  beef  had 
thenfuiluri  to  2d,  a  pound  and  40s.  a  barrel.  An  enlurgod  rather  than 
a  restricted  market  for  beef  p.nd  hides  would  have  been  found  a  better 
expedient  in  that  as  in  other  Colonies  where  similar  laws  existed.  The 
prohibitii  a  was  the  next  year  extended  to  Indi;:  dies.^ed  skins.  Eliza- 
betbtown and  Newark,  the  latter  particularly,  cm,  tinued  from  that  time 
to  make  considerable  quantities  of  Leather  for  domestic  use  and  for  ex- , 
portation.  Newark,  which  in  recent  tiiiios  claims  to  have  made  the  fust 
japanned  leather  in  this  country,  was  some  years  before  tiie  close  of  iho 
last  century  the  seat  of  an  active  shoe  and  leather  manufacture  for  those 
times,  and  has  since  expanded  tliose  and  kindred  brancho-  such  as 
saddlery,  harness,  etc.,  to  a  leading  rank  among  its  nianuracluri-. 

Stock-raising  and  the  production  of  beef  for  the  markets  of  New  York 
and  rhiladelphia  was  a  profitable  part  of  the  early  husbandry  of  Wist 
Jersey,  and  furnished  good  supplies  of  hides  for  numerous  tannuries. 
Burlington,  the  seat  of  government  within  three  years  nfler  it  was  laid 
out,  was  known  to  kill  eight  or  nine  fat  o.xen  on  a  market-day.  Two  or 
three  years  later  many  farmers  owned  twenty  to  thirty  cows,  eight  or  ten 
oxen,  and  horses,  which  they  exijorted,  more  than  they  knew.  The 
profits  of  the  first  settlers  arose,  as  one  of  the  proprietaries  states,  "  from 
their  improvement  of  the  land  and  the  increase  of  their  bestial." 

Trenton,  at  a  later  period,  had  quite  a  number  of  tanneries.  Salem 
and  other  towns  had  the  usual  supply  of  English  tradesmen  and  me- 
chanics, and  were  doubtless  provided  with  tanners  and  shoemakers,  but 
of  the  first  essays  in  their  branches  we  have  no  account.  Shoes  and  all 
other  English  goods  were  plentifully  supplied  from  the  first  settlemc'it, 
and  were  usually  sold  at  twenty-eight  \h:v  cent,  profit,  but  to  laborers  in  part 
pay  for  wages,  sometimes  at  an  advance  of  100  per  cent.  The  scarcity 
of  money  and  the  great  plenty  of  hides,  bark,  and  other  facilities  for  tan- 
ning, secured  an  attention  to  that  branch  in  New  Jersey  which  placed 
the  Province  among  the  foremost  in  the  Leather-mrnufacture  in  Colonial 
times.  New  York  for  a  long  period  derived  a  cc  siderable  amount  of 
Leather  from  the  tanneries  of  New  Jersey. 

William  Penn,  one  of  the  proprietaries  of  West  Jersey,  or  the  Free 
Society  of  Traders,  appears  to  have  established  a  tannery  in  his  new 
Early  T.i-  territory  of  Pennsylvania  on  the  first  settlement.  In  a  letter 
Ponnsvi'.  to  the  Society,  dated  August,  1G83,  he  speaks  of  their  tannery 
v»ui»,'i(i83.  ^g  ijei„g  ^ygii  supplied  with  bark.  The  Swedes,  who  in  1C27 
were  supplied  by  the  "  Swedish  West  India  Company"  with  neat  cattle 
from  their  native  country,  made  their  own  leather  and  shoes,  and  the 
Dutch,  who  succeeded  them,  probably  had  tanneries  also.  Among  the 
former,  however,  such  arts  as  they  possessed  were  in  an  extremely  rude 


MB 


m 


444  COLONIAL  LEATHER-MANLifACTURE. 

State  and  their  dres3  and  customs  were  in  many  respects  nearly  assimi- 
d  to  those  of  the  Aborigines,  with  whom  they  drove  a  1-ge  trade  m 
furs  and  peltry.     They  were  principally  farmers,  and  the  sho  s  of  the 
Itry  peopl/were  made  like  the  n.occasin  of  the  Ind  an  wUh  the  so 
of  the  same  material  as  the  upper.     They  wore  vests  and  breec-   o    th 
Indian-dressed  skins.     Even  the  women  wore  jerk.ns  and  P«lt'coats  o 
the  same  material ;  and  their  beds,  except  the  sheets,  were  chiefly  c  nposcd 
of  the  spoils  of  the  chase.     The  women,  however,  spun  and  wove  flax, 

^'' M^linTof rEuropean  settlers  found  the  buck  and  deer  skins,  prepared 
as  wash  or  buff  leather  in  the  manner  already  mentioned,  either  by  them- 

selves  or  the  natives,  a  valuable  resource  '^^'^^^  r:f''' f'^^'^'^TTZ 
to  climate  and  mode  of  life,  in  which  they  found  themselves.  The»e  and 
the  skins  of  wolves,  bears,  elks,  buffaloes,  and  other  large  animals,  dressed 
,vith  the  hair,  and  sometimes  embroidered  and  painted  m  various  styles, 
constituted  ^  grotesque  but  serviceable  portion  of/I^^ -f^^ ^11 1 
tnents  in  early  times.  Leather  stockings  or  overalls  are  charged  n  the 
private  accounts  of  William  Penn  at  £1  2s.,  and  a  painted  skin  a 
twelve  shillings.  The  transportation  of  dressed  and  undressed  deer  skins 
out  of  the  Province,  during  one  year,  was  prohibited  by  an  Act  of  the 

Assembly  in  1695.  ...  „♦„  „f 

The  price  of  beef,  which  is  charged  in  the  proprietary's  accounts  o,t 
ad.  per  pound,  being  about  double  its  cost  in  New  England  and  New 
Jersey,  would  s^em  to  indicate  a  scarcity  of  catMe.    Yet  these  appear  to 
have  been  abundant  soon  after  the  settlement.     A  somewhat  rose-colored 
account  of  the  Province  in  1697,  by  an  Englishman  some  time  a  resident 
there  states  that  twenty  fat  bullocks,  besides  many  sheep,  calves,  and 
hoKs'  were  weekly  killed  in  Philadelphia,  even  in  the  hottest  season. 
Manl  planters  owned  40  to  60  head  of  cattle.     One  is  mentioned  who 
hud  •'  three  hundred  Neat  Beasts,  besides  great  numbers  of  Hogs,  Horses 
and  Sheep,"  and  others  nearly  as  many.     A  fat  cow  could  be  bought  for 
£3  and  Lted  beef  and  pork  wev.  regularly  exported.     Tanners  could 
pu  chase  raw  hides  for  three  halfpence  p.'r  pound,  and  sold  the,,  leather 
L  twelve  pence  per  pound.     The  cheapness  of  land,  and  the  profits  of 
produce  and  cattle  raised  for  the  Barbados  market,  rendered  labor  scarce 
I  the  mechanic  arts,  and  accounted  for  the  difference  between  raw  ma  e- 
riala  and  manufactured  products.     Curriers  received  38.  id.  a  hide  fo 
dressing  Leather,  and  paid  20d.  a  gallon  for  oil    Journeymen  shoemakers 
were  paid  two  shillings  a  pair  both  for  men's  and  women's  shoes.     Last- 
makers  received  ten  shillings  a  dozen  for  their  '-ts,  an^  heel-make  s  two 
shillings  a  dozen  for  heels,  which  were  doubtless  of  wood.     Th  se  were 
used  by  servants  many  years  after.     Among  the  tradesmen  of  the  pros- 


spects  nearly  assimi- 
rove  a  lurge  trade  in 
nd  the  shoes  of  the 
Indian,  with  the  sole 
3  and  breeches  of  the 
ins  and  petticoats  of 
were  chiefly  C('nposcd 
spun  and  wove  flax, 

d  deer  skins,  prepared 
oned,  either  by  them- 
:uliar  circumstances  as 
lemselves.  These  and 
large  animals,  dressed 
nted  in  various  styles, 
jf  the  outward  habili- 
ills  are  charged  in  the 
nd  a  painted  skin  at 
id  undressed  deer  skins 
ited  by  an  Act  of  the 

)prietary's  accounts  o,t 
ew  England  and  New 
t.    Yet  these  appear  to 
somewhat  rose-colored 
m  some  time  a  resident 
lany  sheep,  calves,  and 
in  the  hottest  season. 
One  is  mentioned  who 
imbersof  Hogs,  Horses, 
30W  could  be  bought  for 
ported.     Tanners  could 
a,  and  sold  their  leather 
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d  women's  shoes.     Last- 
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TANNING  IN  PniLADELPHIA,  LANCASTER,  AND  VORK. 


445 


pciing  town  were  tanners,  skinners,  glovcrr,  patten-makers,  sftddlers, 
collar-makers,  bookbinders,  and  carriage-makers.  In  1699  there  were 
but  two  tanyards  in  the  town,  those  of  William  Hudson  and  of  Mr. 
Lambert.  They  were  both  on  Dock  Creek,  in  what  was  called  "the 
swamp."  Tiie  Creek,  in  1739,  was  occupied  by  six  tanneries,  and  the 
citizens  petitioned  for  their  removal  from  the  city  as  nuisances.  There 
were  several  tanneries  on  Third  street,  near  the  Girard  Bank,  long  afier 
the  Creek  was  filled  in  1784.  A  law  was  made  in  1700  to  prevent  the 
sale  or  manufacture  of  iil-tanned  Leather,  but  was  repealed  in  1705. 
The  exportation  of  Leather  was  also  prohibited,  and  shoes  were  to  be 
sold  at  C)S.  6(/.  a  pair  for  men's,  and  5s.  a  pair  for  women's.  Leather 
might  be  exported  where  it  did  not  exceed  Sd,  a  pound. 

In  1704,  the  shoemUvCAs,  saddlers,  and  others  engaged  in  the  working 
of  Lcatiicr  petitioned  for  a  law  to  prohibit  its  exportation  ;  and  several 
inhabitants  of  the  county  at  the  same  time  asked  for  a  law  against  the 
transportation  of  deer  skins  dressed  in  the  hair.  Both  prohibitions  were 
embcdied  in  one  bill.  In  1721  the  legislature,  in  view  of  the  importance 
of  tli"s  branch,  passed  "An  Act  for  the  well  Tanning  and  currying  of 
Leather  and  regulating  of  cordwniners  and  other  artificers  using  and 
occupying  Lather  within  this  Pi'ovince." 

The  interior  towns  were  at  this  time  chiefly  supplied  with  shoes  and 
Leather  from  Philadelphia.  Tanneries  existed,  however,  in  most  of  the 
older  settlements.  Lancaster  early  became  a  place  of  some  activity  in 
the  manufacture  of  Leather,  saddlery,  etc.,  which  the  transportation  and 
travel  between  Philadelphia  and  the  remoter  towns  encouraged.  Gov. 
Pownal,  who  visited  it  in  i7?4,  speaks  of  it  as  a  "growing  town  and 
maki'ig  money,  and  a  manufactory  here  of  saddles  and  packsaddles.  It 
is  a  stage  town,  500  hou.ses  and  2,000  inhabitants."  Michael  Bertgas 
ai.d  Henry  Zanck,  in  1771,  had  tan-yards  on  Queen  street,  with  bark 
houses,  mills,  and  other  appurtenances  of  the  business  attached. 

In  York  County  there  was  neither  shoemaker  nor  tanner  for  some  time 
after  its  settlement.  Shoes  were  obtained  from  the  capital,  and  were 
mended  by  itinerant  cobblers,  who  went  from  house  to  h)use.  The 
first  eBtablished  shoemaker  wa.-i  Samuel  Landys,  who  set  up  a  shop  on 
Kreutz  Creek. 

The  tannery  did  not  nsoally,  in  that  day,  tarry  long  behind  the  first 
occup,''.nts  of  a  now  town.  It  was  a  nececsary  appendage  to  every  vil- 
lage, as  ronimnnication  between  places  was  imperfect,  and  Leather  per- 
hajis  relatively  a  greater  dei)eiideMCc  than  in  our  time.  Tmnsportation 
and  travel  in  now  settlements  were  exclusively  by  means  of  pnck-liorses. 
As  roads  became  improved,  the  heavy  and  cuinl)er*ome  foiir-horse  wain 
became  the  medium  of  transport.     The  gear  anil  equipments  of  these 


1 


m 


COLONIAL  LEATHEU-MANUFACTCRE, 


conyoyanccs  required  frequent  renewal  on  account  of  the  rou-hnoss  of  the 
best  constructed  roads.     For  various  other  purposes  in  Agriculture  and 
the  me-hunic  Arts,  Leather  was  much  depended  upon.     The  cost  of 
freight  from  the  seaports  to  the  interior,  and  of  hides  th..nce  to  the  older 
maritime  towns,  was  saved  by  the  early  establishment  of  a  tannery  by 
some  member  of  each  new  community,  or  was  extemporized,  in  a  rude 
style  by  the  larger  farmers  for  their  own  convenience.     The  practical 
knowledge  of  the  business  was  often  as  great  in  the  one  case  as  in  the 
other      Tanneries,  however,  in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  several 
parts  of  Xew  England,  soon  became  very  numerous.     The  cheapness  of 
hides  and  of  bark,  furnished  in  the  process  of  clearing  land,  the  abund- 
ance  of  suitable  streams  for  carrying  it  on,  and  the  demand  for  Leather 
created  by  a  rapidly  auementing  population,  rendered  the  business  profit- 
Mble      The  operations  were  conducted  in  a  routine  way,  with  hltle  re- 
gard to  the  c'.omical  principles  involved,  and  the  usual  amount  of  tech- 
uicnl   skill  was  soon   acquired.     Tanneries  on  a  small  scale,  with   no 
labor-saving  appliances,  were  multipl'ed  with  the  spread  of  population 
and  soon  became  very  numeroas.     Although  the  Leather,  from  want  of 
capital,  was  seldom  kept  as  long  in  the  vats  as  in  England,  it  was  suffi- 
cient to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  farmer,  the  teamster,  and  the  me- 
chanic     The  shoemaker,  saddle,  and  harness-maker  were  scarcely  less 
needed  than  the  tanner,  and  their  shops  were  soon  found  in  all  the  larger 
towns  and  villages,  where  coarse  shoes  for  the  laborer,  and  saddlery  for 
the  neighborhood,  could  be  procured.     In  this  way,  throughout  ^ew 
England  and  the  middle  Colonies,  Leather,  probably  equal  to  that  of  any 
European  country  except  England,  was  made,  even  before  the  separation, 
to  an  extent  more  nearly  approaching  a  sufficiency  than  any  other  article. 
Pennsylvania,  with  a  mixed  population  of  thrifty  farmers  and  Euro- 
pean mechanics  and  tradesmen,  took  an  early  lead  in  the  mannfacturo 
of  Leather,  and  supplied  New  York  and  the  Southern  Provinces  with  a 
portion  of  their  shoes  and  Leather.     Tanned  Leather  was  among  the 
exports  of  Pliiladelphia  in  1731.   A  manuscript  account  book  of  an  early 
date  deposited  in  the  library  of  the  Historical  Society,  furnishes  some 
particulars  of  prices.     This  belonged  to  William  Parsons,  a  shoemaker 
of  Philadelphia,  and  a  member  of  Franklin's  junto,  who  afterward  studied 
mathematics  with  a  view  to  astrology,  but  employed  it  in  more  useful 
callings      The  price  of  men's  shoes,  as  then  charged  in  1723,  was  7s. 
to  7«  Cd  a  pair,  and  of  women's  58.  to  Gs.  a  pair.     Sole  leather  appears 
to  have  cost  him  9<f.  the  pound,  calf  skins  from  38.  6d.  to  S.s.  a  piece, 
and  sheep  skins  Is.  M.  each. 

A  branch  of  the  licathcr  business,  which  the  great  improvement  in  the 
textile  arts  in  the  present  century  has  rendered  far  less  extensive  than  it 


A  servant's  dress  in  the  last  century. 


m 


the  roup;hnoss  of  the 
in  Agriculture  and 
ipon.     The  cost  of 
5  thi.nce  to  the  older 
jnt  of  a  tannery  by 
mporized,  in  a  rude 
ince.     The  practical 
3  one  case  as  in  the 
Jersey,  and  several 
The  cheapness  of 
ing  land,  the  nbund- 
demand  for  Leather 
d  the  business  profit- 
!  way,  with  little  re- 
sual  amount  of  tech- 
imall  scale,  with   no 
spread  of  population 
leather,  from  want  of 
England,  it  was  suffl- 
eamster,  and  the  rac- 
er were  scarcely  less 
bund  in  all  the  larger 
jrer,  and  saddlery  for 
ray,  throughout  New 
y  equal  to  that  of  any 
before  the  separation, 
than  any  other  article. 
"ty  farmers  and  Euro- 
i  in  the  manufacture 
hern  Provinces  with  a 
Bther  was  among  the 
jount  book  of  an  early 
lociety,  furnishes  some 
Parsons,  a  shoemaker 
who  afterward  studied 
yed  it  in   more  useful 
irged  in  1123,  was  7.". 
Sole  leather  appeara 
38.  6d.  to  5«.  a  piece, 

pat  improvement  in  the 
r  less  extensive  than  it 


formerly  was,  was  the  manufacture  of  buff  leather  and  other  kinds  of 
dressed  or  half  dressed  skins  for  clothing.  This  formed  a  distinct  busi- 
ness in  the  principal  cities  and  large  towns ;  and  buckskin  for  jackets, 
vests,  breeches,  etc,  formed  a  part  of  the  tailor's  stock.  In  the  early 
g„(f  numbers  of  Bradford's  Mercury,  the  first  Pennsylvania  news- 

Leather,  paper,  for  1719,  Matthew  Cowley,  a  skinner  of  Philadelphia, 
announces  his  removal  from  Chestnut  street  "  to  dwell  in  Walnut 
street  near  the  Bridg  (now  Dock  street)  where  all  persons  may  have 
their  Buck  and  Doe  skins  drest  after  the  best  manner  and  at  reasonable 
rates.  He  also  dresses  While  Leather,  and  can  furnish  you  with  bind- 
ings, etc."  The  advertisements  in  that  and  other  early  papers  of  nu- 
merous absconding  servants,  describe  the  dress  of  men  as  consisting 
almost  uniformly  in  part  of  jackets,  breeches,  or  waistcoats  of  Leather, 
and  sometimes  of  cloth  with  Leather  linings.  These  appear  to  have  been 
wrought  up  with  considerable  art,  and  sometimes  had  a  worm  worked 
along  tiie  button-hole,  or  oiIht  embellishment.  The  buttons  were  various, 
as  leather,  glass,  brass,  tin,  and  pewter.  Shoes  almost  wholly  of  neats' 
leather  are  frequently  described  as  "round-toed,"  and  in  many  cases  had 
wooden  heels.  Steel  buckles  are  occasionally  mentioned  as  worn  by  that 
class.  Buckles  of  polished  steel  and  more  costly  materials  were  then  in 
common  use  among  the  wealthier  classes,  and  continued  to  be  worn  until 
after  the  Revolution. 

In  addition  to  the  skinners  and  leather  dressers  in  the  towns,  large 
quantities  of  the  prepared  skins  of  wild  animals  were  furnished  by  the 
natives.  Logan,  the  celebrated  Mingo  chief,  maintained  his  family  for 
several  years  near  Reedsville,  in  Milliin  Cour»v,  Pennsylvania,  by  this 
aboriginal  art.  He  hunted  the  wild  deer  upon  the  mountains,  and  sold 
the  skins,  dressed  by  his  own  hands,  to  tho  white  people.  These  skins, 
in  their  raw  and  prepared  state,  were  an  important  article  of  commerce, 
and  their  prices  were  as  regularly  quoted  as  other  merchandise.  Buck  and 
doe  skins,  dressed  in  oil  by  white  men,  brought  a  higher  price  than  the 
Indian-dressed,  The  current  price  of  the  two  kinds  in  Boston,  January, 
1710,  was  8s.  Ctd.  per  pound  for  the  former,  and  5.s.  for  the  latter.  Those 
dr«  sscd  in  the  hair  sold  for  Is  Sd.  a  pound.  Thus  the  immemorial  prac- 
tice of  a  leading  art  among  sava'^e  tribes  yields  to  the  most  empirical  ex- 
ercise of  civilized  skill.  A  gentleman  of  public  spirit  in  Newcastle 
County,  in  order  to  .stimulate  the  mechanical  industry  if  the  lower  coun- 
ties, offered  in  1753  liberal  premiums  for  several  products  of  domestic 
labor,  including  a  bounty  of  40«.  for  the  best  dressed  deer  skins.  Deer 
Fkins  with  other  peltry  were  exported  from  all  the  Colonies  from  the 
earliest  period.  The  Southern  Provinces  especially  shipjied  large  quan- 
titieE,  and  supplied  many  to  the  more  northern  ones  as  they  became  more 


^^3  COLONIAL  LEATHEB-MAUUFACTUBE. 

Bcarce      A  cotemporary  of  the  Swedes,  describing,  some  thirty  years 
before  the  grant  to  William  Penn,  the  first  English  settlements  m  a  por- 
UoTof  Mar  land  called  New  Albion,  quaintly  commends  these  materials 
T.  substitute  for  English  cloth.     "  A  good  glover  w.th  -e  onely  o 
our  own  Elk  skins  maketh  the  best  Buffe  coats,  our  own  Stag  and  Deer 
skins  make  best  gentile  and  soldier-clothes  fittest  for  our  woods ;  a  Doe- 
k^breches  A  the  fur  inside,  in  our  short  winter  is  bet^r  t  an  two 
broadclothes  and  warmer,  so  we  need  no  Enghsh  ^'^^''^^^^Jl'Xm- 
tion  of  hides  and  Leather,  as  already  mentioned,  was  f«^h'^  J'     "  ^^^^ 
land  iu  1681.     A  severe  check  was  given  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Colony 
a  ew    ears  later  by  a  pestilence  among  the  cattle,  -^^' ;^  ^^^ 
1694  and  1695,  carried  off  over  twenty-five  thousand  neats  cattle,  and 

'rr  C:?  BalLore.  who  in  1^33,  four  years  after  it  was  laid 

o.T'^:L'^  a  vessel  in  the  London  trade,  purchased.  abo.U  ten  y^^^^^^^ 

after,  lots  on  the  rest  side  of  Light  street,  where  he  transacted 

r;r-     business  in  several  mercantile  and  manufacturing  branches^    He 

B.uimore.    ^^^  ^^^  proprietor  of  the  first  rope-waU  in  the  town,  and  haa 

»  tannery  probably  the  first  also  in  Baltimore,  situated  west  of  Greene 

treet     Several  otLr  tan-yards  were  established  on  the  west  side  of   he 

Falls,  above  and  below  Gay  street,  between  that  time  and  im,  about 

whici  time  John  Coruthwait  erected  one  on  Wilkes  street  west  of  Hart- 

^"tfrcely  any  effort  was    made  in    South    Carolina  for  many  years 
to  ma  ufacture  Leather  or  shoes.     This  arose  from  no  want  of  materials, 
for  cattle  of  all  kinds  were  plentiful.     These  were  first  intro- 
7TT    duced  in  1670  from  England,  bv  William  Sayles ;  and  others 
---     tire  imported  before  the  war  by  General  Wade  Hampton  and 
Colonel  William  Singleton.     A  bad  husbandry,  however,  prevailed,  and, 
^i?  Virginia,  cattle  were  seldom  housed  or  fed.     Tar,  turpentine,  to- 
racco  i  digo/and  rice  employed  their  chief  care,  and  the  planters  argued 
theyhad  too  much  to  think  about  to  shelter  their  stock.     We  are  m- 
fo  med  in  Mr.  Purry's  account  of  the  Province  in  1731,  that  cattle  were 
lulro  «  b.t  that  there  was  not  a  hovel  in  all  the  country  for  th.ir 
Zter    i     consequence    of  which    ten  thousand    horned  cattle    died 
previous  winter  of  hunger  and  cold.   The  planters  did  not  even  know 
how  to  mow  or  provide  fodder.   Butter  was  usually  Is.  6d  a  pound  (Caro- 
in!  currency)   and  in  the  last  winter  was  12«.     One  planter  had  two 
hundred  calves  marked  in  the  spring,  which  like  others  ««;« /""•^'^ ''fl 
the  woods  to  forage  for  themselves.     Beef  was  exported  to  the  West 
Indies,  and  the  hides  were  either  exported  in  a  raw  state,  or  cast  away 

(„  l.lunU.ge.ar=  Nov  Albioo,  p.  31.  C^)  Qrifflth".  AnnaU  of  BaUimore. 


TANNING  IN  TUE  CAR0LINA8  AND  IN  GEORGIA. 


449 


some  thirty  years 
jttlements  ii»  a  por- 
snds  these  materials 
with  some  onely  of 
iwn  Stag  and  Deer 
our  woods ;  a  Doe- 
,  is  better  than  two 
lies."'  The  exporta- 

forbidden  in  Mary- 
perity  of  the  Colony 
which,  in  the  year? 
nd  neats  cattle,  and 

lars  after  it  was  laid 
ised,  about  ten  years 

where  he  transacted 
luring  branches.    He 
n  the  town,  and  had 
ated  west  of  Greene 
I  the  west  side  of  the 
ime  and  1171,  about 
1  street  west  of  Hart- 
Una  for  many  years 
no  want  of  materials, 
hese  were  first  intro- 
i  Sayles;  and  others 

Wade  Hampton  and 
wever,  prevailed,  and, 
Tar,  turpentine,  to- 
ld the  planters  argued 
r  stock.  We  are  in- 
1131,  that  cattle  were 

the  country  for  their 
,  horned  cattle  died 
ers  did  not  even  know 
1h.  6d.  a  pound  (Caro- 
One  planter  had  two 
thers  were  turned  into 
exported  to  the  West 
■aw  state,  or  east  away 

Annali  of  Baltimore. 


as  worthless.  There  were  fow  if  any  tanners  or  shoemakers,  and  ox  hides 
were  sold  for  20s.  each,  and  shoes  imported  and  sold  at  lOs.  a  pair. 
"Neither  are  they  destitute  of  the  means  to  tan  them,"  observes  this 
writer,  "  for  they  make  very  good  lime  with  oyster  shells,  and  the  bark 
of  oak  trees  is  so  plentiful  that  it  costs  but  the  trouble  of  gathering. 
They  want  therefore  only  a  sufficient  number  of  good  tanners  and  shoe- 
makers. I  might  say  the  same  of  Leather-dressers,  since  they  send  every 
year  to  England  above  200,000  deer  skins  undrest.  Yet  Carolina  pro- 
duces Oker  naturally,  and  good  Fish  oyle  may  be  had  from"  New  York 
or  New  England  very  cheap,  so  that  they  might  be  drest  and  made  up 
into  Breeches  in  the  country;  for  which  these  skins  are  very  proper, 
being  warm  in  winter  and  cool  in  summer  " 

In  1747,  the  exports  from  Charleston  included  10,356  pounds  weif^Iit 
of  tanned  Leather,  worth  5s.  a  pound  (about  Sid.  sterling),  and  141  calf 
skins,  worth  5s.  M.  of  the  same  currency,  and  720  hogsheads  of  deer 
skins,  at  £50  sterling  each.'  In  1754  the  exports  included  4,196  tanned 
hides  and  1,200  in  the  hair,  with  882  hogsheads  of  wild  deer  skins. 

North  Carolina  in  1753  also  exported  one  thousand  hundred-weight  of 
tanned  Leather,  and  about  80,000  deer  skins. 

Georgia  in  1755  shipped  49,995  lbs.  of  deer  skins,  and  3,250  lbs.  of 
tanned  leather:  and  in  1760,  65,765  lbs.  cf  the  former,  and  34,725  of 
the  latter,  which  amounts  were  increased  in  1772  to  213,475  lbs.  of  deer 
skins,  and  52,126  of  tanned  Leather.  The  export  of  Leather  in  1772, 
which  was  just  double  that  of  Philadelphia  in  the  previous  year,  indicates 
the  limited  home  consumption  in  Oeorgii,  the  population  of  which  was 
probably  not  over  one-tenth  that  of  Pennsylvania. 

Immense  numbers  of  cattle  of  a  small  breed,  which  there  were  few  at- 
tempts to  imr  jve,  were  raised  before  the  Revolution  in  the  back  settle- 
ments of  the  uiree  Southern  Provinces.  These  were  produced  at  a  very 
small  cost,  being  suffered  to  run  wild  in  the  woods  on  account  of  the 
mildness  of  the  winters.  Many  farmers  owned  from  500  to  1,500  heiid 
each.  But  little  beef  was  exported.  The  cattle  were  sold  in  the  lean 
state  at  from  one  to  two  guineas  each,  and  driven  to  Pennsylvania,  where 
they  were  fattened  for  market.  The  price  of  calf  skins  at  Charleston,  as 
above  quoted,  namely  5s.  8d.  currency — which  was  one-seventh  the  value 
of  sterling — is  an  evidence  of  the  small  size  and  value  of  such  skins.  It 
was  about  the  price  of  one  pound  of  tanned  Leather. 

An  ample  supply  of  hides  and  wild  skins,  with  unlimited  quantities  of  seve- 
ral kinds  oi  the  best  oak  bark,  sumach,  and  other  materials  for  tanning,  failed, 
however,  to  attract  much  attention  to  the  Leather-manufacture  until  after 
the  Peace.    In  the  high  country  of  the  interior,  where  imported  goods  were 

rl)  Hiit.  Coll.  of  S.  CkruliDa,  a.  334. 
29 


450 


COLONIAL  LEATIIER-MANUFACTURE. 


less  easily  obtained,  slave  labor  less  abundant,  and  the  ordinary  staple 
productions  less  profitable,  some  Leather  and  shoes  were  madr,  chiefly  as 
a  household  industry.  But  in  the  lower  and  more  populous  parts  of  the 
Carolinas  and  Georgia  the  price  of  a  pair  of  shoes  continued,  until  near 
tlie  close  of  tlie  century,  to  be  almost  that  of  an  untanned  ox  or  cow 
hide.  Tills  remarkable  disparity  in  price  between  the  material  and  the 
finished  product  was  urged  by  a  Society  formed  in  South  Carolina  in 
1704  to  aid  emigrants,  by  directing  their  attention  to  profitable  fields  for 
tlie  employment  of  capital  in  Manufactures,  of  which  Leather  was  one. 
Several  extensive  tanneries  existed  at  that  time  at  Fayetteville,  in  North 
Carolina,  then  the  largest  mercantile  town  in  the  interior,  and  considered 
an  eligil)le  site  for  other  manufactures,  of  which  there  were  several. 
Some  Leather  and  shoes  were  made  by  the  Saltzburgers,  at  Ebenezer,  iu 

Qjorgia. 

The  cheapness  of  land  and  of  servile  labor,  the  profits  of  agriculture 
and  those  brandies  of  crude  manufacture  which  were  encouraged  by 
bounties  from  Parliament,  confined  attention  in  the  Southern  Provinces, 
throughout  their  provincial  history,  chiefly  to  such  products,  and  ren- 
dered mechanical  labor  extremely  scarce  and  dear.  Shoes,  and  nearly 
all  their  necessaries  which  were  the  result  of  skilled  labor,  were  imported 
from  Great  Britain,  or  from  the  Eastern  and  Middle  Colonies.  Leather 
was  very  im.porfoctly  manufactured,  and  much  of  it  was  exported  with  the 
stores  of  wild  deer  skins  and  other  peltry  obtained  in  barter  with  the 
Indians.  The  exports  of  Charleston  in  1784  included  1,968  sides  of 
Leather,  and  in  1785,  2,517  sides.  In  the  same  years  the  green  and 
dressed  hides  shipped  were  298  and  2,297  respectively.  These  small 
amounts  show  an  increased  domestic  consumption  of  Leather  as  well  as 
of  the  raw  material. 

The  value  of  such  articles  of  export  was  indeed  diminished  in  1764  by 
an  Act  of  Parliament  (4  Geo.  III.  3  c.  15),  which  placed  hides  and  skins 
on  the  list  of  enumerated  commodities  which,  by  the  laws  of  trade,  were 
required  to  be  shipped  exclusively  to  Great  Britain.  The  tendency  of 
this  measure  was  to  diminish  the  value  of  cattle  in  the  Colonies,  and  to 
make  it  an  object  to  manufacture  hides  and  skins  into  Leather,  instead 
of  exporting  them  in  the  green  state  to  so  distant  a  market. 

This,  however,  was  but  one  of  the  modes  by  which  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment, about  that  time,  sought  to  reimburse  the  heavy  outlays  of  the 
war  just  concluded,  by  more  completely  engrossing  the  profits  of  the 
colonial  trade,  and  by  new  and  extraordinary  imposts  upon  its  trans- 
atlantic subjects.  The  course  adopted  throughout  the  country  to  defent 
the  operation  of  the  statutes  Imposing  duties  on  stamps,  and  other  taxes 
and  restrictions  not  required  for  the  regulation  of  commerce,  engrafted 


women's  shoes  at  lynn. 


451 


the  ordinary  staple 
3re  madr,  chiefly  as 
pulous  parts  of  the 
ntlaued,  until  near 
ntanned  ox  or  cow 
e  material  and  the 
South  Carolina  in 
profitable  fields  for 
1  Leather  was  one. 
yctteville,  in  North 
■ior,  and  considered 
there  were  several, 
ers,  at  Ebenezer,  iu 

rofits  of  agriculture 

ere  encouraged   by 

Southern  Provinces, 

products,  and  ren- 

Shoes,  and  nearly 
abor,  were  imported 
Colonies.  Leather 
IS  exported  with  the 

in  barter  with  the 
ded  1,968  sides  of 
ears  the  green  and 
ivfcly.     These  small 

Leather  as  well  as 

minishcd  in  1764  by 
aced  hides  and  skins 
I  laws  of  trade,  were 
.  The  tendency  of 
the  Colonies,  and  to 
iito  Leather,  instead 
market. 

ch  the  imperial  gov- 
heavy  outlays  of  the 
g  the  profits  of  the 
osts  upon  its  trans- 
tho  country  to  defe.it 
mps,  and  other  ta.xea 
commerce,  engrafted 


upon  the  colonial  mind  ideas  of  which  it  had  before  scarcely  a  remote 
conception.     The  possibility  and  the  practicability  of  becoming  indepon- 
dent  of  foreign  sources,  in  regard  to  those  manufactures  of  which  the 
country  produced  the  crude  materials,  began  to  be  doubtfully  entertained 
m  a  few  resentful  breasts.     These  opinions  were  inculcated  in  a  few 
patriotic  assemblies  of  merchants  and  tradesmen,  watchful  of  the  future 
interests  of  the  country,  and  soon  ripened  into  a  popular  belief     The 
good  eflFects  of  the  first  experiments  in  frugality  and  industry  confirmed 
the  general  impression,  and  the  subsequent  course  of  the  ministry  brought 
the  strongest  convictions  of  duty  in  the  matter.     By  far  the  larger  part 
of  the  regular  importations  from  Great  Britain  consisted  of  clothing 
shoes,  and  textile  materials  of  every  kind  for  that  and  various  domestic 
purposes.     A  necessary  consequence  of  the  retrenchment  in  these  arti- 
cles, enjoined  by  the  general  agreements  to  suspend  importations  and 
encourage  economy  while  the  obnoxious  statutes  were  enforced  was  an 
increased  dependence  upon  Leather  and  skins  as  clothing,  to  which  the 
people  were  already  habituated.     An  increased  attention  to  the  preserva- 
tion and  breed  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and  of  the  hides  and  skins  of  such  as 
were  slaughtered;  a  more  general  use  of  garments  of  those  materials-  an 
increase  of  tanneries  and  improvement  in  the  modes  o*"  dressing  and 
working  of  Leather  and  buck.skin.s,  were  among  the  measures  recom- 
mended in  the  assemblies  and  local  associations  in  the  several  Colonies 
In  many  instances  they  were  further  encouraged  by  premiums   and 
bounties. 

The  manufacture  of  Leather  and  shoes  had  already  become  an  im- 
portant  branch  of  New  England  industry.  As  early  as  1731  the  Lords 
of  Trade,  as  the  result  of  inquiries  instituted  through  the  colonial  gov- 
ernors,  reported  to  Parliament  that  the  greater  part  of  the  Leather  used 
in  Massachusetts  was  manufactured  in  the  Province.  In  Connecticut 
the  manufactures  were  "very  inconsiderable;  the  people  there  being 
generally  employed  in  tillage,  some  few  in  tanning,  shoemaking  and 
other  handicrafts." 

A  very  considerable  improvement  was  made,  some  twenty  years  later 
in  the  shoe  manufacture  in  Massachusetts,  which  had  given  an  impulse 
sLoosia  to  the  business  in  the  Province,  and  particularly  in  Essex 
^'"'-  County,  which  then,  as  now,  probably  made  as  much  Leather 
mid  shoes  as  all  the  rest  of  the  State.  Lynn  had  carried  on  the  manu- 
facture of  women's  shoes  as  a  principal  industry  for  about  a  hundred 
years,  before  any  essential  improvement  was  made.  The  art  of  the  shoe- 
maker  was  indee.l  very  imperfectly  understood.  Workmen  were  gener- 
ally  unskilled,  as  those  who  possessed  the  knowledge  and  capital  to  in- 
sure  success  preferred  an  investment  in  land  or  trade.     To  improvo 


COLONIAL  LEATHEE-MANUFACTURE. 


,,„...„.«  in  *e  »oc.,.„i,™  of  .hoe.  tUe  .nan*.,  re.  -^  --;- 

,„„„„  »cn.....  *-j;- f  ;tt;::  ::;^;!:"  "".-.a.  At ... 

they  were  made.     The  business  wa  h  j      ^   j  ije^,,  pro- 

en/of  a  century,  during  which  a  ^^  "^J;^;;^^^^^^^^^  The 

duced  at  Lynn,  only  tl-ee  m.nufactu  ^^^  "f^^^^^^^^^J,,,^  ^^^,a 
business  was  chiefly  conducted  ^J^^^  ^  ,  ,^^  ,,,  pHncipal  market. 
by  his  sons  and  apprentice.     N  w  ^^^  ^„,  „,,,,5,„,i,y. 

«„d  a  fev.  were  sent  to  >eYo^k  and  J^^^^^^^  ^_^^^^^  j^,^^ 

perhaps,  to  other  po  ts.     In  "f 'J  J,„perior  skill  in  mal^iig  ladies' 

Adam  Dagyr,  settled  m  ^^y""' ''"^' '^  ";.7;„ bounding  country  as  the 
.hoes,  soon  became  l^n-J^^-ugl^        th  --u        g  ^_^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^_ 

celebrated  shoemaker  of  Essex.     M«ny  pe  ^j^^  ^^.^   ^„d 

boring  towns  acquired  from  h.rn  a  ^^^^^J^^^^f^.h^ir  business.     A 
obtained  the  reward  of  superiority  ^^'^''^'J^^^;^,  ^,,,,  that  shoes 
Boston  correspondent  of  ^^:^^^^:;::J^::,  beauty  any  that 
for  women  were  made  at  Lynn  exceeuiub 
were  usually  imported  from  London.  increased 

rapidly,  and  attracted  to  it  a  larger  ^^^^  ^^^ 

.Lufactures.  that  of  f^  ^^l  ^  T.att^^  after  the  Peace, 
importations  made  just  before  the  jar  ana  ^^^^  ^_^^^^  ^^^ 

Considerable  quantities  of  shoes  for  he  -^J^^^        ^  j„^^,  ^.,, 

congress  from  Massach^ettsdun,^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^ 

revived  and  greatly  extended  befo'«  t'^e  c^o  ^^^^  ^^^_ 

estimated  ^^  ]^««  ^^^  ^^pTa  -  m\t  ^li.OS  made  the  number 
dred  thousand  pairs     A  ««™P";Y         ^    ^  ^^^  the  journeymen  and 

of  ---work™-  n^^^^^^  ToCooo  ;'-  ^^  ^^^  ^^^'^1  '' 

apprentices  six  hundrea.     aoo  ^„,T,p,.      They  were  sent  from 

thl  manufacturers  chiefly  t^/f^^^l^.^V^Z^^nd  and  some  direct  from 
Boston.  New  York,  and  ^hiladelphm    «  E  g,  n<J     "^  ^^^^ 

Lynn  to  Europe.     A  s  ngle  ^^^^ll'Z\^^^^^^^^  ,J  of  shoes. 

his  own  workshop,  w.thu.  seven  ™«"^^^  '  ^"'["^y  neighborhood.  These 
valued  at  £4,914.  exclusive  of  many  ^^^^^  "  ^^  ;;2ess.  were  promising 
amounts,  though  small  compared  with  it  ^  ;";^^^X\hich  has  since 
indications  of  that  enterprise,  f -^^^^^^^^^^^  to  an  aggregate 

raised  the  annual  production  <>f  ^'^^  J^^^^^^f  ^^L  number  of  boots. 
of  six  million  pairs  of  shoes,  and  mor    than  h  If  t  .^  ^^^^ 

valued  together  at  upward  of  f-    -^  °-^,«    ^     of  the  second  cen- 
Official  returns  of  the  State  in  1855,  about  the 
tary  of  the  industrial  history  of  the  town. 


KDWARDS'  IMPROVEJIENTS  IN  TANNINQ. 


458 


;rs  would  sometimes 
jra  apart  to  sec  how 
lit  limited.     At  the 
ation  had  been  pro- 
l  journeymen.     The 
anufacturer,  assisted 
lie  principal  market, 
lia.  and  occasionally, 
maker,  named  John 
;kill  in  makii.g  ladies' 
tiding  country  as  the 
Lynn  and  the  neigh- 
edgc  of  the  art,  and 
of  their  business.     A 
1164,  wrote  that  shoes 
h  and  beauty  any  that 

he  business  increased 
capital.     With  other 
Bck  through  the  large 
soon  after  the  Peace, 
e  army  were  drawn  by 
on.     The  business  was 
e  last  century.     It  was 
vomen's  ehoes  one  hun- 
795  made  the  number 
md  the  journey  men  and 
were  then  exported  by 
They  were  sent  from 
d,  and  some  direct  from 
id  to  have  shipped  from 
housand  pairs  of  shoes, 
5  neighborhood.     These 
business,  were  promising 
llective,  which  has  since 
)f  Lynn  to  an  aggregate 
f  that  number  of  boots, 
dollars,  as  stated  in  the 
close  of  the  second  cen- 

)n  dollars'  worth  of  shoes 
Revolution  by  the  decay 


of  its  former  business  of  fishing.  Danvers,  Haverhill,  and  other  places 
in  Essex  were  early  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  women's  shoes ;  and 
there  was,  in  1788,  a  considerable  manufacture  of  men's  shoes  at  Reading 
near  Lynn.  Boston,  Quincy,  and  many  other  towns  in  the  vicinity,  en- 
gaged in  the  shoe  manufacture  after  the  Revolution.  Middlesex  County, 
before  the  end  of  the  last  century,  had  seventy  tanneries. 

The  fisheries  of  New  England  furnished  abundance  of  oil  at  a  cheap 
rate  for  the  Leather-manufacture.  From  the  coasts  of  Labrador  and 
Newfoundland  were  also  obtained,  before  the  Revolution,  considerable 
quantities  of  seal  skins.  On  account  of  the  high  duty  upon  them  in  Eng- 
land, many,  which  would  otherwise  have  gone  there,  were  sent  to  New 
England,  where  they  were  tanned  and  made  into  'hoes,  boots,  etc.,  and 
returned  to  supply  the  fishermen  on  the  northeast  coast.  Others  were 
dressed  in  the  hair,  and  were  variously  employed  in  making  trunks,  caps, 
coats,  etc.  The  manufacture  of  Leather  in  Massachusetts  in  early  times 
was  chiefly  confined  to  the  old  maritime  counties,  Essex,  Middlesex, 
and  Suffolk. 

The  first  tanned  Leather  sent  from  Hampshire  to  Boston  market  was 
from  Northampton,  in  1794,  and  was  the  manufacture  of  Col.  William 
Edwards,  before  mentioned.  He  commenced  business  in  that 
town  four  years  before,  while  under  twenty  years  of  age,  and  at 
the  same  time  began  a  series  of  improvements  in  the  mechanical 
branch  of  the  art  which  were  afterward  adopted  and  extended  by  others, 
to  the  signal  profit  and  extension  of  the  manufacture.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  in  his  occupation  to  infuse  a  greater  spirit  of  enterprise  into  the 
business.  The  construction  of  his  works  on  an  improved  plan  from  those 
in  use  throughout  the  country,  and  at  Elizabeth  town,  N.  J.,  where  he  had 
served  an  apprenticeship  of  four  years  for  his  board  and  the  privilege  of 
tanning  with  his  master's  stock  four  sheepskins  a  year,  and  afterward 
labored  as  a  journeyman  at  thirty  dollars  per  annum  and  board,  first  en- 
gaged bis  attention.  The  rude  appointments  of  a  tannery,  as  generally 
built  before  his  time,  embraced  a  greater  or  less  number  of  oblong  boxes 
or  hogsheads  sunk  in  the  earth  near  a  small  stream,  and  without  cover  or 
outlet  below,  to  serve  as  vats  and  leeches.  A  lew  similar  boxes  above 
ground  for  lime  vats  and  pools,  an  open  shed  for  a  beam  house,  and  a 
circular  trough  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  in  which  the  bark  was  crushed  by 
alternate  wooden  and  stone  whee's,  turned  by  two  old  or  blind  horses, 
at  the  rate  of  half  a  cord  a  day,  completed  in  most  cases  the  arrangements 
of  the  tanyard.  Mr,  Edwards,  as  an  improvement  on  this,  "  began  by 
laying  down  a  trunk  of  plank  made  tight  underneath  his  vats  to  carry  off 
the  spent  liquor;  then  a  junk  to  receive  it,  next  leeches  above  ground  in 
tiers,  one  above  another,  raising  the  liquor  by  a  suction  pump  worked  by 


Improve- 
meutii  in 
Tanning. 


454 


COLONIAL  LEATHER-MANUFACTURE. 


two  or  four  men ;  then  substantial  buildings  over  his  beam  house,  and 
handles,  using  the  lofts  for  a  currier's  shop. 

He  early  erected  a  bark-mill  on  a  stream  five  miles  from  his  tannery, 
and  so  much  nearer  the  region  where  his  bark  was  ground  by  water- 
power  using  at  first  mill-stoues,  afterward  the  several  iron-mills  as  they 
were  invented  by  others ;  bnt  it  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  depart- 
ure from  the  old  horse-mill  already  described.'" 

This  humble  commencement,  with  a  stock  of  fifty  hides,  and  an  improved 
mechanism  and  arrangement  of  the  tannery,  was  afterward  pushed,  through 
the  intelligent  observation  of  an  active  mind,  to  higher  results.  His 
operaticns  were  extended  to  neighboring  towns,  and  all  his  enterprise 
finally  to  the  Catskill  mountainn.  His  subsequent  improvements  may  be 
more  fully  noticed  hereafter  as  among  the  earliest  and  most  imi^ortaut  of 
the  mechanical  benefits  conferred  upon  the  Leather-manufacture. 

An  early  history  of  the  important  county  of  Worcester,  Mass.  pub- 
lished  in  1793,"  though  in  other  respecti  somewhat  full,  has  few  refcences 
Tanneriesm  *«  tanneries,  or  other  branches  of  Leather-manufacture.     The 
vk-oKeX."  author  makes  mention  of  over  thirty  fulling-mills  and  clothiers' 
works,  which  were  scarcely  more  important  to  the  people  than  tanning 
and  leather-dressing  establishments.     Two  tanneries  are  mentioned  in  the 
township  of  Charlton,  those  of  Captain  Israel  Waters  and  Mr.  Asa 
Corben,  the  former  being  carried  on  in  great  perfection.   Captain  Waters 
had  an  excellent  bark-mill,  constructed  on  a  new  plan,  and  propelled  by 
water.     It  must  therefore  have  been  nearly  as  early  as  Ihiit  of  Colonel 
Edwards  at  Northampton.     Water-power  was  used  for  that  purpose,  but 
to  a  limited  extent,  before  the  present  century.     There  was  a  bark-miU 
near  the  same  time  at  Medford,  which  was  propelled  by  wind.  We  should 
not  be  warranted  in  inferring  from  the  silence  of  the  topographer,  that 
there  were  not  many  tanneries  in  that  large  agricultural  county  at  that 
date,  and  shoemakers  in  nearly  all  the  towns.     The  county  now  manu- 
factures more  boots  than  any  other,  except  Essex,  and  large  quantities 
of  shoes,  and  is  the  second  in  the  number  of  its  tanneries.     Yet,  at  the 
abov  J  date,  thick  boots  were  an  indulgence  quite  unknown  to  the  majority 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  counties,  for  we  are  told  that  a  young 
stranger,  who  made  his  appearance  in  them,  ran  the  risk  of  being  un- 
pleasantly reminded  that  "  boots"  were  an  innovation. 

Among  the  many  expedients  devised  about  the  yejr  1164  to  relieve  the 
distress  occasioned  by  the  restrictions  on  colonial  trade,  was  the  forma- 
tion of  societies  to  promote  industry  and  frugality.     One  of  these  was 

(1)  Report  of  Proceedings  at  Annual  Din-        (2)  Whitney's     History    of     Worcester 
ner  of  Hide  and  Leather  Trade  of  New     County. 
Yorl£,  1859. 


THE   I-EATIIER-MANUFACTUUE   BEFORE   AND    DUUINO   THE   WAR.       455 


dis  beam  house,  and 

es  from  his  tannery, 
IS  ground  by  water- 
al  iron-mills  aa  they 
seen  the  first  depart- 

ides,  and  an  improved 
ward  pushed,  through 
higher  results.     His 
nd  all  hia  enterprise 
improvements  may  be 
ad  most  im^^ortaut  of 
manufacture, 
orcvister,  Mass.  pub- 
full,  has  few  refcences 
3r-raanufacture.     The 
ig-mills  and  clothiers' 
!  people  than  tanning 
3  are  mentioned  in  the 
iVaters  and  Mr.  Asa 
tion.   Captain  Waters 
Ian,  and  propelled  by 
•ly  as  thiit  of  Colonel 
I  for  that  purpose,  but 
rhere  was  a  bark-mill 
a  by  wind.  We  should 
the  topographer,  that 
ultural  county  at  that 
rhe  county  now  manu- 
:,  and  large  quantities 
anneries.     Yet,  at  the 
iknown  to  the  majority 
are  told  that  a  young 
the  risk  of  being  un- 
ion. 

rejr  1164  to  relieve  the 

trade,  was  the  forma- 

ty.     One  of  these  was 

I     History    of     Worcester 


nstabiislied  in  New  York  in  tlint  year  "for  the  promotion  of  Arts, 
Agriculture,  and  Economy."  The  Leather  brunch  received  its  share 
Socipfy  en-  "f  encounigcuient  from  the  society,  which  in  December  offered 
coun,t,enH.,u.  premiums  of  £20  for  tanning  tiie  best  twenty  sides  of  Bend 
Leather  in  the  year  1766,  and  £10  for  the  best  sole  Leather,  not  less 
than  fifty  hides;  for  tiie  best  pair  of  women's  siiocs,  made  of  stuff,  and 
with  soles  of  leather  tanned  in  the  Province,  £10  ;  and  like  sums  for  the 
best  dressed  hundred  deer  skins,  and  for  the  bust  made  pair  of  beaver 
skin  gloves. 

The  necessity  of  some  form  of  encouragement  appears  from  the  letter 
of  Sir  Henry  Jloore  to  Lord  Hillsborough,  dated  Fort  George,  7th  May, 
1768,  with  which  he  transmitted  an  official  answer  to  the  queries  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  respecting  manufactures.  "  No  mention  is  made  In 
the  former  letter  (of  January,  1767)  of  the  great  quantities  of  Leather 
being  tanned  in  this  country,  as  this  branch  of  business  has  been  carried 
on  for  many  years  ;  the  Leather  is  greatly  inferior  in  quality  to  that  made 
in  Europe,  and  they  arc  not  yet  arrived  to  the  perfection  of  making  sole 
leather."  How  inapplicable  to  the  present  state  of  the  business  in  New 
York  are  the  concluding  remarks  of  the  governor  I 

Governor  Tryon's  report  on  the  same  subject,  in  1774,  represents 
eleven-twelfths  of  the  dress  of  the  people  to  be  British  manufactures, 
except  hats  and  shoes  manufactur'  1  in  the  Province.  Peltries,  the  pro- 
duce of  the  Colony,  and  raw  hides  from  the  West  indies  or  Honduras 
Bay,  were  among  its  e-xports,  which  amounted  to  about  £130,000  annu- 
ally, exclusive  of  sliips  built  for  sale  to  the  value  of  £30,000  more.  Its 
imports  he  estimated  at  £500,000  s^jrling. 

The  importation  of  hides  and  skins  into  New  York,  which  is  now  the 
great  emporium  for  these  commodities,  amounted,  according  to  the  tables 
of  Lord  Sheffield,  taken  from  official  sources,  in  1774  to  only  30,000, 
and  in  1775  to  13,927,  valued  at  48.  6d.  each.  The  exports  of  these 
articles  are  not  enumerated. 

The  first  hides  from  South  America  sent  to  Europe  were  shipped  from 
Brazil  to  Castile  in  1580.  But  it  is  not  probalile  that  any  were  brought 
stHteofthe  ^'■0"i  '^''^t  part  of  the  continent,  or  from  the  east,  until  after  the 
dSriuHiie  Revolution,  when  American  merchants  began  to  extend  their 
Kevoiation.  commercial  adventures  into  distant  seas.  As  the  war  inter- 
rupted the  importation  of  hides  as  well  as  of  shoes  and  other  manufac- 
tures of  Leather,  a  scarcity  soon  began  to  be  experienced.  Although  the 
manufacture  of  Leather  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  most  important,  the 
greatest  care  in  the  preservation  of  hides  and  skins  failed  to  meet  the 
necessities  of  the  people  in  some  parts,  and  the  troops  were,  in  many  in- 
stances, nearly  unfit  for  duty  from  inability  to  obtain  shoes.     The  cou- 


>L 


456 


COLONIAL   LEATHER- MANVFACTURE. 


sumption  of  Leather  and  dressed  skins,  however,  was  much  increased  by 
the  substitution  of  that  material  for  cloth  in  the  apparel  of  the  people  and 
the  soldiery,  and  by  the  large  quantity  required  for  military  equipments, 
saddlery,  and  other  horse  furniture. 

As  early  as  Oct.  15,  1776,  three  days  after  the  landing  of  the  British 
forces  under  Lord  Howe  in  Westchester,  hides  were  ordered  by  the  New 
York  Convention  to  be  carefully  preserved  and  sent  to  some  safe  place 
north  of  the  Highlands.     On  the  following  day,  Robert  R.  Livingston 
stated  in  the  Convention  that  large  numbers  of  the  hides  of  cattle  sup- 
plied by  the  Eastern  States  for  the  array  at  Ticonderoga,  and  of  others 
purchased  in  the  State,  were  sent  by  the  contractors  into  Connecticut, 
and  many  were  wasted  for  want  of  care.     The  supplies  of  Leather  we^-e 
in  consequence  already  nearly  exhausted.     As  much  would  be  required 
for  troops  about  to  be  laised  in  the  State,  and  the  people  were  already 
distressed  by  the  scarcity  of  that  article,  ho  moved  that  Congress  be 
asked  to  authorize  the  appointment  of  a  commissary  to  take  charge  of 
hides.     On  the  23d  ot  the  following  month,  Congress  by  resolution  em- 
powered the  Commissioners  in  each  Department  to  employ  proper  per- 
sons to  take  charge  of  the  hides  and  tallow  in  each  district,  "that  the 
former  may  be  tanned  into  Leather,  or  at  least  so  far  cured  as  to  prevent 
them  being  spoiled,"  etc.   It  is  str  .ed  in  a  letter  from  the  Commissioners 
to  the  northern  army  to  the  Commissory-Qeneral,  that  hides  at  that  time 
were  worth  at  Albany  three  dollars,  but  two  thousand  had  without  au- 
thority been  sold  to  Mr.  Ogden,  of  Elizabethtown,  for  a  medium  price 
between  seven  and  ten  shillings,  and  to  others  for  138.  id.,  158,,  and 
228.  each.     Not  the  le-ist  euibarrussing  of  the  many  discouragements 
which  attended  that  campaign  and  the  retreat  of  the  a-my  through  New 
Jersey,  was  the  destitntijn  of  shoes  and  suitable  clothinnf  for  the  tempo- 
rary levies  embodied  for  the  defense  of  the  country,  without  arms  or 
ammunition,  or  any  system  of  finance  to  provide  the  sinews  of  war.     It 
was  stated  to  Congress,  December  4th,  that  one-third  of  the  soldiers  at 
Ticonderoga  were  obliged  to  do  duty  without  shoes  to  their  feet.     Only 
900  pairs  were  sent  thither  for  12,000  to  13,000  men,  in  consequence  of 
which  many  were  down  with  pleurisy,  a-id  there  were  no  barracks  or 
hospitals  to  receive  them.     The  deficiency  did  not  probably  arise  so  much 
from  the  actual  scarcity  either  of  Leather  or  shoes,  as  from  inexperience 
in  the  Commissariat  department,  the  depreciation  of  the  Continental 
(.„rren-y— which  it  was  treasonable  to  refufie— and  the  inability  of  Con- 
<rres8  to  purchase,  by  money  or  credit,  suitable  supplies.     Congress  was 
more  thin  once  called  upon  to  denounce  in  severe  terras  the  conduct 
of  men  in  dlTerent  parts  of  the  conntry  who  monopolized  certain  neces- 
sarios,  or  sold  them  at  enormous  profits  to  the  agents  of  Government  or 


^m 


i  much  increased  by 
•el  of  the  people  and 
military  equipments, 

nding  of  the  British 
ordered  by  the  New 
to  some  safe  place 
)bert  K  Livingston 
hides  of  cattle  sup- 
eroga,  and  of  others 
rs  into  Connecticut, 
lies  of  Leather  wei-e 
1  would  be  required 
people  were  already 
d  that  Congress  be 
py  to  take  charge  of 
IS8  by  resolution  em- 
employ  proper  per- 
il district,  "that  the 
r  cured  as  to  prevent 
m  the  Commissioners 
lat  hides  at  that  time 
and  had  without  au- 
for  a  medium  price 
r  138.  id.,  15s.,  and 
any  discouragements 
le  a-'my  through  New 
jthin<x  for  the  tcmpo- 
Lry,  without  arms  or 
e  sinews  of  war.     It 
lird  of  the  soldiers  at 
\  to  their  feet.     Only 
in,  in  consequence  of 
were  no  barracks  or 
)robably  arise  so  much 
as  from  inexperience 
n  of  the  Coniinental 
the  inability  of  Con- 
iplies.     Congress  was 
re  terras  the  conduct 
polized  certain  neces- 
nts  of  Government  or 


SCARCITY   OP   SHOES   DURING   THE   WAR. 


457 


their  sulTering  neighbors.  In  November  26lh  a  resolution  of  this  kind 
censured  certai:i  persons  in  Philadelphia  who  engrossed  shoes,  stockings, 
and  other  necessaries  required  by  the  army,  and  recommended  the  As- 
sembly to  F  d  a  remedy  therefor.  On  the  following  day,  ten  thousand 
pairs  of  shoes  and  an  equal  number  of  stockings  were  orf^ered  from  New 
England  ;  and  the  Council  of  Safety  la  Philadelphia,  in  order  to  supply 
the  companies  with  arms  and  clothing,  empowered  the  field  officers  of 
each  battalion  to  purchase,  and  if  they  could  not  purchase,  to  impress 
arms,  cartouch  boxes,  blankets,  shoes,  stockings,  and  other  necessaries. 
The  several  legislatures  were  also  recommended,  on  20th  December,  to 
enact  laws  to  empower  the  seizure  within  their  jurisdiction  of  woolen 
cloths,  shoes,  and  other  necessary  supplies  for  the  army. 

Among  the  extraordinary  powers  conferred  on  General  Washington 
by  a  resolution  of  Congress,  December  11,  for  raising  and  equipping  an 
army,  was  the  authority  to  take  whatever  he  migh.  want  for  its  use,  if 
the  inhabitaiits  would  not  sell  it,  at  a  reasonable  price,  and  to  arrest  and 
confine  pers-^ns  who  refused  to  take  the  continontal  currency,  or  were 
otherwise  di.5.v'lected  to  the  American  cause.  During  the  operations  in 
New  Jersey  m  the  ensuing  mouths,  there  was  much  suffering  in  both 
armies.  The  A  mericani:,  suffered  most.  "  Many  of  them  we  3  without 
shoes,  though  marching  over  frozen  ground,  which  so  gashed  tneir  naked 
f^et  that  each  step  was  marked  with  blood.  Tbere  was  scurcely  a  tent 
in  the  whole  army."  There  was  a  like  scarcity  of  other  clothing.  There 
was  probably  a  greater  plenty  of  Leather  and  materials  than  of  manufac- 
tured work,  on  account  of  the  limited  supply  of  labor.  Women's  shoes 
sold  in  the  summer  of  171C  for  13s.  Gd.  a  pair;  and  James  Cluypoole, 
of  Chestertown,  Maryland,  wrote  the  Council  of  Safety,  in  December, 
that  his  inability  to  «  btain  hands  had  prevented  his  i'ull  performance 
of  a  contract  to  suppi/  shoes.  In  the  autumn  of  the  following  year, 
Col.  Roberdeau  wrote  to  President  Wharton,  of  Pennsylvania,  from 
Yorktown  that  he  was  informed  by  Mr.  Henry,  of  Lancaster,  there  were 
greater  quantities  of  Leather  at  that  place  than  was  ever  known  before. 
Much  Leather  was  olso  stored  at  Yorktown.  The  tanners  were  willing 
to  part  with  it  for  green  hides,  which  the  Board  of  Wor  would  supply. 
In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  Wharton  was  advised  to  take  possession  of  the 
Leather  at  those  places,  on  account  of  the  necessities  of  the  public  ser- 
vice. Tonncrs  who  were  associators  had  the  preference  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  hides. 

Special  efforts  were  also  made  by  Congress  to  procure  supplies  of  deer 
skins  for  the  clothing  of  the  military.  Gunpowder  was  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  commissioners  for  that  purpose.  The  chief  supply  of 
such  skins  was  drawn  from  Georgia.     That  material  was  con  picuous  ia 


i 

i 


m 


COLONIAL  LEATHEB-MANUFACTtUE. 


the  dress  of  several  divisions  of  the  American  soldiery.     Col.  Small- 
wood's  resimcnt,  officered  by  young  men  of  the  best  families  of  Mary- 
land,  was  principally  clothed  v^ith  it,  and  the  Convention  of  the 
Buckskia.     g^^^^  provided  liberally  of  the  same  material  for  all  its  troops. 
Many  a  brave  and  patriotic  heart  beat  beneath  a  vest  of  Buckskin,  by 
which  name  the  American  soldier  was  called.     Leather  doublets  were 
recommended  to  the  people  of  Philadelphia  in  the  beginning  of  the 
troubles  with  Great  Britain  in  17U.    In  that  and  all  the  principal  towns 
there  were  nmny  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  the  various  descriptions 
of  chamois  or  wash  leather,  an-'  in  making  it  up  into  gloves,  shirts,  vests, 
breeches,  belts,  cartonch  boxes,  etc. 

Parchment  was  also  made  in  Philadelphia  in  \m  by  Robert  Wood 
Fifth  street  below  Walnut,  and  probably  by  others.     It  was  considered 
by  the  conveyancers  equal  to  any  imported. 

In  March  of  tlmt  year  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  passed  an  Act 
to  prevent  Frauds  and  Abuses  in  the  Manufacture  of  Leather." 

Tlie  e.xi)0-ts  of  Leather  from  the  port  of  Philadelphia  for  the  year 
ending  January  5th,  1772,  amounted  to  25,970  pounds,  and  in  the  two 
following  years  to  40,725  and  31,69G  pounds  respectively. 

In  1780  the  le-'islature  passed  an  Act  granting  to  Henry  Guest,  of 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  the  exclusive  right,  for  the  term  of  five  years, 
of  manufacturing  curriers'  oil  and  blubber  in  a  wpy  previously  ui.prae- 
ticed  aud  unknown,  from  materials  discovered  by  him  in  the  United 
States.  A  sample  and  sealed  description  of  the  materials  were  lodged 
with  the  Clerk  of  the  Assembly. 

The  manufacture  of  the  several  descriptions  of  Fancy  Leathers  from 
Koat  and  sheep  skins,  .n  imitation  6f  the  Turkey  and  Morocco  Leathers 
was  attempted  in  Philadelnhia  soon  after  the  introduction  of 
uIZt,.  ti,e  art  in  England.  This  branch  has  long  been  a  prominent 
one  in  the  Leather  business  of  Philadelphia,  whicli  manufaclares  Morocco 
to  a  far  greater  amount  than  any  other  place  in  the  Union,  employing 
at  present  over  thirty  large  factories,  about  si.xteen  hundred  hands,  and 
half  a  million  of  capital,  with  annual  sales  to  the  value  of  about  two 
millions  of  dollars.     The  (piality  is  very  superior. 

It  appears  from  the  first  volume  of  the  Tramaotiom  of  the  Society 
ofArtH  in  London,  for  tlie  year  178:i,  tlmt,  under  the  influence  of  re- 
wards offered  by  the  Society,  a  large  manufactory  of  lied  Leather,  in 
Imitation  of  Turkey  or  Lisbon,  had  been  established  in  England,  and 
the  process  first  .  lid  before  the  Society  had  been  greatly  improved  by  a 
foreigner  from  whom  they  had  purchased  the  secret.  Skins  were  then 
prepared  aud  dyed  red  and  yellow  in  a  manner  bo  excellent  as  to  bo 
preferred  by  the  consumers  to  any  imported;  and  they  were  exported  in 


COMMENCEMENT   OF   THE   MANUFACTURE   OF   MOROCCO. 


459 


]iery.  Col.  Small- 
familie'?  of  Mary- 
3  Convention  of  the 
il  for  all  its  troops. 
:st  of  Buckskin,  by 
ither  doublets  were 
e  beginning  of  the 
the  princ'ii»al  towns 
various  descriptions 
gloves,  shirts,  vests, 

2  by  Robert  Wood, 
It  was  considered 

xnia  passed  an  "  Act 
if  Leather." 
ielphia  for  the  year 
unds,  and  in  the  two 
Lively. 

to  Henry  Guest,  of 
!  term  of  five  years, 
ly  previously  uiiprac- 
1  him  in  the  United 
iiaterials  were  lodged 

Fancy  Leathers  from 
id  Morocco  Leathers, 
r  the  introduction  of 
)ng  been  a  prominent 
nanufactares  Morocco 
he  Union,  employing 
1  hundred  hands,  and 
0  value  of  about  two 

ictiona  of  the  Society 
r  the  influence  of  re- 
py  of  lied  Leather,  in 
shed  in  Knghind,  and 
greatly  improved  by  a 
;ret.  Skins  were  tlien 
80  excellent  as  to  bo 
they  were  exported  ia 


considerable  quantities  to  foreign  markets.  It  was  but  one  of  the  many 
benelits  accruing  to  the  productive  interests  of  Great  Britain  and  her 
Colonies  from  the  generous  encouragement,  by  pecuniary  and  honorary 
rewards,  extended  by  the  Society  to  all  branches  of  industry,  and  whicii, 
about  the  same  time,  had  brought  the  manufacture  of  Losli  or  Buff 
Leather  to  equal  perfection  with  the  imported,  and  had  also  introduced 
the  art  of  dyeing  Turkey  red  on  cotton  equal  to  any  from  the  Levant, 
an  art  previously  unknown  in  the  kingdom. 

Tiie  Pennsylvania  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Manufactuies 
and  useful  Art.s  was  established  in  Philadelphia  with  similar  aims  in  the 
year  1787.  In  the  following  year  Messrs.  Tench  Coxe  and  John  Kaighn 
were  fti»pointed  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  process  of  coloring 
Leather  as  practiced  in  Turkey  and  Morocco.  They  reported  to  the 
Board  of  Managers  that  they  had  made  inquiry,  and  found  the  business 
had  been  attemi)ted  by  two  manufacturers  in  the  city,  by  one  of  whom 
it  was  still  carried  on ;  but  they  were  informed  the  method  of  lixing  the 
colors  had  not  yet  been  obtained.  Tiiey  found  also  that  this  branch  imd 
been  an  object  of  repeated  inquiry  and  experiment  in  Europe,  and  that 
the  most  valuable  matter  relating  to  it  ever  made  public  tiiere,  was  the 
process  which  they  recommended  to  the  attention  of  the  Board.  The 
excessive  difference  between  the  prices  of  American  and  Morocco  skins, 
and  the  great  and  increasing  importance  of  the  Leatlier  branch  in  the 
United  States,  rendered  it  very  desiraide  that  every  i)art  of  tiie  process, 
whicli  conveniently  could,  should  bo  adopted  bj  the  mnnufacturera. 

The  process  for  dyeing  Leather  red  and  yellow,  as  i)racticed  in  Tur- 
key, with  directions  for  preparing  and  tanning  the  skins,  as  communi- 
cated by  Mr.  Philippi,  i\  native  of  Armenia,  to  the  Society  of  Arts,  from 
which  he  received  £100  sterling  and  the  gold  medal  of  the  Society,  were 
published  in  full  by  order  of  the  Board.  Those  who  are  curious;  to  com- 
pare the  process  recommended  in  the  infancy  of  the  art  with  that  pur- 
sued at  present,  may  find  the  instructions,  over  tiio  signature  of  tlie 
Secretary,  C.  Wistar,  December  24,  1788,  in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet 
and  Daily  Adverliacr,  No.  3104,  for  January  13,  1789.  t 

With  some  differences  in  the  nmnipulation,  wo  apprehend  tlie  process 
in  the  several  o))erations  of  liming,  drenching,  bating,  salting,  tanning, 
and  dressing,  and  the  preparation  of  the  dyes,  wdl  lo  found  to  conform 
in  its  es.u'ntial  features  to  the  present  practice.  Morocco  leather  of  fair 
quality  is  said  to  have  boon  made  as  early  as  1770  by  tiie  afte/ward 
famous  Lord  Timothy  Pexter  and  others,  at  Charlostown,  Muj>s.,  where 
it  was  resumed  about  179G  by  Elisha  Mead. 

Sheep  skins,  now  extensively  employed  in  making  the  inferior  or  imi- 
tation Moroccos,  have  boon  rendered  much  less  valuable  as  touucrs' 


460  COLONIAL  LEATHER-MANUFACTURE. 

Stock  than  formerly,  by  the  introduction  of  the  Memo  and  other  fi- 
wooled  breeds,  in  which  the  weight  and  quahty  «/  J^;  ^  ^'^^  .^^j;  ^^ 
increased  at  the  expense  of  the  size  and  value  of  the  P^^;^'^^  there 
probably  little  used  at  that  time  by  the  tanner  m  Pennsylvania,  as  there 
were  ciparatively  few  sheep  in  the  State,  and  their  increase  was  an 
object  with  the  farmer.  .     o  „:„*„  ?„  tt«7 

The  address  of  Mr.  Coxe  before  the  P«'''»«y^!«'"'V  i  l Uored  to 
his  review  of  Lord  Sheffield,  and  other  writings,  in  which  he  labored  o 
dlLrrention  to  Manufactures,  furnish  a  few  particulars  relative  to 
this  industry  at  the  period  at  which  we  have  now  arrived. 

In  calling  attention  to   its  importance,  he  states  that  the  Leather 

branch  in  Great  Britain  was  estimated  at  eleven  millions  of  pounds  ster- 

"ling,  or  more  than  a  fifth  of  all  their  staple  "-"factures. 

J.'^r:.''"  The  American  people  ate  more  meat  than  they,  and  had  the 

rrC;- command  of  many  more  deer  skins.     Lord  Sheffield  stated, 

about  the  date  of  the  Peace,  that  men's  ^^^^/^^^"^^.^^  jP^jf  thll 
any  great  amount  except  by  Virginia  and  the   Carolnas.  but  thai 
women's  shoes  were  and  must  continue  to  be  imported  in  considerable 
Quantities,  principally  from  Great  Britain.     Although  many  were  made 
?n  Massachusetts,  particularly  at  Lynn,  and  were  exported,    he  stuff, 
such  as  callimanco.  and  the  binding  and  lining,  came  from  Great  Br  tain 
No  other  nation  in  Europe  made  Leather  as  well  as  the  BrUish,  and  al 
others  were  far  behind  the  Americans  in  that  respect,     feole  Leather 
was,  however,  imported  from  England  to  America,  because  better  made ; 
but  upper  Leathers  were  as  good  in  America  as  in  England     These 
remarks  of  his  Lordship,  who  was  not  disposed  to  reFCsent  th    capa^ 
billties  of  the  late  Colonies  too  favorably,  are  an  evidence  that  good 
progress  had  been  made  in  the  Leather-manufacture,  as  well  as  in  those 
branches  which  were  its  chief  support.'  „  .,  .     ,      ,    „„ 

In  reference  to  the  future  dependence  upon  Great  Britain  for  shoes, 
Mr  Core  estimated  that  probably  not  less  than  eight  millions  of  pairs 
of  shoes,  boots,  half-boots,  gaiters,  slippers,  clogs  and  galoshoes  were 
annually  consumed  or  exported  from  the  United  States  in  n91,  which 
was  equivalent  to  two  pair  of  shoes  per  annum  for  each  of .  e  four 
millions  of  the  population.  At  a  medium  valuation  of  1o  cents  or 
38  4W  sterling,  per  pair,  they  would  amount  to  six  millions  of  dollars. 
Of  that  large  quantity  only  70,450  pairs  of  snoes,  boots  etc.  were  im- 
ported  into  the  United  Slates  in  the  previous  year  Tanned  Leather 
weighing  22,698  lbs.  was  exported  within  the  same  time,  and  .>.700  pairs 

mem  of  Ihe  America  SUte.j  2d  .d.  p.     .hoe.  .„d  .Upper,  of  Leather.  20,  «lp»lr. 
•It 


SEATS  OF  THE  MANUFACTURE — OAK  AND  HEMLOCK  BARK.         461 


0  and  other  fine- 
fleece  have  been 

pelt.  They  were 
isylvania,  as  there 
r  increase  was  an 

Society  in  1781, 
lich  he  labored  to 
culars  relative  to 
ed. 

that  the  Leather 
ns  of  pounds  ster- 
,ple  manufactures, 
they,  and  had  the 

1  Sheffield  stated, 
never  imported  in 
arolinas,  but  that 
ted  in  considerable 
ti  many  were  made 
xported,  the  stuff, 
rom  Great  Britain, 
the  British,  and  all 
3ct.     Sole  Leather 
cause  better  made ; 
1  England.     These 
represent  the  capa- 
jvidence  that  good 
,  as  well  as  in  those 

it  Britain  for  shoes, 
jht  millions  of  pairs 
and  galoshoes  were 
;ate8  in  1191,  which 
for  each  of  i  e  four 
ion  of  15  cents,  or 
I  millions  of  dollars. 
)00t8,  etc.,  were  im- 
',  Tanned  Leather 
time,  and  5,100  pairs 

leted  of  49,003  pnlm  of 
I  of  Leather,  20,701  pMri 
ind  746  pniri  of  buuU. 


of  boots  and  shoes.  Of  unmanufactured  hides  only  230  were  shipped 
abroad.  Leather  and  shoes  to  some  extent  were  sent  from  the  Western 
country. 

The  i)rincipal  seats  of  the  shoe  and  Leather-manufacture  in  the  last 
century  and  the  beginning  of  this  were  in  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
Principal  ^^^  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  though  Maryland  and  Delaware 
LeaVher-""  '^'^^  made  a  considerable  amount.  South  Carolina  also  ap- 
maLufactiire.  p^.^rs  to  httvc  made  Leather  of  good  quality  many  years  before 
the  Revolution.  Sole  Leather  from  that  Province  even  came  into  com- 
petition with  that  of  Pennsylvania  in  her  own  markets.  Charleston 
sole  Leather  and  Carolina  tanned  Leather  were  advertised  by  different 
Leather  dealers  in  Philadelphia  in  1159.  The  hemlock  forests  of  New 
England  furnished  the  principal  tanning  material  for  the  former,  and 
In  the  Middle  and  Southern  States  oak  bark  was  chiefly  employed.  The 
black  oak  bark,  or  Quercitron  of  commerce,  so  extensively  exported  for 
making  yellow  dye,  was  first  sent  to  England  before  the  Revolution  from 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  where  an  export  trade  in  the  article  was  estab- 
lished soon  after  the  Peace  by  one  of  the  discoverers  of  its  valuable 
dyeing  properties. 

The  abundance  and  cheapness  of  several  kinds  of  oak  bark  in  that  and 
neighboring  States,  and  an  early  impression  derived  from  the  superi- 
ority of  the  sole  Leather  there  made  that  hemlock  bark  was  not  well 
adapted  to  that  manufacture,  doubtless  contributed  to  the  great  develop- 
ment of  the  business  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia.  Although  oak- 
tanned  Lentl\er  still  has  the  preference,  great  improvements  have  been 
made  in  the  use  of  hemlock  bark  ;  and  the  most  extensive  factories  now 
in  the  country  for  making  heavy  Leather  are  situated  on  the  borders  of 
the  great  hemlock  forests  of  New  York  and  New  England.  The  manu- 
facture of  Leather  has  received  a  great  impetus  from  the  transfer  of 
operations  to  interior  situations  such  as  those  of  the  Catskill  and  other 
regions  abounding  in  hemlock  or  oak  bark,  fuel,  and  water-power.  As 
ep.rly  as  the  middle  of  the  last  century  Mr.  David  Ferriss  conducted  a 
large  and  very  complete  tannery  in  Wilmington,  Delaware;  and  Zecha- 
riah  Ferriss,  a  minister  among  the  Friends,  had  one  at  a  later  period  on 
the  north  side  of  the  present  Second  street,  above  West.  Tanneries 
were  early  scattered  over  the  interior  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  even 
to  the  extreme  western  borders ;  and  much  tanned  Leather  is  still  sent 
thence  to  Philadelphia  to  be  curried,  dressed,  and  sold.  They  became 
extremely  numerous  in  the  valleys  oven  in  the  last  century,  and  still  ex- 
ceed in  number  those  of  any  other  State.  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1186,  among  234  manufacturers  in  a  population  of  100  families,  numljcred 
4  tanners,  36  shoemakers,  17  saddbrs,  14  hatters,  and  3  skin  dressers. 


462 


COLONIAI.  LEATHER-MANUFACTURE. 


Within  ten  -niles  of  it  were  eight  tanneries.     Beyond  the  mountains,  in 
Pittsburg,  Bedford,  Washington,  and  Huntingdon,  some  of  vhich  had 
grown  up  since  the  war,  there  were  to  be  found,  two  or  three  years  after, 
skin-dressera  and   breeches-makers,  tanners  and  curriers,  shoemakers, 
saddlers,  and  saddletree-makers.     Pittsburg,  which  in  1788  was  little 
more  than  a  collection  of  log-houses,  with  four  or  five  hundred  inhabit- 
ants, had  two  tanners  and  curriers,  five  shoemakers,  and  three  saddlers. 
In  1803,  tanned  Leather  to  the  value  of  $10,000  was  made  there,  over 
$12,00o'worth  of  boots  and  shoes,  neariy  $10,000  worth  of  saddlery  and 
harness  work,  and  $2,300  worth  of  buckskin  breeches  and  dressed  skins. 
There  was  a  large  tannery  at  Bethlehem,  and  in  neariy  all  the  older 
towns  of  the  State  tanning  and  leather-working  was  conducted  in  its 
different  branches.     In  the  Federal   procession  in  1789,  six  hundred 
shoemakers  belonging  to  Philadelphia  and  its  environs  took  part,  and 
at  York,  on  a  similar  occasion,  the  several  branches  of  the  Leather  trade 
were  numerously  represented. 

At  this  time'  Leather  was  exported  from  Pennsylvania  to  Virginia, 
though  there  were  a  considerable  number  of  tanneries  in  that  State. 
Winchester  hnd  four  or  five  tanyards,  eight  or  nine  shoemakers,  and 
three  or  four  saddletreo-makers.  These  and  other  branches  of  the 
Leather  business  were  all  established  in  many  of  the  oldei  towns  of 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  even  the  Western  territory,  now  Kentucky, 
contained  about  this  time  several  valuable  tanneries.* 

By  the  enormous  importations  of  foreign  goods  to  the  extent  of 
near  thirty  millions  of  dollars  in  the  two  years  which  followed 
the  Peace,  against  eight  or  nine  millions  of  exports,  many 
f"«?Mhr'of  the  shoe  manufacturers  were  nearly  ruined,  the  market 
ba»in««.  jj^^ing  been  overstocked  with  shoes  from  England  and  France. 
To  arrest  a  measure  so  destructive  to  the  feeble  manufacturing  interests 
of  the  Union,  and  to  stay  the  efiBnx  of  specie,  of  which  it  had  been  al- 
ready depleted  by  the  war,  bnt  especially  to  provide  the  means  of  re- 
deeming the  public  credit,  and  thereby  restoring  private  confidence, 
Congress  had  vainly  asked  for  the  power  to  regulate  the  commercial 


(1)  By  the  Cennui  of  ISIO,  which  ratnrn- 
ed  the  numhcr  of  tonneriea  in  each  State 
gnd  Territory  exi'ept  MadsBchusetts,  North 
Carolina  and  Enut  Tennessee.  Kentucky\fM 
the  fifth  or  sixth  in  the  number  of  those  es- 
labliihmantii.  New  Yorl<  hud  86T,  Penn- 
nylviinia  719,  Virginia  442,  Cnnne('tioiit408, 
Kentucky  207.  Now  Jerocy  218, Now  Hamp- 
(hire  2.trt,  Ohio  217.  Vermont  205.  the  Dis- 
trict of  Maine    200,   and    Maryland    191. 


Masiaohasetti  retorned  299  from  seven 
counties.  Five  of  the  most  impo^t■n^— 
Suffolk,  Essex,  Middlesex,  Plymouth,  and 
Nnntuoket— were  not  returned.  All  the  re- 
mnininff  States  and  Territories  were  below 
100.  The  entire  number  in  the  Union  wat 
4.316,  and  the  value  of  Leather  made, 
|«,.'J88,260.  The  number  of  estalilishmentu 
returned  in  1850  was  fl,2fi3,  and  the  value 
of  their  manufacture,  $32,861,799. 


mm 


the  mountains,  in 
me  of  \.hich  had 

three  years  after, 
•iera^  shoemakers, 
1  1788  was  little 

hundred  inhabit- 
id  three  saddlers. 

made  there,  over 
;h  of  saddlery  and 
and  dressed  skins. 
>arly  all  the  older 
)  conducted  in  its 
1789,  six  hundred 
ins  took  part,  and 
'  the  Leather  trade 

vania  to  Virginia, 
ries  in  that  State. 

0  shoemakers,  and 
r  branches  of  the 
he  oldei  towns  of 
)ry,  now  Kentucky, 

1  to  the  extent  of 
rs  which  followed 
I  of  exports,  many 
ruined,  the  market 
Ingland  and  France, 
lufacturing  interests 
hich  it  had  been  al- 
le  the  means  of  re- 
private  confidence, 

late  the  commercial 

;orned  299  frnm  seven 
f  the  moBt  important— 
iddlesex,  Plymouth,  and 
not  returned.  All  the  re- 
d  Territories  were  below 
lumber  in  the  Union  wm 
alue  of  Leather  made, 
number  of  eotalilishmentu 
WI18  0,2fi3,  nnd  the  value 
lire,  $32,861,798. 


"T\-' 


r 


'0^  '^^ 


'%:■ 


'    'I     iX  ». 


% 


V^'*';'  '  "    '■ 


fat-i-^js=:^-r-^aj.ig.  v^gaftofttr^-jQ  >ir»~-j»  .-w^*Tsa-oi,v*  >*^*«e  «, 


4S3 


COUI-NflAI.  T^lTfitSR- 


'.a. 


WUi-tti  tfnmilps  of  it  wnM  ei 
nusbiirg,  Bedfonl,  WasUinu! 
grown  n{»  since  the  war,  thrp- 
skin-riit^ssers  atwl   hroeci- 
st«l'.11firs,  and  saddletrtr- 
more  thau  a  rollectui?*  ■  ' 
ants,  had  two  ta0net««M  t'- 
In  180(J,  tanned  I.-iithe^- 
$12,000  wonh  .,J'ho(v-' 
liariiess  work   and  ?' 
There  ■*«  »  l•■^• 
towns  of  tV' 

,9i! 


'.    Mid  the  monntains,  in 

some  of  which  had 

I  or  tlime  year.-,  after, 

•h  in  1T88  WW  lUtlo 
iivc  hnndred  inhsibit- 
■-kers,  and  thre*^  saddlevs. 
•/OO  wua  made  there,  over 
.11 00  worth  of  Hflddlery  and 
■H  breeches  and  drc^snd  skin?. 
•  vi  in  nonrly  nil   the  'dder 
•  htsi  was  corddctcd  in  its 
an  in   17 BO,  six  hundred 
i  I  its  environs  took  part,  and 
H»chc8  of  the  Leather  trndo 


IS 
IN 

thrt" 

LeaMi-      '. 
M»tyl»Bd  antj 
contnined  »'w. 
By  tlu^  ffsciti 
near   thirty    nv 
tlie   t 


B'l-.l     i'V 

thi- fifth 'ir '(is,!  ■ 

tahl«|[im«!il«. 

tylysnl*  tld,  V. 

KHUtucky  267,  ' 

•hir*  S3*.  Ohifl  51?  Vrrn. 

triel  of  Maini!    209,  «ul 


I'er.nayTTan'ia  to  Virgima, 

■•  ruipries  In  thiit  StiUe. 

•;  i\UiV  shocraakers,  and 

arid  other  briuiehos'  of    tho 

i  t3B»ii|- sf  tJ5»  older  towns  of 

:  u  »,*rritory,  now  Kentncky, 

menes,' 

:   jroovla  to  thi?.  extent  of 

1*0    years    which    followed 

millions  «j»f  fixports,  many 

r.eurly   ruined,  the   marivet 

s  I  com  England  and  France. 

«  ffseble  mauuffifitoring  interests 

fie,  of  which  it  had  been  al- 

o  provide  the  means  of  re» 

icstoring  private  eonRdencc, 

tmt  to  regulate  the  comtnercittl 

M«.rMtti«ett(    r«t«riiwl    :IW   from    »'r»B 

FiTB  <.f  tti*  most  iin})"i"'*nt~~ 

,   Rscijx,  MMliJia»ex,  Pljiimuih,.  ami 

i.iil  — wore  not  r«iifiiert-     AU  the  re- 

„-.:„••    .r  Smtoiand  TerfltortM  wsru  liotow 

109.    i:ii«  en f  Ira  number  in  tbft  Union  wm 

4.S16,  Bnd    th*  yulue    ef  Lcftthff    minf»r 

f  S,;W«,259.    Thi  BMtii'bsr  of  estnMishinent*' 

iuri./M  in   1»S0w»»  fi.'JBS,  aii't  )!u'  «r»lu« 


d  the  monntaiiis,  ia 
lomo  of  which  bad 
or  three  vear.s  after, 
n■riv^^  slio&mnkfii'!?, 
in  nsS  w:w  littlo 
PC  hnndrcd  inlisibit- 
and  tiue*^  saddlei's, 
as  iiinvle  tliere,  over 
3itii  of  smldlery  and 
m  &oi  dre58i>,d  skins, 
nourly  all   the  -.ld«r 
i-as  cordnctc'i  •«  its 
I  178&,  six  liundred 
irons  took  ptirtj  and 
'le  Leather  trado 

aylTania  to  Tirginia, 
iiprics  111  ttiiit  Hlftte. 
tlm-?  shociaakers,  and 
,he?  braiiehi's  of  tho 
"  thi  older  towns  of 
ritory,  now  Kentncky, 

8.' 

)d«  to  the  extent  of 
ears  which  followed 
)ns  of  fixports,  manv 
Y  mined,  the  mnrkoi. 
1  England  ftttd  Fr"  . .. 
mmifftotoring  interest  - 
'  wliioh  it  hiifl  been  al- 
vidc  the  means  of  re- 
\g  private  eonririencc, 
gulatc  the  comraerciid 

r«t«rui»t  209  from  «i*«n 
a  <if  tlie  most  im}'<iri,->ht-— 
,  Mjil«lla»ex,  PljBiiiuth,  ainl 
)r8  not  rftiifiiert.  AH  rte  re- 
•  ana  TwtiUvtw  imra  telow 
ra  numlwr  in  tb«  Union  »M 
«  value  ef  LcaAff  mft<te, 
'ho  tium'bsr  of  estnWisbuion'.* 
(,'•0  yt^t  fi.'JBS,  an<t  Uu'  raluo 


B  NT 


-f'^i//:. 


I^lf  S  F 
t', »?  4  i  Ji  E  1;^ 


>i  A?<,r!F^€TV::*S  £ 


/-■■;    ^ 


l,r-"'F-     11 


LI.  I  AM   M'.'-3- 


'JM4S  '-M'j  11- 


p:n*i7ftT!.n4iMi  >!  y 


PROTECTED   BY   CONQEESS — RECENT   IMI'ROVEMENES. 


463 


Congress 
protection 


interests  of  the  States,  and  to  levy  duties  on  imports.  The  several 
States  had  continued  to  oppose  a  feeble  barrier  to  the  flow  of  foreign 
commodities  by  imposing  duties  on  imports,  in  some  cases  from  sister 
States  as  well  as  from  foreign  countries.  Tiie  Virginia  Assembly,  in 
1788,  laid  the  following  duties  on  Leather  and  its  manufacture  :  Upon 
dressed  Leather,  Qd„  and  tanned  Leather,  id.  per  pound  ;  saddles,  12s. 
each;  ladies' shoes  of  stuff  or  Morocco  Is.,  and  of  silk  2s.  per  pair; 
men's  and  women's  shoes.  Is. ;  shoe-boots,  Qd.,  and  boot-legs  Is.  Gd.  a 
pair.  But  under  the  new  Constitution,  which  was  at  length 
adopted  as  the  only  remedy,  this  fiscal  privilege  was  surren- 
dered to  the  General  Government ;  and  the  first  Congress, 
which  met  in  1789,  having  the  counsel  of  Roger  Sherman  of  Connecti- 
cut, wlio  represented  the  shoemakers  in  that  body,  and  of  several  influ- 
ential friends  of  Manufactures  in  Philadelphia,  so  adjusted  the  tariff  in 
reference  to  the  Siioe  and  Leather  manufactures  as  to  enable  those 
branches  within  a  few  years  to  attain  a  prosperous  footing. 

The  duties  imposed  by  that  Act  were  for  the  most  part  laid  at  five 
per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Upon  sole  and  upper  leathers,  leather  manufac- 
tures and  gloves  of  that  material,  the  rate  was  placed  at  seven  and  a 
half  per  cent.  Boots  paid  50  cents,  and  shoes  7  cents  per  pair.  Raw 
hides  and  skins  were  admitted  free  of  duty.'  These  rates  were  increased 
in  1794  to  fifteen  per  cent.,  with  an  increase  of  ten  per  cent.,  when  im- 
ported, on  foreign  bottoms.  Shoes  and  slippers  of  silk  paid  25  cents  per 
pair,  and  other  shoes,  slippers,  clogs,  and  galoches  15  cents  per 
pair,  and  other  shoes  for  children  ten  cents.  Saddles  ten  per  cent,  ad 
valorem.     Shoe  and  knee  buckles  paid  fifteen  per  cent. 

The  improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  Leather,  some  of  which  have 
been  briefly  adverted  to,  have  been  very  numerous,  and  principally 
originated  within  the  present  century.     They  have  been  both 


Recentlm-  , 

iirovements  mcchanical   and  chemical,   of  foreign  and  of  native   origin 

In  shoes  and  ™,     .,.,,  ^-ii  ,      ■,  .    n  ,* 

Leather        -..heir  adoptiou  has  been  attended  by  a  marked  influence  in  the 

bnetneM.  .         .  »     .  ,.  i  .  „     , 

progressive  improvement  of  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the 


(I)  This  Act,  which,  so  far  »s  it  related 
to  the  Leather  interests,  was  made  innni- 
festly  protective,  to  a  sinnll  e.ttent,  by  a 
rnte  fifty  per  cent,  higher  than  on  other  ar- 
ticles, was  stated  by  the  Hon.  John  B. 
Alley,  Representative  in  Congress  from 
Lynn,  Mai^s.,  at  the  Annual  Dinner  of  the 
Hide  and  Leather  Trade  in  Now  Yorlc,  in 
Feb.,  1859,  to  have  been  secured  by  the 
uiiinagoment  of  Mr.  Ebeneier  Breed,  an  in- 
telligent young  shoemaker  of  Lynn,  who 
had    established    himself   in   Philadelphia 


doring  the  depression  of  business  in  bis  aa> 
tive  town,  and  of  his  friend  Stephen  Collins, 
a  Quaker  merchant  formerly  of  the  same 
place.  By  their  influence  with  members  of 
Congress,  and  with  Dolly  Payne,  the  young 
Quakeress  who  afterward  bccaino  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Madison,  an  influential  member  of 
the  Congress,  whose  addresses  she  was  re- 
ceiving, they  are  conceived  to  hove  obtained 
this  legislative  boon  for  the  staple  manu- 
facture of  their  native  place. 


COLONIAL  LEATHER-MANUFACTURE. 

product,  in  the  enlargement  of  the  operations  individually  and  in  the 
Lgregate.  and  in  a  proportionate  increase  of  profits  wh.le  the  price  of 
Leather,  compared  with  that  of  the  raw  material,  has  been  reduced. 

The  principal  of  these  are  the  several  mechanical  r opl.ancea  for  soft- 
ening  fulling,  rolling,  and  splitting  skins  and  hides,  and  for  grinding 
b    k  some  0  which  were  very  early  introduced,  and  others  for  washing 
gSng  and  finishing  Leather.     The  application  of  water-power  ana 
e  pLaily  of  steam  in  many  of  the  operations,  and  of  ^ot-ter  in  others 
ine  extraction  and  application  of  tannin  in  concentrated  solutions,  and 
by  hydraulic  pressure;    the  instruments  for  ascertaining   the  tanning 
power  of  different  liquors;  the  greater  subdivision  of  labor  in  large  es- 
fablishments,  attended  by  more  skillful  manipulation  in  the  processes  of 
tanning  cur  ying.  and  finishing  Leather,  have  ail  greatly  influenced  the 
economv  of  the  Leather  manufacture.     Its  profits  have  been  much  aug- 
mented'by  the  sweating  and  other  operations,  whereby  the  gelatme  and 
muscular  fibre  of  the  skin  is  more  completely  exposed  to  the  tannic  acid, 
and  the  weight  of  Leather  increased,  and  also  by  the  various  utilizing 
iaveutions  which  have  appropriated  all  the  refuse  materials  to  some 
useful  purpose  in  the  arts. 

In  the  shoe  manufacture,  the  introduction  of  pegged  work  probably 
more  than  any  other  improvement  before  the  invention  of  the  Sewing 
Machine,  gave  an  impulse  to  the  business.     The  shoe  peg  a  small  but 
revolutionary  instrument,  is  said  to  have  been  invented  by  Joseph 
Walker  of  Hopkinton,  Massachusetts,  about  the  year  1818,  previous   o 
which  time  sewed  work  alone  was  made.     At  the  present  time,  probably 
seven-eighths  of  the  shoes  made  are  pegged.     The  process  of  manufac- 
ture has  been  thereby  greatly  expedited,  the  product  cheapened  and  the 
consumption  increased.     The  machinery  for  making  pegs  and  lasts  for 
crimping  boots,  with  many  other  improvements  in  the  utensils  of  the 
craft  have  carried  forward  the  boot  and  shoe  manufacture  concurrently 
with'the  advances  made  in  the  preparation  of  the  material,  until    hese 
two  great,  allied,  and  reciprocally  promotive  uiterests,  constitute  a  lead- 
ing- department  in  the  system  of  American  industry. 


V' 


ndually  and  in  tlie 
,  while  the  price  of 
been  reduced, 
f  opliancea  for  soft- 
g,  and  for  grinding 
others  for  washing, 
»f  water-power  and 
hot  water  in  others, 
rated  solutions,  and 
aining   the   tanning 
of  labor  in  large  es- 
I  in  the  processes  of 
reatly  influenced  the 
lave  been  much  aug- 
eby  the  gelatine  and 
d  to  the  tannic  acid, 
the  various  utilizing 
3   materials  to  some 

gged  work,  probably 
ntion  of  the  Sewing 
hoe  peg,  a  small  but 
invented   by  Joseph 
ear  1818,  previous  to 
resent  time,  probably 
!  process  of  manufac- 
jt  cheapened,  and  the 
ig  pegs  and  lasts,  for 
n  the  utensils  of  the 
lufacture  concurrently 
material,  until  these 
!St3,  constitute  a  lead- 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

laOX,  COPPER,  AND  OTHER  METALLIC  Mii'IUFACTURE& 

Tii3  original  inhabitants  of  this  continent  are  not  known  to  have  had 
any  knowledge  of  the  uses  or  of  the  working  of  Iron.  The  precious 
metals,  as  they  are  denominated,  being  more  fusible,  and  oftcncr  found 
in  a  virgin  state,  more  readily  reveal  themselves  to  the  observation  of 
mankind.  These  appear,  therefore,  to  have  been  earlier  known ;  and 
among  savage  nations  generally,  metallurgic  knowledge  is  conGned  to  a 
limited  use  of  a  few  of  them.  The  first  metal  mentioiied  on  the  page  of 
history  is  Gold.  The  sacred  record  informs  us  that  one  of  the  rivers  which 
watered  the  garden  of  Eden  compassed  "  the  land  of  Uavilah,  where 
there  is  gold,  and  the  gold  of  that  land  is  good."  In  the  early  ages  of 
the  world.  Gold  and  Silver,  and  especially  Copper,  pure  or  alloyed,  sub- 
served many  of  the  uses  for  which  Iron  is  now  employed.  The  wise 
economy  of  Nature,  in  covering  her  most  abundant  deposits  of  mineral 
treasure  with  the  largest  growth  of  wood  and  the  richest  measures  of 
mineral  fuel,  has  been  often  remarked.  And  as  the  growth  of  vegeta- 
tion after  the  deluge  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  more  rapid  than  the 
increase  of  population,  it  has  been  reasonably  suggested  that,  in  the 
most  natural  process  of  clearing  the  laud  by  setting  fire  to  the  forests, 
veins  of  metallic  ore  lying  near  the  surface  would  be  fused  by  the  heat, 
and  thus  lead  to  the  discovery,  and  to  the  means  of  reducing  the  native 
ores. 

But  Iron  ore  is  quite  too  refractory  to  be  thus  subdued  ;  and  the 

metal,  tlierefore,  remained  longer  undiscovered.     Even  when  brought  to 

the  metallic  state  by  the  intenser  heat  of  the  furnace,  Iron,  in 

Gold,  Silver,  most  of  its  forms,  cannot  be  wrought  with  the  same  ease  as  the 

preced<Hi      more  malleable  metals.    Ancient  histories,  paintings,  and  cabi- 

""'  nets  of  ancient  relics  therefore  abundantly  show  that  Gold, 

Silver,  and  Copper,  hardened  by  combination  with  Tin,  constituting 

Bronze  or  Brass,  formed  the   principal  weapons,  tools,   and   metallic 

manufactures  of  the  early  ages  and  of  the  half  civilized  nations  of  modern 

times.     Whatever  may  iiave  been  the  original  significance  of  the  ancient 

m  (465) 


4gg  •  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 

poetic  idea  Of  a  succession  of  ages  of  Gold,  Silver  Brass  and  Iron  it 

TZCl  of  the  artii,cer,  many  hundredfold  more  precious,  weight 

f(»r  weinht  than  the  finest  Gold.  •       tu^ 

At  tl     time  of  the  discovery  and  first  settlement  of  America   the 

nates  Li^a  very  few  iv.stauces  advanced  beyond  that  pr  maivo  stage 

i^  iLion  iu  whfch  the  use  of  metals  was  confined  to  t-ke.  of  G 
Silver  and  Copper,  worn  upon  the  person  of  the  savage.     He     mos 
Sec";     tods    nd  Uapons  w,re  sharpened  flint  stones  and  shelK  am 
it  possessed  no  other  means  of  felling  a  tree,  or  scoop.ng  a  canoe  trom 
ts  trunk  than  by  the  application  of  fire.     Some  tribes  more  advanced 
iTy  naddit^      to  these  rude  ornaments  and  implements,  the  art 
or  a^ng  images  and  other  figures  in  Gold  and  Silver,  many  of  winch 
re  St      f'rd  I  the  kuacas  or  graves  of  the  races.     Chisels,  hatchets 
Tdtfew  other  tools  and  weapons  of  Copper  alloyed  with  T.n  so  as  to 
„t  wood  w  tl,  facility,  were  also  made  by  the  Peruvians  and  Mexicans 
who  thus  appear  to  have  reached  the  brazen  era  of  civilization.     Lead 
was  a      known  to  some  extent.     Although  knives  of  Iron,  «"PP"-i  ^^ 
Lve  been  of  m.teoric  origin,  are  mentioned  as  having  been  found  at  a 
ate   pe  iod  among  the  Esquimaux  and  savages  of  the  Northwest  Cou... 
here  i   -me  room  to  doubt  -,  and  most  of  the  fossil  treasures  of  the  c  n- 
Unent  those  of  Iron  especially,  lay  for  the  most  part  unvexed  lu  the 
woml'.  of  earth  until  after  the  date  of  English  colonization. 

llthough  the  working  of  other  metals  thus  everywhere  preceded  tha 
of  1  on  ad  Steel,  the  use  of  these  in  the  arts  was  early  known^    Tub 
Cuin  was  an  "  instructor  of  every  artifice.-  in  Brass  and  Iron  , 
V;'""'"'     and  tools  weapons  of  war.  furniture,  the  implements  of  hus- 
---•     bandry   and  even  chariots  of  Iron,  and  "  a  laud  whose  stones 
are  Iron,"  are  mentioned  in  Scripture  history.     Implements  not  only  of 
CoVuer  o  tempered  by  a  process,  no  longer  known,  as  to  be  .'asUc  and 
hi         gh   o'cut  granite  with  ease,  but  also  of  Iron,  have  come  down 
to  uVfrom  the  Egyptians.     Of  the  different  nations  of  antiquity,  includ- 
L   he  Gr  eks  ami  Romans,  who  possessed  in  considerable  pe...ct.on 
e  ^i  S  wo  king  in  Iron  and  Steel,  the  people  of  Chalyb.a.  between 

dea  and  the  southern  shore  of  the  l^'-*^  «-' ^^    ''^^Gr      ", 
brated,  and  especially  excelled  in  the  manufacture  ^^  f  ^  /   \^;,;t 
appropriated  the  name  of  that  country  to  designate  Stee    o    tl  t  1   st 
Z    V     and  our  own  vocabularies  still  retain  a  synonym  derived  fro  n 
r;  so'urcl     The  "northern  Iron"  mentioned  by  Jcrem.ah,  and  the 


rtaUM 


MB 


EI8E  OF  THE  IRON-MANUFACTURE  IN  ENGLAND. 


467 


r,  Brass,  and  Iron,  it 
jul  founflation  in  the 
t  least,  to  have  fallen 
jf  lite  have  rendered 
^cptible  of  becoming, 
nore  precious,  weight 

aent  of  America,  the 
d  that  primitive  stage 
ed  to  trinkets  of  Gold, 
!  savage.  Their  most 
stones  and  shells,  and 
scooping  a  canoe  from 

tribes  more  advanced 
id  implements,  the  art 
Silver,  many  of  wliich 
cc9.     Chisels,  hatchets, 
[>yed  with  Tin,  so  as  to 
iruvians  and  Mexicans, 
,  of  civilization.     Lead 
!S  of  Iron,  supposed  to 
laving  been  found  at  a 
.f  the  Northwest  Coast, 
sil  treasures  of  the  con- 
t  part  un  vexed  in  the 
juization. 

crywhere  preceded  that 
as  early  known.  Tubal 
cei"  in  Brass  and  Iron  ;" 
the  implements  of  luis- 
i  "  a  laud  whose  stones 

Implements  not  only  of 
own,  as  to  be  i'astic  and 
jf  Iron,  have  come  down 
ions  of  antiquity,  inolud- 
1  considerable  pei.vCiion 
pie  of  CImlybia,  between 
Sea,  were  the  most  cole- 
ire  of  Sleol.  The  UrcL-ks 
signate  Steel  of  tlu;  best 

a  synonym  derived  fro.n 
td  by  Jcremlali,  and  the 


Known  to 

Ancient 
Bricoan. 


"bright  Iron"  of  Ezekiel,  in  which  the  Tyrians  traded,  were  probably 
the  product  of  that  country — "the  mother  of  Iron,"  as  Scythia  was 
called  by  a  Greek  poet.  The  ea'ly  Britons  are  supposed  to  have  been 
first  supplied  with  Iron  from  the  same  source,  and  were  prob- 
ably also  taught  the  art  of  smelting  it  by  the  Phoenicians,  who 
so  early  traded  in  this  Pontic  Iron,  which  they  bartered  for  the 
Tin  of  Britain.  If  chariots  armed  with  scythes  and  spears,  broadswords, 
Iron  rings,  and  Iron  money,  indicate  a  knowledge  of  the  art  before  tlie 
Roman  Conquest,  an  improvement  in  the  method  of  smelting  and  work- 
ing the  metal  was  certainly  communicated  by  the  invaders.  A  fabrica 
or  great  military  forge  was  erected  at  Bath,  near  the  well-wooded  fer- 
riferous hills  of  Monmouthshire  and  Gloucestershire,  A.  d.  120  ;  and  the 
beds  of  iron  cinders  in  the  forest  of  Dean,  in  the  vicinity  of  Sheffield,  and 
other  parts  of  the  Island,  in  which  Roman  coins  were  imbedded,  gave 
evidence  of  their  activity  in  the  Iron-manufacture.  The  earliest  of  these 
masses  of  scoriae  were  found  on  the  hill-tops,  where  the  earliest  furnaces 
were  erected  to  obtain  stronger  currents  of  air,  which  was  admitted 
through  holes  on  all  sides.  The  rudeness  of  these  wind  furnaces  was 
indicated  by  the  half-exhausted  state  of  the  slag.  After  the  invention  of 
the  bellows,  at  first  operated  by  the  foot,  and,  in  process  of  time,  by 
water-power,  the  furnaces  were  built  in  the  valleys,  and  the  slag  of  the 
ancient  blooraeries  long  furnished  a  supply  of  material  for  the  best  Iron. 
The  superior  economy  of  even  the  rude  foot-blast  was  apparent  in  the 
more  complete  extraction  of  the  metal  from  the  cinders  found  in  the 
valleys,  which  nr  longer  paid  for  smelting.  The  manufacture  afterward 
declined;  and  although  the  smith  and  other  artificers  in  Iron,  especially 
of  armor,  were  held  in  high  honor  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  and  Welsh, 
there  is  little  eiention  of  Iron-works  under  the  Heptarchy.  The  manu- 
facture was  not  much  improved,  except  by  the  bellows  and  improved 
furnaces  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  largo  quantities  of  Iron  were  im- 
ported from  Germany,  Spain.  Sweden,  and  otlier  countries.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  forests  by  the  increase  of  the  Iron-manufacture  had  neverthe- 
less become  so  serious  that,  in  the  first  year  of  Elizabeth,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  limit  the  3vil ;  and  various  statutes  in  her  reign  prohibited 
not  only  tlie  destruction  of  trees,  but  the  erection  of  Iron-works  within 
certain  limits.  Lord  Dudley,  in  1620,  attempted  the  suiistitulion  of  pit 
»i)al,  but  abandoned  it  on  the  expiration  of  his  patent  in  fourteen  years ; 
ind  the  waste  of  timber  continued  to  be  a  cause  of  compli-int  nnlil  iiis 
ncthod  WHS  revived  a  century  after.  During  this  time  tlie  consumption 
^f  Iron  had  increased  with  the  progress  in  the  Arts,  and  especially  l)y  itn 
nilislitution  for  Bronze  in  the  casting  of  cannon,  wliich  was  coMiiiiciifed 
toward  the  close  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  and  in  later  wars  emiiloyeii  enor- 


COLONIAI.  INDUSTRY  IN  MBTAI-8. 

some  others,  were  excepted  m  the  statute  iSi  - 
"iC-te  of  Anglican  co,„ni.«o.i.A..noMher.fo,.a.d^^^ 
f.r  Tr™  w«s  mnth  on  Iba  in»re..e ;  and  Ibe  prodnot.     ot  Bntoh  lor 
for  Iron  '«  8  eaj^^  ^^^  _^^^^  ^^  ^^,  ,^„^,  "^r     "'.-e 
'r.;.r™d.ca,„t  the  r„,..t..whiob  tlreaten^i  «"'»"«  '"^  7,;™ 

rr ''n;:zrrotrorto,f.xsr:^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
:;i::;^*cr::,f i:^^^^^^^^^^^  .d.ent„  j  .o.  No^he™  Enr„p, 

to'ZconuLnt,  tho  latent  bope  of  .aeh  ^'«°-- "^  fjl 
f  .  „„«  in  thP  search  for  fossil  treasures.     In  these  expioru. 

dedgling  peU,  often  .ongbt  to  allnro  to  the  ,a,n  ,e.rcb  for  tbe 

'"•,te"eZe„cement  ot  tbe  Iron-mannfactar.  in  .be  English  Colonie. 
i.  „  al  r»  ed  a  date  .boat  a  handred  year,  posterior  to  the  colom- 
IS  nsaaiiy  »    ^  ,       ^.,^i„g  period,  bowe«r,  a  number 

:;::»;  w!rl  m  tbTbusineiof  ..elting  l,on  or.  and  rncas.ing. 

S^rofToC:-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

ably  reduced    to    the   wants   and    ignorance   of   the   ancient  savag 

^r'lGlO  ^.r  Thomas  Gates  testined  before  the  Council  in  London, 
that  in  v';«inia  were  divers  sorts  of  minerals,  especially  of  Iron  oie 
ttlJonZ  surface  of  the  ground,  which  had  been  tested  in  Kn.land 
'/    'foind  to  mane  as  good  Iron  as  any  in  Europe.      ^'J^^-    •-;  ; 
ministration  of  its  affairs,  the  London  Company,  in  1619,  after  twolv. 

(1)  A  Triio  DeoUrHlon  of  V;rginiM>.  M. 


"I 


tm 


FIRST  lUON-WORKS  IN  AMERICA. 


469 


I  inventioa  and  for 
iing  with  coke,  and 
a.  I.  c.  3,  abolishing 

ierefore,  the  demand 
ict;  of  British  fur- 
is  declining  with  the 
•e  long  to  leave  the 
sources.  The  inex- 
emoval  of  which  was 
anlate  the  search  for 
,008  minerals  was  not 
m  Northern  Europe 
ries  sustained  the  di- 
1,  In  these  explora- 
ned  the  zeal  of  the 
ires  of  Iron  and  other 
se.  Some  very  early 
count;  and  the  search 
Ithough  interested  or 
5  vain  search  for  the 

the  English  Colonies 
)08terior  to  the  coloui- 
od,  ho  wearer,  a  number 
ron  ore  and  in  casting, 
attempted  in  Virginia, 
ce  of  Iron,  as  the  most 
8,  was  well  understood, 
,1  compared  with  its  in- 
ir  day  ;  an  importance 
temporary,  Locke,  that 

a  few  ages  be  unavoid- 
jf   the   ancient  savage 

ihe  Council  in  London, 
especially  of  Iron  oie, 
.  been  tested  in  England 
)pe. '  Under  a  new  ad- 
y,  in  1619,  after  twelve 

p.  23. 


years  of  unprofitable  expenditure,  sent  to  Virginia  a  large  body  of  emi- 
grants, including  woikmcn  and  materials  for  some  new  branche?  of 
DLcoveryof '"'l"stry.  Thcse  embraced  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Iron  ore.  pgryons  skillcd  in  the  manufacture  of  Iron,  with  the  design  of 
erecting  in  the  Colony  three  Iron-works.  Of  these,  one  hundred  and 
ten  were  from  Warwicksiiire  and  Staffordshire,  and  forty  from  Sussex, 
and  were  selected  for  their  skill  and  industry.*  A  part  of  the  funds 
liberally  contributed  in  F  ;Iand  about  the  same  time  for  a  college  at 
Henrico  for  the  education  of  native  and  colonial  youth,  was  :.ppropri- 
atcd  by  the  Treasu:*er,  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  to  the  erection  of  Iron-works, 
FifHtiroii-  •"  the  expectation  of  deriving  a  revenue  from  that  source. 
worK  1619.  "Works  for  smelting  the  ore  were  soon  erected  on  Falling  Creek, 
a  branch  of  James  River,  not  far  from  Jamestown,  the  first  settlement 
in  the  Colony,  and  about  thirty-two  miles  from  the  sea.  Great  were  the 
hopes  of  advantage  to  be  derived  by  the  Colony  from  this  undertaking. 
Three  of  the  master-workmen  having  died,  a  reinforcement  of  twenty 
experienced  hands  was  sent  over  in  1621,  accompanied  by  Mr.  John 
Berkeley  and  his  son  Maurice,  as  skillful  persons  to  superintend  the  ope- 
rations. A  mine  of  the  brown  Iron  ore  of  that  neighborhood  was  opened, 
and  found  to  yield  tolerably  good  Iron.  But  Indian  jealousy  and  en- 
mity had  unfortunately  been  already  aroused.  In  an  hour  of  fancied 
security,  when  all  hostile  designs  were  believed  to  have  been  laid  aside, 
in  May,  1622,  an  attack  was  made  upon  the  village  where  the  works 
were  situated,  and  the  whole  company  with  their  families,  including  the 
superintendent  and  his  men,  were  cut  off  to  the  number  of  347  persons. 
A  boy  ana  girl  alone  escaped  the  general  massacre.'  The  Iron-works 
and  a  glass  furnace  were  demolished  by  the  savages,  v.lio  appear  in 
several  instances  to  have  regarded  such  undertakings  with  abhorrence. 
The  blow  fell  heavily  on  the  Colony,  and  disappointed  several  other 
enterprises  which  had  been  wormly  cherished.  Iron-works  were  not 
again  attempted  in  Virginia  for  many  years,  although  the  peculiar  ad- 
vantages of  tlie  country  in  the  excellence  and  plenty  of  its  ore  and  wood, 
were  strongly  urged  by  writers  on  colonial  matters. 

Tin  exportation  of  Iron  from  the  Colony  was  forbidden  by  an  A:  I  of 
the  As8enil)ly  in  1662,  on  penalty  of  ten  pounds  of  tobacco  for  every 
pound  of  Iron  exported.  The  low  price  of  tobacco  in  England,  and  the 
desire  to  lessen  importation  by  encouraging  ship-building  and  other 
domestic  manufactures,  at  that  time  were  the  motives,  and  the  prohibiliou 
was  renewed  in  1682. 


(1)  A   Devlnrntion  nf   th«  fiuii*  of  UiO 
Colunie,  eto.,  162U,  p.  10. 


(2)  Beverloy'i  Iliit.  Virgiuia. 


j^Q  COLONIAL  INDVSTiVY  IN   METALB. 

The  discovery  of  Iron  ore.  and  even  some  preliminary  stops  toward  i_l8 

-—^^^^^^^^ 

Bo»r.i.  fbr     v^""'*  •    icon      Tm  ex^tence  there  was  probablj 

Min-rauen-  Mass8"husett8  Bay  in  1630.     Its  ex  -lence  iut 

'CeS  .l"ia.earlier  known.     At  a  meeting  of  the  Court  held  on  the  2d 

.  Ai      y.   TrL  9  after  having   engaged  a  number  of  mechanics  and 

"also  for  Mr.  Malbon  it  was  propounded,  he  having  sKU    in  iro  , 

also  lor  iur.  i  accounted  as  £50,  and 

return,  and  report  what  may  be  done  ^^out  Iron  wor  ^^^ 

ho  h^d  of  nroceedinc  therein  accordingly,  and  turtner  recouipeu 
b       1   to"   :!'  hi,n.".    Th„.  da„  after,  "»!!»«'-■ -"^^t 
;;  Thorns  Grave,,  gentleman,  ot  G-T'JI  S„"  riene.    »  !« 
Enirland  at  the  expense  ot  tbe  Company,  as  •■  a  man  "P"'™"™' '"  " 
fortes  in  Salt  »ork.,,  in  measnmg  and  .nr,e,ins  ot  land,  and  m  fort- 

'tt°r.:::ne7s:;  o^'tT:,-; ..,  .^ed  i,.  .homa  ,^^ 

'-:--'"  render  and  which  were  specified  on  the  fifth,  he  was  acquainted 
-P>^-  with  Lding  linie-stoncs,  planning  acqueducts.  drawing  maps 
.tnd  architecture."     This  accomplished  engineer  engaged  to  enter  the 

Z:S  ,n  e    e  b       maid  ij.,.n.  the  Company  were  to  .ranepott 

SlrtiuytlUther,  and  .»P..>»-"™  """*;;;;  TroVlaT  1.. 
l.i.n  £50  ner  annum,  provide  hira  a  house  and  100  acres  oi  la     , 
',1  u!the  general  aSotment  ot  land.     Additional  compen,aUo„  to  be 

'"\;:tctr;lT.:;°ecior:L.  .ppear,  to  ba,.  been  no  part^r 

R,«inwa>  reeei.ing  into  ber  Up  enormons  tributes  of  Gold  from  ner 
Arrican  d"pendencie.,  and  in  Eorop.  tbe  alembic  was  freely  pbed  to 
tmnsmuls  the  baser  metals  into  all-powerful  Gold. 
'Z  her  Grave.,  wbo  ..t.led  at  Cbarle.town.  mad,  -H'--  '^ 
mines,  doe.  not  appear.    No  step,  .oem  to  ba,.  been  taken  toward  tbe 

(1)  Felt'a  Annali  of  Snlem,  I.  52,  83.  84. 


FIRST   NEW-ENGLAND   IRON-WORKS. 


mi 


lary  stops  toward  its 
t  the  o'.tset  by  the 
ed  the  emigration  to 
B  there  was  probably 
lurt  held  on  the  2d 
er  of  raeuhanica  and 
5  J(  'irnal  states  that 
g  skill  in  Iron-works, 
jcounted  as  £50,  and 
iglapd,  and  upon  his 
orks,  consideration  to 
er  recompense  if  there 
;otiations  were  opened 
a  Kent,  to  visit  New 
in  experienced  in  Iron 
;  of  lands  and  in  forti- 

igreed  he  should  visit 
ualifications  as  ciraim- 

the  services  he  might 
Jfth,  he  was  acquainted 
leducts,  drawing  maps, 

engaged  to  enter  the 
I  consideration  of  a  free 
I  with  board  while  em- 
ipany  were  to  transport 
it  ensuing  harvest,  pay 
)0  acres  of  land,  with  a 
ual  compensation  to  be 

to  have  been  no  part  of 
the  more  noticeable  be- 
1  Silver  had  not  wholly 
ion  of  the  adventurers  at 
•easures  were  rife,  when 
l)utc9  of  Gold  from  her 
;mbic  was  freely  plied  to 

Id. 

made  any  discoveries  of 
re  been  taken  toward  the 

S3.  84. 


manufacture  of  Iron  until  about  fifteen  years  latter.  Morton,  however,  in 
lti,i2,  enumerates  among  the  minerals  of  New  Enp^land,  loadstone.  Iron  stone, 
lead  ore,  l)luck  lead,  red  lead,  brimstone.  Tin  (of  wliich  mines  were 
known  to  exist),  and  Copper  mines,  which  would  enrich  the  inliabitants, 
Silver,  and  a  mine  of  Gold  found  "  by  one  Captain  Littleworth,  who,  if 
he  got  a  patent  of  it  to  himself,  would  surely  change  his  name."  Tin 
has  since  been  discovered  iu  very  small  quantities  in  New  Hampshire, 
but  could  not  then  have  been  known. 

According  to  the  ancient  fiscal  privileges  of  royalty,  mines  containing 
Gold  or  Silver  belonged  to  the  king.  In  the  grants  to  many  of  the 
Colonies,  one-fifth  of  the  product  of  such  mines  was  reserved  as  a  royalty, 
and  tlio  Lonuon  Company  reserved  another  filth  of  Gold  and  Silver  mines 
in  Virginia  to  itself.  By  the  statutes  1  and  5  W.  &  M.,  this  preroga- 
tive was  so  modifitd  that  mines  of  Copper,  Tin,  Iron,  and  Lead  -^ould  be 
no  longer  claimed,  but  the  precious  ores  of  other  mines  belonged  to  the 
crowi.,  on  the  payment  of  the  price  of  the  base  metal  of  the  mine.  A 
discouragement  to  the  discovery  and  working  of  metals  was  thus  with- 
drawn.' 

In  November,  IfiSt,  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  granted  to 
Abraham  Sliaw  one  half  the  benefit  of  any  "  .oles  or  yron  stone  w""  shall 
bee  found  in  any  comon  ground  w"*"  is  in  the  countrye's  disposing.'" 

Discovery  was  early  made  at  Saugus,  or  Lynn,  of  the  Bog  Iron  ore,  which 
is  deposited  in  numerous  peat  bogs  and  ponds  throughout  Eastern  Massit- 
chnsetts,  and  supplic'  the  early  furnaces  of  that  Colony  ;  considerable 
quantities  of  this  were  found  in  dififerent  ploces  within  a  mile  or  two  of 
Lynn,  and  the  first  attempt  to  manufacture  Iron  in  New  England  was 
made  in  that  town.  The  great  scarcity  of  Iron-ware  and  tools,  and  of 
Iron  for  ship-building  and  the  erection  of  mills  and  dwelling-houses,  with 
a  lessened  intercourse  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies,  led  Messrs. 
Thomas  De-vter,  Robert  Bridges,  and  other  enterprising  persons,  to  form 
a  plan  for  the  introduction  of  the  manufacture  in  the  Colony. 
Kn^•tarld  With  this  vicw,  Mr.  Bridges,  in  1643,  took  to  London  some 
specimens  of  ore  from  the  ponds  of  Saugus.  In  connection 
with  John  \Vinlhro,i.  Jr.,  who  had  preceded  him  thither  two  years  be- 
fore, a  company  was  formed,  called  the  "  Company  of  Undertakers  for  the 
Iron-works."  It  consisted  of  the  following  gentlemen  of  wealth  and  en- 
terprise, viz.  :  Lionel  Copley,  Esq.,  of  York,  Engiu.jd,  Nicholas  Bond, 
Thonms  Pnry,  John  Becx,  W.  Beauchamp,  Thomas  Foley,  William 
Oreenhull,  Thomas  Weld  (minister),  John  Pocockr  vVillium  Beck,  Wil- 
liam  Ilickocke.     Tlie  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds  was  advanced  for 


(1)  Areliliolil'a  A  Cliristian's  Blaekslone, 
I.  3114,  305. 


(2)  Rcoordi,  1.  208. 


■k 


COLONIAL  INDVSTRY  IN   METALS. 

nf  workir-n   returned  to  New  England  the  same  year      rr  ^ 
Jerl  «    .  .Ij  ."de  for  tb=  ■n.„.f.cl»r.  of  Iron  o„  .  ..,ge  .cale^    »- 
ZZl'g  not  onl,  the  smel.i.g,  bot  forging  .nd  reCn.ng  of   he  me  .  . 
TZoenel.  Conn  w.,  .pphed  to  for  enoonr-^^n'  nn^^;      '^^'^^ 
i„  the  business.     The  design  ».s  .ppwed  of  >>"'*=»»''  °'  Llmr 
„e.snr;  did  not  warrant  the  Assembly  in  tekmg  stoek  '»  «■«  C^;,^^ 
Two  or  three  private  persons  joined  the  enterprise,  and  the  llenem 
clrt   rid  Lm,  nLh  ,,  1643-4,  nearly  all  *f '3;';;;°tt 
leg  the  exclasWe  privilege  of  making  Iron  '"^W'"'?"™' /'""; 
SM     provided  they  ».de,  after  two  years,  -«-"''''"';.* 
'••"•«•••    Lontrv's  nse.     "     y  were  allowed  the  nse  of  any  six  places  not 

already  gZtd  on  elditlon  that  they  set  „p  -■'^^'^"•^"J^::Z 

.„d  f/rg'e  in  each  plaee,  "and  f^^^T::^::!^.,^'^^^^^ 
and  their  ageiiU  were  exempted  from  all  pnblic  cnarge 
apon  their  Lk  -d  themselves  and  workmen  from  trammgs^ 

A  grant  bad  been  previonsly  made  in  town-meetrng,  19th  »' ""»■• 

l«7/lTMr  Winthrop  and  bis  partners,  and  to  their  assigns  forever,  of 

;'s  ol  a»::  o\  tL  eommon^and  at  Braintre.  "for  .  e  encon^^^^^^ 

rU-r  .s.er.s  positively  that  the  «rst  «*  "JV^^tf^Xn.. 
■■'■•  the  west  bank  of  the  Sangns,  npon  land  porebased  0    1 

dertaUing,  of  early  colonial  tunes      Ol>""'»"»„7';        ^''tas    ,er  • 
Kia  cnn,...B«  for  over  one  hundred  years.     Mr.  >vnunroi»  v»ua 
:'  ef  f    i«  adopted  country,  and  several  of  the  wovk.en  w  o.  he 

rcK  uecd  in  connection  with  these  works  were  not  only  of  em„  e     sc 
V    e  in  l«yin.'  the  foundation  of  New  England  enterprise  and  skill  but 
"t  a  posLity  which  has  been  hientified  with  the  uaanufacturing  p.os- 
neritv  of  different  States  to  the  present  day. 

'  i're  ponse  to  several  additional  propositions  from  the  ""dortake    . 
thcCrurt  on  13th  November.  1644.  granted  them  three  J'-"  ^or  p  r- 
ectinrthe  work  and  furnishing  the  country  with  all  sorts  of  bar  Iron 
r    e      nhubitants  might  become  proprietors  by  paying  w.th.n  twelve 


n)  RcoortU,  vol.  ii.p.  0' 


(2)  Savngo's  Winthrop. 


BrCCESS   OF   THE   FIRST   IRON-WOR'.S. 


473 


)mpanied  bj  a  corps 
year.  Preparations 
)n  a  large  scale,  con- 
jfining  of  the  metal, 
nt  and  participation 
je  state  of  the  public 
clc  in  the  Company, 
se,  and  the  General 
leir  requests,  includ- 

for  twenty-one  years, 
ifBcient  Iron  for  the 
)  of  any  six  places  not 
in  ten  years  a  furnace 
y."  The  undertakers 
charges  and  taxation 
1  trainings.' 
ing,  19th  of  nth  mo., 
jeir  assigns  forever,  of 
e,  "  for  the  encourage- 
)t  river."*  This  grant 
ill  Jannary,  1648.  It 
re  was  at  Braintree  or 

latter  town,  however, 
pe  erected  at  Lynn,  on 
1  purchased  of  Thomas 
I  ore.  The  village  was 
gland  of  several  of  the 
t  out  the  site  of  one  of 
not  very  successful,  un- 
are  continued  with  vari- 
,  Winlhrop  was  ever  ft 

the  workmen  whom  he 
not  only  of  eminent  scr- 
snterprise  and  skill,  but 
,he  manufacturing  p.os- 

18  from  the  nndcrtakers, 

liem  three  years  for  per- 

th  all  sorts  of  bar  Iron, 

by  paying  within  twelve 

;'8  Winthrop. 


months  £100  each,  and  an  allowance  tc  the  adventurers  for  £1,000  already 
disbursed,  and  that  they,  "  with  all  expedition,  prosecute  said  works  to 
good  perfection,  as  well  the  finery  and  forge  as  the  funiace,  which  is  al- 
ready set  up,  that  so  the  country  may  be  furnished  with  all  sorts  of  barr 
iron  for  their  use  at  £20  per  ton."  A  grant  of  three  square  miles  of 
land  was  at  the  same  time  made  them  in  each  of  the  six  places  they  might 
occupy,  etc.  On  the  14th  May  following,  the  records  state  that,  "  whereas 
it  i?  .low  )  >und  by  sufficient  proof  that  the  Iron-worke  is  very 


Works 


.uccesBfai.  g„ecessful  (both  in  the  richness  of  the  ore  and  the  goodness  of 
the  Iron),  and  like  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  whole  country,  especially 
if  the  inhabitants  here  should  be  interested  therein  in  some  good  propor- 
tion (one-half  at  the  least)"  etc.  They  were  invited  to  take  stock  in  the 
business.  Twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  pounds  had  then  been  expended, 
the  furnace  built,  a  good  stock  of  mine,  coal,  and  wood  provided,  and 
some  tons  of  sow  Iron  cast,  and  some  preparations  had  been  made  for  the 
forge.  About  £1500  were  required  to  finish  the  forge,  which  was  to  be 
paid  to  Mr.  Henry  Webb,  of  Boston,  subject  to  the  direction  of  the  un- 
dertakers, John  Winthrop  Jr.,  Major  Sedgwick,  Mr.  Henry  Webb,  and  Mr. 
Joshua  Hewes.  Colonists  were  about  this  time  publicly  notified  that  they 
could  join  the  enterprise  if  they  wished.  The  partners  above  named  were 
probably  of  the  number  who  united  with  the  Coir.pany  in  America.  Mr. 
Webb  came  from  Salisbury,  England,  in  1638,  and  afterward  became  a 
wealthy  merchant  of  Boston.  He  was  a  large  proprietor  in  tlie  Iron- 
works, and  was  distinguished  for  enterprise  and  benevolence. '  In  Octo- 
charter  ^^^  "^  *'''6  sauic  year,  a  charter  with  ample  privileges,  embodying 
coQfiimed.  i^iig  previ  .!is  grants  and  conditions,  was  made  out  and  delivered 
to  the  undertakers,  under  the  public  seal  of  the  Colony.  It  confirmed  to 
the  Company  the  monopoly  for  twenty-ojie  years  of  the  sole  privilege  of 
making  Iron  and  managing  all  Iron  mines  they  might  discover,  and 
granted  them  all  waste  lands  not  appropriated,  the  use  of  all  wood,  tim- 
ber, etc.,  to  convert  into  coals  and  earth-stones,  clay,  etc.,  for  the  use  of 
the  works,  forges,  mills,  or  houses  built,  or  for  making  or  moulding  any 
manner  of  guns,  pots,  and  all  other  cast  Iron  ware,  and  for  converting 
wood  into  charcoal,  etc.,  etc.  They  were  allowed  to  export  any  surplus 
to  any  part  of  the  world  except  to  enemies.' 

(1)  Among  hia    numoroug  benofnotlons,     vorelty,  tho  rental  having  risen  from  £12, 


'  tlie  Webb  Estato,"  with  the  houne  thcroon, 
which  has  been  long  oocnpied  by  the  firm 
of  Little,  Brown  A  Co., publishers  and  book- 
pellers,  wna  given,  with  £50  in  money,  to 
Harvard  College  about  the  year  1080,  and 
now  yields  a  handsome  revenue  to  the  Uni- 


in  1778,  to  $1,100  in  IS.tl.nnd  $5,000  at  the 
present  time.  The  ancient  buililing  has  just 
given  pliico  to  n  fine  grnnito  structCM  fc? 
the  use  of  the  firm, 

(2)  Coi.  Records,  ii.  pp.  81,  108,  126. 


■1 

I. 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METAL8. 

On  the  29t..  September,  two  day.  previous  to  thjs  grant  oj  privi- 
leges, the  first  purchase  of  lands,  ^-'-^'"^  ^^  ^  ^^^^J  2T^.o.a. 
for^e  at  Braintree.  was  made  from  George  ^"esles  by   Mr^  i  ^ 

Leader,  who  came  from  England  as  ^!"-^^;£„^^^^^^^^^ 
The  precise  date  of  the  erect.on  of    he  forge  at  Br-"^  e  ^^^^ 

stated,  but  it  followed  soon  after  the  other      M^"  ^'J'*^    ^^^^^  ,  ^.,, 
May.  also  received  permission  to  make  a  P  ^^J  ;"    "jJ^J.^.l^ed  in 

...  ,a„.r  p,.ce  .nd  tdJ^^;"  7  ""V  -  "^^  « Js  p.™n, 
at  the  outset.     "  The  land  attord  ng  very  p  providential 

of  good  rank  and  quality  in  England  were  st.rred  "P  ^yJJ^^;;.^,  ^, 
han'd  of  the  Lord  to  venture  their  estates  upon       I-^-^^^^^^^^^^  J^ 
began  at  Braintree  and  ^ro^^l^^  ^.^^ ^^^^^^^^^^  ,,,  ehief 

stock,  which  caused  some  of  ^^^^  ^'^J  '^;^^Ji„,rily  was  as  much  more 
reason  being  the  high  pr.ce  of  l^^;;-  ^^J  ^^^^^  J  ,,^  «„  with  such 
as  in  England,  and  in  many   hmgs  ^reW   ';^;  ;"/  ^^^^^^^  ,^,  steward 

.  work  '^ere  was  not  — ^^^  ^,^---;;  ^  J,  ,ere,  and  the 
bad  a  very  ab le  eye  yet  expenene  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^^ 

„,ost  q'-'^-^'f  ^^,;;;^;Jh  Z  m.s  their  heads  with  a  little  of 
pretty  roundly  to  Lady  E'^P^^^^^^         now  (1651)  that  the  owners  may 

her  -^-/.^^-^-V,"::! YfC^^^^  Paitake"  of  the  gain  in 

pick  up  their  crumbs  agam  '^  ^^^y  ''^'^  /.   ^j,,  ^,k,  ^ff  one-third 

putting  off  England  commod.Ues  at  N.  E-  pr.ce    itw  ^^^  .^  .^ 

^f  the  great  price  they  gave  for  J^^  ;-^„;,\X  .Ld  had  for  little 
-PP-Vn'"ff  :he^:d:rbe;i  e  S  common 

r/r":Ctheir  nt-      t  was  the  desire  of  the  rulers,  he  states,  to 
land  free  for  their  use.  however,  m 


(1)  LewU' Hlft.  of  Lynn,  125. 


(2) 


Wondor-worklng  Providence,  p.  IL 


- .  Mr?  ,.-*BW.it;«*A», .» * 


this  grant  of  privi- 
twenty  acres,  for  a 
les  by   Mr.  Thomas 
t  of  tbe  Company.' 
intree  we  do  not  find 
Winthrop,  on  29th 
n  and  lay  out  a  site 
I  place  he  removed  in 
effect  it  within  three 
elonged  to  the  same 

rprise,  speaks  only  of 
.ifficuUies  experienced 
stone,  divers  persons 
ip  by  the  providential 
ron-worke,  which  they 
)ut  rather  wasted  their 
e  remainder,  the  chief 
rily  was  as  much  more 
of  going  on  with  such 
although  the  steward 
Ibarning  here,  and  the 
re  been  forced  to  pay 
Ir  heads  with  a  little  of 
1)  that  the  owners  may 
lartakers  of  the  gain  in 
it  will  take  off  one-third 
price  of  their  Iron  it  is 
;e  of  wood  had  for  little 
asie  rates,  and  common 
the  rulers,  he  states,  to 
The  Court,  however,  in 
1  1646,  acknowledge  the 
)untry,  both  for  domestic 
was  none  the  cheaper  to 
in,"  they  add,  "  may  not 
nge  will  that  be  to  us  if 
city  of  specie  is  said  to 
■nt,  and  caused  the  busi- 


Bt- 


Torklng  Providence,  p.  !!• 


THE  WORKS  AT  LYNN  AND  BKAINTREE. 


m$ 


ness  a  few  years  after  to  pass  into  other  hands.  In  August,  1648,  Gov. 
"Winthrop  wrote  from  Boston  to  his  son  at  Pequod  in  relation  to  it : 
rwdofthe  "The  Iron-work  goeth  on  with  more  hope.  It  yields  now 
iron-worka.  ^]^Qy^^  sevcn  tons  per  week,  but  it  is  most  out  of  that  brown 
earth  which  lies  under  the  bog  mine.  They  tried  another  mine,  and 
after  24  hours  they  had  a  sum  of  about  500,  which,  when  they  hnike, 
they  conceived  to  be  a  fifth  part  silver.  There  is  a  grave  man  of  good 
fashion  come  now  over  to  see  how  things  stand  here.  He  is  one  who 
hath  btan  exercised  in  Iron- works."  On  30th  September  ho  again  wrote, 
"  Mr.  Endicott  hath  found  a  Copper  mine  in  his  own  ground.  Mr. 
Leader  hath  tried  it.  The  furnace  runs  8  tons  per  week,  and  their  bar 
Iron  is  as  good  as  Spanish.  The  adventurers  in  England  sent  over  Mr. 
Dawes  to  oversee  Mr.  Leader,  &c.,  but  he  is  far  short  of  Mr.  Leader. 
They  could  not  agree,  so  he  is  returned  to  Teneriffe."' 

The  Iron-works  at  Lynn  involved  heavy  outlays  on  the  part  of  the 
Company,  the  majority  of  whom  were  too  distant  to  exercise  a  proper 
supervision.  They  consequently  yielded  but  little  profit.  They  were 
several  times  assessed  for  damages  to  neighboring  property  by  overflow 
of  the  pond,  and  in  1671  the  dam  was  cut  away,  after  which  they  were 
conducted  on  a  smaller  scale.  In  the  htinds  of  the  old  Company  they 
were  more  than  once  attached  for  debt,  and  suits  were  frequent  against 
the  proprietors.  In  1611  they  became  the  property  of  Samuel  Appleton, 
who  sold  them  about  ten  years  after  to  James  Taylor,  v^ho,  we  believe, 
was  the  last  proprietor.  They  were  not  finally  abandoned  until  the  lapse 
of  over  a  century  from  their  commencement. 

Hubbard,  writing  about  the  date  of  their  transfer  from  the  original 
Company,  makes  no  mention  of  the  forge  at  Braintree,  but  says,  "  A  work 
was  set  up  at  Lynn  upon  a  very  commodious  stream,  which  was  very 
much  promoted  and  strenuously  carried  on  for  some  time,  but  at  length, 
whether  faber  aut  forceps  aut  ars  ignara,  fefellit,  instead  of  drawing 
out  bars  of  iron  for  the  country's  use,  there  was  hammered  out  nothing 
bat  contention  and  lawsuits,  which  was  but  a  bad  return  for  the  under- 
takers ;  however,  it  gave  the  occasion  to  others  to  acquaint  themselves 
with  that  skill  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  Colonies,  who  have  since 
that  time  found  out  many  convenient  places  where  very  good  Iron,  not 
much  inferior  to  that  of  Bilboa,  may  be  produced,  as  at  this  dny  is  seen 
in  a  village  near  Topsfield,  seven  or  eight  miles  west  from  Ipswich." 
The  undertaking  was  doubtless  of  more  real  service  to  the  country  as  a 
pioneer  enterprise,  by  introducing  experience  in  the  business  an«l  a  body 
of  skilled  workmen  in  the  several  departments,  than  by  its  direct  p'oi'uo- 

(1)  Savsge'g  Winthrop,  App.  p.  355. 


i: 


4^g  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 

tivencss,  although  to  the  adventurers  it  was  fraught  with  the  usual  results 

'^The  wlTat  Braintree  also  continued  in  operation  during  this  time 
In Tr91   Iron  ore  ealled  Rock-mine  was  obtained  from  the  le  ges  a 
Nahant  for  the  forge  at  liraintree.     The  town  of  Lynn,  to  winch  belong 
U:  Irit  of  havin    introduced  the  manufacture  of  the  ^i;;;^;;^  ^^'^ 
of  Leather  and  Iron  in  New  England,  was  early  suppl.ed  w'  h  it    fir. 
blacksmith  in  the  person  of  John  Deacon.     But  in  the  number  of  the 
men  imported  for  the  Iron-works  were  artificers  of  higher  skill. 
7„    646  Mr.  Leader  was  permitted  by  the  General  Court  to  purchase 
s'ome  of  the  country's  guns  to  melt  over  at  the  foundery.    Among 
t,Xl^  the  first  workmen  engaged  at  the  foundery  was  Henry  Leonard, 
'»"""'"'•     who  assisted  in  making  the  first  castings  m  America.    He  after- 
ward established  with  his  brother  a  forge  at  Raynham  and  was  one  o   the 
first  of  a  long  race  of  Iron-masters  of  that  name  in  different  parts  of  the 

"'Sher,  who  probably  accompanied  Winthrop  from  England,  and 
waV  connected  with  the  undertaking  from  the  first  as  a  pnnc.pl 
To  kman  and  machinist,  was  Joseph  Jenks,  a  native  of  Hammersmith, 
Tor  London.  He  was  held  in  high  estimation  for  his  extraordinary  in- 
Te^uity  as  an  artificer,  and  many  of  his  descendants  to  the  prese,^  day 
have  occupied  prominent  positions  in  civil  life  and  in  relation  to  the  n- 
du  tria  rt  of  the  country.  Of  this  early  mechanician,  who  was  U^ 
TubarCain  of  New  England.  Mr.  Lewis  remarks:  "Joseph  Jenks  de- 
serve to  be  held  in  perpetual  remembrance  in  American  history  as  being 
r/rt  founder  who  worked  in  Brass  and  Iron  on  the  Western  Conti- 
I   ,  nent.    By  his  hands  the  first  models  were  made,  and  the  fi  st 

Sn^e^^iings  taken  of  many  domestic  implements  and  Iron  tools 

^uirr^g.  The  first  article  said  to  have  been  cast  was  a  small  Iron  pot. 

capable  of  containing  about  a  quart.  Thomas  Hudson  of  the  same 
amily  with  the  celebrated  Hendrick  Hudson,  was  the  first  Fopnetor  o 

the  lands  on  the  Saugus  River,  where  the  Iron-Foundery  stood^  When 
he  Forge  was  established,  he  procured  the  first  casting,  which  was  the 

ZL  old  Iron  pot,  which  he  preserved  as  a  curiosity,  and  handed  down 

^"  Jj^rK:^:;  M.  Jenks  was  granted  1^  the  legislature  a 
patent  for  14  years  "for  the  making  of  engines  for  mills,  to  go  by 
^  water  for  the  more  speedy  despatch  of  work  than  formerly. 

f.:&r  ,„d  i,,  the  making  of  scythes  and  other  edged  tools  with  a 
!;S:.'J:r\ew  invented  saw-mill,  that  things  may  be  afforded  cheaper 

(1)  Lewis's  History  of  Lynn. 


Mi 


IMPROVED  SCYTHES — FIRST  AMERICAN  COINAGB. 


47T 


Xh  the  usual  results 

n  during  this  time, 
from  the  ledges  at 
in,  to  which  belongs 
e  important  articles 
pplied  with  its  first 
the  number  of  the 
gher  skill. 

I  Court  to  purchase 
lefoundery.  Among 
ivas  Henry  Leonard, 
America.  lie  after- 
n,  and  was  one  of  the 
different  parts  of  the 

from  England,  and 
first  as  a  ])riiicipal 
ve  of  Hammersmith, 
his  extraordinary  in- 
;s  to  the  present  day 
in  relation  to  the  in- 
anician,  who  was  the 
:  "  Joseph  Jenks  de- 
rican  history  as  being 

II  the  Western  Conti- 
e  made,  and  the  first 
lents  and  Iron  tools, 
vas  a  small  Iron  pot, 
Hudson,  of  the  same 
the  first  proprietor  of 
undery  stood.  When 
casting,  which  was  the 
sity,  and  handed  down 

I  by  the  legislature  a 
2S  for  mills,  to  go  by 
r  work  than  formerly, 
ST  edged  tools  with  a 
y  be  afforded  cheaper 


♦ban  formerly,  &c.,  yet  so  as  power  is  still  left  to  restrain  the  exportation 
cf  such  manufactures,  and  to  moderate  the  prices  thereof,  if  occasion  so 

require.'" 

In  the  following  January,  he  purchased  of  the  Iron  Company's  agent 
the  privilege  of  building  a  forge  at  the  Iron-works  for  the  manufacture 
of  scythes  and  other  wares. 

In  May,  1G55,  he  was  accorded  another  patent  for  an  improvement  in 
the  manufacture  of  scythes,  "  for  the  more  speedy  cutting  of  grass,  for 
seven  years."  The  innovation  consisted  in  giving  greater  length  and 
thinness  to  the  blade,  and  in  welding  a  bar  of  Iron  upon  the  back  to 
strengthen  it,  as  in  the  modern  scythe.  This  was  an  essential  improve- 
ment upon  the  old  form  of  the  English  scytlie,  which  was  a  very  clumsy 
instrument,  short  and  thick  like  the  bush  or  stub  scythe.'  No  radical 
change  has  since  been  made  in  the  form  of  the  implement. 

His  genius  took  a  somewhat  wide  range.  In  October,  1652,  when 
Massachusetts  undertook  to  sut^ply  the  deficiency  of  specie  by  a  silver 
coinage,  Mr.  Jenks  was  employed  to  make  the  dies,  which  he 
K/t  execu'ted  at  the  Iron-works.  The  issue  consisted  of  shillings, 
^''"""''-  sixpences,  and  threepences,  to  which  was  added,  in  1662,  an 
emission  of  twopences.  Of  the  shillings,  there  were  at  least  sixteen  dif- 
ferent dies,  and  several  of  each  of  the  others,  all  bearing  the  same  date, 
and  stamped  with  the  name  of  t)ie  Colony  and  a  pine  tree  in  the  centre, 
"  as  an  apt  symbol  of  its  progressive  vigor."* 


(1)  Recordsi,  vol.  ii.  149  ;  vol.  iii.  275. 

(2)  Lewis's  Hist,  of  Lynn. 

(3)  Tlicse  coins,  which  were  of  the  fine- 
noss  of  sterling  silver,  but  by  weight  "two 
pence  in  the  shilling  of  less  valew  than  the 
English  coyne,"  are  now  extremely  rare, 
and,  from  the  device  on  the  larger  ones,  are 
known  to  the  curious  as  the  "pine  tree 
coinage,"  although  no  such  tree  is  desig- 
nated by  the  law.  The  Act  creating  this 
first  colonial  mint  was  much  complained  of, 
as  an  invarAon  of  the  royal  prerogative,  but 
the  emission  of  money  nevertheless  continued 
for  over  thirty  yenrs,  and  some  of  the  coin 
circulated  in  England.  The  wrath  of  Charles 
II.  is  said  to  have  been  adroitly  turned  aside 
by  Sir  Thomas  Temple  (brother  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam), who,  hnving  shown  the  king  some  of 
th.>  coins  after  his  return  from  New  Eng- 
land, was  ai-kod  what  tree  that  was  upon 
them,  to  which  he  replied  that  it  was  the 
royal  oak  which  saved  his  majesty's  life. 


Pleased  or  amused  by  the  supposed  compli- 
ment, he  called  them  "  o  parcel  of  hotieti 
dngn,"  and  listened  co-nplacently  to  Tem- 
ple's defense  of  his  colonial  subjects. 

The  money  was  coined  by  John  Hull,  a 
gold  and  silver  smith,  on  whose  land  the 
"  Mint  Howse"  stood,  and  Robert  Sander- 
son,  of  Boston. 

Previous  to  this,  business  had  been  done 
largely  by  barter,  and  taxus  were  paid  and 
exchanges  made  chiefly  in  beaver  jkins, 
cattle,  c-m,  or  other  produce,  at  fixed  rates, 
and  in  leaden  bullets  and  Indian  wampum; 
the  importations,  and  recently  the  stoppage 
of  emigration,  having  drained  off  the  Eng- 
lish coin.  In  New  Netherlands,  also,  where 
Director  Stuyvesant  the  same  year  recom- 
jiended  a  coinage  in  imitation  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  also  raised  the  value  of  specie  20 
to  25  per  cent,  to  prevent  its  exportation, 
boav«r  skips  and  Zeawnni,  or  Iiiiliun  shell 
money,  were  the  rrincip.il  currency.    TU« 


1 


COLONIAL  INDt'STRY  IN  METALS. 

Two  years  after,  Mr.  Jenk«  made  a  contract  with  the  Selectmen  of 
Bolton  "for  an  1  gine  to  carry  water  in  case  of  fire,"  w  .ch  was  un- 
!  doubtedly  the  first  attempt  to  make  or  use  a  fire-eng.ne    n 

':."-"  America  Yery  few  such  machines  were  built  m  Europe  until 
after  this  date  They  were  not  used  in  Paris  until  -ar  50  years  later, 
and  the  addition  of  an  air-chamber  was  not  made  untd  long  after. 

W  e-drawing,  a  well-established  industry  of  their  native  country  for 
the  manufacure  of  pins  from  native  Copper  and  of  wool-cards  from 
the  -^---^^l^^^^.^^  I       ^^^  ^,^  p,,,,,,i,„  of  ,hich  the  importation  of 

K^ored^ire  and  even  its  transfer  from  old  to  new  cards,  was  pro- 
oitr^ed.  i^ibiicd  by  Charles  I.,  was  the  next  branch  for  which  en- 
couragement was  sought  by  the  early  artificers  of  Lynn  and  its  vi- 

"t/ October,  1G66,  Nathaniel  Robbinson.  "  wyer  ^^'^-^^•"l^^^'^ 
for  aid  to  carry  on  his  trade,  which  the  Court  saw  no  cause  to  grant.  In 
S Lober  of  the'next  year,  Joseph  JenUs,  Sr.,  also  desired  '.he  ffavor  of 
the  Court  to  advance  a  sume  for  y'  encouragement  of  wyer  draw  ng 
I  "The  Conrt  judged  it  <'not  meet  to  advance  any  money  on  tha 
design    but  being  desirous  to  encourage  all  persons  among  us  m  manual 
Lt?ank  trade  of  public.ue  vtilitje,  .nd  being  '^^^^^l^^^^^^^^ 
in  this  towne  a  sett  of  tooles  for  wyer  drawing,  and  that  there  be  some 
in  the  Place  that  are  able  and  skillful  in  that  imploy,  the  improovement 
wlereo  would  be  of  great  v.e  in  sundry  respects,  this  Court  doth  there- 
To     0  der  the  Treasurer  of  the  county  to  disburse  o«    of  the  public 
treasury   uch  a  sume  of  money  as  will  be  necessary  for  the  Purchase  of 
he  sad  nstrumentsand  tooles,  not  exceeding  fifteen  pounds ;  and  the 
Treasurer  with  Major-Generall  Leueret  are  appointed  and  impowered 
Tdi  pose  of  the  s  id  instruments  so  as  may  best  further  the  ends  pro- 
posed a'lo  to  disburse  forty  shillings  for  the  encouragement  of  those 
that  Bhcil  ^nake  cards  and  pinns  of  the  said  wiar."' 

Joscp-i  Jenks  died  in  1683.  Of  his  sons,  Joseph,  the  elder,  after 
living  Le  time  in  Lynn,  removed  to  Pawtucket,  R.  I-'f -^^^-Jf^ 
a  forge  ;  and  two  others,  we  believe,  to  Boston,  where  Samuel  Jenks  & 


mivTiuracture  of  the  Utter  was  aconsidernWe 
business  with  the  Indinns,  "  curious  m.nters 
of  wampumpeag,"  ..nd  by  many  of  the  white 
people,  who  counterfeited  it  Maryland 
issued  silver  and  copper  coins  in  1662,  the 
only  other  siUer  loins  made  before  the 
Revolution.  Carolina,  in  1694,  struck  a 
halfpenny  coin,  and  penny  and  twopenny 
pieces  in  1723.  and  another  penny  in  173.5. 
Coppers  were  coined  from  naUve  metal  m 


Connecticut  in  1737  and  1739.  Virginia 
issued  halfpence  in  1773.  Several  silver 
and  copper  coins  were  minted  by  the  differ- 
ent  States  and  by  individuals  after  the  war, 
and  previous  to  the  Act  of  April  2d,  1792, 
establishing  the  national  mint  under  the 
authority  conferred  by  the  Constitution  of 

1787. 
(1)  Records,  vi.  325,  348,  361. 


m 


FIUST  BLOOMERY  IN   PLYMOUTH  COUNTY. 


m 


h  the  Sclectrnen  of 
Bre,"  which  was  un- 
ase  a  fire-engine  in 
)uilt  in  Euro\ie  until 

near  50  years  later, 
itil  long  after, 
ir  native  conntry  for 

of  wool-cards  from 
ih  the  importation  of 
new  cards,  was  pro- 
ranch  for  which  en- 
of  Lynn  and  its  vi- 

r  drawer,"  petitioned 
no  cause  to  grant.  In 
lesired  "  the  ffavor  of 
ent  of  wyer  drawing, 
e  any  money  on  that 
s  among  us  in  manuall 
■ormed  that  there  are 
id  that  there  be  some 
oy,  the  improovement 
this  Court  doth  there- 
rse  out  of  the  public 
ry  for  the  purchase  of 
'teen  pounds ;  and  the 
ointed  and  impowered 
t  further  the  ends  pro- 
ncouragement  of  those 

roseph,  the  elder,  after 

R.  I.,  where  he  erected 

Hrhere  Samuel  Jenks  & 

1  1737  nrd  1739.  Virginia 
nee  in  177.'?.  Several  silver 
ins  were  minted  by  the  differ- 
l  by  individunls  nftor  the  war, 
to  the  Act  of  April  2d,  1792, 
the  national  mint  under  th« 
ferred  by  the  Constitution  of 

«,  vi.  825,  348,  351. 


Son  carried  on  the  blacksmith  business  on  Gardner's  Wharf  previous 
to  1789 ;  and  John  Jenks  had  a  store  at  39  State  street  at  the  same 

time. 

A  large  number  of  the  towns  on  the  seaboard  of  New  England  are 
diversified  by  small  pond?  and  lakes  scooped  out  of  the  drift  and  tertiary 
formation,  at  tl  <3  bottom  of  which  the  waters,  having  percolated 
fM^uumih'  the  surrounding  hills  of  sand  and  gravel,  deposit  large  quunti- 
^""'"^"       ties  of  the  sesquioxyd  of  Iron.      Tliis  ferruginous  sediment 
mixed  witli  vegetable  mould,  and  partially  solidified  by  combination  with 
water  into  amorphous  masses  of  soft  and  spongy  bog  iron  ore,  or  crys- 
tallized into  a  more  compact  hydrate,  when  removed  is  again  renewed, 
at  intervals  of  twenty  to  thirty  years,  according  to  the  chalybeate  im- 
pregnation  of  the  springs  whence  the  ponds  are  supplied.     These  ponds 
are  particularly  abundant  in  the  County  of  Plymouth,  Mass.,  where 
furnaces  and  forges  for  smelting  and  working  up  the  metal  with  charcoal 
from  the  neighboring  swamps  and  hills  were  formerly  numerous,  until 
the  wood  or  ore  was  exhausted,  and  the  cheaper  pig  Iron  from  the  coal 
regions  of  Pennsylvania  rendered  sm.-lting  no  longer  profitable.     Some 
of  these  ponds,  as  those  in  Middleboro,  Attleboro,  Carver,  Scituate,  Hali- 
fax, and  other  towns,  supplied  one  hundred  to  six  hundred  tons  of  ore 
annually,  which  yielded  twenty-five  per  cent,  or  upward  of  crude  Iron. 
The  ore  was  easily  fused,  and,  mixed  with  silicious  ores,  produced  a 
tolerably  good  metal  for  castings.     Shells  from  the  seashore  furnished 
the  flux.     As  early  as  1648,  Timothy  Hatherly,  the  principal  founder  of 
the  town  of  Scituate,  requested  leave  of  the  General  Court  to  erect  an 
Iron-mill.      His  request  was  granted  in  1650,  on  condition  that  the 
privilege  accorded  him  of  certain  woodlands  about  Mattakeeset  Pond 
(now  Pembroke)  should  revert  to  the  Colony,  unless  it  was  erected 
within  three  years.     The  design  was  not  then  carried  out,  but  a  furnace 
was  built  upon  the  site  in  1702.' 

The  adjoining  County  of  Bristol  also  abounds  in  these  lacustrine  de- 
posits of  the  oxyd  of  Iron ;  and  the  next  attempt,  after  that  at  Lynn 
and  Braintree,  to  manufac'ure  Iron  in  the  Colony  was  mad« 
lrR;7nham.at  Raynham  in  1652.    The  previous  undertaking  probably  em- 
"*^  braced  nothing  more  than  simple  blast  furnaces  for  the  produc- 

tion of  crude  Iron,  and  a  variety  of  coarse  castings  directly  from  the 
fused  metal.  To  these  the  Leonards,  from  the  Iron  district  of  South  Wales, 
one  or  both  of  whom  had  been  engaged  in  the  works  at  Lynn,  appear 
to  have  added  the  operations  of  the  blooraery  and  the  forge  hammer.' 

(1)  II.  Mas*.  Hist.  Coll.,  iv.  224.  a  deicription  of  the  process  of  smelting  and 

(2)  John  Ray,  F.  R.  S.,  has  left  on  record     forging  Iron,  as  practiced  in  Sussex,  Eng 


r 


^3Q  COLONIAL  INDUSTHY  IN  METALS. 

The  following   notice  of   the  commencement  of  the  business  in  the 

Jounty  w-re  it  has  ever  since  flourished,  is  an  interest.. g  r-Wm 

irearly  history  as  well  of  the  arts  as  of  the  penlous  times  of  the 

colony.     It  is  from  the  description  of  Raynham  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  FobeB, 

'"  'S  first  adventurers  from  England  to  this  country  who  were  skilled 

in  the  for,e  Iron-manufcctnre,  were  two  brothers,  v.z.,  James  and  H    rj 

Leonard.     They  came  to  this  town  in  the  year  1G52  which 

L,eonaru.      x     j  settlers  had  p  anted  thera- 

Leonards.     ^as  about  two  years  after  the  hist  seiners  nau  i, 

to  the  Jerseys  and  settled  there.     James,  who  was  the  great  progen  tor 
°  A  LmL  son  Then..,,  tU«„  a  ™.l.  boy,  «l,o  afte-»ard  »orW  « 


land,  in  1671.    It  was  probably  nearly  the 
,ame  as  tlmt  of  our  fir.t  Iron.WL.rkcr9.    The 
hearth  of  the  furnace  was  ma.lo  of  siuiil- 
itone,  and  the  sides  round,  to  tl.e  height  of 
about  a  yard  or  thereabout!  the  rest  of  the 
furnace  was  lined  up  to  the  top  with  brick. 
Every  six    days  was  called   a  fonndny,  m 
which  about  8  tons  of  Iron  on   i.n  average 
were  run.     Twenty-four  loads   of  charcoal 
would   make    that  quuntity   of  Iron.      To 
every  load  of  cloven  quarters  of  coals  they 
put  In  one  loud  of  mine,  contnining  18  bu=^h. 
el.  of  mixed,  roasted,  and  broken  ore.     The 
fire  W..S  at  its  height  in  about  ton  Weeks, 
and  a  hearth  of  good  stone  would  hist  forty 
foundays  or  weeks,  during  which  it  never 
went  out.     The  hearth  was  never  used  the 

■eonnd  time. 

The  forge  had  two  hammers,  one  called 
the  finer ^,  the  other  the  cAn/try.     At  the 
former  tlio  melal  was  hmMghl  Into  the  state 
of  hloom-  and  .inro......     The  bloom  was  a 

foursquare  mas-,  2  foot  >ong.  r"P'"ed  by 
b«»ting  a  loop,  or  mass  of  metal  weighing 
about  I  owt.,  with  Iron  fledges  upon  an 
Iron  plat",  and  afterward  with  th.:  fo'i^o- 
h.mmer  worked  by  water.  ThU  was  called 
,U»3lmg  the  loop.  After  two  or  three  .nore 
heaU  at  th.,  finery,  the  mas.wcs  nrought  to 
an«nco..y,th..middl»ulwhiehwn8asqu..re 

bar  of  the  desired  ^iie.  unl  ihe  two  ends 
rough,  square  Inn.]  >.  At  the  r»../erv  the 
kw  WM  completod  l.y  reducing  tht  tods  to 


a  uniform  size  with  the  middle  portion. 
Three  loads  of  large  wood  coal  made  a  ton 
„t  Iron  at  the  finery,  and  one  load  of  small 
coals  at  the  chafery.  A  man  and  boy  at  the 
finery  would  make  two  tons  of  Iron  per 
week,  and  two  men  at  the  chafery  would 
make  5  or  6  tons  a  week. 

John  Houghton.  F.  U.  S.  (Husbandry  and 
Trade  Improved),  in  1697,  snys,  both   th* 
finery  and  chafery  were  open  hoartns  cov- 
ered  with  heaps  of  coals,  blown  by  bellows 
in  the  same  way  as  the  furnaces,  but  not  so 
large;  and  the  sow  and  pigs  received  five 
heats  in  the  two-two  at  the  finery  and  three 
at  the  chafery.     K-  cslls  the  thiek  square 
first  made  a  W/fc?oom,  and  the  burwilh  the 
two  knobs  a   i'oom,  the  greater  end   being 
called   the  mocket  hewi,  and   the  less   the 
a„cn,„,  e.,d.     At  the  fourth  heat  the  moeket 
heed  was  reduced,  end  »t  the  fifth  -ho  an- 
cony  en.l,  to  the  state  of  a  bar.     W»  proc- 
ess, by  which  they  could  m..ke  two  or  three 
tons  0    Iron  in  24  hour,,  he  regarded  as  a 
great   Improvement    ui.on    their   ancestors, 
who,  '■.llh    the  trea.Uo   or  fooLblnst.  eonld 
make  but  one  little  lump  or  bloom,  of  lei-s 
thiin  a    hui.dred-weight,   In   a  day  I      Ho 
speaks  of  ,i:ili"g  «na  ralli,.;,  mil!.-,  af  a  new 
Invenlicn.   He  gWet  the  importation  of  Ir.n 
in  1695  as  9.591*  tons,  chiefly  from  fiwedsn. 
and    of    Steel,    principally    from    HolUud, 
l.fiTtf  hundred-welabt. 


il" 


THE  LEONARDS  OF  BAYNHAM. 


HI 


the  business  in  the 
nteresti!ig  passage  in 
perilous  times  of  the 
f  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fobea, 

in*Tj  who  were  skilled 
viz.,  James  and  Henry 
the  year  1052,  which 
ers  had  planted  thera- 
e  Leonards  here  built 

moved  from  this  place 
as  the  great  progenitor 

sprang,  lived  and  died 
louthshire,  and  brought 
0  afterward  worked  at 

e  with  the   middle  portion. 

large  wood  coal  made  a  ton 
finery,  and  one  load  of  smuU 
ufery.  A  man  and  boy  at  the 
make  two  tons  of  Iron  per 
0  men  at  the  chalory  would 
jns  a  week. 

Uton,  F.  R.  S.  (Husbandry  and 
i-ed),  in  1697,  suys,  both  th* 
ftfery  were  open  hoartlis  cov- 
ipa  of  ooalB,  blown  by  bellows 
ray  as  the  turniioes,  but  not  so 
1,0  sow  and  pigs  received  Hve 
»o— two  at  the  finery  and  three 
■y.  K.  culls  the  thick  pquiire 
,al/ bloom,  au'l  the  burwilh  the 

bhom,  the  greater  end   being 
wcket  h<-wl,  and   tlio   1««   tha 

At  the  fourth  heat  the  m-ickct 
iuccd,  and  at  the  fifth  'ho  an- 

the  stale  of  a  bar.     This  proo- 
h  they  could  tni<ke  two  or  three 

in  24  honrc,  he  rogiirdod  as  » 
ivemont  unon  their  ancestors. 
Iho  treadle  or  footblnst.  conld 
lie  little  lump  o'  bloom,  of  less 
,„lrod.wei«ht,  in  a  day  I  Ho 
:it{„g  anit  ro//.H.7  '"i"-'  »''  ■*  "•■'' 
Ho  (lives  the  importHtion  of  Inn 
},5fli»  tons,  ohii'fly  from  Sweden, 
Bi-l,  prineip.iUy  from  Holl»ud. 
red-welaht. 


the  bloomery  art  with  his  father  in  the  forge.     This  forge  was  situated 
on  the  great  road  ;  and,  having  been  repaired  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion, it  is  to  this  day  still  in  employ.     On  one  side  of  the  dam,  at  a 
small  distance  from  each  other,  stand  three  large  elms  and  one  oak  tree. 
Two  of  the  elms  are  near  three  feet  in  circumference,  and  are  still  flour- 
ishing.    Tiiese  trees  are  now  almost  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  o'd, 
which,  with  the  ancient  buildings  and  other  objects  around,  present  to 
the  eye  a  scene  of  the  most  veneraole  antiquity.     In  the  distance  of  one 
mile  and  a  quarter  from  ibis  forge  is  a  place  called  the  Fowling  Pond, 
on  the  northerly  side  of  which  once  stood  King  IMiilip's  house.     It  waa 
Oftlled  Philip's  hunting-house,  because  in  the  sea.son  most  favorable  to 
hunting  he  resided  there,  but  spent  the  winter  chiefly  at  Mount  Hope, 
probably  for  the  benefit  of  fish.     Philip  and  these  Leonards,  it  seems, 
long  lived  in  good  neigiiborhood,  and  often  traded  with  each  other ;  and 
Bach  was  Philip's  friendship,  tliat  as  soon  as  the  war  broke  out,  whicb 
was  in  1615,  he  gave  out  strict  orders  to  all  his  Indians  never  to  hurt 
the  Leonards.     During  tiic  war  two  houses  near  tlie  forge  were  con- 
stantly garrisoned.    These  buildings  are  yet  standing.    One  of  them  was 
built  by  James   Leonard   long  before  Piiilip's  war.     Tliis  house  still 
remains  in  its  original  G  iUiic  form,  and  is  now  inhabited,  together  witli 
the  same    paternal  spot,  by  Leonards  of  the  sixtli    generation.      In 
the  cellar  under  this  house  was  deposited  for  a  considerable  time  the 
head  of  King  Philip ;  for  it  seems  tliat  even  Philip  himself  shared  the 
fate  of  Lings  :  he  was  decollated,  and  his  head  carried  about  and  shown 
as  a  curiosity,  by  one  Alderman,  the  Indian  who  shot  him.     There   is 
yet  in  being  an  ancient  case  of  diawers  wiiicii  used  to  stand  in  this  house, 
upon  which  the  deep  scars  and  mangled  impressions  of  Indian  hatchets 
are  now  seen;   but  the  deeper  impressions  made  on  those   afl"righted 
women  who  fled  from  the  house  when  tlie   Indians  broke  in,  cannot  be 
known.     Under  the  door-ste,t8  of  tlie  same  building  now  lie  buried  tlie 
bones  of  tv;o  unfortunate  young  women,  who,  in  their  flight  here,  were 
shot  down  'o/  the  Indians,  and  their  Idood  was  seen  to  run  quite  across 
the  road  ;  bnt  more  fortunate  was  the  fligiit  of  Uriah  Leonard,  wiio,  as 
he  was  riding   from  Taunton  to  the  forge,  in  this  place  was  discovered 
and  fired  upon  by  the  Indians.     He  instantly  plucked  ofl"  his  hat,  swung 
it  around,  which  startled  his  horse,  and  in  full  career  he  reached  the 
forgo  dam  without  a  wo..nd  ;  but  several  bullets  were  shot  through  tiio 
hat  he  held  in  his  hand,  and  through  the  neck  of  the  iiorse  near  the 
mane,  from  which  the  blood  on  both  sides  gushed  and  ran  down  on  both 
his  legs.'" 


81 


(1)  T.  Mass.  Hilt.  Coll.,  III.  irO. 


482 


COLONIAL  INDLSTBY  IN   METALS. 


Fowling  rond,  near  which  the  forge  was  erected,  tlic  author  states, 
was  remarliably  prolific  in  material,  having  furnished  an  uninterrupted 
supply  of  good  ore  for  that  and  oilier  worlcs  for  more  than 
»"«»'*••      eighty  years,  during  which  the  former  was  kept  going,  and 
the  deposit  was  still  unexhausted.    The  metal,  however,  would  not  make 
Iron  of  the  best  quality.     He  notices  the  coincidence  of  beds  of  Iron  ore 
being  usually  found  in  that  part  of  the  country  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  pine  and  cedar  lands,  and  offers  the  suggestion  that  vegetable 
growths  of  that  kind  may  be  found  to  stand  to  the  gene-„tion  of  the  ore 
in  the  relation  of  a  proximate  cause,  and  that  "the  time  may  come  when 
it  will  be  easy  and  as  common  to  raise  a  bed  of  bog  ore  as  a  bed  of  carrots. 
Althopgh  the  pine  forests  held  no  causative  relation  to  the  collection  of 
ore,  another  and  highly  economical  one  did  s  .h-i.r  V    '/een  the  two, 
inasmuch  as  pine-trees  and  the  whole  class  of  the  con,fer(^  were  highly 
valued  OS  fuel  in  the  process  of  smelting  pud  forging.     Respecting  the 
Leonards,  he  further  remarks : 

"The  circumstances  of  a  family  attachment  to  the  Iron-manufacture 
is  so  well  known,  as  to  render  it  a  common  observation  in  ihis  part  of 
the  country,  viz.,  '  ivhere  you  can  find  Iron-Korks,  there  you  will  find  a 

Leonard.^ 

"  Henry,  the  brother  of  James,  went  from  this  place  to  the  Jei-seys, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  who  set  up  Iron-works  in  that  State.  He  was 
the  progenitor  of  a  numerous  and  respectable  posterity  in  that  part  of 

Jk.incriGCi.  *' 

In  the  adjoining  town  of  Norton,  which,  with  Raynhara,  originally 
formed  a  part  of  Taunton,  extensive  Iron-works  were  erected  a  few  years 
^,  later  by  George  Leonard,  Esq.,  who  was  on  of  .^'>.  early 
Tnohou."  settlers  of  the  town  about  1696.  He  was  attractcii  ;lv.ih.>.-  by 
the  discovery  of  Iron  ore,  and  of  ample  water-power  for  th<  ma.M.  .c'-re 
in  the  branches  of  Taunton  River.  The  business  in  its  various  ■  -irt- 
ments  has  been  continued  by  his  descendants  to  the  present  time. 

Vandordonck,  a  Dutch  writer  on  New  Netherlands,  a  year  or  two 
*fter  the  forge  at  Raynham  was  built,  Bays  the  people  of  New  England 
already  "cast  their  own  cannon,  plates,  pots,  ami  cannon  balls  from 
native  Iron."  Much  of  this  work  was  probably  done  at  Lynn.  Ihe 
Royal  CommisHioners,  in  lfiG4,  reported  but  one  bloomery  for  Iron  in 
Plymouth  Colony,  that  at  Taunton,  now  Raynham. 

The  dissatisfaction  of  the  New  England  people  with  the  commercial 
rePtrictions  enacted  at  the  Restoration,  and  particularly  with  the  unpo- 
sition  of  customs,  duties,  and  the  appointment  of  colonial  revenue  offi- 
cers to  carry  them  into  effect,  caused  a  renewal,  in  1672,  of  the  Articles 
of  Confederation,  and  stirauluted  to  greater  efforts  in  domestic  industry, 


IRON  AND  COPPER  WORKS  IN   EASTERN  MASSACHUSETTS,  483 


i,  the  author  states, 
ed  an  uninterrupted 
urorks  for  more  than 
?as  kept  poing,  and 
ever,  would  not  make 
36  of  beda  of  Iron  ore 
the  immediate  neigh- 
gestion  that  vegetable 
geneic.tion  of  the  ore 
!  time  may  come  when 
re  as  a  bed  of  carrots." 
)n  to  the  collection  of 
"'in  ^-    "reen  the  two, 
coniferas  were  highly 
ring.     Respecting  the 

the  Iron-manufacture 
pvation  in  this  part  of 
!,  there  you  will  find  a 

place  to  the  Jerseys, 
1  that  State.  He  was 
)sterity  in  that  part  of 

h  Raynham,  originally 
'ere  erected  a  few  years 

was  on  o^  i' v  early 
vas  attracter.  .hi'hf^  by 
ver  for  the  m-'?u  .c<-  re 
is  in  its  various  =  •  art- 
he  present  time, 
erlands,  a  year  or  two 
leople  of  New  England 
anil  cannon  balls  from 
y  done  at  Lynn.  The 
le  blooniery  for  Iron  in 
ini. 

lie  with  the  commercial 
ticularly  wifh  the  iinpo- 
of  colonial  revenue  ofli- 

in  1072,  of  the  Articlis 
rts  in  domestic  industry. 


At  Topefleld. 


Edward  Randolph,  in  the  following  year,  reported  to  the  commissioners 
respecting  New  England :  "  There  be  five  iron-works,  which  cast  no 
sifon-worksgins.'"  The  duty  on  Iron  imported  into  the  Colonies  was,  iu 
la  1673.        igY9,  ten  shillings  per  ton. 

In  1674,  Nathaniel  and  Thomas  Leonard  entered  into  a  contract  with 
Johu  Pack  and  others  of  Salem  to  carry  on  the  Iron-manufacture  at  the 
Works  at  village  of  Rowley,  which  possessed  all  the  advantages  of  wood, 
Kowi«y,  1674.  water-power,  and  bog  ore.  The  business  did  not  prove  re- 
munerative.* 

One  of  the  Iron-works  in  the  Colony  was  destroyed  by  the  Indians  in 
167T. 

Iron  of  good  quality,  as  mentioned  by  Hubbard  in  a  passage  already 
quoted,  was  made  at  a  village  near  Topsfieid  previous  to  1680.  At 
Boxford,  in  the  same  county,  the  manufacture  was  commenced 
in  that  year  with  ore  tr.ken  from  the  ponds  supplied  by  the 
headwaters  of  Rowley  and  i'urker  rivers,  but  was,  not  long  after,  discon- 
tinued. A  bloomery  was,  however,  in  operation  in  the  southern  parish 
of  that  town  toward  the  close  of  the  last  century.  Several  other  towns 
iu  Essex  were  engaged  in  the  same  business  in  former  times. 

As  early  as  1648,  Governor  Endicott  of  Salem  also  discovered  Copper 
ore  upon  land  granted  him  betweeu  Danvers  and  Topsfieid,  and  in  1651 
c  .pper-  petitioned  the  legislature  for  800  acres  of  woodland  for  a  bettei 
wotkH,  1631.  gappiy  of  fue]^  at  a  place  called  Blind  Hole,  near  which  he  in- 
tended to  set  up  smelting-works.  The  grant  was  made  on  condition  that 
the  works  should  be  set  up  within  seven  years.'  He  had  already  made 
some  preparations  and  expenditures  for  that  purpose,  and  sent  to  Sweden 
and  Germany  for  workmen  acquainted  with  the  business  of  smelting  and 
refining  copper.  But  the  mine  proved  less  productive  than  was  ex- 
pected.* 

In  1702  the  first  furnace  was  erected  in  the  County  of  Plymouth 
which  has  ever  since  been  a  principal  seat  of  the  Iron  business  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  still  has  a  larger  number  of  furnaces  for  hoUow- 

Iron-worki  i,.  i.  «.v  <  .        ,       ^ 

In  pijrrnuuth  ware  aud  castings,  exclusive  of  pig  Iron,  than  any  in  the  State, 
""""'■  and  nearly  one-half  of  the  rolling  and  slitting-mills.  Assa- 
wampsct,  Monponset,  and  Sampson's  ponds  were  in  early  times  the  prin- 
cipal reservoirs  of  bog  ore  in  the  county.  In  these  and  others  it  was 
obtained  at  a  depth  of  from  two  to  twenty  feet  of  water,  either  by  dig- 
ging around  the  margins  in  dry  seasons,  by  draining  off  the  water,  or  by 
dredging  in  the  deep  water;  and,  so  long  as  the  supply  lasted,  produced 


(1)  Ilnlnioa'  AnnRlf. 

(2)  Felt'i  S»Um,  L  382. 


(.1)  Recordt.  III.  258. 
(4)  Felt,  i.  282. 


^g^  COLONIAl.  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS. 

an  active  business  in  smelting.     Ores  of  a  similar  kind  were  also  obtained 
at  a  later  period  from  the  southern  shore  of  New  Jersey  and  hav.ng  be  n 
carried  back  from  Plymouth  to  the  pine  lands  which  surrounded  the 
ponTs  warmixed  with  the  native  ore.     Much  of  the  metal,  wh.ch  was 
generally  not  good  for  bar  Iron,  was  run  directly  mto  cannon-ba  1. 
Sow  Le,  and  oth  r  castings,  the  furnaces  for  that  purpose  d.ffenng 
m  leLmtl  e  smelting  furnaces.     As  wood  and  ore  became  exhausted 
he  m     ufacture  of  crude  Iron  was  abandoned,  and  attention  was  devot  d 
to  rXng.  rolling,  and  slitting  metal  from  the  ot  er  p  aces,  and  to 
the  manufacturing  of  nails,  tacks,  scythes,  and  other  utensils. 

In  S  y  ar  1702,  Lan.bert  Despard.  a  founder,  associated  w.h  some 
pel  0?  the  name'  of  Barker,  and  built  a  smelting-furnace  m  he  tow, 
^  of  Pembroke,  then  a  part  of  Duxboro.  at  the  oulle   o.  Matta- 

r.:%..  ueeset  pond,  ^pon  a  tract  of  land  granted  in  1648  to  Tunothy 
Hatherly,  of  Sit'uate  for  that  purpose.    The  furnace  continued  .n  opera- 
tion a  number  of  years,  but  was  finally  abandoned  for  want  of  fuel. 
In  May.      10.  Joseph  Mallinson.  in  a  petition  to  the  General  Cou, 

Stat  dU  a  he  wis  interested  in  the  ownership  and  '"-"^--"^^^^j"  " 
stated  tuat  ^^.^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^^  and  under-    . 

i?r"'"'  tana  ng  that  "some  great  shot  of  several  weights"  were 
wanting  f  r  he  ordnance  of  Her  Majesty's  Castle  Will  am  he  was  es  r- 
To  semng  his  country  iu  that  respect,  and  of  entenng  into  treaty  ou 
Z  sub  e    .  'This  furnace  was  possibly  the  same  with  the  for^g-"^'" 

irM^'h.  1739.  Mallinson  again  memorialized  the  leg.slature    o 
J^t  of  unimproved  land,  in  consideration  of  the  great  benefit  that  h  d 
accrued  from  the  manufacture  of  Hollow-ware,  such  as  po  s, 
Fimt  casting accrueu  iivim  ,  ,„  „f  „i,lph  he  claimed  to  be  "  the 

in.Kttd.       kettles,  etc.,  in  eajid  mou W8,  ot  whicn  ne  ciuiiin- 

•illntted  him  200  acres  of  unimproved  land.' 

Tei  Eduction  of  the  art  of  casting  in  sand,  in  place  o  clay  mould, 
ha^ben   ascribed  to  Jeremy  Florio.  an    ingenious  Englishman,  who 
p    cti    d  the     nprovement  at\ingston  in  the  same  county  previous    o 
had  eel  at  Plympton  in  1755,  at  the  age  of  ninety.      At  o„o  of  th 
tmaJl      nles  in  Kingston  some  of  the  first  experiments  in  this  co,u,,ry  in 
m     i  TwTh  Anthracite  coal  are  said  also  to  have  been  ma.le  early  m 
*        iToesent  century.     A  rolling  and  slitting  mill  wore  in  operation  there 
f;m5  atw'uch'time  many  of  the  charcoal  smelting  furnaces  m  the 
county  had  been  abandoned. 


(1)  Mum.  Slate  Puper». 


(2)  Barbor'i  Uiit.  Coll.  Mass.  510. 


«a 


IHON-WORKg   IN   AIJIXCITON  AND   BRIDOEWATER. 


485 


ud  were  also  obtainnd 
!rsey,  and  having  been 
vliich  surrounded  the 
the  metal,  which  was 
tly  into  cannon-balls, 
that  purpose  differing 
ore  became  exhausted, 
attention  was  devoted 
other  places,  and  to 
er  utensils. 

•,  associated  with  some 
ng-furnace  in  the  town 
at  the  outlet  of  Matta- 
;d  in  1648  to  Timothy 
ace  continued  iu  opera- 
for  want  of  fuel, 
to  the  General  Court, 
d  management  of  a  fur- 
3y  to  work,  and  under- 
several   weights"   were 
B  William,  he  was  desir- 
■  entering  into  treaty  ou 
with  the  foregoing. 
ed  the  legislature  for  a 
le  great  benefit  that  had 
low- ware,  such  as  polR_ 
\i  he  claimed  to  be  "  the 
ally  at  least  twenty  thou- 
red  to  were  made  some 
jwledgraent  of  his  ciaira, 

,  in  place  of  clay  moulds, 
enious  Englishman,  who 
same  county,  previous  to 
f  ninety.*  At  nno  of  the 
jrimentsin  this  cuu.ary  in 

have  been  made  early  in 
ill  wore  in  operation  there 

gmelting  furnaces  in  the 


or'»  niit.  Coll.  Masi.  510. 


About  the  year  1710  a  large  purchase  of  land,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Abington  and  Hanover,  was  made  by  a  person  of  the  name  of  Mighill, 
workii  near  ^ho  erected  thereon  what  were  afterward  known  as  the 
AbinBton.  "  Driuk-water  Iron-works.'"  At  Abington  cannon  and  shot 
were  cast  during  the  war  of  Independence  by  Col.  Aaron  Hobart,  who 
erected  there  an  air  furnace.  The  casting  of  church  bells  was  also  intro- 
duced there  before  the  Revolution  by  tiie  same  person.  Anchors,  cables, 
and  bar  Iron  have  long  been  forged,  and  hollow-ware  made,  at  Hanover. 
The  anchors  of  the  favorite  national  ship  "  Old  Ironsides,"  built  iu  the 
last  century,  were  forged  at  that  plice.  A  slitting-mlU  was  in  operuiion 
there  before  the  war. 

The  condition  of  the  New  England  Colonies  generally  at  the  Peace 

of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  was  such  as  to  challenge  the  admiration  of  English 

writers  at  their  unparalleled  progress  in  so  short  a  time.     To 

Proffrofls  of 

the  Colonies  all  the  ncccssary  handicraft  trades,  they  added,  as  our  previous 
pages  will  show,  several  of  the  more  advanced  manufactures; 
and  in  Massachusetts  especially,  where  the  greatest  progress  had  been 
made,  many  of  the  embellishments  of  a  refined  life  were  engrafted  upon 
the  industry  of  the  people.  The  commerce  of  Massachusetts  employed 
about  500  sail  and  over  25,000  tons  of  sh'pping,  and  her  activity  in 
ship-building  was  great.  This  branch  was  especially  flourishing  on  the 
North  River,  in  the  vicinity  of  these  Iron-works  ;  '■.nd  its  demands,  added 
to  those  of  agriculture,  mill-building,  and  other  industries,  promoted  a 
steady  growth  of  the  metallurgic  arts.  The  manufacture  of  Iron  had 
been  already  attempted  in  several  other  Colonies,  and  was  about  this 
time  permanently  revived  in  Virginia.  Although  no  exportation  of  Iron 
had  yet  taken  place  that  we  can  learn,  the  independent  bearing  of  the 
Colonies  in  the  defense  of  their  charters  and  natural  rights,  and  the  evident 
extension  of  a  manufacturing  spirit,  which  was  fostered  by  the  amplest 
facilities,  particularly  for  the  Iron-manufacture,  soon  after  gave  rise  to 
schemes  for  securing  a  greater  dependence  of  the  plantations  upon  tha 
parent  state,  and  for  restraining  the  erection  of  Iron-works  in  America. 

In  Oct.,  1750,  James  and  Abicl  Packard,  Daniel  and  David  Iluward, 
and  Constant  Southworth,  certified  the  General  Court  that  they  were  th« 
present  Otvners  "  of  a  certain  Rloomery  Forge  or  Iron-works, 
at  BridKA-  Standing  in  the  North  street,  Bridgcwater,  in  the  County  of 
'  '  Plymouth,  which  was  erected  about  the  year  1722."  Bridge- 
water  was  early  and  actively  engaged  iu  several  branches  of  the  Iron 
business  during  the  last  century. 

In  1738  an  important  accession  to  the  mccbauical  industry  of  the  towa 

(1)  II.  Mail.  Iliat.  Coll.,  ir.  243. 


486 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS. 


was  made  by  the  remoT^l  thither  of  Hugh  Orr,  a  young  Scotchman  from 
Renfrewshire,  who  had  spent  one  year  at  Easton,  in  Bristol  County.  He 
„  H  n  had  been  educated  as  a  gunsmith  and  locksiaith,  and  erected 
"""'  "'  at  Bridgewater  a  shop,  and  the  first  trip-hammer  known  m  that 
part  of  the  county.  The  services  of  artisans,  however  humble,  who  have 
acted  as  pioneers  in  any  branches  of  the  useful  arts,  we  regard  as  fit 
subjects  of  record  in  connection  with  the  rise  of  American  Industry. 
The  allowing  particulars  respecting  this  ingenious  and  truly  patriotic 
citizen  are  by  his  friend.  Dr.  James  Thacher,  of  Tlymouth. 

"  He  commenced  his  experiments  in  the  manufacture  of  scythes ;  and 
it  was  by  his  exertions,  prompted  by  an  ardent  desire  of  promoting  the 
useful  arts  in  an  infant  country,  that  the  scythe  and  axe  manufactory 
were  introduced  in  the  States  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.     And 
such  were  the  happy  resources  of  his  mind  and  love  of  enterprise,  that 
,,    ,  ,  fc  there  was  no  branch  of  iron  manufactory  that  did  not  at  some 
KrmJ:     period  become  the  object  of  his  pursuit;  nor  was  there  any 
obstacle  too  formidable  for  his  perseverance  to  surmount.     For  several 
years  he  was  the  only  edge-tool  maker  in  this  part  of  the  ^o^^r^^^J,a^^d 
ship-carpenters,  millwrights,  etc..  in  this  county  and  State  of   Rhode 
Island,  constantly  resorted  to  him  for  supply.     And  indeed  such  was  h.s 
fame  that  applications  were  frequently  made  to  him  from  the  distance 
of  twenty  miles  for  the  purpose  of  having  an  axe,  an  adze,  or  an  auger 
new  tempered  by  his  hands.    About  the  year  1748,  he  made  five  hundre'l 
stand  of  arms  for  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  which  were  d  ;- 
posited  in  Castle  William ;  but  neariy  all  were  carried  off  by  the  Bntu.i 
when  they  evacuated  the  town  of  Boston.     The  perilous  state  of  our 
country  after  the  commencement  of  the  Revolutionary  war  afforded  new 
scope  for  his  enterprising  genius,  and  fresh  impulse  to  his  sentiments  o 
patriotism.     Instances  were  not  numerous  of  foreigners  embracing  with 
cordiality  the  American  cause;  he  was  one  of  its  eariy  advocates,  and 
continued  among  its  firmest  supporters,  notwithstanding  the  reiterated 
enticements  of  his  friends  and  correspondents  in  Europe.     He  was  agam 
employed  in  manufacturing  a  number  of  stands  of  arms,  and  under  his 
superintendence,  in  concert  with  a  French  gentleman,  a  foundery  for  cast- 
ing  ca.,non  was  erected.     Iron  ordnance  were,  till  within  a  few  years  of 
this  period,  cast  with  a  cylindrical  cavity  of  a  diameter  somewhat  smaller 
than  the  intended  calibre,  which  was  afterward  bored  to  a  proper  size; 
but  this  method  was  found  by  experience  to  be  attended  with  incon- 
yenlences.     The  guns  were  extremely  liable  to  be  spongy  in  that  part 
where  strength  and  smoothness  are  required.     To  remedy  this  evil,  an 
Improved  method  had  recently  been  introduced  in  Europe.     Tiie  gnu 
W.i  to  oe  cast  solid,  and  the  calibre  afterward  with  a  boring  bar-iroa 


HON.  nUGII   ORR — BORED   CANNON,    SCYTHES,    SHOVELS. 


48T 


mg  Scotchman  from 
Bristol  County.  He 
jksiaith,  and  erected 
immer  known  in  that 
er  humble,  who  have 
rts,  we  regard  as  fit 

American  Industry. 
s  and  truly  patriotic 
ymouth. 

•ture  of  scythes ;  and 
sire  of  promoting  the 
and  axe  manufactory 
I  Connecticut.  And 
ive  of  enterprise,  that 

that  did  not  at  some 
; ;  nor  was  there  any 
rmount.  For  several 
•t  of  the  country,  and 

and  State  of  Rhode 
id  indeed  snch  was  his 
him  from  the  distance 
,  an  adze,  or  an  auger 
,  he  made  five  hundre'J 
}  Bay,  which  were  d  j- 
rried  off  by  the  Briti.-.i 

I  perilous  state  of  our 
inary  war  afforded  new 
se  to  his  sentiments  of 
signers  embracing  with 
ts  early  advocates,  and 
standing  the  reiterated 
Europe.  He  was  again 
of  arras,  and  under  his 
lan,  a  foundery  for  cast- 

II  within  a  few  years  of 
meter  somewhat  smaller 
bored  to  a  proper  size ; 
e  attended  with  incon- 
be  spongy  in  that  part 
To  remedy  this  evil,  an 

in  Europe.     Tiie  guu 
with  a  boring  bar-irou 


and  cutter  to  be  perfonilcd  and  smoothed  out  to  its  proper  diameter. 
This  method,  though  difficult  and  laborious,  was  adopted  by  Mr.  Orr  at 
Cannon  cast  ^'"^  "^^  Fouudcry  at  BriUgcwatcr  ;  and  by  his  exertions  a  great 
•olid  i  bored,  number  of  pieces  of  iron  and  several  pieces  of  brass  ordnance, 
from  3  to  42  pounders,  besides  a  vast  quantity  of  cannon-sliot,  were 
produced,  which  being  distributed  to  different  parts  of  our  army,  proved 
at  that  critical  conjuncture  of  affairs  an  acquisition  of  iuestiiualilo  value  ' 
His  knowledge  of  minerals  and  orer  was  so  extensive,  that  from  every 
newly-discovered  mine  in  the  country  he  was  immediately  furnished  with 
specimens  of  its  quality,  and  a  few  years  previous  to  his  death  he  was  in 
possession  of  a  valuable  mineralogical  collection."* 

In  a  previous  chapter  we  have  spoken  of  the  connection  of  Mr.  Orr 
with  the  introduction  of  cotton  machinery  in  New  England.  His  bio- 
scythes.  grapher  further  observes  that  "the  present  improved  method 
of  making  scythes  by  the  trip-hammer  is  tlie  result  of  tlie  successful  ex- 
periments of  Robert  Orr,  Esq.,.  sun  of  the  sulyect  of  this  memoir,  who 
also  introduced  the  iron  sliovel  manufactory  in  this  Stale.  He  is  now 
(1804)  Master-armorer  of  the  public  Arsenal  at  Springfield."  The 
Hon.  Hugh  Orr  died  in  1798,  at  tlie  age  of  82. 

The  muskets  made  by  Mr.  Orr  in  1748  are  believed  to  have  been  the 
first  ever  made  in  this  country.  The  plate  shovel  manufacture  estab- 
lished by  his  son  soon  obtained  considerable  repute  in  neighboring 
States."  The  shovels  were  for  •^ome  years  considered  better  aud  clieaper 
than  the  English,  which  character  they  subsequently  lost.  But  at 
Easton,  under  the  management  of  the  Messrs.  Ames,  the  reputation  has 
been  revived,  and  the  factory  has  become  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
and  extensive  in  the  country.  Millwrights,  nail-makers,  and  artificers 
iu  Iron  were  very  numerous  in  Bridgewater  in  the  last  century.     Before 


(1)  "When  a  Snlein  cnjitiiin  wns  asked 
by  »n  Englishman  UurinK  the  war,  'Where 
do  you  get  your  cnnnun?'  he  replied,  'We 
cast  them;'  and  when  asl<od  ngniii,  'But 
^here  do  you  got  your  piittcrns  V  lie  replied, 
with  a  lignlfioiint  umile,  'At  Saratoga.' "* 
In  1''88,  Congress  ordered  the  following  in- 
leriptioni  upon  a  cannon  prexcrved  through 
the  war:  "The  Hancock,"  "Snored  to  Lib- 
erty," "This  ia  one  of  four  cannon  which 
eonitituted  the  whole  train  of  fluid  artillery 
poaaoaed  by  the  Britiah  Colonies  of  North 
America  at  the  commcncoinent  of  the  war, 
on  the  IBth  April,  1775."  Tlitt  ciiniMm,  and 
lt«  follow,  belonging  to  a  number  of  ritizons 
of  U  jston,  waa  uaed  in  many  engiigeiuenta 


during  the  war.  The  other  two,  the  prop, 
crty  of  the  Government  of  Massachusetts, 
were  taken  by  the  enemy.  By  order  of  the 
U.  S.,  in  Congress  assembled,  May  19, 
1783."  The  other,  named  "The  Adams," 
received  a  aimilar  inscription. 

(2)  I.  ATaaa.  Hiat  Coll.,  ix.  284. 

(3)  In  May,  1765,  Jonathan  Ilulmea,  on 
"Pot  Baker's  Hill,"  New  York,  advertised 
for  sale  "Keen  St  Payaon's  (by  some  vul- 
garly called  Salem  aoythca)  improved 
acyther,  made  in  this  part  of  America,  of 
all  lengths,"  etc.,  which  he  atiUea  had  given 
the  greatest  siiliafaction,  and  wore  allowed 
to  be  of  superior  quality  and  form  to  »n/ 
other  make. 


m 


COLONIAL   INDUSTRY   IN    METALS. 


the  invention  of  the  machine  for  cutting  cold  tacks  and  nails  vduch  » 
claimed  for  Ezekiel  Reed,  a  native  of  the  town  about  the  year  1786  more 
wrought  nails  were  made  there  than  at  any  other  place  m  the  State. 
The  machinery  «  .s  adopted  and  improved  at  Abington,  where,  m  I8I0, 
about  one  hundred  a-ad  fifty  millions  of  tacks  were  made.  Jesse  Reed, 
the  son  of  the  inventor,  afterward  patented  (180t)  a  max^hme  to  make 
and  head  tacks  by  one  operation,  at  tl>e  rate  of  60,000  per  d.em  Ihe 
second  slitting-mill  erected  after  the  Revolution  was  in  Bridgcwater. 

Two  rolling  and  slitting-mills  in  the  town,  in  1795,  cut  and  rolled 
445  tons  of  Iron,  of  which  100  tons  were  made  into  hoop  iron  and  for 
cutting  nails,  and  it  was  regarded  as  a  large  business.  One 
^^  of  these,  a  mile  from  the  v:ilage,  bulk  in  1785,  and  now  owned 
by  Messrs.  Lazell,  Perkins  &  Co.,  has  at  present  "  14  furnaces  3  trains 
of  rolls  44  nail-machines,  9  fires,  and  5  hammers  (one  a  3-ton  ^asmylh) 
in  the  forge,  driven  by  steam  and  water,  and  makes  perhaps  2,000  tons 
of  nails,  machinery,  forging,  etc.,  per  annum.'"  Some  others  m  the 
county  are  sliU  larger,  having  over  20  furnaces  and  80  or  90  na.l  ma- 
chines, producing  between  four  and  five  thousand  tons  of  nads,  hoops, 

and  shapes  annually.  ,    mi    „ 

Iron-works  were  erected  in  Plympton  in  1730  by  Joseph  Thomas 
aiolmes?)  They  were  afterward  owned  by  Joseph  Scot,  a  merchant 
of  Boston,  and  still  later  by  Mr.  Beacham  of  the  same  place, 
rro^rer.  i,,  that  part  of  the  town  now  included  in  Carver  the  first  cast- 
iron  tea-kettle  was  made,  between  the  years  1760  and  1765.  That  im- 
portant utensil  had  beeli  previously  made  of  wrought  iron  and  was 
Lported  from  England.  A  copper  tea-kettle  was  first  used  at  Plymouth, 
whence  Carver  was  chiefly  settled,  in  1702." 

Among  the  primitive  colonists  of  New  England  many  domestic  uten- 
sils of  Iron  with  which  the  humblest  dwellings  are  now  supplied,  were 
Quite  unknown.      Others  were  comparatively  rare,  and  were 
l^rXL  priced  accordingly.     The  inventories  of  property,  and  the  wills 
of  many  persons  of  good  estate,  particularly  enumerate  such  articles  as 
Iron  pots,  of  which  one  or  two  appear  frequently  to  have  comprised   he 
whole  stock.     These  were  often  bequeathed  to  some  member  of  the 
household  as  a  mark  of  esteem.     The  exclusive  use  of  wrought-iron 
tea-kettles,  and  the  extreme  rarity  of  iron  vessels  a  century  ago,  are 
evidences  of  the  limited  production  of  cast-iron  ware,  even  in  the  parent 
country  whence  the  colonists  were  supplied  with  such  things  as  were 
then  in  common  use.     The  profusion  of  such  wares  in  every  department 
of  culinary  service  at  this  time  is  the  result  of  comparatively  recent  im- 

(1)  Le.ley'.  Iron  Manufacturer's  Guide.  (2)  II.  M.S..  HUt.  CoU. 


FURNACES  AND  FORGES  IN    1T31. 


489 


I  and  nails,  which  is 
the  year  1186,  more 

place  in  the  State. 
ton,  where,  in  1815, 
nade.     Jesse  Reed, 

a  machine  to  make 
000  per  diem.     The 
i  in  Bridgcwater. 
1795,  cut  and  rolled 

0  hoop  iron  and  for 

arge  business.     One 

785,  and  now  owned 

14  furnaces,  3  trains 

ne  a  3-ton  Nasmyth) 
s  perhaps  2,000  tons 
Some  others  in  the 
id  80  or  90  nail  ma- 
tons  of  nails,  hoops, 

)  by  Joseph  Thomas 
ph  Scot,  a  merchant 
ra  of  tlie  same  place. ' 
Carver  the  first  cast- 
and  1765.  That  im- 
■ought  iron,  and  was 
irst  used  at  Plymouth, 

1  many  domestic  uten- 
re  now  supplied,  were 
itively  rare,  and  were 
property,  and  the  wills 
nerate  such  articles  as 
to  have  comprised  the 
some  member  of  the 
e  use  of  wrought-iroQ 
lels  a  century  ago,  are 
•are,  even  in  the  parent 
,h  such  things  as  were 
es  in  every  department 
)mparatively  recent  im- 

,  Hiet.  Coll. 


provements  in  this  branch  of  Metallurgy,  and  is  due  to  the  substitution 
of  coke,  and  still  more  of  anthracite,  for  charcoal  in  the  reduction  of  the 
ores. 

About  1751,  a  large  body  of  bog-ore  was  discovered  by  Joseph 
Holmes,  while  angling  in  Jones  river  pond  in  Kingston  or  Tlympton, 
whence  large  quantities  were  for  several  years  taken  for  the  use  of  8 
forge.  The  ore  yielded  about  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  Iron,  which  was 
wideiy  known  as  "  Holmes'  Iron," and  of  material  for  cannon-shot  during 
the  Revolution.  The  forge  site,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the 
Plympton  station  of  the  Old  Colony  railroad,  is  now  known  as  Holmes' 
Annhor  Forge,  to  which  use  it  was  afterward  converted,  and  employs  1 
charcoal  fire,  4  forge  fires,  and  2  hammers  driven  by  water.  It  is  about 
the  oldest  works  now  in  the  country,  and,  with  another  anchor  forge  a 
mile  from  the  Kingston  Depot,  erected  in  1792  as  an  edge-tool  factory, 
and  changed  to  an  anchor  forge  iu  1800,  is  still  owned,  we  believe,  by  a 
descendant  of  the  original  proprietor. 

About  the  date  of  the  erection  of  the  first  forge  in  Plympton  (1731), 
the  number  of  Iron-works  in  New  England,  according  to  the  returns 
made  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  was  six  furnaces  for  holiow- 
iroa-works,  warc,  and  nineteen  forges  or  bloomeries  for  bur-iron.     At  that 
"^^'  time  there  were  no  pig-iron  furnaces  exclusively,  nor  any  re- 

fineries of  pig-metal.     There  was  one  slitting-mill  and  a  manufacture  ol 
nails.      Refineries  were  in    use   within  the  next    sixteen   or    eighteen 
years. ' 

Carver  has  been  long  celebrated  for  its  production  of  iron  castings. 
The  only  grate  factory  now  in  New  England  is  in  South  Carver.  Its 
early  enterprise  in  this  branch  was  sustained  by  a  good  quality  of  b'^g- 
ore,  supplied  by  at  least  a  dozen  ponds  witiiiu  its  limits.  From  one  of 
these,  about  500  tons  were  dragged  yearly.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century,  however,  the  furnaces  were  chiefly  supplied  with  ore  from 
New  Jerscj.  The  charcoal  was  made  from  pine  growing  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, which  was  prefered  to  that  from  other  woods.  One  and  a 
half  cords  were  estimated  to  make  80  bushels  of  charcoal,  and  six  men 
could  make  200  loads  in  three  months.  An  acre  of  well-wooded  land 
yielded  about  20  loads,  which  was  above  the  average.  The  price  paid 
on  delivery  &t  the  furnaces  was  15s.  for  a  load  of  80  bushels,  some  works 
paying  as  high  as  24s.  for  100  bushels.  About  120  bushels  were  re- 
quired to  smelt  one  ton  of  pig-iron.  Each  furnace  employed  eight  or 
nine  men,  besides  wood-cutters,  coalers,  carters,  and  other  common 
laborers.' 

(1)  DougUsg'      British     Settlements    in         (2)  Ibid.  i.  540. 
Aoicrica,  L  640;  li.  109. 


^90  COLONIAL  INDUSTUY  IN  METALS. 

'  «.  u.  .ac. « e.„  .«.he.  of «,.  .--•;rre:T!"n:: 

of  Ibe  proprietors'  of  the  leUeiai  i  .^^  ^^^^^ 

half  miles  from  Plymouth,  --f  J"X  "^^  J.^      It  the  date  of  the 
.it  is  not  inapplicable  to  those  of  an  eaa-^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^,^  ,, 

description    ^^^  J^  "  J^^^^^^^^^^  were  in  operation  for 

castings,    leu  iui(,'=  „*  „f  ♦«,«  hundred  tons  annually. 

and  old  cast-iron  to  the  '^--J^f;;  j";^;'  the  hearth,  and  8  feet 

The  Federal  furnace  was  20  feet  h.gu  a  ^^ 

„«.  i„  the  boshe.     The  b..st  w.  pn,a  the  ™»_^^^_^  ^^^^^^^^^, 

hv  two  hnge  bellows,  iS  leei-  '""fa  ,  T^n  or 

Tho  Federal  »>y  ^^"  "»  „  w«tpr  wheel  25  feet  in  diameter.     Iwoor 

Furnace,      alternate  blasts  by  a  water-w  ftcei  -J  i  „K„„t  fi  months  in 

rhr:'3torr„t^::::':ror::C^^^^^^ 

which  time  3G0  tons  ot  iiouow  expenses  were 

estimated  at  1,200  lbs.  per  nominal  ton  of  all  sizes. 
estimated  as  follows,  viz.: 

.  A  •   .„  1  A-'O  loads  of  charcoal  at  $2.50..$3,550.00 
2,130  cords  of  wood,  converted  into  1,420  loads       en    ^^^^^  ^^ 

726  tons  of  ore,  at  $6 "  ■' 153.32 

Two  sets  of  stoue  for  hearth 3fi0.00 

Compensation  to  the  founder  at  $1  per  ton " 2,331.00 

Ditto  to  the  moulders  and  other  workmen 

$10,750.32 

Total 

ttoe  such  .rtWe,  ..  S.,n.o«r=  P«»  '""■'"  ."'^  „„,  Jutlle., 

».—  irc  edS  at  the  rate  of  .boat  t.o  .*-  pe,  djem  for  c^h 

of  .ho»  resor.o,«.  /  ^j^^^'t^je.,  «.d  conrider.Ue  ,a...ti.ie. 
;lTa:"o'"„tr;::e..    Xh,^har,otte  faraaee  in  that  towa 

(1)  II.  Mum.  Hiat.  Coll.  Ix.  258-264. 


SUTTINO-MirXS— PAr.LIAMENT   PROIIIBITlNd   TIIKM.  401 


;ter  of  the  furnaces 
imes  Toiicher,   one 
arver,  seven  and  a 
n-h  written  iu  1804, 
At  the  date  of  the 
ore  had  nearly  or 
ere  in  operation  for 
bar-iron  from  scraps 
3  annually. 

!  hearth,  and  8  feet 
!  manner  of  that  day 
in  width,  producing 
n  diameter.  Two  or 
1  about  6  months,  in 
tings  were  produced, 
The  expenses  were 


rcoalat$2.50..$3,550.00 
4,356.00 

\'"_". '.,... 153.32 

'""'"," 3fi0.00 

|_3"...". 2,331.00 

$10,750.32 

rnace  produced  at  that 
slitting-mills  (patented 
linders,  potash  Icettles, 
anvils,  large  hammers, 
in  great  variety, 
were  early  erected  for 
jonds  in  the  town.   The 
instniment  similar  to  an 
)  t(«i/  per  diem  for  each 
ilf  a  ton  a  day.     About 
1  richer  deposit  of  the 
mpset  Poud,  the  largest 
eforlh  obtained  from  it, 
[  considerable  quantities 
itte  furnace  iu  that  towa 

-264. 


was  oroctcd  in  1756,  and  is  still  in  operation  in  its  one  hundred  and 
tliirteonth  year.  It  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Matt  Ellis  &  Co.,  and 
employs  about  80  bands. 

The  first  rolling  and  slitting  mills  in  New  England  were  erected  in 
Middleboro.  In  1750,  when  a  particular  account  of  all  such  establish- 
FirRt  Slitting  ™e"ts  was  called  for  by  the  Act  for  encouraging  the  importa- 
"'""•  tion  of  Pig  and  Bar  Iron  from  America,  and  prohibiting  the 

erection  of  any  slitting  or  rolling  mills,  plating  forges,  or  steel  furnaces, 
there  were  two  of  the  first-mentioned  class  in  Middleboro,  one  in  Ilan  ■ 
over,  and  one  in  Milton.  The  Province  also  had  in  operation  one 
plating-forge  with  a  tilt-himmer  and  one  steel  furnace.  The  rolling- 
mills  were  chiefly  employed  in  making  nail-rods,  from  which  spikes  and 
large  nails  were  already  made  in  great  abundance,  and  cheaper  than 
they  could  be  imported,  which  was  not  the  case,  however,  wilii  small 
nails.  In  addition  to  one  regular  factory  for  wrouijht  nails,  the  farmers, 
at  leisure  seasons,  hammered  many  large  nails  and  spikes  as  a  household 
industry,  which  in  the  aggregate  was  very  considerable. 

So  arbitrary  an  exercise  of  legislative  authority  as  that  part  of  the 
Act  above  mentioned  which  virtuuliy  interdicted  all  manufacture  uf  Iron, 
iToii  oitioa  save  of  the  rough  material,  while  that  product  of  colonial  labor 
of  Slitting  ^yjjg  Q„]y  admitted  duty  free  into  London,  where  the  market 
i^-*'-  was  always  glutted  with  foreign  Iron,  met  with  strong  repro- 

bation on  the  part  of  Massachusetts.  The  Colonies  of  New  England 
were  always,  on  account  of  the  greater  progress  there  made  in  all 
the  mechanical  and  laborious  arts,  the  smullest  exporters  of  eitiier 
pig  or  bar  iron,  and  the  largest  importers  of  bar  iron  and  steel.  The 
selfishness  of  the  policy  which  compelled  them  to  send  all  their  crude 
Iron  at  great  cost  to  Great  Britain,  and  to  receive  from  a  distant  source 
all  the  nails,  steel,  and  finished  products  of  foreign  Iron  for  ♦lie  benefit 
of  the  shipping  and  a  few  interested  classes  in  England,  rendereii  the 
injustice  of  the  measure  still  more  irksome.  The  framers  of  the  bill 
doubtless  considered  the  concessions  made  a  fair  equivalent  for  the  re- 
strictions imposed.  Massachusetts  nevertheless  declared  the  Act  to  be 
an  infringement  of  her  natural  rights,  and  other  Colonies  considered  it 
no  less  unfair.  We  are  not  aware  that  any  manufactories  of  the  pro- 
hibited class  were  set  up  in  the  State  during  the  remainder  of  its  Colo- 
nial history,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  a  few  tilt-hammers,  one 
of  which  was  erected  in  Enfield,  Hampshire  ^unty,  about  liie  year 

1773. 

Wareham,  Halifax,  Dighton,  Weymouth,  and  other  towns  in  Eastern 
Massachusetts,  were  early  engnged  in  some  branches  of  the  Iron-manu- 
facture.    The  Leonards  owned  a  furnace  at  Wareham  at  the  beginning 


t  _ 


492 


COLONIAL   INDUSTRY   IN    METALS. 


Of  this  century.     The  two  counties  of  Tlymouth  and  Bristol  had  m  ope- 
t         n  S  fourteen  Wast  and  six  air  furnaces,  twenty  forges  and 
r    ling  and  slitting  n.ills.  in  addition  to  a  number  of  tnp-haminers 
Td     great'number  of  nail  and  smith  shops.     The  furnaces  were  e  ti- 
nated  to  produce  annually  1,500  to  1,800  tons  of  Iron-ware  and  the 
f'ges  upward  of  1,000  tons  of  bar-iron  one  year  with  another.    Th 
0  u;  and  slitting  mills  produced  at  least  1.500  tons  per  annum  _  Many 
[™hes  of  Iron  and  Steel  manufacture  had  grown  up  in  the  ne.ghbor- 
hod      Cut  and  hammered  nails,  spades  and  shovels,  card-teethsaws^ 
irthes,  metal  buttons,  cannon-balls,  bells,  fire-arms,  sheet-iron  for  tin 
ware  wire,  etc.,  were  mode  in  large  quantities. 

T;  Am  sbury.  in  Essex  County,  a  furnace  was  erected  about  the 
vearngO  and  a  bloomery  forge  in  Boxboro,  near  the  same  time.  Sev- 
^  ral  kinds  of  tools  and  agricultural  implements  were  made  m 

^:^'''  tUe  former  place.     The  machine  for  cutting  and  heading  nails 
invented  by.  Jacob  Perkins,  of  the  neighboring  town  of  Newburyport 
rout  1790  was  first  used  at  Amesbury.'     This  machine  was  patented 
January  16trm5.  and  was  said  to  be  capable  of      ming  out  200,000 
n  ils7  a  1;.     a;  Amesbury.  where  the  mach'  .re  in  operation 

Z^  in  n08  they  were  worked  by  water-powc..  and  the  nails  were 
Ts     red  slpe  ior  :«  those  from  England,  while  they  sold  20  per  cent, 
ch  Ipcr '    The  proprietors,  we  believe,  were  Jacob  Perkins  and  Jona- 
baa  Ellis,  who.  being  more  intent  on  the  machinery  than  the  success  of 


(1)  This  ingenious  nrti.«an  was  born  at 
Nc«buryport.  in  July,  1766.     At  the  ..RO  of 
fifteen  he  assumed  the  management  of  the 
Koldsmith  business  of  his  deceased  master, 
and  gave  early  evidence  of  the  mechanical 
genius  which  placed  him  among  the  first  of 
American  inventors.    He  made  gold  beads 
and  shoe-buckles  in  a  superior  manner,  and 
invented  a  new  method  of  plating  the  latter. 
At  twenty-one  he  made  dies  for  the  Massachu- 
«etu  mint,  and  at  twenty-four  invented  the 
flail  machine,  which  involved  him  in  difficul- 
ties   He  afterward  removed  to  Philadelphia, 
as  furnishing  the  best  field  for  his  talents,  and 
.nbsequently  to  London,  where  he  prose- 
outed  his  inventions,  and  conducted  the  en- 
graving business  with  Fairman  A  Heath 
Vew  have  done  more  to  raise  the  fame  of 
American  ingenuity  abroad.    We  have  not 
.pace  here  to  notice  his  numerous  inven- 
tions.   He  took  out  seventeen  patents  in 


the   United  States  and  a  number  in  Eng- 
land.    Among  the  principal  of  these  were 
the  nail  machine,  the  stereotype  check  plate, 
improvements  in  steam  boilers  and  engines ; 
in  decarbonizing  and  hardening  steel  for  the 
indenting  cylinders  of  engravers;  a  method 
of  boring  cannon ;  for  steam  artillery  and 
other   gunnery;   apparatus  for  ventilating 
rooms  and  holds  of  ships ;  for  a  ship's  pump ; 
rivets  for  fire-engine  hose;  a  method  of 
drawing  off  back-water  from  water-wheels. 
He  also  demonstrated  the  compressibility  of 
water,  and   invented   the  bathometer  and 
pleometer,  and  made  numerous  experiment* 
on  the  theory  and  practical  applications  of 
steam.     Many  of  bis  inventions  were  re- 
warded by  the  gold  and  silver  medals  of  the 
Society  of  Arts,  in  London,  and  were  hon- 
orably mentioned  by  scientific  and  mechani- 
cal journals  and  societies. 
(2)  Morse'i  Univ.  Geog. 


■WESTERN   MASSACHUSETTS — WOUCKSTEn   COUNTY. 


403 


3ristol  had  in  ope- 
tweuty  forges  and 
jr  of  trip-hammers 
Furnaces  were  esti- 
;ron-ware,  and  the 
ith  another.  The 
per  annum.  Many 
ip  in  the  neighbor- 
s,  card-teeth,  saws, 
,  sheet-iron  for  tin 

erected  about  the 
e  same  time.  Sev- 
icnts  were  made  in 
;  and  heading  nails, 
n  of  Newburyport, 
ichine  was  patented 
rning  out  200,000 
ere  in  operation 
,  and  the  nails  were 
ey  sold  20  per  cent. 

Perkins  and  Jona- 
'  than  the  success  of 

a  and  a  number  in  Eng- 
3  principal  of  these  were 
jhe  stereotype  ciieolc  plate, 
iteam  boilers  and  engines ; 
ind  hardening  steel  for  the 
rs  of  engravers;  a  method 
i;  for  steam  artillery  and 
apparatus  for  ventilating 
(f  ships;  for  a  ship's  pump  J 
igine  hose;  a  method  of 
L-Wftter  from  water-wheels, 
■ated  the  compressibility  of 
nted   the  bathometer  and 
lade  numerous  experiment* 
id  practical  applications  of 
f  his  inventions  were  re- 
jld  and  silver  medals  of  the 
in  London,  and  were  hon- 
i  by  Bcientiflo  and  meohani- 
Bocieties. 
niv.  Qeog.      ■ 


their  business,  eventually  became  involved,  and  discontinued  the  busi- 
ness 

Although  the  numerous  deposits  of  bog-iron  ore  in  the  Tertiary  for- 
mation of  the  seaboard  were  the  first  and  principal  resource  of  the  early 

Iron-manufacturers  in  Massacluu.etts,  tliey  are  of  far  less  con- 
weswa""    sequence,  notwithstanding  the  renewal  of  the  ma?s  after  certain 

intervals,  than  the  brown  hematite  and  magnetic  ores  of  the 
Western  counties.  The  most  abundant  and  valuable  of  the  primary  ore 
beds  are  found  in  the  Berkshire  hills,  or  Green  Mountain  range,  on  the 
western  and  northwestern  borders  of  the  State,  where  tliey  are  continu- 
ous with  similar  deposits  in  the  adjacent  States  of  New  Ilampsliire, 
Yermont,  Connecticut,  and  New  York.  In  less  quantity.  Iron  ore  occurri 
Worcester  ^^^^o  in  Several  places  in  Worcester  and  Hampshire  Counties, 
couuiy.  Several  towns  in  the  former  contain  the  sulphurets  of  iron, 
lead,  and  zinc,  arsenical  iron  ore,  and  the  carbonate  or. steel  ore,  though 
nowhere  in  any  great  quantities.  The  general  diifusion  of  the  yellow 
pyritous  scales  through  the  rocks  in  the  western  part  of  Worcester  led, 
in  tlie  last  century,  to  several  extensiv  explorations  for  gold  and  silver. 
A  vein  of  galena  discovered  in  the  town,  in  association  with  a  small 
proportion  of  silver,  led,  about  the  year  1754,  to  mining  operations  in 
which  considerable  money  was  expended.  Arsenical  Iron  and  the  more 
valuable  carbonate  also  abound,  but  we  do  not  find  any  mention  of  a 
<'orge  or  furnace  for  smelting  the  latter. 

At  Furnace  Village,  in  llardwick,  a  furnace  was  erected  on  the  river 
Ware  previous  to  1773,  by  Joseph  Washbourne,  of  Braintree,  who,  on 
petition,  received  from  the  General  Court  a  grant  of  a  limestone  tract 
near  Ashfield  for  the  use  of  the  furnace.  Iron  wares  were  made  at 
Hardwick  for  some  time  in  considerable  quantity.  Bloomery  forges 
were  erected  in  the  towns  of  Meudon,  Harvard,  and  Western,  and  a 
refining  forge  in  Douglass  previous  to  1793.  Western,  which  had  also 
a  scythe  manufactory,  furnished  some  ore  for  the  forge ;  and  a  mine  in 
Uxbridge  supplied  the  forge  in  Douglass,  which  stood  near  the  line. 
In  the  western  part  of  Brookfield  was  a  pond,  whence  a  good  amount 
of  bog-ore  was  annually  taken,  probably  for  the  forge  at  Western,  as 
none  is  mentioned  in  the  town.  This  town  also  contains  considerable 
sulphate  of  iron,  from  which  copperas  was  extracted.  A  manufactory 
of  copperas  was  many  years  ago  set  up  in  Ilubbardston,  where  much  of 
the  sulphate  also  exits.  In  Sterling,  where  the  carbonate  of  iron  occurs, 
ar«  also  found  the  sulphurets  of  zinc  and  lead,  which,  near  the  close  of 
the  last  cent'j'-y,  led  to  extensive  search  for  precious  metals. 

The  prevalent  infatuation  of  the  period  on  the  subject  of  precious 
metals,  and  the  fallacious  guidance  of  "  mineral  rods,"  led  also  to  the 


^94  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 

formation,  in  17^3,  of  a  company  of  twenty-five  persons,  under  the  di- 
-ection  of  Messrs.  Ives  &  Peck,  to  mine  for  silver  ore  in  the  town  of 
Harvard  The  search  was  continued  through  the  superimposed  earth 
.nd  forty  feet  into  solid  rock,  but  was  abandoned  in  1789,  alter  expenu^ 

[us  about  $1,100.  .      trr     .     •      *„„         A 

Irou-works  were  erected  about  the  year  1793  in  Westminster.     A 
manufactory  of  cut-nails  and  a  trip-hammer  were  in  operation  in  tha 
Town.     In  Northboro,  on  .he  Assabet  river,  was  also  an  Iron-works,  fo 
wllh  the  town  furnished  a  good  supply  of  bog-ore.      t  a  so  contaiued 
a  manufactory  of  edge-tools,  of  different  kinds  and  excellent  qua  ty 

The  county  was  early  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  edge-tools,  hard- 
>vare,  n^achinery,  and  other  branches  of  Iron-manufacture,  in  several 
of  which  it  still  takes  a  prominent  position.    As  '"^ny  as  seven- 
;Lo'?.r;a.  teen  trip-hammers  are  mentioned  by  Whitney  in  1793      Of 
Ji^el*rr-  these, -seven  were  in  the  town  of  Sutton,  which  had  five  s  ythe 
iiortuburo.    ^^^  ^^    ^^^    one   hoe    manufactory,  and    several   naileries. 
These  were  situaJed  on  Mill  brook,  which  also  supplied  power  to  paper 
oi    fulling,  powder,  grist,  and  saw  mills  in  such  number  as  to  me  it  its 
name  and  render  the  town  famous  for  its  manufactories.     Ihe  town 
I  we;rr  had  no  iron-mine,  forge,  or  furnace.    A  gun  factory  was  erected 
on  the  same  stream  in  1776,  which,  after  the  war,  was  converted  into  a 
n  a  1  tory  of  scythes,  axes,  mill  irons,  etc.     Leicester  six  mi  es  fr  « 
Worcester  on  the  great  post-road  from  Boston  to  Philadelphia,  had  also 
^a     m  us  gunsn.;!h,  Thomas  Earle,  who  was  supposed  to  equal  any 
workman  in  the  U.  States  in  that  branch  of  business, '     It  had  one  tnp- 
Lmmer.  and  a  manufactory  of  cotton  and  wool  cards,  which  employed 
0^2     men.  exclusive  of  many  women  and  children,  and  made  annu- 
ally  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  pair  of  cards.     There  was  also  a  card 
factory  in  RuthMid,  recently  established,  and  one  truj^iammer.     Grafton 
had  three  of  the  last-named  machines  in  operation,  Worcester  two,  and 
Brookfield  two,  the  last  owned  by  Mr.  Jenks,  who,  in  addition  to  mills 
on  the  Chicopee,  carried  on  the  blacksmith  business  extensively,  his  ham- 
Tors  being  driven  by  water.     Westboro,  in  this  county,  gave  bir  h  to 
he  ingenious  Kli  Whitney,  whose  mechanical  talents  were  emp  oyed 
during  the  Revolution  in  the  humble  occupation  of  making  nails  by 
■      hand,  a  business  which  everywhere  received  a  great  impulse  from  th. 
RPnrcitv  created  by  that  event. 

I     he  limestone  and  slate  of  the  Connecticut  valley,  in  the  old  County 

of  Hampshire,  several  rich  beds  of  magnetic  ore,  and  some  micaceous 

'ore  occur,  particularly  in  Rernardston.  Hawley  (now  in  Frnnk- 

E."""      linj  and  Chester,  in  Hampden  County.     Some  of  these  con- 

talu  over  80  per  cent,  of  the  sesqui  and  peroxyds.  ns  thut  of  Ilernardstoi, ; 


mm 


BPBINOFIELD — BERKSHIRE   COUNTY. 


496 


jersons,  under  the  di- 
!r  ore  in  the  town  of 
3  superimposed  earth 
in  1189,  alter  expend- 
in  Westminster.     A 
I  in  operation  in  that 
,lso  an  Iron-works,  for 
)re.     It  also  contained 
1  excellent  quality, 
ire  of  edge-tools,  hard- 
lanufacture,  in  several 
on.    As  many  as  seven- 
Whitney  in  1793.     Of 
,  which  had  five  scythe, 
and    several   naileries, 
pplied  power  to  paper, 
number  as  to  merit  its 
lufactories.     The  town, 
gun  factory  was  erected 
IT,  was  converted  into  a 
Leicester,  six  miles  from 
3  Philadelphia,  had  also 
supposed  to  equal  any 
uess."     It  had  one  trip- 
cards,  which  employed 
lildren,  and  made  anuu- 
There  was  also  a  card 
!  trip-hammer.     Grafton 
ion,  Worcester  two,  and 
vho,  in  addition  to  mills 
less  extensively,  his  ham- 
is  county,  gave  birth  to 
1  talents  were  employed 
tion  of  making  nails  by 
great  impulse  from  thu 

valley,  in  the  old  County 
ore,  and  some  micaceous 
I,  Hawlcy  (now  in  Frnnk- 
ity.  Some  of  Iheae  con- 
Is,  as  that  of  Ilernurdst.Mi ; 


but  attempts  to  smelt  it  toward  the  end  of  ihe  last  centuiy  were  not  very 
successful,  on  account,  it  is  supposed,  of  an  associated  oxyd  of  manga- 
nese. Of  earlier  attempts  to  make  Iron  in  that  part  of  the  country  we 
have  r"  account. 

Springfield,  on  the  Chicopee,  was  the  first  town  settled  in  Western 
Massachusetts,  but  its  growth  was  long  retarded  by  Indian  hostility 
spiiuiffleid  I*'^  central  and  inland,  yet  accessible,  situation  recommended  it 
Armory.  ^^  ^^  Qjjgg  gj^f^  j^„^  convenient  for  a  recruiting  station,  a  depot 
for  military  stores,  and  a  place  for  the  repair  and  manufacture  of  the 
munitions  of  war  during  the  Revolution.  The  main  street  of  the  town 
was  soon  occupied  by  the  shops  of  artisans  employed  in  the  pul)lic  ser- 
vice, until  at  length,  in  1718  and  '79,  tlic  Government  works  were  estab- 
lished on  a  portion  of  their  present  site  on  the  hill.  Some  cannon  were 
cast  and  forging  done  here  during  the  war,  but  small  arms  were  not 
made  until  after  the  peace.  When  the  establishment  of  a  national 
armory  engaged  the  attention  of  Congress  in  1794,  the  favorable  situa- 
tion of  Springfield,  and  the  commencement  already  made  there,  led  to 
its  selection  as  one  of  the  sites  of  national  works,  and  to  much  of  the 
subsequent  prosperity  of  the  place.  The  other  was  established  at  Har- 
per's Ferry. 

In  Berkshire  County,  which  contains  the  most  valuable  Iron  ores  of 
the  Stale,  mining  and  the  manufacture  of  Iron  has  been  carried  on  for  a 
n,.rkHiiire  <-'entury  or  more.  The  beds  of  brown  hydrate  of  Iron  arc  nu- 
coimty.  merous  and  extensive  throughout  the  county,  at  the  edge  of  the 
Lower  Silurian  limestone  of  the  Berkshire  valley.  In  many  places  this 
ore  is  of  the  fibrous  and  concntionary  kind,  whioh  are  its  purest  varieties, 
but  generally  is  in  the  forms  of  compact  ore  and  the  red  and  yellow 
ouiires.  The  most  abundant  deposits,  which  are  wrought  in  open  quar- 
ries, are  in  the  towns  of  West  Stockbridge,  Richmond,  Lenox,  Lanes- 
boro,  Cheshire,  Tyringluim,  Great  Harrington,  and  rilt.sfiold.  These 
valuable  ores  contain  from  30  to  GO  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron,  and  some 
beds  have  yielded  100,000  tons  without  signs  of  exhaustion.  A  nu  ;ibor 
of  cold  blast  charcoal  furnaces  ha  e  bnen  long  engaged  in  making  supe- 
rior forgo  iron  of  the  quality  known  as  the  "  Salisbury  brand,"  the  ore 
being  of  the  same  character  as  that  of  the  celebrated  Salisbury  mines  ia 
Litchfield  County,  Connecticut,  and  with  ore  beds  in  Vermont  and  New 
York,  for  which  it  is  frequently  interchanged.  The  production  of  thig 
kind  of  Iron  is  now  limited  by  tiio  scarcity  of  charcoal,  and  the  warm 
and  hot  blast  and  anthracite  are  omployetl  in  several  furnaces  which 
make  soft  foundery  and  car- wheel  iron.  The  infusii)lc  nature  of  the 
gnngue,  whii'li  almost  invariably  contains  manganese,  is  also  more  readily 
overcome  by  these  means. 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS. 


496 

of  that  daj,  "''I"  »°«     >       '  I  ^„„„„„    f„„,  „„.  1„  the  t«w„. 

-"rwe::  rtS.  *::...» .,» . « >..  ..,„«.»...*- 1- 

': tth  «r    a  oT,rn,:iU,„c  cu,,...  or  .,.  state  a„„f»et  ,.,u- 
growui  niimitions  have  come  to  our  knowledge. 

er-       ,„„,„  operative,  they  .ce  »peo,iil;  n,aH„,l.ed.        '«  "»™^ 
of  two  e.tabli«l..»onts  in  tl.rco  of  tl,.  B«te™  counues  "J         Stale 
Z  ms  ..  Ctrmshed  to  Pr.  Morse  l,v  tl,e  propmaor  of  one  of  t^""."" 
^  Vive  of  thee  >vero  in  Bristol  County,  viz.,  to  ee  m  Taunton, 

Tfn     cut   nails    and   the   ronmindcr  for  common    na.l-rods.       Fl  e 
and  for  «;  \  ""''•;;     ,,    ^,,^.,,  ,  l,,ll-f.>„r.dery  was  also  erected  ,n 
n  rwr    n  1      n  r^ard  the  town  of  Canton.  ..d  cut  ,  -d  rolled 
otLneVt  four  years  about  1.000  tons  of  Iron,  chiedy  llussuvn  Iron, 
wh   1  at  t  e  time'wa«  largely  imported.'     Messrs.  Leonard  &  K.nsh,s 
!    C  nton  made  annually,  from  the  year  HOO  to  1797.  from  l.'-.O  to  2  0 
nilUaws    The  town  also  contained  at  the  latter  date  a  forge  and  scy  le 
Zpn  which  two  to  three  hundred  dozen  scythes  were  made  annually 
Some  stee   was  also  made  the.e  from  crude  iron  by  the  '^man  process^ 
Mm  savH  considered  the  best  in  the  S.ato,  were  also  ma.le  at  Kaston 
^a     ul;       The  Steel-manufacture  was    introduced    i.J    the  town     n 
nST  by  Eliphalet  Leonard.      The  article  was  made  in  cons.dera    e 
"mount'and  cheaper  than  imported  Steel.     In  quality,  though  su.tabU 

Uuen.,n«il-r.Ml.anl  ro!M  l.tM.  rorhu,>pi, 


IRON   WIRP. — CARD  MANUFACTORIES. 


497 


ron-Works  Company 
the  cha'-coal  furnaces 
Liilt  with  three  tuyeres 
ore  in  the  town, 
abundant,  three  Iron- 
(vs  were  built  at  Pitts- 
iiic,  near  the  hematite 

I  been  of  more  recent 
State,  and  fewer  par- 
to  our  knowledge, 
ipivl  manufactures  frosa 
ibraced  many  classes  of 
;a  mentioned  ;  and  tha 
vas  far  greater  than  iu 
se,  rolling  and  slitting 
•ly  erected.     After  the 
3uch  machinery  was  no 
ulliplied.     The  number 

II  counties  of  the  State 
etor  of  one  of  them,  was 

viz.,  til  ee  in  Taunton, 
ere  two  at  Bridgewater, 
)uth  County,  and  one  at 
County.     Tlicy  cut  and 
110  were  rolled  for  hoops 
immon    nail-rods.      Tiie 
lery  was  also  erected  in 
iinton,  and  cut  .  id  rolled 
on,  chiedy  Hussian  Iron, 
ssrs.  Leonard  &  Kinsley, 
to  1797.  fiom  l.')OtoaitO 
er  date  a  f<jrge  an'l  scythe 
thcH  were  made  annually, 
n  by  the  'German  process. 
re  also  made  at  Easton  at 
roduced    in    the  town   in 
viis  made  in  considpraV)le 
n  quality,  though  suitable 

e  of  their  rM^nP"  conMi.lin»  of 
„.mp,  »nil  tlax.  I"  '>»  uimiufao- 
e  euliiitry. 


for  coarse  work,  such  as  plowshares,  mill  saws,  horseshoe^  wbif  h  con- 
sumed great  quantities,  it  was  much  inferior  to  foreign  stetl  for  edge- 
tools  and  cutlery. 

Slittiug-mills  for  cutting  American  iron  were  in  operation  also  at 
Dighton,  and  probably  other  towns  in  Suffolk  and  Middlesex  coo  ities. 

Colonel  Paul  Revere  was  the  proprietor  of  a  fouudery  on  Lynn  street. 
Boston,  where  cannon  and  bells,  which  since  the  Peace  had  been  chielly 
imported,  were  made.  Very  neat  brass  cannon  were  cast  at  this  fourdevy. 
and  many  iron  articles,  such  as  cabooses,  stoves,  clothiers'  j-'at'is. 
chimney-hearths,  anvils,  forge-hammers,  and  whatever  was  out  o*  the 
ordinary  way,  if  patterns  ,vere  left. 

The  nianulacture  of  wool-cards  by  hand  was  commenced  in  Be  jton 
before  the  Revolution.     In  1788,  Mr.  Giles  Richards  formed  a  comi-uny 
wire  card,     to  Carry  on  the  business  by  newly-invented  and  improved  nia- 
bynLachiuory.  j.j,j„^,py  ^f  j\^n,erican  invention,  which  it  is  very  probiii)le  was 
mainly  that  invented  several  years  before  by  Oliver  P>an8  for  cult'  \g 
and  bending  card-teeth  and  piercing  the  leathers.     They  established  *> 
manufactory  near  \Vindmill  bridge,  where  the  card-boards  were  cut  I  y 
wind-power,  one  man  at  a  machine  being  able  to  cut  and  bend  in  twelv« 
hours  sufficient  wire  for  twenty  dozen  cards,  at  a  saving  of  one-half  tii© 
labor  of  any  previous  method.     This  factory  was  visited  iu  the  following 
year  by  President  Washington,  who  was  informed  that  about  900  luindsi 
were  employed  iu  it,  and  03,000  pair  of  cards  (of  all  kinds)  had  beei» 
made  in  a  year.     They  undersold   the  imported,  and  had  even  been 
smuggled  into  England.     The  business  was  also  carried  on  by  Mark 
Richards  &  Co.  near  Eaneuil  Hall  market,  in  1794,  and  the  manufacture 
then  employed  about   1200   persons  (chielly  women  and  children)   iu 
slicking  the  teeth.     Four-lil'ths  of  the  curds  made  in  the  State  were  by 
theso  factories,  and  were  largely  exported  to  the  Southern  States.     In 
1797,  Amos  Whitlemore,  an  ingenious  gunsmith,  who,  with  Ids  brothei 
William,  had  been  connected  with  Giles  Richards  &  Co.,  and  the  previous 
year  had  taken  out  three  patents,  including  one  for  cutting  nails,  re- 
ceived letters-patent  for  his  card-making  machinery.     Previous  to  IIiIn 
the  Whittemores  hud  established  a  third  considerable  card  factory  ir. 
Boston,  in  which  the  old  machinery  was  employed.     The  three  factorie,, 
at  this  time  manufactured  about  12,000  dozen  of  cotton  and  wool  cards, 
which  consumed  nearly  200  casks  of  wire,  averaging  $130  per  cask, 
85,000  tanned  sheep  and  culf-skius,  worth  37^  cts.  each,  and  emplovoit 
nearly  2,000  children  and  GO  men.     There  were  three  smaller  fuct..rii> 
in  Boston,  and  2,000  to  3,000  do/en  cards  were  made  yearly  in  oilie: 
parts  of  tlie  Slate.     The  wire  consumed  by  them  was  made  at  Dcdliam, 
where  a  wire-mill  was  erected  ut  considerable  expense  for  the  use  ot  the 


498 


COLONIAL  INDVSTRY  IN  METALS. 


card  and  llsh-hook  makers  of  Boston.  The  wonderful  piece  of  mechan- 
ism devised  by  Amos  Wliittemorc  created  a  complete  revo'.uMon  m  the 
business  in  England  and  America,  by  reducing  all  the  successive  opera- 
tions of  holding  and  piercing  the  leather,  drawing  the  wire  from  the 
reel  cutting  and  bending  the  card  tooth,  inserting  and  finally  shaping 
the  'tooth,  to  a  series  of  rapid,  precise,  and  completely  automatic  move- 
ments. Sheet-cards  for  cotton  and  wool,  hatters'  cards,  and  clothiers- 
cards  and  jacks,  were  made  with  great  rapidity  and  cheapness  by  its  aid. 
It  was  introduced  into  England  by  Mr.  Dyer. 

Tiiis  machine  and  those  of  Perkins  and  Jesse  Reed,  before  mentioned, 
for  cutting  and  heading  nails  by  one  operation,  a  modification  of  the  last 
xaiis  1,        l^y  Thomas  Odiornc  of  Maiden,  Mass.,  who  adapted  it  for  cit- 
n.aihiu^ry.   ^i„g  ij,.n(ig^  anj  gome  other  improved  nail  machines,  were  re- 
garded in  England  as  possessing  uncommon  merit.     They  were  adapted 
citlier   to    steam,  water,  or   horse    power,  and   were    soon   employed 
abroad,  and  within  a  few  years  enabled  this  country  not  only  to  sup- 
ply an  enormous  demand  for  tacks  and  nails,  Init  to  export  vast  quan- 
titles  to  foreign  countries.     The  manufacture  of  nails,  an  early  branch 
of  industry  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  subject  of  120  American  patents 
from  nOO  to  Sept.,  1825,  was  on  account  of  its  importance,  strongly 
recommended  to  the  people  of  that  Colony  by  the  Provincial  Assembly, 
in  December,  1774,  when  war  had  become  imminent.     Steel,  tin  plates, 
fire-arms,  which  had  been  made  in  several  parts  of  the  Colony  previ- 
ouslv,  gun  and  other  locks,  and  wool-cards  were  also  commended  as 
deseVving  of  special   attention,  with  several  branches  of  non-metallic 
manufacture.     For  several  years  following  the  Peace,  however,  the  nail- 
makers  and  all  other  artificers  in  Iron,  in  common  with  the  proprietors 
of  furnaces  and  forges,  liad  to  contend  with  an  overflow  of  foreign  manu- 
factures to  an  impoverisliing  extent.     At  this  critical  period    in  the 
flnancial  history  of  the  State  and  the  nation,  when,  in  addition  to  the 
unpaid  State  and  Federal  debts  of  the  Revolution,  the  liabilities  of  all 
tlie  States  were  increased  liy  a  ruinous  balance  of  trade.  Governor  How- 
doin,  wlio  had  ever  been  a  friend  of  manufactures,  was  elected  to  the 
cliief  magistracy  of  the  Commonwealth.     In  his  first  message  to  the 
legislature,  in   1785,  ho   advised   that  the  credit  of  the  State  should 
bo  maintained  at  all  hazards,  and  ade(iuato  power  be  given-  to  the  Fedc- 
ral  Congress  to  retrieve  the  "ational  credit  and  finances  by  a  regulation 
of  the  coramorco  with  foreign  nations.     To  this  end  ho  recommended  a 
convention  of  the  several  States  for  the  revision  of  the  Constitution. 
Tlio  State  legislature,  by  Ids  advice,  passed  an  Act,  to  be  of  temporary 
force,  laying  duties  with  a  view  to  the  encouragement  of  its  manufrtc- 
tures'     In  u  message  in  February  of  the  following  year,  he  called  upoo 


STATE  AND  FEDERAL  PROTECTIVE  DUTIES. 


499 


■ful  piece  of  racchan- 
cte  revo'.uMon  in  the 
tlie  successive  opera- 
g  tiie  wire  from  the 
5  and  finally  shaping 
tely  automatic  move- 
cards,  and  clothiers' 
cheapness  by  its  aid. 

ed,  before  mentioned, 
lodification  of  the  last 
ho  adapted  it  for  cU- 
lil  machines,  were  re- 
They  were  adapted 
were    soon    employed 
itry  not  only  to  sup- 
to  export  vast  quan- 
nuils,  an  early  branch 
120  American  patents 
i  importance,  stroiiirly 
Provincial  Assembly, 
-nt.     Steel,  tin  i)lates, 
of  the  Colony  previ- 
u  also  commended  as 
,nchcs  of  non-metallic 
ace,  however,  the  nail- 
11  with  the  proprietors 
Tdow  of  foreign  nianu- 
critical  period    in  the 
ion,  in  addition  to  the 
)n,  the  liabilities  of  all 
trade,  Governor  IJow- 
■es,  was  elected  to  the 
s  first  message  to  the 
t  of  the  State  should 
r  be  given-  to  the  Fedc« 
Inances  by  a  regulation 
end  ho  recommended  ft 
n  of  the  Constitution. 
Let,  to  bo  of  temporary 
gement  of  its  manufuc- 
ig  year,  he  called  upon 


them  to  do  something  for  the  further  protection  of  Iron,  stating  that 
Mr.  John  Noyea,  who  had  recently  returned  from  Europe,  informed  him 
he  had  while  there  obtained  a  perfect  acquaintance  with  several  branches 
of  the  Iron-manufacture,  and  of  the  machines  used  in  manufacturing 
iron  and  steel,  including  tnu  "construction  and  use  of  ti:e  new  invented 
steam-engine,  very  necessary  in  those  operations,  and  which  may  be 
advantageously  employed  in  many  others."  Mr.  Noyes,  who  was  the 
bearer  of  a  letter  t.-^m  Hon.  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  Minister  at 
London,  recommending  his  projects  for  introducing  some  new  manufac- 
tures, was  willing,  in  connection  with  his  partner  Col.  Revere,  and  under 
suitable  encouragement  from  the  legislature,  to  erect  works  for  carrying 
on  these  branches  to  considerable  extent.  Circumstanced  as  they  then 
were,  Mr.  Bowdoin  deemed  it  highly  necessary  to  encourage  every 
useful  and  practicable  manufacture,  especially  that  of  Iron,  which  in 
those  respects  might  vie  with  any.  As  it  must,  with  the  proposed  im- 
provements, prove  highly  beneficial  to  the  Commonwealth,  he  strongly 
recommended  this  branch  to  their  favorable  consideration.' 

Under  Governor  Hancock,  encouragement  by  the  legislature  was  ex- 
tended. Ill  the  system  of  duties,  however,  enacted  by  Congress  under 
the  new  Constitution,  which  Bowdoin  early  and  strongly  urged  as  the 
best  remedy  for  the  industrial  interests  of  the  country,  the  protection 
given  to  the  iron,  steel,  and  especially  the  nail  manufactures,  though 
small  in  amount,  was  a  concession  to  the  industry  of  Massachusetts  and 
one  or  two  other  States.  The  impost  of  one  cent  per  pound  on  spikes, 
nails,  tacks,  and  brads,  proposed  in  April,  1189,  was  opposed  by  several 
Southern  members  as  a  burden  upon  ship-building  and  the  improvement 
of  estates,  and  as  beariv  j  unequally  upon  the  States  north  and  south, 
inasmuch  as  the  former  made  enough  for  domestic  consumption,  and 
therefore  would  not  feel  it.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  stated  that  great 
quantities  were  made  for  exportation  in  Massachusetts  and  rennsyl- 
vania,  and  probably  other  States,  and  enough  might  soon  bo  made  to 
supply  all  North  America.  Mr.  Ames,  of  Massachusetts,  said  :  "  This 
manufacture,  with  very  little  encouragement,  has  grown  up  remarkably. 
It  ban  become  common  for  the  country  people  in  Massachusetts  to  eret  t 
small  forges  in  their  chimney-corners,  and  in  winter  and  on  evenings 
when  little  otlier  work  can  bo  done,  great  quantities  of  nails  are  made 
even  l)y  children.  These  people  take  the  rod-iron  of  the  merchant  and 
return  him  the  nails;  and,  in  consequence  of  this  easy  mode  of  barter, 
tiie  mnnufucturo  u  prodigiously  great.  These  advantages  are  not  ex- 
clusively in  the  hands  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts.     Tiie  business 

(I)  Wlnthrop'i  Addreii  on  the  Life  and  Service!  of  James  Bowdoin. 


gQQ  COLONIAL  INDXJSTttt   IN  METALS. 

.ni.ht  be  prosecuted  in  a  similar  manner  in  every  State  exerting  equal 
nd    try  "    In  tins  state  of  the  business,  Mr.  Tucker,  of  So«  h  Carol.n  . 
thouS'it     vidently  stood  in  need  of  no  prohibition,  and  Mr  Fitz- 
tlVLieved  th^e  American  manufacturers  -Id  ^^j^  ^j  ^  ^r 
if  those  articles  were  left  without  a  special  duty.     Neither  spikes  nor 
^Urniplu^din,  were  imported,  ^-.^eing  h.rge  and  heavy  were 
made  in  the  country  according  to  the  builders  o  der.     They  jn  '^^^ 
«litting-mills  and  all  the  materials  for  nail-making  ^^'^^P;;^*'";  ;^J;3^ 
countries.     The  extra  duty  on  nails  and  spikes  was  agreed  to.  but  tack 
a^d  brads  were  left  subject  to  the  ordinary  -^e  f  fi-  per  c  n,     Tn 
manufacture  of  nails  in  the  State  was  supposed  to  have  doubled 
nPTt  ten  years  chiefly  through  the  aid  of  machinery. 
"      IClructionand  Adoption  of  those  labor-saving  meUiods  an 
instruments  by  which  Iron  and  other  materials  ^^^^^^^^    "^  ^^^^ 
facility  into  the  varied  forms  which  now  employ  so  m  ch  ^f  th 

denartrae»ts  of  textile  and  other  machinery,  the  production  of  its  woik- 
shop    ge  erally  kept  pace  with  the  demand,  and  many  improvement 
tre  engraTed  upon  mechanism  of  foreign  origin.     Boston  had  qu. 
::;  of  skillful  Lchanics.  who.  in  1785.  were  uniied  in  an  assoc.a.ou 
of  tradesmen  and  manufacturers  for  the  good  of  the  whole      From  thi 
ot  traaesmenan  circular  to  "their  brethren  in  the 

body  emanated,  in  August,  178a,  a  circuiui 

,nlvin.?  the  use  -of  metals,  may  be  mentioned  the  following  : 
"      a     ::    ch  occurred  in  1765,  a  fire-engine  of  home  construction 
wa^uted    'and  found  to  perform  extremely  well."    It  was  made  b 
Dav^d  Wheeler,  a  blacksmith  in  Newbury  street,  who  announced 
r;;^..       lu,  intention  to  manufacture  fire-engines  as  good  as  any  im- 
nnrted.     Wheeler  at  the  same  time  proposed  to  "make  and  fix  iron 

otwith  poll's  upon  houses,  and  any  other  e;ninences  for  preven Uou 

,       ,v    t„  „f  licTliHiinir  "    This  was  probably  the  hrst  prncticui 

ri^;L:tSsi:;^r!-of  tJe  gmnd  LoretlC  and  practi.Ui. 

0  of  Franklin,  which,  at  its  first  announcement  Bome  years  b    or, 

had      countered  the  ridicule  of  so  learned  a  body  as  the  Royal  S  une ty 
0    Engl  nd,  although  its  author  received  afterward  the  highest  marks 


«■ 


CfRIOOS   INVENTIONS — lUOX-WORKS   IN   RHODE   ISLAND. 


601 


State  exerting  equal 
er,  of  South  Carolina, 
bition,  and  Mr.  Fitz- 
luld  have  little  to  fear 
,  Neither  spilies  nor 
large  and  heavy,  were 
rder.  They  then  had 
independent  of  foreign 
IS  agreed  to,  but  tacks 
of  five  per  cent.     The 

0  have  doubled  in  the 

or-saving  methods  and 
are  wrought  up  with 
employ  so  much  of  the 
8  made  after  the  Revo- 
share  to  the  reputation 
echanical  arts  which  is 
■  its  early  contributions 
of  in  former  chapters, 
its  people.     In  all  the 
production  of  its  work- 
ad  many  improvements 
ti.     Boston  had  quite  a 
united  in  an  association 
[  the  whole.     From  this 
"their  brethren  in  the 

cal  skill  of  this  class,  in- 
3  following : 

ne  of  home  construction 
ivell."  It  was  made  by 
ury  street,  who  announced 
;ines  as  good  as  any  ira- 

1  to  "  make  and  fix  iron 
eminences  for  preventiou 
)bably  the  first  practical 
oretical  and  practical  dis- 
:ement  some  years  before, 
ody  as  the  Royal  Society 
jrward  the  highest  marks 


of  its  esteem.     Dr.  William  King,  of  Boston,  is  said  to  have  introduced 
many  years  after  the  use  of  rods  witli  many  points  along  them. 

Some  improvements  in  the  forcing-pump,  and  its  adaptations  to  the 
hydraulic  mechanism  of  the  fire-engine,  were  made  and  patented  some 
years  after  by  Benjamin  Dearborne,  of  Boston,  the  inventor  of  the 
Patent  Balance,  and  numerous  improvements  in  otlier  articles.  An 
account  of  these  may  be  found  in  his  letters  to  Governor  Bowdoin,  and 
other  papers  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  of  which  he  was  an  esteemed  member. 

At  a  town-meeting  convened  at  Boston  in  March,  It 68,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Manufactures,  Mr.  Gawen  Browne,  a  native  of  the  town,  ex- 
ciirious  hibited  "the  frame  and  principal  movements  of  a  new  and 
clock.  curious  Town  Clock  which  he  had  manufactured."  The  two 
great  wheels,  it  was  said,  "  took  near  90  lbs.  weight  of  cast  brass.  It 
was  calculated  for  8  days,  and  to  shew  the  hours  and  minutes ;  to  have 
3  dials  and  a  mechanical  lever  to  preserve  the  motion  during  the  wind- 
ing up  ;  the  pendulum  wheel  and  plates  to  perform  the  dead  beat ;  its 
'  matiienmtical  pendulum'  was  so  contrived  that  it  could  be  altered  the 
3,500th  part  of  an  inch  while  the  clock  was  going."  la  the  second 
volume  of  tlie  Memoirs  above  mentioned  is  also  a  description  of  the 
Orrery  Orrery  or  planetarium  constructed  by  Joseph  Pope,  an  inge- 
oti'ope.  ni^yg  clockmaker  of  Boston,  made  without  previous  acquaint- 
ance with  such  a  machine,  and  pronounced  by  Dr.  Dwight  to  be,  except 
in  size  and  durability,  "  probably  inferior  to  none  in  tlie  world."  It  was 
purchased  by  the  State  for  Harvard  University,  The  inventor  was  also 
the  author  of  an  ingenious  theory  of  gravitation,  and  the  inventor  of  a 
threshing-machine,  patented  in  1802,  and  also  an  improved  wind- 
mill. 

As  early  as  1135,  Rowland  Houghton,  a  merchant  of  Boston,  was  the 
inventor  of  an  instrument  for  surveying  land,  which  he  called  "The 
New  Theodolite."  lie  obtained  exclusive  piivileges  for  seven 
Theodouta.  ^^^^^  j,^^  making  and  selling  it,  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Court, 
which  declared  that "  land  could  be  surveyed  with  greater  ease  and  despatch 
than  by  any  surveying  instrument  heretofore  projected  or  made  within 
this  Province." 

t 

Rhode  Island The  first  forges  in  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 

plantations  were  built  in  the  towns  bordering  on  Bristol  County,  Muss., 
and  run  on  the  bog  ore  of  the  neighborhood,  which  in  early  times  fed  so 
many  furnaces  in  that  and  Plymouth  County.  Pig  iron  and  a  variety 
of  castings  wore  the  principal  product,  the  ore  being  ill  adapted  for 
mak'iig  good  malleable  iron  or  steel. 


502  COLONIAI.  ISDUSTM   IS    METALS- 

Tl,e  fir,t  taase  to  Pawtucket  »as  erected  by  JosepU  Je»b,  of  Lynn, 
Jotr  roU  wUh  ..  r«Ue.  been  e„,a,e.Un  *«  -  ;--:^ 
facturesat  U.t  place  and  who,e  «»»'"-«;»  •^J,,,  „„,.,„„ 
tbe  Governor  of  f  °«=  *""°-;;"y°  "'t  „„,  a„ri„g  .he 
forge  a,  P-'"*  •  »'-    ^f,  *  ' "ro't  GOO  New  England  people 

:e::Einrror':::i:;ed,as.anyb«.^.eM^ 

bnr„ed,.ndt»eUeor  ^^  ^^w^r      1»  ^^^^^^^^^^  «'«  - 

works  and  other  infant  enteipr-scs  "«'=''  ^     ,      Colonists 

gainary  contest,  -*    ^^t'llZ  thrr— were  greatly  re- 
accnmulated  an  enormon,  ^eb  .  wl''le  «  ^,  5.,      p,,,,,,,, 

dneed  thereby.     ^  »  *;/^'V:rt;n»^^^^  tribes,  whose  capital  was 

up  around  the  1  lymouin  auu  i^u     b  ui,.v,aA     T5iit  the  boR-ore 

iLased,  and  fnrnaces  and  forges  ^^  ^    ^    flron     It '^^ 
which  supplied  the  fnrnacos  prodaced  a  cold  short  iron,  not 
tongh  for  nails,  spikes,  or  tools  of  good  qnil^Uy  „„„,e„s,er„ 

,„  tb,  town  of  C7«'"'';'';Xvr.weenr:.r Massachusetts, 

"■«"""  TJn^lnnd  This  deposit  was  early  discovered,  and  Ibougn 
aii-  betf  adapted  for  tlfe  m.nnfactnre  of  malleable  iron  and  sted 
appear,  X  baJbeen  sncccssfall,  «7^';- J^  *":  j^^  1 

working  of  the  mine.  ,     .  f  g^jj^u. 

In  n35,  Samuel  Waldo  purchased  an  «^«  ^f  ;;*^^^7;;,r,  ,,,,„ 

ate.  and  erected  there  a  furnace  and  f^^^^^^^  ^^'^J'^^^^^"     Gannon 

afterward  became  widely  known  as  the  Hope  F«r»'^*=«-  ^ 
— •      ?      he  Navy,  large  bells,  and  other  cast  ngs  were  m  de  U 
and  munili^ns  of  war  Lre  supplied  for  ^^<!^Z:X.      ^ 
were  the  most  important  works  m  the  S  ate  n  tl^  ^^^\  \  ,^^^,, 

ere  was  obtained  about  four  and  a  -^J  ™fi,^^  ^stam-engine  was  con- 

^^^^1:rtr\rae:rd^::el^^^^^      «--  ^;  «^ 

r^l.tr;.ose  Of  drai...  U.  pU^  ^--  ^  - 
r^el^^rCo:  X^C^a:  . words  o^^elle. 

quality  by  his  son  Ezekicl  Uopkms. 


UIIODK   ISLAND — IRON   ORE   OF   CbMBERLAND. 


503 


iepb  Jenks,  of  Lynn, 
1  the  fir.>t  iron-nmnu- 

iame  was  afterward 
!.     He  also  erected  a 
■   Indians  during  the 
New  England  people 
s— chiefly  dwellings— 
royed.     Sc"  uivl  Iron- 
er thrown  in  the  san- 
l,   and    the   Colonists 
urces  were  greatly  re- 
;  year  of  King  Philip, 
jes,  whose  capital  was 
a  of  his  followers,  the 

frequent  interruption 
p-building  which  grew 
s,  the  demand  for  Iron 
lied.  But  the  bog-ore 
irt  iron,  not  sufBciently 

J  extreme  northeastern 
n  it  and  Massachusetts, 
e  of  the  largest  in  New 
liscovered,  and  though 
malleable  iron  and  steel. 
The  abundance  of  the 
vhich  was  early  quarried 
facility  for  a  profitable 

ed  in  the  town  of  Scitu- 

the  Patuxet  river,  which 

Hope  Furnace.    Cannon 

lastings  were  made  there, 

(lutionary  contest.    These 

n  the  last  century.     Tlie 

istant,  by  turning  a  brook 

p  a  steam-engine  was  con- 

'  Joseph  Brown,  Esq.,  of 

pits.     Among  the  Iron 

■e  iron  tobacco-pipes,  said 

and  swords  of  excellent 


RespeL-ting  the  mine  at  Cumberland,  Dr.  Douglass  remarks:  "In 
Alllul)oro,  now  Cumberland,  annexed  lately  to  the  jurisdiction  of  llhode 
Island,  were  erected  at  a  considerable  charge  three  furnaces  ;  the  country 
was  well  wooded  for  coal,  but  the  ore  proved  not  good  or  profitable,  and 
is  neglected  ;  tliey  were  of  some  small  use  in  the  late  war  [with  France] 
in  casting  small  cannon,  bombs,  and  bullets.  Here  is  a  magnetic  iron 
ore  wiiich  yields  a  red  short  iron  not  good.'" 

Professor  Hitciicock  was  informed  by  the  owner  of  the  hill,  General 
Leach,  an  extensive  manufacturer  of  Iron  in  tliat  and  other  towns,  tliat 
the  Cumberland  ore  did  not  yield  above  20  or  30  per  cent,  of  metallic 
iron,  although  magnetic  ore  is  usually  one  of  the  richest,  lie  was  not 
aware  that  it  had  been  analyzed,  but  conjoutur'jd  that  it  would  be  found 
strongly  impregnated  with  manganese,  of  which  we  believe  subse(piunt 
analysis  has  shown  it  to  contain  2  per  cent.,  in  addition  to  4  per  cent. 
of  magnesia.  These  proportions  of  either  would  probably  have  rendered 
it  refractory,  and  have  impaired  the  quality  of  the  iron.  The  method 
i)f  counteracting  the  resistance  of  such  substances  in  the  gaiigue  was 
.Kit  formerly  known  or  well  understood,  and  may  have  been  a  source  of 
hiilure  with  other  ores  smelted  by  the  inexpensive  Catalan  method,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  sparry  carbonate  at  New  Milford,  Connecticut,  an  ore 
usually  associated  with  one  or  both  of  these  substances. 

The  first  discovery  of  fossil  coal  In  llhode  Island  was  made  in  1708, 
and  in  February  of  that  year  application  was  made  to  the  Af.se in l)ly  for 
(,„^,  the  exclusive  right  of  digging  and  vending  it  in  the  town  of 

discovered,  provideucc,  where  mining  was  about  to  be  commenced. =  The 
anthracite  of  Cumberland  and  other  parts  of  the  State,  now  valuable  to 
its  manufactures,  did  not  come  into  use  for  a  long  period  after,  although 
it  begiln  about  the  same  year  to  be  used  in  a  few  smiths'  forges  in  Penn- 
sylvania. The  sulphuret,  gray  oxyd,  and  carbonates  of  copixu-  are  also 
found  in  several   excavations  formerly  made  in    Cumberland,  Rhode 

Island. 

Manufactures  of  Iron,  including  bar  and  sheet  iron  stee',  nail-rods  and 
nails,  farming  implements,  stoves,  pots,  and  other  castings  and  household 
utensils  iron-work  for  ship-builders,  anchors,  and  bells,  formed 
factures.  ^jjg  largest  branch  of  productive  industry  in  the  fetate  toward 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  A  slitting-mill  was  built  on  one 
of  the  branches  of  Providence  river.  Another  slitting  and  rolling  mill, 
three  anchor  forges,  two  nail-cutting  machines,  and  .several  other  mills 
and  factories  carried  on  by  water  were  soon  after  erected  at  Pawtucket 

(1)  Summary  of  Br.  Sottlemcnti,  ii.  109.  (2)  Staple's  Aunals  of  Providence. 


7r--i^S'vi.=:y.^^^  >s«=5f*;^6i-^ 


WncTH 


m 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 


Falls.    A  screw-cutting  machine,  hollow-ware  furnace,  and  several  forges 
were  also  in  operation.  , 

Muskets  were  manufactured  for  several  of  the  militia  companies  of  the 
Colony  as  early  as   1775,  hy  Stephen  Jenks,  of  North  Providence. 
Small  arms  were  at  the  same  time  pretty  extensively  made  by 
^'"•"'"''-    several  other  persons  in  the  Colony.     About  the  same  date, 
Jeremiah  Wilkinson,  of  Cumberland,  who  was  engaged  in  making  hand 
cards,  commenced  the  manufacture  for  his  own  use  of  cold  or  cut  tacks 
They  were  first  cut  by  a  pair  of  shears  (still  preserved)  from  an  old 
chest  lock,  and  afterward  headed  in  a  smith's  vice.     Sheet-iron  was 
afterward  used  and  the  process  extcua.d  to  small  nails,  which  he  appears 
to  have  been  one  of  the  first  to  attempt.     They  were  cut  from  old  Span- 
,        ish  hoops,  and  headed  in  a  clamp  or  vice  by  hand.     Tins  and 
e-^- "     '      needles  were  made  by  the  same  person  during  the  Ilevolnlion, 
from  wire  drawn  by  himself.     The  high  cost  and  scarcity  of  those  arti- 
cles and  of  tacks  were  the  incentives  to  these  efforts.    The  nail-manufac- 
ture  in  the  State  was  improved  by  Eleazer  Smith  ;  and  Samuel  Slocum, 
of  Rhode  Island,  who  some  twenty-five  years  ago  patented  in  England  a 
machine   for  making  pins  with  solid  heads,  with  which  a  factory  was 
commenced  in  this  country.     The  Wilkinsons,  as  machinists,  were  of 
much  service  in  the  construction  of  the  first  Arkwrigh.t  machines,  with 
which  Samuel  Slater,  who  was  connected  with  the  family  by  marriage,  com- 
menced in  n'.)0  the  cotton-manufacture  in  the  State.  David  Wilkinson,  a 
few  years  laler,  patented  a  machine  for  cutting  screws.     The  importance 
of  Providence   .s  a  manufacturing  centre  will  be  noted  subsequently. 

CONNECTICUT.-Tt   has   been   already   mentioned    that   the   younger 
Winthrop,  who  was  the  prime  mover  in  the  organization  of  the;  Stock 
Compnnv  which  cmmenccd  the  first  Iron-works  at  Lynn  and  Braintroe 
in  1643 'also  received  the  next  year  a  grant  for  a  settlement  and  Iron- 
works within  the  present  limits  of  Connecticut,  where  he  had  been  pre- 
viously  commissioned  by  Lord  Say-and-Seal  and  Lord  Brook  to  build  a 
fort      He  was  also  allotted  about  the  same  time,  by  Massachusetts, 
"the  hdl  at  Tautousq,  about  CO  miles  westward  where  the  blacke  lead,' 
is"  and  "liberty  to  purchase  some  land  there  of  the  Indians."'    Al- 
though he  appears  to  have  retained  for  several  years  an  interest  in  the 
works  at  Lynn,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  letters  of  his  father,  his 
attention  was  early  fixed  upon  a  settlement  in  Connecticut,  where  he 
had  hopes  of  finding  mines  and  minerals,  which  could  be  wrouglit  with 
profit  to  individuals  and  the  Colony.     As  early  as  June,  164.5,  he  was 
found  at  Pequot,'  and  the  next  year,  having  laid  his  hearth-stone  hard 


(1)  Mairs.  ReeorJs,  iii.  82. 


(2)  PuUrcy's  N.  E.,  ii.  231. 


-^ 
%, 


B,  and  spveral  forges 

tia  companies  of  the 

North  Providence, 
extensively  made  by 
jout  the  same  date, 
ged  in  maliing  hand 
of  cold  or  cut  tacks, 
icrved)  from  an  old 
ce.  Sheet-iron  was 
ils,  which  he  appears 
e  cut  from  old  Span- 

by  hand.  Tins  and 
iring  the  IlevoliUion, 
careity  of  those  arti- 
.    The  uail-nianufac- 

and  Samuel  Slocnra, 
atented  in  England  a 
which  a  factory  was 

machinists,  were  of 
I'rigl'.t  machines,  with 
nily  by  marriage,  com- 
!.  David  Wilkinson,  a 
ws.  The  importance 
ted  subsequently. 

id  that  the  younger 
lization  of  the;  Stock 
t  Lynn  and  Braintroe 
,  settlement  and  Irou- 
here  he  had  b^en  pre- 
jord  Brook  to  build  a 
le,  by  Massachusetts; 
rhere  the  blacke  leadc 
if  the  Indians.'"  Al- 
ears  an  interest  in  the 
;tors  of  his  father,  his 
Connecticut,  where  he 
30uld  be  wrought  with 
as  June,  1645,  he  was 
his  hearth-stone  hard 

N.  E.,  ii.  234. 


CONNECTICUT.      DISCOVEUY  OF   MINERALS — COLUMIUUM. 


505 


by  the  lodge  of  Uncas,  the  friendly  sachem  of  the  Mohegans,  took  up 
his  residence  in  the  Colony,  of  which  he  was  made  a  magistrate  in  1051, 
and  the  Governor  in  1657.  His  attainments  in  Physical  science,  his 
ingenuity  and  enterprise,  were  of  much  service  to  the  infant  State  in 
other  departments,  and  have  been  elsewhere  referred  to.  In 
of  .iiiuoinis   1651,  the  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Win- 

eucouiagsd.     ,  ■,  ,     ,    .  ,it  n        •  i 

throp,  passed  an  Act  to  encourage  the  discovery  of  mines  and 
minerals  within  its  jurisdiction.  Tiie  Act  declares  that,  "  Wliereas,  in 
this  rocky  country  among  these  mountainous  and  rocky  hills  there  are 
probabilities  of  mines  of  metal,  the  discovery  of  which  may  be  of  great 
advantages  to  the  country  in  raising  a  staple  comodity ;  and  whereas, 
John  Winthrop,  Esq.,  doth  intend  to  be  at  charges  and  adventure  for 
the  search  and  discovery  of  such  mines  and  minerals,  for  the  encourage- 
ment there  of,  and  of  any  that  shall  adventurewith  the  said  John  Winihrop, 
Esquire,  in  the  said  business,  it  is  therefore  ordered,"  etc.  It  granted 
to  him,  his  heirs,  associates,  partners,  and  assigns  forever,  the  lands, 
wood  timber,  and  water  within  two  or  three  miles  of  any  mines  of  lead, 
copper,  tin,  antimony,  vitriol,  black  lead,  allum,  stone  salt  or  salt 
springs  he  might  discover,  if  he  should  set  up  any  works  for  digging, 
washing,  melting,  or  other  operations  required  by  such  metals  or 
mineral,  provided  it  was  not  in  a  place  already  occupied.  We  arc  not 
informed  what  success  rewarded  his  research,  nor  that  any  manufacture 
of  Iron  was  undertaken  at  Pequot.'  The  General  Court  again,  in  1663, 
encournged  the  development  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the  Colony,  by 
ordering  that  any  person  wlio  would  lay  himself  out  for  the  discovery 
of  any  mines  and  minerals,  etc.,  and  purchase  them  for  the  country, 
"shall  be  honorably  rewarded  out  of  what  he  doth  discover,"'  The  Act 
was  renewed  in  1072. 

The  earliest  legislative  encouragement  given  to  the  manufacture  of 

Iron  in  Connecticut  appears  to  have  been  by  the  Assembly  of  New 

Haven,  seven  years  before  the  date  of  the  charter  of  the  United 

Act  to 

eiicoiirace     Colouics  of  Connccticnt,  oljtained  by  j^.Ir.  Winthrop  in  Eng- 
land,  and  ten  years  before  their  amicable  union.     On  the  30th 


(1)  TrumbuU'a  Hist.  Conn.,  i.  235.  Mr. 
Wintliriip'a  son,  Governor  John  Winthmp, 
who  possessed  the  snme  inquisitive  mind  an 
his  filth cr,  afterward  discovered,  it  is  faid, 
about  three  miles  from  New  London,  at  c> 
place  called  by  the  Indians  Nanl-nengue,  an 
ore  resembling  the  chromato  of  Iron,  which 
he  sent  to  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  by  whom  it  wag 
deposited  in  the  British  Museums  It  was 
nn.il.vf.ed  in  1801  by  Mr.  Hatchett,  who 
found  united  with  the  oxyd  of  iron  a  metal- 


lic acid  of  peonlinr  properties,  the  biise  of 
which  'le  sujiposed  to  bo  a  new  metal,  which 
he  named  Columbium,  as  having  come  from 
America.  The  metal  is  now  regarded  as 
identical  with  tantalum.  The  mineral  cotnm- 
bite  or  tantallle,  which  furnishes  it,  is  ex- 
tremely rare.  It  has  been  aince  found  near 
Middletown,  but  not  in  the  vicinity  ol  New 
London. 

(2)  Colonial   llecords  of  Connecticut,  ii. 
193. 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   lU  METALS. 

May.  1605,  it  was  ordered,  "that  if  an  iron  worke  goe  on  within  any 
par   of  this  jurisdiction,  the  persons  and  estates  eonst.ntly  and  oucly  im- 
ployed  in  t.it  worke  shall  be  free  from  paying  rates.'"     In  Octobe    o 
he  same  year,  there  is  an  order  respecting  the  manufacture  of  .s/eeZ, 
^vhichwas  the  first  attempt  to  produce  that  article  m  these  Colonies 
A  letter  was  read  from  John  Tucker  of  Southold  (on  Long   Island) 
wherein  he  informs  the  General  Court  of  h.s  "  abd.t.e  and  in- 
-"^••'        tendment  to  make  Steele  there  or  in  some  other  plantation  m 
this  jurisdiction,  if  he  may  have  some  things  granted  he  tl-erem  pro- 
pounds  "     Tlie   Court  acquiesced  in  a  grant  of  privileges  withm  it 
jurisdiction,  but  that  of  taking  clay  or  wood  from  private  grounds  it 
eft  to  Southold  or  the  town  in  which  he  might  set  up   ^^^  "-"f-^"^' 
being  unwilling  <'to  meddle  with  any  man's  proprietie."    In  the  foil  w- 
ing  May,  as  a  further  encouragement  to  proceed  ,n  the  expenditure  of  a 
afge  part  of  his  property  in  the  business,  Tucker  obtained  from    he 
Assembly  a  declaration  "that  if  he  doe  laye  out  his  estate  in  sucha 
dinner  about  this  publiqu.  worke,  and  that  God  shall  e-  hi^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
so  that  he  be  impoverished  thereby,  they  are  willing  that  that  small 
remaining  part  shall  be  free  from  rates  for  ten  years."  _ 

At  the  same  time,  it  was  ordered  that  none  of  the  property  invested 
in  the  works  should  be  attached  for  the  Individual  debts  of  the  under- 
takers  so  as  to  hinder  the  work  or  damage  the  other  proprietors  •  but 
Jf  nec;sTary,  a  lien  upon  the  debtor's  stock  might  be  taken,  until  the 
demand  was  paid  from  the  profits  of  the  same.' 

The  work,  appear  about  this  time  to  have  gone  into  operot  on  at  New 
Haven.  A  ,roposition  made  in  May,  1662,  "in  y'  behalfe  of  Capt 
Clarke,  that  wine  and  liquors  drawn  at  the  jrou  workes  might 
Jlrvr^"'  be  custome  free,"  was  allowed  to  the  extent  of  one  butt  of  wme 
»»""•  and  one  barrel  of  liquors,  and  no  more.*  Four  years  after. 
Messrs  Wm  Jones,  Jasper  Crane,  and  James  Bisliop  were  authomed, 
fy  tTe  cTurt  at  Illrtfoi^,  to  grant  a  license  to  the  clerk  of  the  Iron- 
works 0"  other  suitable  person,  to  draw  wine  and  liquors  at  the  woiks, 
in  accordance  with  their  instructions.     No  inference  is  to  be  made  as  to 


(1)  Newllavon  Colony  Records  by  Hoad- 

ley,  ii.  149.  * 

(2)  New  Haven  Colony  Recoru.  by  Hoad- 
ley,  ii.  153,  175.  The  first  patent  granted 
in  EnijUnd  for  manufacture  of  steel  was  to 
Richard  Lord  Dncre,  Thomas  Letsome,  and 
Nicholas  Page,  on  8lh  April,  1626,  for  "ap- 
paratus for  making  steel,"  according  to  the 
lurention  of  Letsome.  At  the  date  in  our 
text  but  little  eteel  was  made  in  England, 


and  that  I'ery  imperfectly  and  all  of  foreign 
Iron.  Forty  years  after,  English  writers 
speak  of  steeling  articles  by  "boiling  them 
in  sow  metal,"  and  steel  was  made  by  a 
similar  proeefs,  and  by  plunging  into  water. 
Steel  wa«,  however,  made  by  cementation 
by  John  Heydon,  at  Bromley,  in  1697. 

(3)  New  Haven    Colonial    Records,  U. 
173. 

(4)  Ibid.  ii.  454. 


CONNECTICUT.      SLIITING-MILLS — COPPER  MINES. 


50T 


goe  on  within  any 
tantly  and  oncly  im- 
i."'     In  October  of 
lanufacture  of  steel, 
le  in  these  Colonies, 
(on  Long   Island) 
his  "  abilitie  and  in- 
other  plantation  in 
ited  he  therein  pro- 
privileges  within  its 
n  private  grounds  it 
up  the  manufacture, 
;tie."     In  the  folio w- 
the  expenditure  of  a 
!r  obtained  from  the 
his  estate  in  such  a 
lall  cross  him  therein 
lling  that  that  small 
s."» 

the  property  invested 
1  debts  of  the  under- 
ther  proprietors ;  but 
it  be  taken,  until  the 

into  operation  at  New 
n  y°  behalfe  of  Capt. 
the  jrou  workes  might 
ent  of  one  butt  of  wine 
i.*  Four  years  after. 
;ishop  were  autliorized, 
the  clerk  of  the  Iron- 
i  liquors  at  the  works, 
ice  is  to  be  made  as  to 

mperfectly  nnd  nil  of  foreign 
years  after,  English  writers 
ng  articles  by  "boiling  them 
'  and  steel  was  made  by  a 
,  and  by  plunging  into  water, 
jever,  rande  by  cementation 
:)n,  at  Bromley,  in  1697. 
iven    Colonial    Records,  it. 

454. 


tlie  nural)er  of  persons  or  amount  of  interests  affected  by  these  laws, 
which  were  made  for  the  accommodation  of  such  works  in  several  of  tlio 
Colonies  in  early  times,  sometimes  to  prohibit  altogetlicr  the  sale  of 
liquors  to  the  workmen. 

In  May,  1G69,  upon  petition  of  Wm.  Andrews,  "  on  belialfe  of  Ciipt. 
Thomas  Clarke,  master  of  the  iron  workes  of  New  Haven  for  encourage- 
ment of  the  said  worke  in  supplying  the  country  with  good  iron  and  well 
wrought  according  to  art,"  the  General  Court  renewed  the  excmi)tioa 
granted  by  New  Haven  to  the  persons  and  estates  employed  therein 
for  another  seven  years. ' 

We  do  not  find  any  further  reference  in  the  Records  to  those  cuter- 
prises  in  the  Iron  and  Steel  manufacture. 

In  1716,  an  Act  was  passed  granting  to  Ebenezer  Fitch  &  Co.  the 
exclusive  right  to  erect  a  slitting-mill  at  Stony  Brook,  situated,  we 
suttiiig-raui  believe,  between  New  London  and  Norwalk,  to  slit  and  draw 
proposed.  Q^(^  i,.y„  j.Q(jg  for  nail-makcrs.  All  other  persons  in  Connec- 
ticut were  forbidden  to  erect  sliltiug-mills  for  15  years  on  penalty  of  tea 
pounds  per  month.*  We  have  no  knowledge  of  any  earlier  proposition 
to  erect  such  a  work  in  any  of  the  Colonies.  The  intentions  of  the 
patentees  may  have  been  thwarted  by  the  disposition  evinced  in  Parlia- 
?ient,  in  1719,  to  prohibit  slitting-raills  in  America.  A  memorial, 
without  date,  filed  in  the  Colonial  archives,  entitled  "  Reasons  against  a 
General  Prohibition  of  the  Iron  Manufacture  in  His  Majesty's  Planta- 
tions, intended  by  a  clause  in  the  bill  now  pending,  entitled  '  A  bill  for 
encouraging  the  importation  of  naval  stores  from  America,' "  must  be 
referred  to  this  date.  "  It  seems  a  further  hardship,"  says  the  memorial, 
"  that  the  subjects  abroad  should  be  permitted  to  forge  their  ore  into  bars 
#ut  not  to  run  or  cast  it  into  pots  and  other  implements,  because  the 
same  fire  and  even  the  same  heat  will  suffice  for  both."  A  clause,  after- 
ward added  by  the  upper  house,  prohibited  the  conversion  of  sows  and 
pigs,  or  cast  iron,  into  bar  or  rod  iron,  but  the  bill  did  not  become  a 

law. 

A  furnace  was  erected  in  the  same  county  in  1741  by  Samuel  South- 
worth,  of  the  adjoining  town  of  Lyme. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  the  prevalent  zeal  for  the 
discovery  of  precious  ores,  which  it  is  probable  had  prompted  the  re- 
copper  searches  of  Winthrop,  was  rewarded  by  the  discovery  in  Con 
'"'"''"•  necticut  of  two  deposits  of  copper  ore,  which  it  was  confi- 
dently hoped  would  yield  constituents  of  a  richer  metal.  One  of  these 
was  found  at  Wallingford,  and  a  more  abundant  mine  at  Simsbury,  now 


(1)  Trumbull's  Col.  Rec,  ii.  37, 108. 


(2)  Scientific' American.  voL  xi.  248. 


503 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRT   IN  METALS. 


Granby.    The  mines  uere  opened,  and  an  Act  of  the  legislature,  exempt- 
ing  the  miners  from  military  duty  and  giving  them  power  to  manage 
their  operations,  was  obtained  from  the  proprietors,  who  represented 
the  business  as  one  of  great  public  advantage.'    As  early  us  170.,  a 
Company,  composed  of  a  greater  part  of  the  landholders  of  Simsbury, 
was  formed  to  work  the  mine  at  that  place,  paying  the  town 
Si™»e  "^     ten  shillings  for  each  ton  of  copper  produced,  the  proceeds  of 
which  went  to  the  support  of  "an  able  schoolmaster  in  Simsbury"  and 
to  Yale  Colh-ge.     A  contract  was  made  with  three  brothers,  clergymen, 
John    Dudley,   and   Timothy  Woodbridge,  belonging   respectively  to 
Springfield,  Simsbury,  and  Hartford,  to  smelt  the  ores.     Their  scholastic 
attainments  as  divines  were  supposed  to  confer  the  requisite  scientific 
and  mctallurgic  knowledge,  but  they  failed  to  give  satisfaction.     An 
Act  obtained  in  1709,  conferred  several  privileges,  and  authorized  the 
settlement,  in  a  summary  way,  of  disputes,  which  were  frequent  and 
under  it  the  business  was  managed  upward  of  sixty  years.     In  UH, 
Jonathan  Bekher  (afterward  governor),  of  Boston,  William  Partridge, 
of  Newbury,  and  Timothy  Woodbridge,  Jr.,  became  the  principal  ope- 
rators until  1721,  when  Andrew  Freeman  and  Charles  Cornelia,  of  New 
York  were  associated  in  the  business.     The  Boston  company  ,vas  then 
expending  £70  per  month,  and  the  law,  having  expired,  was  renewed  at 
their  request  by  the  Assembly,  which  extended  all  the  legal  encourage- 
ment in  its  prnvcr,  and  authorized  the  division  of  the  mines  among  the 
several  lessees.    In  1735,  Governor  Belclier  stated  that  he  had  expended 
about  £1;\000  or  about  $75,000  in  the  business.    He  erected  a  smelting- 
furnace  in  Boston.  .  . 

During  the  excitement  about  this  time  on  the  subject  of  mming, 
Joseph  Wiiiting,  of  New  Haven,  petitioned  the  General  Court  (Oct., 
1733)  for  a  loan  of  £1,(100  for  ten  years,  to  aid  him  in  further  search 
for  mines  and  minerals,  in  which  he  claimed  to  have  mode  greater  dis- 
coverics  than  any  other  man.  But  neither  prospecting  nor  mining 
proved  of  much  profit  to  individuals  or  the  State. 

The  mine  at  Simslmry  continued  to  be  worked  with  various  success 
until  the  yei.r  1773.  Sln.fts  wore  sunk,  one  to  the  depth  of  80  and 
another  35  feet,  and  vast  caverns  were  excavates  .n  the  lull.  But  tho 
imperfect  state  of  mining  knowh^dge  and  machinery,  the  insufflciency^of 
drains  or  Icvch  to  carry  off  the  wmI.t,  and  the  cost  of  pumping,  which 
had  to  be  carried  on  day  and  niglit  by  the  aid  of  the  neighboring 
farmers,  absorbed  much  of  tho  profits.  Tiie  copper  mines  of  England, 
which  now  yield  over  20,000  tons  of  copper  annually,'  at  that  time 


(1)  Bee  Trumbull'i  Ulit.  Conn.,  vol.  ii. 
•hnp.  11. 


(2)  J^nnaU  of  British  Leglflaiion,  il. 


rislature,  exempt- 
power  to  manage 
who  represented 
I  early  us  1707,  a 
ders  of  Sirasbury, 
,  paying  tlie  town 
d,  the  proceeds  of 
in  Simsbury"  and 
■others,  clergymen, 
ig   respectively  to 
Their  scholastic 
requisite  scientific 
satisfaction.     An 
and  authorized  the 
were  frequent  and 
f  years.     In   1714, 
William  Partridge, 
the  principal  ope- 
!S  Cornelia,  of  New 
company  >^as  then 
red,  was  renewed  at 
he  legal  encourage- 
le  mines  among  the 
at  he  had  expended 
I  erected  a  smelting- 

subject  of  mining, 
eneral  Court  (Oct., 
m  in  further  search 
re  made  greater  dis- 
pecting  nor  mining 

with  various  s  icccss 
10  depth  of  80  and 
a  the  hill.  But  the 
,  the  insufllciency  of 
I  of  pumping,  which 
of  the  neigliboring 
r  mines  of  England, 
lually,'  at  that  time 

Iritish  I,eg\flotiun,  ii. 


*' NEWGATE"  OF   CONNECTICUT— W.4LLINGF0RD   MINES. 


509 


produced  only  600  or  700  tons,  and  much  was  imported  from  the  conti- 
nent.    The  discovery,  previous  to  1722,  of  a  deposit  of  rich  cupreous 
ore  in  Xew  York  induced  Parliament  in  that  year,  by  the  statute  8  Geo. 
I.  c.  18,  to  place  copper  ore  from  the  plantations  on  the  list  of  enume- 
rated articles,  wit!,  a  view  to   ol)taining  a  future  supply  from  its  own, 
dominions.     Tlie  quality  of  the  Simsbury  ore  was  tolerably  good  yield- 
ing  3  to  5  per  cent,  and  some  masses  50  per  cent.,  of  metal,  and,  the 
price  being  high  abroad,  there  was  a  prospect  of  a  profitable  business 
Several  cargoes  were  sent  to  Europe  from  Hartford.    But  the  limitation 
of  the  market,  and  the  cost  of  exporting  it  in  ore,  as  required  bv  a  law 
prohibiting  the  smelting  of  it  in  the  Colonies  ;  the  expense  of  mining  as 
then  conducted,  and  the  loss  of  two  ship-loads  at  sea,  one  of  which  was 
captured  by  the  French  during  the  wars,  proved  discouraging  to  the 
operators.     Works  for  smelting  and  refining  the  ore  were,  notwithstand- 
ing prohibitions  and  discouragements,  erected  in   Simsbury,  at  a  village 
named   Hanover  oy  the  German  workmen,  where  the  operations  were 
quietly  conducted.     By  the  original  proprietors,  and  different  companies 
of  lessees,  including  one  British  company,  the  work  was  thus  conducted 
for  about  seventy  years,  when  there  appeared  to  be  a  failure  of  the 
ore. 

The  vast  ibterrancan  vaults  in  Copper  Hill,  now  included  in  East 
Granby,  were  in  1773  converted  into  a  prison  for  felons,  who  were  era- 
Newgate.  '"'"^''^'^  '"  ^^'^  "'"«^-  ^hc  mine,  as  Dr.  Trumbull  observes, 
was  thus  rendered  "of  much  greater  value  to  the  State  than 
all  the  copper  dug  out  of  it."  This  place,  the  famous  "  Newgate"  of 
Connecticut,  wa.s,  during  the  Revolution,  the  place  of  conGncment  for 
Tones,  and  afterward  a  general  prison. ' 

The  ore  at  AVallingford  was  considered  richer  than  that  of  Simsbury 

from  the  admixture  of  silver.     But  the  inability  of  the  miners  to  keep  it 

wauingford  <""'«  from  Water,  compelled  them  to  abandon  it  in  a  few  years, 

and  a  .second  attempt  to  work  the  mine,  long  afterward,  failed 


(1)  After  liavitiR  been  used  for  that  pur- 
pose Bbout  fifty  .■ycir.-,  tlio  whole  mine  wiis 
In  1830  piir.'lini>c(i  (if  the  S'->to  for  11,200, 
by  Riclinrl  Hacon,  of  .Simsbnry,  «ni1  jccntle- 
meu  from  .,  nv  V(.rk,  who,  m  the  "  I'hnsnix 
Mining  r>Miiimiiy,"  obfnined  a  rhnrter  nnd 
Uid  out  fpvoriil  thnunand  ^olliirg  upon  it. 
They  dbiiiMlntiDd  It  Hfler  five  or  fix  yours, 
during  Ihi-  ni.unclnl  crl.«i8.  In  IS.'SJi,  mininif 
WM  onco  tn'irc  iinJorliiken  by  tho"Ciinnpc- 
tlout  OoppiT  (Nunpimy,"  which  toc^k  out  a 
mrgo  (luiitilKy  of  orii,  yleltiinc  nboul  6  per 
••nt.  and   miino    nudulea  50  per  ccuU  of 


mptal,  and  inoroasing  in  richno.«s  ns  ther 
dpscendcd.  Ten  of  lini.ir.,nr«  flcpnnitora, 
two  Meiim. engines  and  other  niiiohinory, 
were  erected  at  miiuh  expense.  liut  notwith- 
standing  the  greater  commniid  of  capitnl, 
"iiperinr  manhinery,  science,  and  »kill,  tu 
that  posHePsed  by  the  original  pr..prietors. 
the  work  was  apain  suspended  in  iiliout  two 
years,  chiefly,  it  is  said,  from  fiiHure  in  tlie 
proccssci  of  extracting  and  refining  th* 
metal.  The  ore  is  of  the  vitrcons  kind,  and 
not  easily  reduced,  but  it  ia  hoped  will  yet 
bo  worked  to  advanlagu. 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS. 

from  the  same  cause.     The  groat  benefit  of  the  «"^'"-^-^;/^^* 
Lae  apparent  in  pnmpin,  and  other  min,n.  o^^^J^^, 

"^rr  Tm?:;X  mo::;;:rttns  were  struc.  on  copper  from 

town  of  G  anby.     They  were  current  for  many  years,  and  were 
r^l       known  as  the'"Granby  coppers.     They  were  "stamped   on 
planchets  of  the  purest  copper,  and.  in  consequence,  were  m  demand  by 
tllbeaters  for  auoy."    They  are  said  to  have  been  wd    executed  fo 
the  times     The  designs  upon  some  of  the  pieces  represented  a  sledge 

ir  surmountedV  crowns,  in  deference,  probably    to    he  royal 
p    rogative.  and  with  due  regard  to  the  conditions  symbol.ed.. 
^T 1736.  a  foundery  for  casting  large  bells  was  also  «f  l;^-*-^^;,^;; 

Haven  by  Abel  Parmlee.  as  appears  by  his  petition  to  the  General  Cou  t 
,::;l  l  states  that  his  own  was  .he  first  aU-Pt;.n      «  ^.^^^^^^^^^ 

to  cast  bells.     A  monopoly  of  the  business,  which  he  asks  for  twenty 

^";i\i:::rartre'iln.manufacture.  we  find  that  Joseph  Higby.  ot 
Si^sb  rry    n  May,  1728,  previous  to  his  exercising  the  higli  function  of 
'a   oiner  of  moliev,  in  a  memorial  to  the  legislature,  represented 
^^""''    Lt  he  had,  "With  great  pains  and  cost,  found  out  and  ob- 
tained a  curious  art.  by  which  to  convert,  change,  or  transmit  common 
Tn  into  good  swel,  sufficient  for  any  use,  and  was  the  very  first  that 
ever  Porfonned  such  an  operation  in  America."    He  produced  the  c    - 
ifil'"  of  several  smiths,  who  had  made  trial  of  the  steel,  and  pro- 
ol  c^d  it  good.     The  petitioner  asked  for  himself  and  Joseph  De..y, 
7     K     .'the  exclusiv'e  right,  for  twenty  years,  "of  F-t.-ng  t  e 
business  or  trade  of  steel  making."     A  patent  was  granted  them  for  ten 
::;;      rovi-led  "the  petitioners  improve  the   art  to   any  good  and 
reasonable  perfection,  within  two  years  alter  the  date  of  this  act. 


(1)  Like    tlio   Imncliwork    of    Jonks    of 
Lvnn,  nn  elder  mmnl.or  of  the  «iimo  cratt, 
I,,'  the  piiront  colony  "f  M«i.sttchu.ettJi  liny, 
f,,„  coini.  now  remain  t"  uUeft  tl.c  arlistlo 
ikiU   of   HiK>iv,    as   tlio   inirroMioin   woro 
„u.n    emu'e.l   from    tl.o    uniilloyed    motnl. 
0„o,lpr.-<-inu"niiof  tlio  (Irnnby  CpP"  ""*" 
,.o„,m«n,l   *1&   to    »'-'.''   f»«--l'-     Thcro   were 
,Pvrr»l  iio-x"  »•■'"'  'li(f>^^''«"'  <>«''''*''  •"""' 
),nvinK«bro«a  «x,  wUh  the  motto.  "  I  cut 
B,y  way  throHgh."     IU>  coinage  was  con- 


Bi.lored  a  boon  to  the  cnmronnity,  but  not  a» 
a  later,  nnnulhorUed  in.ili.lion  of  the  coin- 
ago  of  other  minteri'.  On  tliu  «ubj«el  of  thii 
c.inage.  and  of  the  Pini.lm.-y  and  Walling, 
fnrd  mines,  «eo  a  late  p.-lilication,  "  The 
Newgate  of  Connecticut."  by  U.  H.  Phelps, 
18fl0,  and  Trumbull's  Iliul.  of  Connootieut, 
vol.  ii.  cbap.  2. 

(2)  Moore's  Patent  Office,  App.,  p.  80*. 

(3)  Ibid.,  p.  »02. 


engine  was  first 
I.  Two  steam- 
land  before  the 
,  in  New  Jersey, 

on  copper  from 
acksmith  of  the 

years,  and  were 
e  "stamped  on 
re  in  demand  by 
yell  executed  for 
jsented  a  sledge- 
ly,  to  the  royal 
iiolizcd. ' 

itablished  at  New 
le  General  Court, 

in  the  Colonies, 
e  asks  for  twenty 

Joseph  nigby,  ot 
high  function  of 
ature,  represented 
3und  out  and  ob- 
transmit  common 
the  very  first  that 
produced  the  cer- 
he  steel,  and  pro- 
ud Joseph  Dewey, 
'of  practising  the 
anted  them  for  ten 
to   any  good  and 
of  this  act."' 

e  community,  but  not  a» 
(1  iiiiiliiliiin  of  the  ooin- 
I.  On  tliu  "ulijuiit  of  thii 
Siin^lm'.v  iiixl  WiiUing- 
liilo  iii.liliciiti"",  "  The 
.ticul."  liy  U.  H.  Phelps, 
r«  Hist,  of  Connoctiout, 

int  Offloc,  App.,  p.  30*. 


WESTERN   CONNECTICUT-SAMSRl'RT   MINES.  51| 

bro?r  Taof ""'  'T'''  ''"'''""  '''  ''  ^•'""-^■■-•*  -«  those  of  the 
bro.n  oxyd  of   ron  or    ematitc,  i„  the  northwestern  part  of  the  Stat 

H..,..,e      bordenng  on  New  York  and  Massachusetts,   .articularly  h  t  ,e' 
Thes.  ric  r:;:  ::h  ':' ''''^'^'  '."^'•°"'  ^-^  ^-^'  '-  Litehf,e,d  conn,; 

caralod  for  tlic  5ii|,])ly  of  choreoni  fiiriiMcs  in  enali  of  il„  „.  q, , 

Con„«„o„,,  then  cnlW  Weato^  a„.l  II„„»,o„ic,  a  bl,  of  ,  .fati^  IT' 
explore,  a,  ea,.,y  a,  1,3,,  ,■„  ,.„,„  .„,„„,,„.„,  ,    J ^^::  ^^ 

B.iisi,„ry     College,  and  then  occupied  by  one  Bismol      'l\u .      '         r 
"■'"-         I'hilip  Livingstone  of  Albany  7  V    a  il  '""''■  "''""' 

grant  of  the  whole  tract  of  100  acres  a^/set  u.'.  a  'T,"'"'  * 

to  smelt  the  ore.  at  Limerock  fve  Ti'lc"  cm  t  ^  rb''?'  T  "'""^ 
r..rnace,  with  six  fires,  was  ereited  abo.U  t  ^  ^  r  t.rl^:,';"' 
and  various  castings,  as  potash  and  common  i  Lri^^ttl  ..  •  fi  I 
'.liere,  It  is  said,  in  nSfi.     I„  1740   Mr  T  ivir.„«f         '^^"'^'^  »eie  made 

a  r™  ,„„  „,o,  .,„  „w„.a  oi:  I'n'e'zr:.:;  r;  r::;.';r:; 

Ancram,  in  Columbia  County   N   V    nhnnf  ,     i  ^'""-^oilvs  at 

m..o ...« Of  .„„ ,™.  o.  ja  w.et":;:'r ':;,.:  :T::'t: 

8oon  became  quite  productive.     In   nf;'>  a  Mr  llLoiT      [\ 
"uilt  a  b,„st-furnace  at  the  outlet  of  wLnsc^om      c      ke"';         7' 
ea.^..O,.ehm..MnSalisb,.y.      This  n.rn„ee  w^Hl  •,  ti  H^.^  ^ 
-n  InJI,  it  was  the  o  dcst   n  tlip  -icfiiif,-      t*  .  » '  '",  ana, 

.ron.     A  „,,,,!   f„„„„  wa,  built  in  mi     TlJ^rJZ  fjn     T" 

works  „nd  mi.,   -  of  Salisbury  into  l.iLh  renute   n! Ti  T^  """"■ 

"'0  country.     A    the  value  ^f  t  c^  n^^^^  '7"^'""'  '" 

tors  laid  a  duty  0,  twenty-five  cents  pe  Ln"Z  1  ti^rS  ;'"/"'"'''" 
fi-.  free  H.m  charge,  and  the  .arilf  was  «„::' :;  ^  :^':^'  ^rc^ 
^••"  .  »;"1  "t  length,  to  1.25  per  ton,  whic.  was  the  rate  in  831  ;h!  ' 
age  being,  at  the  same  time,  twelve  an.l  a  half  ce„.  •  r     '        ""'^" 

Ou  the  o..c„rre„ce  of  the  war  of  th  «:';;;:;  '"  7"!'  """ 
'-'•'^"•i'-I  operations,  the  Council  of  Safety  teml^^^'r 'r"^ 
'■'"i"ing  „p  the  furnace  at  Salisbury  to  cIT.  77''^  ' '''' 

.-•ps  of  fifty-nine  men  was  employ;?^.:  oX^liriif'^"''''  ^ 
«ro.  four  to  thirty-two  pounders,  and  other  orille  si^S "  ^^Z 


.jjjjl  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 

there  during  the  war.     The  guns  of  many  of  the  old  ships  of  the  navy 
wei-e  made  there  during  the  last  century.     For  blacksmith's  work  and 
Tr  .rand  r  fle  barrels,  the  best  chareoal  cold-blast  iron  of  Sahsbury 
which  is  readily  converted  into  steel,  was  long  regarded  as  superior  to 
Itlr  domestic  or  foreign,  and  has  been  extensively  used  jn J. 
na  ional  ^nd  private  gun  manufactories  of  ^^^ --^7; ^^l;;.^:^.^*^,^  ^ 
ning  of  this  century,  between  four  and  five  thousand  tons  of  oie  were 
Tsed  annuallv,  and  he  furnaces  at  Ancram  and  Salisbury,  w.th  about  fif- 
n  0  g  s  in  Vhe  neighborhood,  were  supplied  from  the  great  brown  ore 
or  Umonite  bed  at  Ore  hill.     The  Salisbury  furnace  was  usually  kept  n 
b  asrfou   to  five  months  in  the  year,  and  ran  from  eighteen  to  twen  y 
t  us     f  pig  iron  weekly.'    This  was  formerly  sold  chiefly  in   he  crud 
ate  at  $35  to  $40  dollars  the  ton,  at  the  works.     The  abundance  and 
ouSty  of  the  ore.  and  of  wood  and  water-power  for  working  .t.  wouh^ 
H  w^s  be  ieved.  render  Salisbury  the  Birmingham  of  America.     But  the 
ubs  tuti  a    f  mineral  fuel,  and  the  development  of  the  vast  erriferous 
depo    s  near  the  coal  areas  of  other  Slates,  has  disappointed  this  ex- 
necta  in      The  iron  manufacture,  in  its  several  branches  has  however, 
font  b  en  the  principal  industry  of  Salisbury,  and  neighboring  towns 
Ihich    btained  ore  and  metal  from  that  ph-xe.     Severa  other  beds  have 
I^a  e  been  opened  and  worked  as  open  quarries  near  the  old  mine.       n 
1830     our  or  five  conside..ble  iron-works  at  Salisbury,  produml    n 
iS  'ch    -al  furnaces,  18.000  to  20,000  tons  of  pig  metal  worth  $3    to 
Svor  ton  in  addition  to  several  hundred  tons  each  of  bar,  and  oilier 
trogt      on,  heavy  castings,  anchors  and  other  ^-^-d  work,  sc.ws^ 
Ttc      Tlie  mines  still  yield  about  20,000  tons  of  ore  annually,  and  about 

^^i:  ir  nl^if  f!=ce  was  in  operation  bo.>re  the  revolution,  whicli 
cast  shot  and  shell  for  the  British  troops.  That  place,  and  I  all's  v.lUvge 
wel  af  teward  the  seat  of  two  refining  forges,  with  ten  fires,  making 
To  fo  l.e  government,  but  were  ruined  by  a  transfer  of  its  pa Ironage 
to  n  ported  Swedish  iron.     At  Furnace  village,  five  miles  north  of  Lake- 


(I)  Trumbull's  History  of  Connoi-tiout, 
il.  108.  In  1740,  when  pit  coal  anil  tho 
argiUacemis  cnrlMiimleH  of  llio  oorI  nieftsurcii 
In  EHKlnn.l  lifgi>n  to  tiiko  the  jihico  of  chnr- 
ooal,  an.l  "f  the  ro.l  aii.l  hrown  beinntitcs 
which  hiKl  i.rovioui'ly  hfeii  usuJ  nluiusl  ex- 
clusively in  the  Ironmnnufiicturu ;  the 
average  unn.u.l  |iro,liu't  of  51)  eharcoul  fur- 
nace., in  KnK-l.i.Hl,  «■:.«  2'JI  tons  eaeh,  or 
M  toil  pci-  week,  1.0. 1  llie   total  yoirly  pro- 


di.,.:jn  was  17,350  tons  of  iron.  In  17S8, 
there  roninlnod  but  24  charcoiil  bliift-lur- 
,„u-o^  which,  by  tho  ni.l  of  tho  cylinder 
blowing  iniichinery,  proiiucccl  a  toti.l  of 
]:f,(l()0  tons  of  eiisliron,  equnl  to  64B  tons 
eiich  pornnnum,  or  about  18  ton*  week)), 
rilly  Ihreo  ooko  fumaeoii,  at  tho  sanio  time, 
produced  48,000  tons  HnnuiiUy— on  averiige 
on  the  whole  year  of  Hi  tons  per  week. 


CONNECTICUT.      NAin'E   IRON   ORE — STEEL  ORE. 


513 


ps  of  the  navy 
ith's  work,  and 
a  of  Salisbury, 
I  as  superior  to 
sly  used  in  the 

In  the  begin- 
ons  of  ore  were 
f,  with  about  fif- 
Treat  brown  ore 
i  usually  kept  in 
hteen  to  twenty 
■fly  in  tlie  crude 

abundance  and 
)rking  it,  would, 
lerica.     But  the 
3  vast  ferriferous 
pointed  this  ex- 
es, has,  however, 
ighboring  towns 
1  other  beds  have 
le  old  mine.     In 
iry,  produced,  in 
jtal,  worth  $30  to 
of  bar,  and  otlier 
ed  work,  screws, 
iually,  and  about 

revolution,  which 

and  Fall's  village 

ten  tires,  making 

•  of  its  patronage 

lea  north  of  Lake- 


ons  of  iron.  I"  1788, 
24  cliaroPiil  \iliist-lur- 
0  nil!  of  llin  cylinder 
proiluccil  a  totiil  of 
ron,  equnl  to  546  tons 
about  18  ton*  week!), 
iiieos,  nt  tho  snnio  tiiuo, 
»  HnnuiiUy— an  iiverMge 
'  17i  tons  per  weuk. 


Bteel  ores. 


ville,  is  the  Mount  Riga  charcoal  cold-blast  furnace,  erected  in  ISOO  and 
rebuilt  in  1S45. 

In  the  adjoining  town  of  Canaan,  east  of  the  Ilousatonic,  where 
specimens,  regarded  as  native  iron,  lead  ore,  and  otlier  minerals 
canann  na-  ^ave  been  found,  a  forge  and  slitting-miil  of  improved  construc- 
tive iron,      j.jjjjj  ^^,^g  jjjjjjj.^  ^^^^^,  ^j^^  Revolution,  and  furnaces  probably 

much  earlier.  At  Colebrook,  in  the  same  county,  a  forge  and  other 
works  we^e  erected,'eithor  before  or  during  the  war.  In  1T89,  "they  took 
fire  and  burned  down."  A  loan  of  £1,200  was  made  by  the  Province, 
in  IVGl,  to  Ephraim  and  John  Patterson,  and  Thomas  Hiissell,  to  erect 
a  furnace  on  the  Owcsatunnuck  (Ilousatonic)  river,  probal)ly,  in  Kent, 
where  a  bed  of  brown  Hematite,  imbedded  in  gneiss  and  quartz  rock 
formerly  supplied  a  number  of  furnaces.  Furimcos  were  early  erected 
there,  which  were,  in  part,  supplied  by  the  ore  of  tiiu  town,  and  in  part 
from  Beekman  and  Amonia,  in  New  York,  and  tlie  simthic  ore  of  Ro,\- 
bury. 

This  valuable  deposit  of  si)athic  ore  at  Mine  Hill,  in  Roxbnry,  near 
New  Milford  in  the  same  County,  was  opened  about  1750,  l)y  Ilurlbut 

&  llawley,  for  the  extraction  of  silver,  and  again,  about  four. 

teen  years  after,  by  the  IJronsons  Brotlici-s,  who  sunk  a  sliaft 
about  125  feet.  A  German  goldsmitli,  named  Feucliter,  wlio  carried  on 
fimelting  operations  witii  secrecy,  is  believed  to  have  deluded  the  Bron- 
sons  for  some  time,  by  occasionally  producing  silver  from  his  crucil)les, 
and  ultimately  to  have  carried  olf  some  heavy  boxes  of  the  jjroduct, 
whatever  it  may  liave  been.  He  is  said  to  have  made  steel  for  his  tools 
from  the  sparry  ore,  which,  nii.xcd  with  the  silicious  ore  of  the  Kent  bed, 
makes  a  tough  iron.  Several  otlier  parties  afterward  unsuccessrully 
prosecuted  the  search  for  silver,  neglecting  altogetlier  the  more  valuable 
use  of  the  steel  ore,  which  a  Mr.  Bacon  afterward  altempled  to  smelt  for 
irou  alone.  He  erected  a  furnace  at  the  place,  but  failed  tlirougii  inex- 
perience. Steel  of  good  quality  was  subsequently  made  from  the  crude 
metal,  by  D.  J.  Styles,  wliicii  again  raised  the  credit  of  the  mine.  It  is 
from  the  same  kind  of  ore  lliat  the  German  steel  is  made.  The  town  of 
New  Milford  had,  before  the  beginning  of  this  century,  seven  forges, 
making  about  three  hundred  tons  of  bar  iron  annually,  besides  hollow- 
ware.  The  whole  County  of  Litchfield  contained,  at  the  same  time,  fifty 
liloomery  forges,  making  iron  directly  from  the  ore,  and  three  slitting- 
inills.  The  manufacture  of  nails  was,  at  the  same  time,  carried  on  there 
to  a  greater  extent  than  in  any  part  of  the  Union,  with  the  exception  of 
Plymoulh  and  Bristol  Counties,  in  Massachusetts.  Anchors  were  al.>;o 
forged  on  a  large  scale,  in  South  Canaan,  by  four  brothers  named  Hunt, 
who  likewise  manufactured  large  screws  for  machinery,  and  other  articles 
33 


514 


COLONIAL   INDUSTRY    IN    METALS. 


to  a  considerable  extent.     All  the  iron  used  was  the  product  of  the 
forges  and  furnf.ccs  of  the  county,  and  was  of  excellent  quality. 

Oldniixon  (1(41)  mentions  a  small  iron-mill  at  New  Bminlbrd  (Bran- 
ford)  on  a  small  streanj  running  into  the  Sound,  and  expresses  his  sur- 
prise'that  a  small  iron-work  should  be  found  there  or  anywhere  else  on 
the  continent,  considering  the  abundance  of  ore  and  fuel  suQieient  to 
supply  all  Europe  with  Iron.  Those  with  whom  he  conversed,  some  of 
whom  had  sent  men  to  America  to  carry  on  the  business,  were  of  the 
opinion  tliat,  with  proper  encouragement,  by  the  withdrawal  of  the 
duty  and  by  giving  a  bounty  on  importation  of  colonia'  iron,  as  in  the 
case  of  naval  stores,  £100,000  could  be  saved  to  the  nation  that  then 
went  annually  for  Baltic  Iron,  and  that  the  metal  could  be  imported  at 
half  the  co.st  of  Swedish  Iron.  He  had  few  fears,  such  as  they  expressed, 
that  the  Baltic  merchants  would  succeed  in  opposing  the  importation  of 
American  Iron.  There  is  little  doubt  that  fears  of  that  kind  and  the 
disposition  to  wait  for  encoura'jeme.nt  from  the  parent  State,  hindered 
the  development  of  this  industry  and  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the 
several  Provinces  in  a  considerable  degree. 

In  1760,  the  legislature  granted  Ebenezer  Kcny,  Joseph  Hull  Jr., 
and  John  Wooster  of  Derby,  and  Thomas  Perkins  of  Enfield,  permission 
to  purchase  of  the  Indians  a  water  privilege  for  iron-works  near  the 
falls  of  Naugatuck. 

On  many  of  the  small  streams  which  fall  into  the  Sound,  as  well  as 
upon  the  branches  of  the  principal  rivers,  bloomeries  and  small  works 
for  a  variety  of  manufactures  in  Iron  were  establi-shed,  some  of  them 
quite  early.  Connecticut  has  long  been  noted  for  the  extent  and  variety 
of  its  hardware  branches,  and  for  different  descriptions  of  small  wares, 
which  the  ingenuity  of  its  people  has  rendered  peculiarly  varied  and  ex- 
cellent. Besides  the  hematitic  beds  of  the  northeast,  the  iron  ores  of 
Connecticut  are  very  considerable.  Ti»e  forges  in  the  soutliern  part  of 
the  State  were  ehieQy  supplied  by  bog  ore,  dug  near  them,  or  by  these 
and  the  hematites  in  part  ol)tained  fron'  other  States. 

Some  time  previous  to  1750,  a  steel-furnace,  and,  we  believe,  a  bloom- 
ery,  was  owned  by  Mr.  Eliot,  of  Killingworth.     About  the  year  1761, 
considerable  interest  was  excited  in  America  and  in  England 
"••*■  by  the  manufacture  of  Iron  from  a  black  ferruginous  sand  found 

in  considerable  quantities  on  parts  of  the  New  England  coast  and  inte- 
„  ,  rior  situations.  Tiio  attention  of  the  Royal  Society  hii<l  been 
►and  ore.  called  to  this  sand,  couiposcd  pnncipally  ol  the  hrown  o.\\a 
of  iron,  on  account  of  its  magnetic  properties,  as  early  as  168!),  and  ex- 
periments were  made  with  samples  of  it  from  Virginia  l)y  Dr,  ^\o^\\\n, 
111  that  year,  to  ascertain  the  presence  of  Iron.     But  the  reagents  cm- 


CONNECTICUT.      MAGNETIC  SAND  IRON — PREJIIUMS. 


)15 


;  product  of  the 
quality. 

Bi'ainl'ord  (Bran- 
uxpresses  his  sur- 
anywhore  else  on 

fuel  suQieient  to 
)nversctl,  some  of 
iness,  were  of  the 
dtlidrawal  of  the 
ia'  iron,  as  in  the 

nation  that  then 
id  be  imported  at 
as  they  expressed, 
he  importation  of 
that  kind  and  the 
it  State,  hindered 
i  resources  of  the 

Joseph  Hull  Jr., 
Kufield,  permission 
)n-\vorks  near  the 

Sound,  as  well  as 
i  and  small  works 
led,  some  of  them 
extent  and  variety 
)ns  of  small  wares, 
irly  varied  and  ex- 
t,  the  iron  ores  of 
e  southern  part  of 

them,  or  by  these 

e  believe,  a  bloom- 
lut  tlio  year  17GI, 
•a  and  in  Knjiland 
uginoussnnd  found 
nd  coast  and  iiite- 
1  Society  had  beer, 
of  the  brown  oxyd 
ly  as  insi),  mid  ex- 
nia  l)y  Dr,  Moulin, 
it  the  rca'renls  cm- 


ployed  failed  to  detect  any  of  the  metal  in  the  specimen,  though  highly 
magnetic,  and  more  than  double  the  weight  of  white  sand.      Some  fifty 
years  after,  the  experiments  were  repeated  ia  the  dry  way  by  Mr.  Henry 
Home,  on  samples  received  from  Mr.  Adams,  a  Virginia  merchant,  f -d, 
after  one  or  two  failures,  resulted  in  obtaining  "a  very  fine  malleable 
metal,"  exceeding  half  the  weight  of  the  specimen.     About  twenty  years 
after,  in  HGl,  the  Rev.  Jared  Eliot,  of  Killingworth,  without  any  know- 
irou  and      ^^^^S^  ^^  t'l^se  attempts,  conceived  the  idea  of  producing  Iron 
fromir^'    from  the  black  magnetic  sand  of  New  England.     His  project 
met  with  every  discouragement  from  those  skilled  in  such  mat- 
ters, to  whom  he  proposed  it.     "  Having,"  he  says,  "  a  persuasion  of  the 
practicability  of  the  thing  to  a  degree  next  to  enthusiasm,  I  could  not 
rest  till  I  had  made  trial."    In  a  common  bloomery  forge  he  succeeded 
in  producing  from  83  lbs.  of  the  sand  a  bar  of  excellent  Iron  weighing 
50  lbs.     About  five  hours  were  occupied  in  the  smelting,  which  experi- 
ence enabled  them  to  reduce  to  three.     In  his  son's  steel-furnace,  above 
mentioned,  a  portion  of  the  bar  was  converted  into  good  steel.     Speci- 
mens of  the  steel  and  bar  iron,  accompanied  by  an  Essay  on  the  manu- 
facture of  Iron,  and  a  letter  to  the  Society  in  London  for  the  Encour- 
agement of  Arts,  Manufactures  and  Commerce,  were  sent  in  1762  to  Mr. 
Peter  Collinson,  of  the  Royal  Society,  through  whom   Mr.  Eliot  was 
informed  of  previous  attempts  to  extract  Iron  from  the  sand.     The  ex- 
traordinary yield  of  metal  from  the  sand,  so  much  beyond  that  of  ordi- 
nary ores,  the  best  of  which  did  not  usually  much  exceed  50  per  cent, 
of  pig-iron,  was  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  the  chemists  and  others  in- 
terested in  the  subject.     Deeming  his  discovery  an  important  one,  the 
Society  of  Arts,  in  1764,  awarded  Mr.  Eliot  its  gold  medal,  and  ap- 
pointed him  its  correspondent  in  that  Rrovince.     The  quantity  of  this 
magnetic  sand,  which  Mr.  Eliot  conjectured  might  exceed  that  of  Iron 
Proraiums    '"  anj  Other  form  ;  the  facility  with  which  it  could  be  reduced 
offered.       jjy  admixture  with  bog  or  other  poor  ores  or  with  slag,  and 
the  excellence  of  the  iron  for  steel,  wire  and  other  uses,  induced  the 
Society,  in  the  following  year,  to  offer  a  premium  of  £100  for  the  great- 
est quantity  (not  less  than  50  tons)  of  merchantable  bar-iron  made  from 
the  black  sand  found  in  America,  and  imported  into  London,  and  pre- 
miums of  £60  and  £40  for  the  next  largest  quantities,  not  less  than  .30 
and  20  tons. ' 

{\)  During  the  Hamo  yenr,  the  London  of  Snybrook,  who  petitioned  tho  Asfcm).Iv 

Society  awarded  a  gold  medal  to  Benjamin  to  compel   Gale  to  pay  him   £.jO,  alU'i^'irif; 

iJiUu,  of  Killingworth,  Ct.,  for  the  inveution  that  Gale  had   been   employed   hy  him    to 

of  an  improved  Drill  Plow.    The  invention  bring  the  invention  to  the  noti.;e  of  the  So- 

»»e,  however,  claimed  by  Benoni  Hilliard,  cioty,  and  had  appropriated  the  honors, 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS. 

This  heavy  black  oxyd,  the  detritus  of  metamorphic  rocks  along  the 
Solid     om  New  Haven  to  Rhode  Island,  exists  in  many  of    he  States 
TgatTa^ities.    Many  tons  of  it  are  .nt  -ually  to  the  -g^^^^^ 
to  supply  the  stationers.     It  is  employed  to  some  extent    n  the  manu 
fac ture  of     ron.  the  martial  constituents  being  separated  by  the  a>d  of 
powerful  magnts,  which  are  also  used  for  cleaning  magnetic  rock  o  e 
whlncrLred      I   is  from  this  iron-sand  that  much  of  the  famous  wootz 
:^^„ru   teel  is  made  by  the  Hindoo,  by  the  simplest  process,  m  a  clay 
?urnace  with  charcoal,  and  a  bellows  made  of  leaves  of  the  forest. 

In  Mlyn94.  the  General  Court  of  Connecticut  enacted  a  law  to 
re.ulaVe^ie  manufacture  of  bar-iron  in  the  State.  It  was  required  to 
belmped  .^th  the  name  of  the  manufacturer  and  of  the  town  where  it 
wnq  made  previous  to  being  offered  for  sale,  .     r,    . 

'''ZtZl  slitting-milf  and  other  iron-works  at  that  time       ^ 
Hartford      Glastonbury  had  also  a  forge,  and  there  were  two  furnaces 
ft  Sufford,  which  made  sufficient  hollow  and  cast  iron  wares  for  the 

"'The'fi^^tmanufacture  of  Tin-ware  in  this  country  is  sa^d  to  have  been 
commenced  at  Berlin,  in  Hartford  County,  in  HtO.  by  Edward  Patter- 

Bon,  a  native  of  Ireland.  .  ,    , 

ihe  emancipation  of  industry  from  Parliamentary  restraints,  and    1 
suspension  of  commercial  intercourse  with  England  by  the  war.  c  eated 
'  several  new  forms  of  labor  in  this  as  in  other  States,  and  gav 

^^"  extension  to  others.  In  May.  1775,  the  Assembly  of  Connecticut 
passed  an  Act  to  encourage  the  manufacture  of  fire-arms  and  other  military 
Se     or  the  safety  and  defense  of  the  Province.     It  provided  for  th 
payment  of  a  bounty  of  5s.  for  every  stand  of  arms  with  a  good 
Fire-arm..    ^^^^  ^^^^  ;„  ^1,^  province  before  October  20th.  and  Is.  Gd. 
for  every  good  gun-lock,  all  to  be  purchased  by  the  Colony  to  the  num- 
ber  of  3  000.     The  manufacture  of  guns  was  soon  after  commenced  in 
Waterbury  on  a  small  scale  by  Lieut  Ard  Welton,  who  made  them  by 
hand  power  alone,  and  furnished  some,  it  is  said  for  Government    fh^ 
was  about  the  commencement  of  the  manufacturing  business  of  that  busy 

^^Tli'e  first  considerable  improvement  which  the  manufacture  of  fire-arms 
received  in  this  country  was  given  it  by  the  ingenuity  and  industry  o 
Eli  Whitney,  the  inventor  of  the  cotton-gin,  who.  disappointea 
Euwhitaey..^  his  hopcs  founded  upon  that  machine,  turned  his  attention 
in  1798  to  the  manufacture  of  arms  for  the  United  States  Government 
On  the  14th  of  January,  in  that  year,  he  completed,  with  the  aid  o 
Governor  Wolcott,  a  contract  for  ten  thousand  stand  of  "juskets,  to  be 
finished  in  a  little  over  two  years.     For  the  performance  of  this,  which, 


«(»fc.-»#^'-?i»f--:S' 


lie  rocks  along  the 
many  of  the  States 
f  to  the  large  cities 
stent  in  the  nianu- 
rated  by  the  aid  of 
magnetic  rock  ore 
)f  the  famous  wootz 
St  process,  in  a  clay 
of  the  forest. 
it  enacted  a  law  to 
It  was  required  to 
)f  the  town  where  it 

tt  that  time  in  East 

e  were  two  furnaces 

iron  wares  for  the 

'  is  said  to  have  been 
I,  by  Edward  Patter- 

•y  restraints,  and  the 
I  by  the  war,  created 
ther  States,  and  gave 
sembly  of  Connecticut 
rras  and  other  military 
It  provided  for  the 
i  of  arms  with  a  good 
ber  20th,  and   Is.  Gt7. 
le  Colony  to  the  num- 
1  after  commenced  in 
n,  who  made  them  by 
'or  Government.    This 
r  business  of  that  busy 

anufacture  of  fire-arms 
jnuity  and  industry  of 
gin,  who,  disappointed 
e,  turned  his  attention 
3d  States  Government 
)leted,  with  the  aid  of 
stand  of  muskets,  to  be 
jrmance  of  this,  which, 


WHITNEY   IMPROVES   THE   QU.V   xMA.NUFACTUKE. 


r.iT 


however,  occupied  two  years  in  the  preparation  and  eight  more  in  tl^e 
completion,  he  entered  into  bonds  in  the  sum  of  $30,000,  and  was  to 
receive  $13.40  for  each  musket,  or  $134,000  in   all.     He  immediately 
proceeded  to  construct  a  manufactory  at  the  foot  of  East   Rock  two 
miles  from  New  Haven,  at  the  present  village  of  Whitneyville,  where, 
through  successive  administrations  from  that  of  the  elder  Adams  re- 
peated  contracts  for  the  supply  of  arms  were  made  and  fulfilled  to' the 
entire  approbation  of  the  Government.     The  construction  of  his  factory 
and  even  of  the  commonest  tools,  which  were  devised  by  him  for  the 
prosecution  of  the  business  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  himself,  evinced  the 
lertil.ty  of  his  genius  and  the  precision  of  his  mind.     The  buikiin-s  be- 
came  the  model  upon  which  the  national  armories  were  afterwai-d  ar- 
ranged,  and  many  of  his  improvements  were  transferred  by  his  workmen 
to  other  establishments,  and  have  become  common  property      His  im 
provements  in  the  manufacture  of  arms,  it  is  generally  conceded,  laid  his 
country  under   permanent    obligations    by  augmenting    the   means  of 
national  defense.     It  is  satisfactory  also  to  know,  that  though  defrauded 
of  his  just  rights  by  a  portion  of  the  country  most  benefited  by  his 
previous  invention,  his  talents  were  not  unrewarded  in  this  department 
though  many  experienced  g^p.makeI•s,  who,  about  the  same  time    con-' 
tracted  for  the  supply  of  muskets,  which  they  attempted  to  make 'in  the 
English  .iiethod,  were  ruined  by  their  engagements.     The  dfficulties  en- 
countered  at  that  time  by  the  undeveloped  state   of  many  of  the  me- 
chanic arts  were  overcome  by  the  accuracy  and  dispatch  of  his  machinery 
and  tools,  much  of  which  was  adapted  to  other  manufactures  of  steel  and 
iron,  and  may  still  be  recognized  in  the  leading  workshops  of  the  country 


(1)  Memoirs  by  Prof.  Denleon  Olmstead. 
The  system  by  which  Whitney  was  able  to 
succeed  where  others  failed,  and  which  has 
been  adopted  with  so  much  advantage  in 
similar  establishments,  both  public  and  pri- 
vate, was  precisely  similar  to  that  by  which 
Sir  Samuel  Bentham,  toward  the  end  of  the 
last  century,  so  greatly  improved  the  previ- 
ously imperfect  wood-working  machinery, 
•nd,  to  some  extent,  also  the  metal-working 
machinery  of  England.  Bentham  "  classed 
the  several  operations  that  have  place  in  the 
working  of  materials  of  every  description 
looording  to  the  nature  of  the  operations 
themselves,"  and  not  according  to  the  trades 
or  handicrafts  for  which  they  are  used.  In 
regard  to  wood  particularly,  he  contrived 
machines  for  performing  most  of  those  ope- 
ruioni,  whereby  the  need  of  skill  and  dex- 


terity in  the  workman  was  dispensed  with, 
and    the   machines  were  capable  of  being 
worked  by  steam  or  other  power.    Whitney, 
in  like  manner,  contrived  by  machinery  to 
make  "  the  .-amo  parts  of  different  guns  as 
much  alike  as  the  successive  impressions  of 
a  copper-plate  engraving,"  and  left  little  for 
the  skill  of  the  workmen  to  accomplish,  He 
thus  found  it  easier  to  instruct  green  hands 
than  to  combat  the  prejudices  of  those  in- 
structed in  the  English  system,  where  each 
workman  made  a  certain  part  of  the  gun, 
which  required  operations  often  widely  dis- 
tinct in  their  nature.   Whether  the  plan  was 
original  with  him  or  not,  it  was  consonant 
to  the  character  of  his  mind  and  habits  ns 
manifested  in  all  bis  business  and  domcstiu 
arrangements. 


COLONIAL  INDLSTRY   IN   METALS. 

The  manufacture  of  lead  was,  in  1115,  deemed  no  less  important  than 
that  of  fire-arms,  and  a  committee  was  authorized  by  the  Asscml)ly  to 
purchase  what  ore  was  raised  from  the  mine  at  Middletown, 
uu  mine,.  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^  ^  greater  quantity  to  be  raised  and  refined.  Tlie 
committee  sent  to  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania  to  i>rocure 
a  smelter  and  refiner  of  lead  ore.  Competent  persons  were  found  at 
SiuK  Sin-,  New  York;  at  Boundbrook,  in  New  Jersey,  and  at  Phila- 
delphia The  last  was  a  German  named  Fedaband,  whom  the  deputa- 
lion  considered  the  best  in  America,  but  found  he  was  under  a  plclgc  to 
the  king  not  to  refine  metals  in  America.  A  refiner  was  at  length  ob- 
tained, and  the  business  was  ordered  to  proceed,  with  what  success  we 

are  not  informed. 

During  the  same  year,  the  General  Court  received  a  memorial  from 
Nathaniel  Niles,  of  Norwich,  setting  forth  the  importance  to  the  cotton 
and  woolen  manufactures,  in  the  present  disturbed  state  of  the 
towiug.      country's  relations  with   Great  Britain,  of  the  manufacture  of 
iron  wire  for  card  teeth.     He  was  willing,  with  proper  encouragement, 
to  undertake  the  bu        .s,  and  had  already  made  some  progress  therein, 
as  shown  by  his  raemunal  on  file.    A  committee  was  appointed  to  inquire 
into  the  cost  of  erecting  works,  and,  if  tjjey  deemed  it  advisable,  were 
authorized  to  draw  on  the  treasury  for  £300  as  a  loan  f..r  four  year.s. 
With  this  small  aid,  Niles  erected  works  and  carried  on  wirc-drawing 
until  after  the  Peace.     Norwich,  before  the  close  of  the  century,  had 
other  iron-works,  and  in  addition  to  manufactures  of  paper,  stockings, 
clocks,  watches,  carriages,  etc.,  still  manufactured  wire,  bells,  anchors, 
and  several  kinds  of  forged  work. 

About  the  year  1784,  a  Mr.  Chittenden,  of  New  Haven,  contrived  a 

machine  for  bending  and  cutting  wire  for  card  teeth.     By  mechan.sui 

adjusted  to  a  revolving  mandril,  the  wire  was  cut,  and  the  teeth 

TJclZ^    doubled,  shaped,  and  finished  automatically  at  the  rate  of 

36,000  in  an  hour.  „  -rxr  .i.      en 

A  proposition  was  made  in  1775  by  Leonard  Chester,  of  Wethersfie  d, 
to  erect  a  pin  factory  at  that  place.  Some  years  later.  Dr.  ApoUos 
Kinsley,  of  Connecticut,  a  man  of  much  mechanical  ingenuity, 
^""'  •  and  tlie  patentee  of  printing,  brick-making,  and  other  ma- 
chines invented  a  machine  for  making  pins.  But  neither  of  these  pro- 
jects appears  to  have  succeeded.  The  machinery  with  which  the  busi- 
ness is  now  80  extensively  prosecuted  in  the  State,  and  tlie  solid-headed 
pin  itself,  are  triumphs  of  later  American  invention. 

Nails  had  long  been  an  article  of  domestic  production  by  the  ham- 
mering process.  They  are  said  to  have  been  made  also  without  heads, 
by  punching  cut  of  iron  plates  by  hand,  previous  to  1790,  between  which 


NAILS — GOLD   AND    SILVER   AVAHKS— CLOCKS. 


important  than 
he  Asscmljly  to 
at  MidiUutown, 
d  refined.  Tlie 
rania  to  i>rocure 
s  were  found  at 
r,  and  at  FhiUi- 
lom  thf  (leputa- 
nder  a  pledge  to 
IS  at  length  ob- 
what  success  we 

1  memorial  from 
ice  to  the  cotton 
rbed  state  of  the 
i  manufacture  of 
■  encouragement, 
progress  therein, 
lointed  to  inquire 
t  advisable,  were 
n  for  four  years. 
on  wire-drawing 
the  century,  had 
paper,  stockings, 
re,  bells,  anchors, 

;aven,  contrived  a 
I.  By  mechanism 
cut,  and  the  teeth 
f  at  the  rate  of 

r,  of  Wethersfield, 
later.  Dr.  A  polios 
•hanical  ingenuity, 
?,  and  other  ma- 
ther  of  these  pro- 
th  which  the  busi- 
d  the  solid-headed 

ction  by  the  ham- 
ilso  without  heads, 
■90,  between  which 


Nails. 


time  and  tlie  clo.se  of  the  century  twenty-three  patents  were  grantid  in 
the  United  States  for  nail-maiiing  maciiiiHTy,  including  several  to  in- 
iiabitants  of  this  State.  A  pr(i[Misiti..n  before  the  r.egislative 
Council  of  Connecticut  in  1780,  to  .t;iv('  a  premium  for  this 
manufacture,  was  rejcctcl.  An  Act  was,  however,  passed  in  1 ;  US  f(,r 
regulating  the  manuracture  of  nails  made  for  sale  or  e.\p(.rtalion. 
The  length  of  each  nail,  and  the  weight  per  thousand  of  each  of  the  seve- 
ral sizes  from  two  to  twenty  pennies  was  li.xed  by  the  Act,  and  all  wur*. 
required  to  bo  rose-headed.  Inspectors  were  appointed  in  each  town 
wliere  nails  were  made,  and  received  13  ('ts.  per  ca.sk  as  fees.  The 
statute  did  not  apply  to  cut  nails  or  those  made  of  cold  iron  ur  for  in- 
dividual consumption.  Wrought  nails  were  at  that  time  made  in  nearly 
every  town  in  the  State,  and  many  were  cxp(»rted  to  other  Stales. 
Litchfield  County  was  the  principal  seat  of  this  manufacture. 

The  people  of  Connecticut  have  from  early  colonial  times  manilVsted 
a  proneness  to  invetition  and  to  those  finer  branches  of  manufacture  and 
"notions"  for  which  the  State  is  famous.  .Alany  of  these  originated 
among  her  people. 

Abel  Buell,  an  ingenious  gold  and  silversmith  of  Killingworth,  about 
1T66,  constructed  probably  the  first  lapidary  nmciiine  used  in  t  his  country, 
Lapidary  fi"J  represented  to  the  Court  that  his  "  method  of  grinding  and 
polishing  crystals  and  other  stones  of  great  value,  all  the 
growth  of  this  Colony,"  was  likely  to  be  a  great  saving  and  advantage  to 
the  Colony  against  the  importation  of  such  stones  frum  abroad.  In  ITtJ'J 
be  presented  a  memorial,  im])ressed  with  types  of  his  own  manufacture, 
for  aid  in  erecting  a  type-foundeiy,  which  was  granted,  and  the  business 
commenced  in  New  Haven.  About  the  same  time,  he  made  a  survey 
of  the  coast  of  Florida  for  Roman's  Map  of  North  America,  published 
during  the  war,  and  was  associated  with  Amos  Dooliltle,  an  engraver 
of  New  Haven,  who  sketched  and  engraved  four  views  of  the  battles  of 
Lexington  and  Concord,  the  first  series  of  historical  prints,  it  is  thought, 
made  in  America,  and  afterward  maps  for  :\Iorse's  Geography,  etc. 
Buell  was  also  employed  with  others  in  coining  copper  money  fur  the 
State,  for  which  he  constructed  all  the  apparatus  capable  of  making  120 
per  minute,  A  few  years  later,  while  in  England,  ho  is  said  to  have 
been  consulted  respecting  the  construction  of  Iron  bridges. 

Joseph  Ilojjkius,  another  silversmith,  of  Waterbnry,  before  the  Revo- 
lution,  made  plated  knee  and  shoe  buckles,  silver  .sleeve  and  vest  i)uttons, 
-Vutinns.       and  other  plated  ware,  some  of  which  are  still  preserved. 

The  wooden  clock  manufacture  was  commenced  in  that  town  in-  James 
Harrison,  in  1790,  on  whose  books  the  first  is  charged  January  1,  1791, 
!"  X3  12s.  8(/.     In  East  Windsor  the  brass  clock  manufacture  was  car- 


520  COLONIAL  INLUS-nU'   IN   METALS. 

riea  on  by  Daui.l  Burnap.     Specimens  wind,  are  still  P--;--l;-  -''J 

:    owise  inferior  in  wovlunansl.ip  to  the  best  Engl.^.  ;^-  -j^^V^J  ^ 

m-  .vnv  later  period.     Clocks  were  also  made  m  Ea>t  llarttoiu 

Clock.        01  anj  Uiti  \n     ^  ^^^^^  instructed  by 

i  «f  ti,n  ninnufacture  in  Connecticut.     At  tliat  tune,  iiiuiuui 

'T  i  it  ^      Tl'.e  k  »1  or  clocks  made  V,y  tl,o,e  were  bras,  .n<l 
"     r,  dotr;,ilUo„.    e,,J,,lu»,,  and  tl.elr  price  w»,  for  a  wooden 

:::  :.d  t: ;::; »"« '» ««.  "■=  >'^f-»"-^  nr::?;,  r 

.Ua,,  ana  dial  Tor  seconds  and  J^o  -»»  y^'  ^'^^Z  TstL^le 
"T  *"tf ;,:«:::  e!    .  ".ra  sLk  m  trade,  .ad  .„cy 

•::;';::.:';::. :':;:;: «.» .»»ue.- »-  "°--*t'"L°i.'':"'x; 

,  I  f,.„,>,  ftti  tn  *lfl  npcordinc:  to  uis  taste,     leny 

:::rk,r:s:::v::e:,:rr  „«in..u^^^^^^^^^ 

:;;/:';;:rco„.r„c'«on  ot  »„  e.na.„,.  Clock,  ^:^^z:':i 

tween  apparent  -^  "■-;;;".':;.,,   J/;:,  ;  ,:"  l!  .i„  business  on  a 
Boston  took  a  patent  for  in    t  mc  p.eecs  y      B  ^  .^  ^^^^^^^  ._^ 

:S:t:i";:r::;dt;lr«  ..eel  ridiculed  as  cl,i.crie., 

"""""'  °:,,  :  *:t,  cir:ein.  on  t,.  Nau^atnck  ri.er  tl.e  .nanu 

5S'."        factotc  of  tl.e  shelf  or  mantle  clock,  which  he  patented  m  1816, 

.n>c  chctmc  s  of  these  created  a  wide  demand.      Sceral  .mprove- 

■  ,      T  b,  him  in  the  mechanism,  and  the  later  prosress  m  ma- 

ments  made  h    h,m    n      e  ^^^^^.^^_  .^_  ^,_^^  ^^^^  ,^ 

„h,ner,  gc  ja  b,  h  V    .nerca^  l^^^^^^^^  ^  ^^^^^  ^^^^,  ,^ 

hnndreds  of  """■■"'"7'  °™  »    ,        ,„j      nis  descendants  ha.e  been 

r^JdT;,:  b"::i:^t  tC"--.  -  •''^  «"■ «'— ' 

'T::;ttol'tl.''importa„ec  of  horological  maehincs  in  ever,  depart- 

r?5riS-r=:d=:;r:s 


CONNECTH'UT.      MECHANICAL  INVENTIONS   I\   CLOCKS. 


521 


(rcservcil  arc  said 
ish  clocks  of  that 
in  East  Hartford 
•en  instructed  by 
ly,  removed  from 
clock-milking,  to 
equent  enterprise 

to  be  considered 
hat  time,  Thomas 
1,  were  also  known 
se  were  brass  and 
was,  for  a  wooden 
aes  having  a  brass 

more  costly  case, 
imited  was  the  sale 

in  trade,  and  they 
the  case  being  pro- 
,0  his  taste.     Terry 

teeth  of  the  wheels 
n  November,  lt97, 

time-pieces,  cover- 
g  the  difference  be- 
ch  year  Willard  of 
an  the  business  on  a 
after,  his  success  in 
culed  as  chimerical, 
ich  others  now  com- 
■oduced  a  new  era  ia 
tuck  river  the  raanu- 
he  patented  in  1816. 
Several  iraprove- 
Lter  progress  in  ma- 
jtion  in  that  State  to 
old  a  clock,  equal  to 
ascendants  have  been 

his  pupil,  Chauncey 

lines  in  every  depart- 
,nd  business,  there  are 
more  numerous  and 
long  its  members  than 
both  in  Europe   and 


America,  have  first  exercised  in  this  way  their  ingenuity,  whieii  has 
afterward  conducted  to  discoveries  of  universal  utility,  llittenliouse, 
Fitch  (also  a  native  of  Connecticut),  Whittemore,  who,  before  any  of 
the  above,  also  constructed  witlfout  a  model  an  cfEeient  wooden  clock, 
Dr.  Franklin,  and  others,  might  be  named.  Clock-makers  are  said'  to 
have  been  the  first  who  employed  special  machines  fur  their  manufac- 
tures, the  wheel-cutting  engine  having  been  invented  by  Dr.  llooke 
about  lf)55,  and  the  screw-cutting  lathe  by  Ilindley,  a  clock-maker  of 
York,  England,  in  1741.  The  fusee  engine  and  slide  rest,  tiie  value  of 
which  are  known  to  all  mechanicians  who  use  metal,  are  of  later  intro- 
duction, although  the  latter,  in  an  imperfect  form,  was  used  at  Home  iu 
164S,  and  attained  its  present  form  iu  1772. 

The  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  in  October,  1783,  awarded  a  patent  for 
fourteen  years  to  Benjamin  Hanks,  of  Litchfield,  for  a  self-winding  cluck. 
It  was  to  wind  itself  by  tlie  help  of  the  air,  and  to  keep  more  regular 
time  than  other  machines.  The  principle  was  made  use  of  in  Xcw  York 
and  elsewhere.  Two  years  after,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Badger,  while  a  mem- 
ber of  Yale  College,  constructed  an  ingenious  planetarium,  without 
having  seen  one  of  the  kind.     It  was  deposited  in  the  College  Library. 

In  1786,  Barnabas  Deane  asked  of  the  legislature  the  exclusive  right 
of  erecting  and  making  use  of  a  steam-engine,  professing  to  have  a  per- 
steam-  ^^^^  knowledge  of  its  construction  and  use.  The  city  of  Man- 
eugiuo.  Chester,  in  England,  was  not  in  possession  of  that  great  agent 
iu  manufactures  until  four  years  later,  but  the  engine  had  been  pre- 
viously introduced  in  several  places  for  pumping  and  locomotion. 

Several  years  earlier,  Harris  Hansom,  of  Colchester,  a  prisoner,  pre- 
ferred the  modest  request  of  a  patent  from  the  Government  for  one  hun- 
dred years  for  a  "  perpetual  water  motion,"  by  which  water  could  be 
made  to  rise  thirty  feet  high,  and  be  conveyed  to  towns  or  cities. 

A  very  useful  and  ingenious  dredging-machine  was  constructed  by  a 
Mr.  Culver,  of  Norwich,  by  which  the  channel  of  the  Thames  was  deepened, 
and  much  benefit  to  the  navigation  of  other  rivers  in  the  country  ex- 
pected from  its  use. 

New  Hampshire. — We  have  found  little  mention  of  the  provincial 
or  very  early  attempts  to  manufacture  Iron  iu  New  Hampshire.  There 
is  much  valuable  ore  both  in  that  State  and  Vermont,  and  they 
were  amply  endowed  with  all  the  materials  for  charcoal  fur- 
naces and  forges.  The  magnetic  oxyd  of  iron,  of  rich  quality,  exists 
abundantly  in  many  places  in  the  former,  particularly  at  Winchester  and 

(1)  Lectures  on  the  Progress  of  Arts  and  Science  before  the  Society  of  Arts. 


Iron  ores. 


522 


COLONIAL  INDTJSTllY   IN   METALS 


IIins(la-o  on  the  bonlcrs  of  Massachusolts,  at  F rancouia  and  Lisbon  in 
Grafto'.  County,  and  m  large  veins  in  Barllett,  Coos  Couniy.    It  is  from 
this  d.  SL-riulion  of  ore  that  a  hirge  ;,art  of  the  excellent  Sweilish   Iron 
is  uiaae      The  specular  oxyd  at  ricrniont,  in  the  same  county  is  one  uf 
the  richest  ores  in  tlie  Fniteu   States,  yielding  CO  to  upward  of  90  per 
cent   of  metallic  iron.     The  hydratod  peroxyd  or  swamp  ore  also  occurs 
in  many  places.     13ut  these  and  sundry  veins  of  copper,  zinc,  and  lead 
at  Warren  and  Eaton  and  about  the  grand  Monadnocl<,  appear  not  to 
have  been  wrought  at  a  very  early  period.     The  only  depos.t  of   lui 
ore  {cassilerite)  of  any  economical  value  in  the  United  fetates, 
'■*'■""'•       was  some  years  ago  discovered  !)y  Dr.  Jackson,  the   State 
Ceolon-ist,  at  Jackson  in  New  Hampsiiire.     It  contained  from  30  to  40 
per  cent  of  that  valuable  metal,  occurring  in  small  crystals  in  mica  slalo 

and  quartz. 

Iron  ore  wa?  early  discovered  in  ♦lie  vicinity  of  Portsmouth,  and  a 
quantity  of  it  was  shipped  to  England  by  Gibbons,  tlie  agent  of  Captain 
Mason,  in  Augu.st,  1C34,  respecting  which  he  wrote  to  his  princii.al : 
•'There  is  of  i'-ree  sorts— one  sort  tiiat  the  myne  doth  cast  fourth  as  tlie 
tree  doth  gum,  which  is  sent  in  a  rundit.  One  of  the  other  sorts  we 
take  to  be  very  rich,  there  is  great  store  of  it.  For  the  other  I  do  not 
know  "  llo  advises  that  a  supply  of  iron-work,  suitable  for  shipwrigliis 
and  joiners,  s-liould  be  sent  to  be  sold  with  the  lumber  at  a  saw-mill  he 
was  then  erecting,  and  adds,  "  So  I  have  written  unto  Mr,  Jola.  r.ound 
to  repair  unto  your  worship  ;  he  i.  a  silversmith  by  his  trade,  but  hath 
epent  much  time  and  means  about  iron,'"  etc.  How  early  an  attempt 
was  made  to  smelt  the  ore  there  wc  cannot  say. 

The  r.ritish  Hoard  of  Trade,  reported  to  the  House  of  Commons,  m 
1731,  that  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire,  in  his  answers  to  llieir 
circular  letters,  mentioned  an  Act  passed  many  years  before  i'or  the  en- 
couragement of  Iron-works  in  the  Province  by  proliibiting  tiie  exporta- 
tion of  iron  ore.     But  diligent  imiuiry  had  failed  to  discover  such  an 
Act  on  the  files  of  the  office.     Some  of  the  ore  beds  near  the  Massachu- 
sctta  line  give  evidence  of  having  been  formerly  explored,  ami  as  ore  has 
been  fro.piently  obtained  in  the  adjoining   States  for  furnaces  in  tlie 
latter,  such  an   Act  may  have  been  passed  (luring  the  disputes  relative 
to  the  boundary  between  tho  two  Provinces,  which,  from   1702  to  1741, 
were  united  in  one  government.       it  is  not   probable   much 
rorgT"''     would  be  shippe.l  to  Europ<'-      Houglass,  a   few  years  later, 
upeiiks  of  "the  noted  Iron-works  at  Lamper  Eel  River,"  which,  he  says, 
were  only  bloomeries  of  swamp  or  bog  ore,  and  were  soon  discontinued 


(1)  Udkuap'a  Now  HiuiUJiliiro,  vol.  i.,  Api).  No.  viii. 


NKW   irAMPSniRE   AND   VEUMOXT. 


523 


coiiia  and  Lisbon  in 
,  County.  It  is  from 
client  Pwci'iish  Iron 
ime  county  is  one  of 
,0  upward  of  90  per 
vamp  ore  also  oceui's 
)pper,  zinc,  and  lead 
lnoci<,  appeiir  not  to 

only  deposit  of  Tiu 
in  the  United  States, 

Jackson,  the  State 
tained  from  30  to  40 
crystals  in  mica  slalo 

if  Portsmouth,  and  a 
the  agent  of  Captain 
Lite  to  his  princi|tal : 
uth  cast  fourth  as  tlie 
of  the  other  sorts  we 
or  the  other  I  do  not 
litahle  for  shipwrijrhis 
.mher  at  a  saw-mill  he 
nto  Mr,  Jolm  r.iiund 
by  his  trade,  but  hath 
How  early  an  attempt 

louse  of  Commons,  in 
his  answers  to  their 
eiirs  before  for  the  en- 
oliibiting  the  exporta- 
J  to  discover  such  an 
ids  near  the  Massachu- 
qilored,  and  as  ore  lias 
I'S  for  furnaces  in  the 
ir  the  disputes  relative 
•h,  from  n02  to  1741, 
is  not  probiilile  much 
iiss,  a  few  years  later, 
River,"  which,  he  says, 
wore  soon  discontinued 

p.  No.  vUi. 


through  deficiency  of  water  and  of  ore,  having  never  made  much  bar- 
iron.'  The  ship-building  of  the  Province  rccpiired  much  iron,  which 
formed  a  considerable  item  of  the  expense.  Tiie  nails  imported  at  the 
port  of  Piscataqua  for  the  year  ending  October  1,  1T91,  amounted  to 
16,890  lbs.,  and  the  unwrought  steel  to  nearly  as  much,  independent  of 
what  was  obtained  from  the  neighboring  States.'  Iron-works  to  some 
extent  were  carried  ou  at  Exeter  about  that  time,  and  prol)ably  tliere 
and  elsewhere  considerably  earlier.  Dr.  Belknap  (1702)  simj.ly  re- 
marks that  the  manufacture  of  Iron,  both  in  j'orges  and  furinices,  niiuiit 
be  made  vastly  more  productive  than  it  was,  and  that,  instead  of  iielng 
imported,  Iron  might  be  an  article  of  export.''  Several  Jthode  Island 
men,  Hawkins,  Jenks,  Arnold,  and  Cahoon,  first  smelted  the  magnetic 
ore  of  Winchester  at  Furnace  Village  in  1795.  IJut  the  beds,  thoush 
abundant,  appear  to  have  been  abandoned  in  five  or  six  years.  The 
Franconia  Works  were  built,  we  believe,  by  the  Xew  Hampsiiire  Iron 
Manufacturing  Company,  incorporated  in  1805  to  work  tiie  rich  granular 
ore  of  that  town  and  Lisbon.  A  cold-bhist  furnace  was  erected  in  1811, 
and  a  hot-blast  in  1844.  But  they  have  not  been  actively  worked  for 
some  time. 

Vermont.— In  the  territory  of  Vermont,  where  the  government  of 
New  Hampsiiire  had  grante<l  between  one  and  two  hundred  town.-hips 
before  the  Revolution,  and  fiercely  contended  with  Xcw  York  lor  jmis- 
diction,  notwithstanding  the  unfavoral)le  influence  of  .such  conlli.ts  upon 
industry,  a  number  of  Iron-works  were  built  before  it  became  an  inde- 
pendent State  in  1791 

Iron  ore  exists  in  nearly  every  variety  and  in  groat  quantity  in  several 
counties,  especially  tlio.sc  lying  along  the  western  base  of  tiie  Green 
Mountain  range.  The  primary  magnetic  ores  and  hematites  in  tlie 
Lowjr  Silurian  slates  and  limestones  in  Franklin,  Chittenden,  Addison, 
and  Bennington  counties  occupy  numerous  beds,  and  furnish  the  red  and 
brown  oxyh,  specular,  titaniferous,  und  chrome  Iron,  and  the  ochres  for 
several  furnaces  at  the  present  time. 

In  Tinmouth,  Rutland  County,  where  there  were  ten  or  twelve  forges 
nnd  an  active  Iron  business  in  1798,  a  mine  of  Iron  ore  was  opened  as  early 
as  1785,  On  Furnace  Brook,  a  branch  of  Otter  Creek,  in  Pittsford,  a 
forgo  was  liuilt  in  1701,  and  having  been  rebuilt  and  enlarged,  now 
forms  a  handsome  stack  which  produces  a  large  amount  of  irun  and  of 
•tovo  castings  from  a  fouudery  attached.     Several  other  forges  and  fur- 


(1)  Suiuiuary  of  13riliah  Settlomvnti,  ii. 


(2)  Bolknni),  ill.  103. 
(»)  lUJ.  iii.  100. 


■■ 


■ 


524 


COLONIAL  iNii;  st;,y  in  mktals. 


races  were  built  in  the  nei-l.l.oHu.o.l  wilhiu  a  year  or  two,  and  made 
n-ood  cold  sheer  iron,  suitable  for  nails  and  castings,  from  the  brown 
hematites,  which  yielded  from  one-sixth  to  one-fourth  of  Iron.   A  pyritous 
(,re  at  Shrewsbury  was  formerly  used  in  making  copperas.    Tlie  valuable 
marble  and  kaolin  or  porcelain   and  pipe  clay  of  Iludand  were  early 
noticed  and  turned  to  account.    The  county  contained,  in  1794,  lourteen 
iron-forges,  three  furnaces,  and  a  slitling-miU.     There  were  at  tliC  same 
time  in  IJennington  one  forge,  four  in  Addison,  and  two  in  Chittenden 
counties.     Much  bar-iron,  nail-rods,  and  castings  were  made  from  tuese, 
and  the  number  of  such  works  was  greatly  increased  within  a  few  years. 
The  ore  of  Bennington  is  a  portion  of  the  magnetic  deposit  so  abu-dant 
in  the  adjoining  Sf.tes  of  Massachusetts  and   New  York.     Iron-works 
were  also  erected  before  the  close  of  the  century  in  some  of  the  towns 
C'lst  of  tl  3  mountains.     Randolph  in  Orange  County  had  two  forges  and 
a  Flitting-mill,  fed  by  ore  mined  in  th.>  vicinity.     Nails  were  made  to  a 
consi<terablc  amount,  and  exported  with  Iron  and  irou-manufactures  of 
other  descriptions.' 

New  York.  —  Aitiiongh  the  discovery  of  the  ores  of  Iron  and 
other  metals  wrs  eucuraged  by  the  Dutch  colonizers  of  N.w  York, 
the  mannfacturc  of  Iron  docs  not  appear  to  have  been  attempted  during 

their  rule  in  the  Province.  ,  •  ,     • 

liy  the  charter  of  "Freedoms  and  Exemptions,"  under  which,  in 
IC'^"   theVrest  India  Company  endeavored  to  extend  the  colonization 
of  New  Netherlands,  the  property  in  nil  minerals,   precious 
?,'::;;'""'■"     st<.nes,  crystals,  etc.,  belonged   as  .  seignorial  right  to  the 
eu....u,iK.Mi.  pi^^y^^yns.  Alio  were  to  pay  the  disc(jverer  for  his  industry  and 
dili'-encc  such  premium  as  had   be'en  previously  agreed  upon  between 
them      Some  r.eeimens  of  copper,  iron,  and  lead  ores  having  been  dis- 
covered  and  sent  to  Europe  by  private  persons.  Governor  Kieft  ws  di- 
rec.ed  by  J.e  Company  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  mineral  wealth  ot  the 
country    and   *o  forward  samides  of  the  various  metals  it  contained. 
During'  the  negotiations  of  peace  with  the  Mohawks  at  Fort  Orange 
Boon  aftor,  the  Indian  interpreter  was  observed  to  paint  his  face  after 
the  manner  of  the  natives,  with  a  substance  of  metallic  appearance.     A 
nample  of  the  pigment,  which  was  very  heavy,  having  been  obtained  and 
Bubjectcd  to  the  crucible,  a  metallic  mass  was  extracted,  and  supposed  to 
be  "  two  pieces  of  gold  worth  about  three  guilders."     An   ofll-'cr  and 
men  were  dispatched  to  the  mountain  whence  it  was  obtained  for  a 
large  ..uantitv,  wldch,  upon  experiment,  yielded  a  similar  prodm't.     The 
bubstanco  was  iron  or  copper  pyrites,  which  so  often  misled  the  soekera 

(1)  WiUiams'  llist.  Vermont. 


NEW   YORK.      DISCOVERY   OF   MINES   BY   THE   DUTCH.  525 


or  two,  anil  made 
s,  from  Uie  brown 
if  Iron.   A  i)yritous 
;ras.    The  viiluable 
[luilancl  were  early 
1,  in  1794,  fourteen 
•c  were  at  the  same 
two  in  C'.iiltenden 
re  made  from  tl.ese, 
within  a  few  years. 
Icposlt  so  abu'^dant 
York.     Iron-works 
some  of  tlic  towns 
had  two  forges  and 
lils  were  made  to  a 
I'ou-mauufactures  of 


ores  of  Iron  and 
zers  of  Now  York, 
ju  attempted  during 

!,"  under  which,  in 
end  the  colonization 
1  minerals,  precious 
rnorial  right  to  the 
for  his  industry  and 
2,reed  upon  Ijelween 
)res  having  been  dis- 
ivernor  Kieft  w"s  di- 
mineral  wealth  of  the 
metals  it  contained, 
wks  at  Fort  Orange 
)   paint  his  face  after 
allii!  api)earant'e.     A 
ng  been  obtained  and 
3ted,  and  supposed  to 
rs."     An   oflicor  and 
,  was  obtaini'il  for  a 
similar  product.     Tiio 
;eii  misled  the  seekera 


for  gold.  _  Other  minerals  were  soon  after  brought  by  the  Indians  from 
the  Nevesink  hills,  near  the  Raritan  river,  and  a  partv  was  sent  to  ex- 
plore the  place.     The  Director-General  Kieft,  coniiden't  that  rich  metals 
were  to  be  discovered,  purposed  erecting  a  fort  to  guard  the  treasure 
should  It  prove  valuable.     Encouraged   by  the  result,  which  was  "  a  few 
•   samples  of  a  certain  mineral  which  yielded  gold  and  quicksilver,"  an 
officer  and  thirty  men  were  sent  to  continue  the  search,  and  to  send  as 
much  as  possible  of  the  mineral  to  Fort  Amsterdam.     As  the  result  of 
Shipment     *'"''''  explorations,  a  quantity  of  dillerent  minerals  was  shipped 
'itiaud.      "^  ^""'^  "^^''"'i  <■"'•  IlolhuKl  ;  but  the  vessel  with  her  treasure 
soon  after  foundered  at  .^ea.     Not  discouraged,  however,  the 
authorities  at  Amsterdam,  in  the  hope  of  vulunl)lo  discoveries,  proinised 
to  send  tt  person  qualified  to  report  on  some  Iron  mines  which  had  been 
found  on  Statcn  Island  and  near  the  Ilaritan,  and  to  prosecute  the  search 
for  other  metals  and  minerals. 

After  the  recall  of  Kieft  in  IC-tfi,  a  new  charter  with  more  liberal 
provisions,  gave  any  colonist  who,  by  himself,  his  family,  or  any  one  in 
his  service,  should  discover  any  minerals  whatever  in  the  Province,  the 
sole  use  of  them,  without  any  duty  or  imposition,  for  ten  years,  Ifter 
which  time  he  was  to  pay  the  Company  one-tenth  the  proceeds  thereof.' 
These  efforts  of  the  Dutch  authorities  to  bring  to  light  the  great 
mineral  resources  of  the  Colony,  revealed  the  presence  of  Iron  ore,  which 
is  mentioned  by  Adrian  Vauderdonek,  who  settled  under  the  charter  of 
Patroons,  and  wrote  an  account  of  the  Province  previous  to  ICfiS.  liut 
no  attempt  that  we  are  aware  of  was  made  to  smelt  or  mine  it."    On© 

(1)  0'C..llni.'h.in'fl  New  Netliorlnmls.  Clopper  nnil  one  or  two  ollior  wcilttiy  blncli. 

(2)  Ono  of  the  immeB  Imriio  by  the  Dutch     finilhs  on    Miiidon   Lnnu  luiir   Puarl  sireut 


among  the  Imliatis  ia  sniil  to  have  8ij;niHi'J 
"the  iron-workcri-,"  ill  nlliicioii,  probnl^ly, 
to  tho  0|UMniioii8  of  the  uniith  and  olhor 
lianilicraflfinen.  Tlio  scarcity  of  lilack- 
imiths  in  many  of  the  first  EnKlisli  scttlu- 
ments  in  tliis  country  was  iurlously  felt. 
But  tho  Ilollanil  Company  and  tho  patroons, 
notwith«tanilin){  tho  purely  onmnierclMl  cha- 
ncer of  their  e  \terpri«es,  appear  with  judi- 
cioui  foroxiKlit  to  have  provided  a  fair  pro- 


William  street  und  Old  tJJip.in  like  manner, 
were  known  for  many  years  as  '•  lUn^jcr's 
I'alh,"  from  Burger  Joris,  who,  with  others 
of  tho  trade,  emigrated  in  16;j7  to  tho  pri- 
vato  colony  of  Van  Ueni'solaer,  on  tho  Hud- 
son, whoneo  ho  soon  after  rcuioved  to  the 
corner  of  William  street  and  Hanover 
fi<iuare,  where  ho  received  n  grant  of  lot?, 
and  finally  to  Long  Island.  Tho  privato 
aecount.i  of  Van   Uensselaer  furniiih   some 


portion  of  Unit  liurnhio  but  useful  class  of  parliculars  of  tho  price  of  Iron,  iron  WHres, 

artificers  in  iron,  as  well  as  of  other  noooa-  tools,  etc.,  at  that  early  date.     An  iron  an- 

sary  inechantes.     Sovcral  of  the  eraft  wore  vll  Is  charged  at  KM)  florinei  smiths'  coals. 

araonj?  tho  lirst  grantees  of  lots  on  Manhat-  per  chaldron,  litll.  10  stivers;  n  sniilli's  bcl. 

Un.     That  part  of  the  Kast   lUvcr  side  of  |„ws.   47fl.;   nails   (100  to  the   puond),  Hst. 

thecity  bclwicn  Wall  street  and   Peek  .'<lip  per   Ih. ;    steel.  Ut. ;    n    kcllle,   :t    to    fifl. ;    a 

was  long  kn..wn  as  "de  Smit's  valcy, "after-  chisel,  Itl. ;   a  plnwfhare.  2,-,fl. ;  a  plow  and 

WRrd  Bldircviatod  to  "do  Vly"  and  "Fly,"  iron  work,  2,Sfl.  Ifist.;   an  nx  or  halchot,  H 

M    iucluUiiig   the   rosidanoei   of  Coruulius  to  2fl. ;  a  scythe,  2fl.  lOsl.  j  a  spade,  1}   u 


526  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN    METALS. 

Of  the  earliest  settlements  of  tl.e  Dutch  was  made  at   Minisink,  in  the 
Ot  the  earnc  m,,..„ctic  ores  of  Orange  County.     At  thi. 

ueisrhborhoocl  ol  the  vaiuaoic  m.ipiiv.-ii.  n        .,„,(•,,,„  rjpK. 

,  ,      place,  above  the  Blue  llidge,  on  the  New  Jersey  s  de  of  the  Dela 
Sl^r;..  ;„e  the  successors  of  the  first  occupants  found  "  nunc  holes 
and  the  remains  of  a  well-eonstructed  road.  extendi,>g  thence  nea.^  one 
hundred  miles  to  Esopus  (now  Kingston)  on  the   Hudson  _    1  uulU  on 
ascribes  these  excavations,  of  which  there  were  two,  and     the  old  mine 
road"  to  a  company  of  miners  from  Holland,  who  transported  ore  o 
ome  l^.d  over   he  'road,  until  the  work  was  suspended,  as  U  .  supp  .ed 
bTthe   ransfer  of  the  Province  to  the  English  in  IG.U.     The  records  of 
eW       India  Company  also  refer  to  a  piece  of  pure  eopper  ^om  >ew 
Netherlands,  and  to  the  assurance  received  from  ^^^f^^^^^^ 
that  there  was  a  copper  mine  .at  Min.smk.     It  was  for  ^  -t  ukUI  tha 
the  mining  was  probably  carried  on.     Tlie  copper  mme  of  the  bchny ler 
nl  New  Brunswick,  in  Jersey,  appears  also  to  have  been  wrough   to 
Lme  extent  by  the  Dutch.'     Hubbard,  about  1G30,  says  >n  reference  to 
New  York.  4taten  Island  produces  tin  and  store  of  Iron  ore.  and  the 
r ahmine  stone  is  said  likewisp*- be  found  there." 

In        patents  granted  I      .     Ouke  of  York,  of  which  that  of  Muu- 
siuk   enSrcing  L  larger  porMon  of  Orange  County,  was  the  earhes 
Ttlla    part  of  the  State,  the  gold  and  silver  mines  were  reserved  m 
vl       0    the  royal  prerogative.     This  was  the  only  reservation  w.th  re- 
:        to  mines  all  minerals  in  the  grant  in  1CB4  of  the  '-ge  mam..a 
:!a  e  to  Hubert  Livingston,  in  Columbia  County,  where  probably  the 
fu-st  Iron-works  within  the  present  lindts  of  the   State  were 
^r,UT     afterward  erected  by  his  eldest  son,  I'hilip  Livingston.     1  he.e 
^""'""-       were  k.iowu  as  the  Ancram  irou-works,  a  name  derived  fro.a 

t       .     1   n   .,f  oonnor    111.  6.'t.;     middle  of  tue  Inst  eontury,  and  Sir  William 
2ili.;   a   .heep,   ^^"    '^  ^;7\  ^Jfl,,/     j.,,,„„„.  of  New  York,  w«.  in.truo.cd  ,« 

M..iomvric.     Tl..y  nro  .nd  '-  ^     » J^^^     J    ^,,  L,liMua..n.  Al«...ndor  Henry,  at  th. 

1626   and  nKuin  l.y  Jutln-r  Claude  Allou  7,  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^_ 

in  xm.  who  .y.U  of  finding  p.ooc,  of  cop-     the  "-  ••  «.dc    .  Uk  ^_^_ 

from  ,oncr:,.ion  h,  Ren.-n.tu  n  «r  ol,  e.t    of  K    "  ^  ^j^_^^_,^_^,  ^,,^^,^  ,„  j„,j, 

worship.     M......  of  cop,,..r  Imm.nored  .nto  «'""•""•'  ]i„„,,„on.  «hc»e  Re- 

„.eful  fonn.  h,v«  .,.n  found  in  ,h.,  WeMorn  -    "  -«      '      ^  ',     ^.^^^  .„.;„,„  u.for- 

tonudi,    .l>l.h    wove     prCaldy     oh.a  ned  ^^^^   ^^;^:  ^  ^,,,  ,,,,^,  ,.,„,,,.. 

.l,i-no.'.     An  nppHn,(ion  for  a  grant  of  tl.cm  i  lUVJl^  fv-v 
WM  made  U'  tb«  k.ut  of  K.iglaud  about  v.,o 


J 


i^^ 


NEW   YORK.      GERMAN   MINERS   EXPLORE   THE    m(]IlI..VNI)S,         527 


t   Miiiisink,  in  the 
County.     At  this 
cysideufllie  Dela- 
)und  "  mine  holes'' 
;  thence  nearly  one 
[udson.     Tradition 
and  "  the  old  mine 
transported  ore  of 
.1,  tts  it  is  supposed, 
4.     The  records  of 
•e  copper  from  New 
J  Kloos  de  lluyter, 
for  that  metal  that 
ine  of  the  Schuylers 
ve  been  wrought  to 
says  in  reference  to 
if  Iron  ore,  and  the 

which  that  of  Mini- 
iity,  was  the  earliest 
es  wore  reserved  in 

reservation  with  re- 
f  the  large  manorial 

where  probably  the 
s  of  the  State  were 
)  Livin},rston.  The»e 
a  name  derived  from 

t  century,  and  Sir  WilUam 
f  York,  wnj  instruolcil  tn 
m  ri-'spcctini;  thrni,  wliit'h 
a   to   Loril     IliUsl'oroiigli. 
s  iiHctrtiiiniHl   to  bo  aljuntl- 
reaily  imnK'  had  proved  it 
iimtcs  liiid  bei'H   ajiulo  of 
lining  and  trimfporting  it. 
iiptod  tlicro  ns  cnrly  .i«  1771 
in,  Alu-Kiindor  Henry,  at  th« 
,'on  riviT,  imd  iil'(orwiird  on 
'  the  Inke,  l)Ul.  iiftor  nn  un- 
,  was  iil)iind'.n»a.     Tlio  n;- 
red  by  ttio  United    Htntft 
dor  (ienpnil  Cjiss,  *n  I'^ltf, 
y  l>r.  lloiigliton,  \i\Hee  Ro- 
iivo  'iio  fli-t  (liniiilc  iiifor- 
.•  lliono  va'uiiblo  depolili. 


the  native  place  of  the  family  in  Scotland.     They  wore  erected  on  the 
Ancrara  or  lloelolF  Jansen's  Creek,  about  fourteen  miles  east  of  the 
Hudson.    Tlie  ore  was  obtained  principally  from  the  "ore  hill"  in  Salis- 
bury,  Conn.,  which  place,  was  first  settled  by  some  Dutcii  fiimiiies  from 
Xew  York,  and  incorporated  by  its  present  name  in  1741.    The  mine,  of 
which  the  lion.  Philip  Livingston  was  one  of  the  principal  owners,  was 
about  twelve  miles  distant  fiom  the  bloomery.     Tlie  site  of  the  forge 
was  probably  chosen  on  account  of  a  vein  of  argentiferous  galena  or 
lead  ore  having  been  previously  discovered  and  opened  by  Mr.  Living- 
ston near  the  spot.     The  works  were  set  up  as  early  at  least  as  1740. 
Tliat  tliey  were  the  first  in  the  Province,  we  infer  from  tlie  official  re- 
ports to  the  Lords  of  Trade.     Tlie  Hon.  Cadwallader  Cohlen,  in  1723, 
assigns  as  the  reason  that  naval  stores,  iron,  etc.,  had  not  been  attempted, 
that  it  was  difficult  to  persuade  people  to  change  their  accustomed  pur- 
suits for  new  ones,  which  were  expensive  in  the  beginning  and  always 
uncertain  in  the  issue ;   to  which  were  added  the  want  of  capital,  the 
cheapness  of  land,  and  the  consequent  dearuess  of  labor,  which  was  etpial 
to  3.S.  a  day.     Governor  Cosby,  in  1734,  alludes  to  the  discovery  of  rich 
mines  in  Xew  Jersey,  and  of  Lead  in  Xew  York,  and  to  the  abundance 
of  both  bog  and  mountain  ores  of  Iron,  "  but  as  yet  no  iron-work  is  set 
up  in  tliis  Province."     lie  considered  it  desirable  that  encouragement 
should  be  given  to  the  impo'-tation  of  Iron  in  pigs  and  bars  into  Eng- 
land, or  "at  least  that  it  might  be  free  of  duty.'"     Kalm,  the  Swedisli 
traveler,  in  1748  says,  "Of  late  years  they  (of  Xew  York)  have  shipped 
a  great  deal  of  Iron  to  England."     This  exportation  doubtless  consisted 
in  part  of  Iron  from  X'ew  Jersey,  where  Iron-works  were  erected  many 
years  before. 

Among  the  early  explorers  of  the  iiighly  metalliferous  region  of  the 
nighlands  of  Orange,  llockiand,  Putnam,  and  other  counties,  were  a 
company  of  German  miners,  sent  out  between  the  years  1730  and  1750, 
under  the  direction  of  I5aron  llorsenclaver,  who  was  extremely  assiduous 
in  prosecuting  tlie  searcli.  Tliey  made  numerous  excavations,  of  which 
the  traditions  and  more  palpalde  evidences  still  remain,  and  made  some 
Httcraj)ts  to  turn  their  discoveries  to  account,  whence  many  reports  of 
silver  and  lead  mines  in  the  Highlands  have  originated.  Iron-works 
ajipear  to  have  been  first  set,  up  in  Orange  County  about  this  time. 

In  1750,  when  information  respecting  Iron-works  in  the  Cok)nies  wa« 

railed  for  in  reference  to  the  bill  before  Parliament  upon  the  sul)ject, 

oruni.-^        Goiirnor  Clinton  reported  that  at  a  place  called  Wawnganda, 

-"■ly        ill  Orange  County,  aliout  twenty-six  miles  from  the  Hudson, 

W'ftS  a  plating-forge  with  a  till-iianimer.     It  was  the  properly  of  Law- 

(1)  Due.  Ilmt.  of  New  York,  by  O'Cttllaghan. 


iflk^ 


jj,^g  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 

in  the  rvovince.  i„  „f  „  vifh  suncrPoial  deposit  of 

T    iTJ^n  tl.P  first  discovery  was  made  oi  a  iicti  suptmn"  ^  i 

In  the  following  year,  Ward  &  Colton  erctau 
"'-""^      Sterlinn-  Pond,  ia  the  extreme  southern  part  of  \\  .tsm  K,  near 
u.u..a.id      blciiing  1  uiiu,  i  f„rnicp  whi"h  wuH  the  first 

--"«•  the  Monroe  Hue,  a  charcoal  ^/l"^^-^""  "''' ^  ":  '  ^,^„  .  ^villiam 
•  w  i  1-  These  works  were  called,  in  compliment  to  Geueial  \N  imam 
\",  "  ^Lo  d  S  erli  g  the  owner  of  the  land,  afterward  an  ollieer  .u 
Alexander  Lord  feteiiinj,,  lilt-  ti.ov  were  bu  t   or 

Back.  co»„.y,  i'»-y'"'''\"»:  :i\:fj:,„?  ;„„;  5,.o  to  im 

steel,  .nd  oU,er  p..r,c.    .    Th^^  ''    J  ™  ,.       „„  „„,„,„,,„„.  ahout 
for  their  |,n»l„,.uv,«>  .      «;J°';  ""^       ,„.°,  ,„,„  ^ar,  were  the  pro- 

'"'"'  ';,::  li,  w„o  U«.„.e  ,.,«  ,,r„,„K..or  ..roro  the  «»  n,.,^ 
'"•'••"■■    „„,l,or,  at  .l.e  ,.1.™  i„  in.l,  ai"!  i.  HVC  pro.lac,«l  the    ir 
.t.el  in  tl,e  Province,  at  first  from  pig  «nJ  afterward  from  bar  ,ron,  . 
ro:r::L«„er.Ti,efir.ti.....e.,,.de.^ 

^sir":  :rr""  a » :;a"::tror"":d;..oo.  i.  w.s  eoa-ider,. 

""""',  e      U„  .i,e  r.«o„s  Daacaora  8«e,ils„  Iron.   Tl.o    -»»■  > 
a:r ""'  „.,,.  m  ll.e  St.t«  were  east  l,y  tl,e  same  per,,,.,  for  Govern- 

me,,.,  in  „>«,  from  f.e  met.,  jj, -» t;  j''%,:;  I:::;!: 

eh.mstre,cledniro>»  le  11  ^^_^^  ^|^|.^^^,^,^|  .^^ 

rr^::-  t;:::^^or  ::f  cohmd  Timoti.  ..uerin.^  u 

:^:id  unhroUen.  we  believe,  daring  the  w^.  ^^  o.^-  ^  ^^^ 
Montgomery  and  on  the  lake  above  were  broken  by  he  But  s  L  k- 
of  these  ehdns.  weighing  140  lbs  each,  are  preserved  among  the  Kcvo- 
lutionary  relics  at  Newburgh  and  iu  New  \ork. 

S  ,..  .  a.„i   .1..  ofNotv         (2)  nr.   llnrton'l   Oeologlool    Report  of 

'  (,)  French's  niK»«"'(!"tttl«"'°ff^'^"     J-l 

York. 


NEW   YORK.      lUOX   MINES   AND    WORKS  IN   ORANGE  COUNTY.       529 


five  years  before, 
kind  in  tlie  Tro- 
•nace  at  lluit  time 

crficial  deposit  of 
town  of  Monroe. 
1(3  at  tiie  outlet  of 
of  W.'cwick,  near 
hi'jh  was  the  first 
0  General  William 
rward  an  ollicer  in 
'hey  were  built  for 
•  Abel  Noble,  from 
nroe,  near  the  fur- 
From  500  to  1,000 
y  from  the  Sterling 
en  that  and  184-2. 
ir  cannon,  bar-iron, 
formerly  celebrated 
Revolution,  about 

0  bar,  were  the  pro- 

'  works.  Mr.  Peter 
;fore  the  war,  made 
,  produced  Die  lirsl 
ivd  from  bar  iron,  in 
the  State  was  made 
Long  Mine  on  tlie 
Is  it  was  eourtidercd 
on.    The  first  cannon 

1  person  for  Uovern- 
loy  were  from  six  to 

The  immense  Iron 
in  1778,  wiiH  forged 
ade  and  delivered  in 
nothy  IMekering."  U 
hough  others  at  Fori 
,y  the  British.  Links 
vod  among  the  llevo- 


in*«  Geologloiil    Report  of 


A  second  furnace  was  erected  on  the  same  property  in  1777,  by  the 
Townscnds,  who  had  two  forges  with  eight  forgo  fires.  The  furnace  has 
been  in  ruins  for  fifty  years.  Tlie  hamlet  still  bears  the  name  of  Sterling 
Works,  and  now  produces  daily  12  to  15  tons  of  i)ig-iron,  the  business 
being  still  in  the  family  of  the  Townsends,  whose  large  hot-blast  furnace 
stands  two  miles  north  of  the  old  Sterling  furnace.  Southfield  furnace, 
mx  miles  southeast  of  the  Sterling  mines,  owned  by  Peter  Townsend 
&  Co.,  was  built  in  1800.  Several  other  veins  of  magnetic  ore  were 
opened  in  the  last  century  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Sterling  mine, 
which  itself  covers,  according  to  survey,  30  acres  of  ground.  The  Forest 
of  Dean  mine,  a  very  e.vlcnsive  bed  six  miles  west-northwest  of  Fort 
Montgomery,  as  early  as  175G  supplied  a  furnace,  which  was  abandoned 
twenty-one  years  after.  Tlie  vein  is  over  30  feet  thick  and  150  broad, 
and  makes  good  cold  short  iron.  Samuel  Patrick  cast  stoves  at  this 
furnace  for  Governiiunt  in  1776. 

The  Long  Mine,  beloiij^niig  to  the  Townsends,  was  discovered  in  \1iil 

by  Ijavid  Jones,  and,  during  the  next  seventy  or  eighty  rears,  supplied 

on  an  average  500  tons  of  ore  annuallv  to  the  Sterlin":  Works. 

liiniK  Aliue.     t  t  i  " 

It  was  the  only  one  at  which  systematic  iiuiiin<r  was  atteiniited 
in  that  time,  and  was  worked  to  the  depth  of  17<i  feet  on  a  single  vela 
6  feet  thick.  The  ore  yielded  62  wc  cent,  of  strong  tough  metal,  from 
which  cannon,  muskets,  wire,  steel,  fine  mullie.'il>le  Iron,  and  haj-nes.<- 
buckles  of  good  (piality  were  made.' 

Tiie  Mountain  Mine,  half  a  mile  sou'hwest  of  Long  Mine,  was  found 
in  1758  ity  a  hunter,  in  conseciuence  of  a  fn'e  having  i)cen  blown  up  by 
Mauntaiu  tlic  roots.  Tlic  Iron  froiu  this  mine  was  remarkable  for  its 
.Muio.  strength  and  fine   i)olish,  and  was  in  conscfpieiice  chielly  ex- 

ported to  England  to  be  tinned. 

Spruce  Swamp  or  lied  Mine,  of  pyritous  magnetic  ore,  three  mileh 
south  of  Long  Mine,  discovered  in  1780  l)y  J.  Stiiiieiifell ;  the  lielclier 
otherminps  Miiic,  discovcrcd  in  1792  by  Jacob  Belcher,  on  the  Sterling 
luoruiiKiCo.  estate,  at  the  soutu  end  of  the  mountain  ;  the  Crossway  Mine, 
near  Mountain  Mine,  a  vein  14  feet  thick,  yielding  50  per  cent,  of  good 
Iron,  found  in  1793  by  John  Pall,  with  the  Patterson,  Clove,  O'Xeill  ur 
Nail  mine,  and  many  other  veins  more  recently  discovered,  now  supjilv 
tho  anthracite  and  charcoal  furnaces  of  Orange  County  with  much  vahi' 
able  ore.  Vincent  Matthews,  Esij.,  was  tho  proprietor  of  an  iron  mine 
iu  Orange  County  in  1774. 

Many  old  furnaces  and  forges  for  sniclting  these  ores  have  been 
long  abandoned.  A  furnace  was  in  operation  during  the  lU'Volution 
»t   Craigsville,  in   IJlooming    (Jrove    township.      Ilaverstraw   furnace, 

(1/   Hr.  IluriouV  Kipoit. 

34 


mm 


Official 
Ki'poit. 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 

in  Rockland  County,  and  one  or  two  bloomerics  on  the  west  bank  of 
Tappan  Sea,  which  smelted  ore  on  the  neighboring  creeks,  and  other 
,  ,  bloomerics  on  the  Kamapo,  have  been  long  abandoned,  the 
(vo'.l^r  fo,,„cr  for  fifty  years,  and  the  Croton,  Orange,  and  Woodbury 
furnaces  quite  or  nearly  as  long.'  Large  furnaces  now  occupy  the  Kamapo 
Valley,  which  are  supplied  with  magnetic  and  limonite  ores  from  the 
mines  above  named  and  others  in  the  Highlands. 

In  1757   Governor  De  Lancey,  in  obedience  to  the  king's  proclama- 
tion, transmitted  an  account  of  the  Iron-works  in  the  Province  from 
1749  to  1756.     It  contained  a  statement  of  the  product  of  the 
Ancram  Iron-works  during  that  time,  as  furnished  by  Robert 
Livingston,  Jr.,  the  son  of  the  first  proprietor.     It  was  represented  to 
be  the  only  Iron-works  in  the  Province  then  carried  on.     Several  others 
had  been  set  u)),  but  were  abandoned,  through  mismanagement  or  the 
pecuniary  inability  of  the  undertakers.     Of  tliese  were  two  furnaces  in 
tl^e  Manor  of   Cortland,  and  several  bloomerics  which  had  not  been 
worked  for  several  year:=.     Iron  ore  was  aljundant,  especially  in  the 
Highlands,  and  it  was  prol)able  that,  with  the  return  of  peace  and  with 
encouragement  from  Parliament,  a  number  of  otliers  would  be  cnrried  on 
to  the  great  advantage  of  the  mother  cuuntry,  which  in  time  would 
receive  from  the  Colonies,  in  exchange  for  her  own  manufactures,  all 
the  pig  and  bar  iron  she  required,  for  whicli  she  now  paid  Sweden  in 
cash*     The  following  is— 

4n  Account  of  Iron  made  at  Ancram,  in  Ihr  Manor  Umngston,  b^/ 
Robert  Livingston,  Jr.,  E.<q. 


. .     .- 

MADE  INTO  BAB8,                           | 

T. 

c. 

CimtinKS,                I 

Year.    | 

T. 

c.    1 

qra. 

lbs. 

T.         c.    1  qrs. 

lbs. 

17ft" 

43 

9 

3 

13 

I<I5 

15 

5 

2 

3 

7 

1761 

600 

(i 

.1 

11 

hii 

12 

6 

1 

2 

0 

1752 

354 

7 

3 

0 

]H3 

14 

3 

2 

1 

14 

17r)3 

22 

0 

il 

0 

215 

16 

2 

3 

0 

21 

1754 

all 

fi 

4 

2 

2 

() 

1705 
1756 

722 
21)7 

2 
14 

3 
0 

;j 

140 
182 

in 

0 

10 

2 
0 

3 

0 



S 

20 1() 

4 

3 

16 

1302 

8  1  66 

15  1   0  1  ai 

1302 

8 

0 

0 

Total, 

12 

3 

1     16 

Pr.  DiRCK  JanSI'V. 

3318 

,Slor4lilillH 

"While  many  others  were  unsuccessful,  it  is  matter  of  surprise  that  the 
Ancram  Works  should  have  continued  to  prosper,  considering  tho  dis- 


ci; Leslov.  414, 


1  the  west  bank  of 
g  creeks,  and  other 
mg  abaadonctl,  the 
igc,  and  Woodbury 
occupy  the  Kamapo 
)nite  ores  from  the 

he  king's  proclama- 
the  Province  from 
f  the  product  of  the 
'urnishcd  by  Robert 
was  represented  to 
on.     Several  others 
smanagemont  or  the 
iTcre  two  furnaces  in 
vhich  had  not  been 
;it,  especially  in  the 
;-n  of  peace  and  with 
i  would  be  cnrried  on 
.vhich  in  time  WMild 
wii  manufactures,  all 
now  paid  Sweden  in 

in(^  jUvingston,  by 


TO  BAK8 

CilHti 

nKS, 

''•       1 

qr--- 

lbs. 

-     1 

2 

3 

7 

1 

2 

0 

2 

1 

14 

3 

0 

21 

2 

2 

0 

» 

2 
0 

3 
0 

I 

. 

_— _ 

—    — 

1 

15 

l( 

31 

)IRCK  JaNSFX, 


cr  of  surprise  that  the 
r,  considering  the  dis- 


NEW   YORK.      RIOTS  AT   ANCRAM — FINERY   FORGE. 


531 


tance  that  the  ore  had  to  be  transported  from  tlie  mine,  and  the  still 
greater  distance  which  the  bar-iron  had  to  be  carried,  to  the  Hudson 
Quarrois  i^  ordcr  to  rcach  the  market  at  New  York ;  while  the  roads 
Willi  Mass.  j^jj^j  j^ijg  fjjQ(]eg  (jf  conveyance  were  imperfect,  and  all  the  opera- 
tions of  mining  and  manufacture  were  generally  rude.  During  these 
years,  also,  the  operations  were  much  impeded  by  quarrels  with  citizens 
of  Massachusetts.  That  Province,  in  virtue  of  its  charter,  claimed  juris- 
diction westwardly  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  had  made  grants  which 
brought  its  subjects  into  conflict  with  the  Livingston  claims..  This  led 
to  frequent  riots,  murders,  and  arrests  in  the  attempt  to  dispossess  the 
proprietor  and  his  tenants,  until  the  Revolution  terminated  the  disputes. 
An  affidavit  was  made  by  Mr.  Livingston  in  May,  lt55,  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  abduction  of  his  men,  and  the  imprisonment  in  the  Spring- 
field Jail  of  the  clerk,  forgeman,  two  founders,  and  other  workmen,  ho 
was  unable  to  furnish  carriage-wheels  and  shot  for  the  expeditions  fitting 
out  against  Niagara  and  Crown  Point.  He  had  put  his  furnace  in  order 
for  that  purpose  at  an  expense  of  £400.  These  works,  which  were  thus 
engaged  in  the  public  service  at  the  most  important  period  of  colonial 
history,  had  nevertheless  become  highly  advantageous  to  the  owners 
at  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  Independence.  The  reputation  of 
Sali.sbury  bar-iron  was  doubtless  an  element  in  their  prosperity.  Besides 
the  Salisbury  ore  beds,  two  others  of  the  same  kind  of  ore  were  also 
opened  in  the  eastern  pnrt  of  the  Manor,  one  north  and  the  other  south, 
near  the  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  lines.  The  Iron  from  all  these 
was  of  superior  quality.  In  addition  to  the  forge  and  furnace  at  An- 
cram,  there  wer;e  also  forges  north  of  them  at  Maryburg,  near  the 
centre  of  the  Manbt,  yvhich  had  fallen  to  ruin  before  the  close  of  tho 
last  century. 

The  iron-manufactuj'es  of  Copake,  Hudson,  und  othe.  places  consti- 
tute an  important  branch  of  the  industry  of  the  county  at  this  time. 

In  May,  1701,  William  Hawkshurst  petitioned  the  Council  assembled 
at  Fort  George  for  the  sole  privilege  during  thirty  years  of  making 
Pii,5ry  anchors  and  anvils  within  the  Province.  The  application  was 
forge.  rejected.  An  advertisement  of  the  same  person,  in  1765,  states 
that  he  had  lately  erected  "a  finery  and  great  hammer  for  refining  the 
Sterling  pig-iron  into  bars,"  His  customers,  on  application  to  him  in 
Now  Vork,  could  be  supplied  with  a  great  variety  of  iron  and  castings, 
such  as  "  flat,  square,  and  bar  iron,  cart,  waggon,  chair,  und  shiiirh  lire, 
mill  spindles,  wrines  and  iron  axle  trees,  cast  mill  rounds  nud  gudgeons, 
iiUers'  phtes,  forgo  plates,  forge  hammers,  and  anvils,  pots,  kettles, 
potash  kettles,  and  plates  or  hearths  for  pearlash  furnacns,  sugar  and 
Btill  house  grates,  fifty-sixes  a.id  smaller  weights,  sash  weiglits,  Sic."    Ha 


53J  COLONIAL  ISDISinV   IS    METALS. 

i,„„  .,,,1  .u,„lrj  sort,  of  «lf-'»"  ';";•,  ^  "l'  '^  ,,,  i-e  ™p,,„sc  to 

r.„tnre,s  ot  tl,o  counlry  from  J"'-*"'; '~"-     ,  ^,,„     ,„  „t  the  London 
„.,ng  the  ,-o»     ■.y™-^      S-     >,  0,  t  _^ J^^^^.^^  ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

Soeiety,  was  formd  ">  >«»  "' ,         ,,„,„„t,  „f  radinmentary  l-o"" 
-"        "'■■""  ,'r  ™t;      a     ;;    0       .er.     V,.m..s  were  offered 

r::  t:rr:.:;:;t.  rr;—,  a. «. ..  .ad, 

sales.      .  f  Tvon-works  in  the  southern  part 

At  this  date  there  were  a  number  of  Iron  ^v  ori  s 

of  Duchess  County.  The  ^^^^^^^::^Z^iZ  in  very  rich 
....  and  --% f  ^'^,':;  ^::^/:  the  sJud  and  sometimes  of 
co«...  deposits  of  l--^-;^^  ;  ;;^^'^2  slate  and  limestone.  A  manu- 
the  nbrous  -™^'-' '^"°;1"  ::tl  r  aent  form  of  the  hematite,  was 
faetureof  yellow  ochre  *--;'- ^f^J^^.^,,  ,  ,ein  of  galena  was 
established   many  year     ago.      M   Is  ^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^^.^^,  ,,^, 

wrought  as  early  as  1^40,  by  ^  comn  ^^^^^  ,^  ^^^^^^^  i^y  , 

ore  to  Bnstol,Englau     and  t    Am^^^^^^  ^^^.^^^^  ^^  ^„,  ,.,  i,,,,^ 
vein  of  copper  ore  and  bo  h        d  ,    ^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^     ,^. 

80  ounces  to  the  ton.     He  Nsmw    „        '  p         McDaniels, 

.^,::ri.::tVa..e«u..a.».;^-^^ 
s.::;:J"i::  ::r ;:::r— u  .  yet  ea.ed  on  .y  ,.„. 

^eoM  ..St.  and  the  ,,;.od,.t  - -^^^r*  „„,„„,  „  „„,.,hy 
About  the  middle  of  the  last  ccuiui),  m-oprietor  of  scve- 

end  enterprising  German  already  ^^^^: '' ^ ^l,,..a.a  eon- 
ral  Iron-works  in  New  York  and  New  ^  J^^J"  /^  ^^  ^^/^^  ,„d  the 
siderable  sums  of  money  in  promoting  '^^J^^TLor  and  capital  in 
nianufacture  of  potash,  which  then  J^M;  oyed  ™ueh    a.  ^1  ^      ^^^ 

the   Colonies.     In  a  letter  dated  ^'''' ^''fX^'^^'^l^,  'of  Trade, 
which  he  was  the  bearer  from  Governor  ^  -    ;    ^^^^  ^^^eir  lordships 

r=:rr;r:s:;:^:-operationsiniron. 


NEW   YOIIK.      LEAD,    SU.vr.ll,   AND   1U0\. 


633 


akc  in  part  pay, 
cd  pole-axes,  and 
;se  we  suppose  to 
by  tlie  iron  manu- 

in  of  the  London 
■stic  manufactures, 
fliameutary  power 
liums  were  offered 
a  fair  was  opened 
le-made  hardware, 
md  met  with  ready 

n  the  southern  part 
an,  Dover,  Fishkill, 
ibound  in  very  rich 
d  and  sometimes  of 
imestone.    A  raanu- 
,f  the  liematite,  was 
'cin   of   galena  was 
IS,  who  exported  the 
lode  is  crossed  hy  a 
er  45  and  the  latter 
:,  abandoned  as  un- 
Dy  Peter  McDaniels, 
•esg.     A  quantity  of 
tually  given  up  once 
lie  county. 

iig  the  Revolution  in 
di  steel  and  castings 
—still  known  as  "the 
yet  carried  on  by  hut 

Is. 

orsenclaver,  a  wealthy 
Lhe  proprietor  of  scve- 
le  also  expended  con- 
ition  of  hemp  and  the 
;h  labor  and  capital  in 
January  12,  nr.T,  of 
0  the  Lords  of  Trade, 
.ed,  and  their  lordships 
his  operations  in  Iron. 


It  is  stated  in  the  same  letter  tliat  a  foundcry  for  making  small  iron  pota 
hud  been  lately  set  up  "  near  tliis  town,"  but  was  yet  inconsiderable. 
The  Governor  also  mentions  a  silver  mine,  or,  more  properly,  a  vein  of 
lead  ore  of  highly  argentiferous  character,  as  having  been  lately  leased 
by  order  of  'he  Britisli  Government  to  Mr.  Frcderi  k  Philipse.  It  was 
in  the  Manor  of  Thilipsburg,  in  ^yest  Chester  Cowiiy,  where  iron  ore 
also  existed,  for  working  wiiicli  last,  furnaces  were  early  erected.  A 
large  refinery  of  ii..n  or  lead,  belonging  to  Colonel  James,  was  in  ope- 
ration at  Sing  Sing  at  the  commencement  of  the  i;   volution.' 

Magnetic  iron  ore  abounds  in  the  highlands  of  rum  am  Couniy.  Its 
value  is  often  much  impaired  by  an  excess  of  sulidiur.  TownsendN  mine 
I'ucnara  ^^  Simewog  hill,  in  Southeast,  is  the  oldest  known  in  tluit  part 
Cuiiuty.  Qf  (.||g  iijohiands,  whicli  was  extensively  explored  by  Ilorsun- 
claver  and  his  company.  Ore  was  once  carted  from  this  mine  to  Dan- 
bury,  Connecticut,  and  to  furnaces  along  tlie  Sound.  Though  amply 
productive,  the  workings  were  for  some  reason  abandoned  forty  years 
ago,  after  having  yielded  150,000  tons.  Tlie  vein  is  in  some  places  20 
feet  thick  between  gneiss  and  hornblende  rock.  The  suli)iiate  of  iron, 
formed  by  the  decomposition  of  the  sulphuret,  led  to  early  excavations 
in  many  places  in  early  times  in  searcii  for  silver,  as  at  the  old  '■  silver 
mine,"  so  called,  northeast  of  Antliony's  Nose.  On  the  top  of  that 
promontory,  a  mine  of  magnetic  iron  was  also  opened  formerly,  but 
proved  too  sulphurous  for  use. 

On  the  ojiposite  side  of  tlie  Sound,  in  RuiTolk  Count v  L.  I.,  as  else- 
where mentioned,  the  manufacture  of  steel  was  atteiujiied  as  early  as 
Long  1655  by  a  native  of  Southold.     A  bloomery  forge  was  built, 

Island.  probably  before  the  Revolution,  at  Patchogue,  in  Brookhaven, 
midway  between  New  York  and  Sagg  Harbor.  It  was  owned  at  a 
later  period  by  Jeffrey  Smith,  and  its  site  is  now  occupied  by  otlier 


(1)  On  30th  October,  1777,  Congress  di- 
rected tbn  Boird  of  'War  to  write  to  the 
Government  of  the  State  of  New  Yorlt,  re- 
commending it  forthwith  to  talie  nieasurea 
for  having  the  lead  mines  in  the  Stato 
worked,  and  promising,  in  case  laborers 
wore  scarce,  to  supply  prisoners  of  war  for 
that  purpose. — Jour,  of  Cmiij.,  iii.  462.  The 
only  lead  mine  in  the  State  which  was  of 
any  account  in  the  last  century,  we  believe, 
•vaa  the  Livingston  mine  at  Ancram.  This 
mine  was  wrought  during  the  war,  but  the 
lomcstio  supply  fell  far  short  of  the  demand 
ill  tlie  early  part  of  the  war.  Congress,  in 
November,     ordered    the     Ctmrnissioners 


abioad  to  purchase  5''0  tons  of  load,  and 
while  churches  and  pi  yate  houses  in  the 
cities  wore  stripped  of  heir  leaden  spouts 
and  the  weights  to  the  windows,  and  ladies 
in  many  places  surrendered  their  stores  of 
shining  pewter  to  furnish  bullets  for  tho 
soldiery,  tho  leaden  equestrian  statue  which 
had  been  decreed  by  a  grateful  people  to 
the  king  in  1770,  is  said  to  have  disappeared 
from  tho  streets  of  New  York  to  nmki;  bul- 
lets for  tho  destruction  of  his  military  sub- 
jects. It  was  mi'liod  up  in  tho  fiimily  o? 
Gov.  Wolcott  of  Connecticut,  uud  madi 
42,000  bullets. 


534  COLONIAL  INDL'SXRY  IN  METALB. 

mauufacture..  In  the  primary  formations  of  Long  Island  Staten  and 
Sew  York  islands,  and  the  .mailer  adjacent  ones,  magnetic  iron  ores 
^ecur  in  considerable  quantity.  This  mineral  underhes  some  portions 
of  the  city,  and  is  distributed  throughout  the  island.  It  was  found  there 
bv  Mr  Peter  Townsend  many  years  ago. 

Peter  T.  Curtcniua  was  the  proprietor  of  a  large  air-furnace  m  the 
city  of  Ne-v  York  before  the  Revolution.  In  February,  1775,  as  stated 
in  a  paper  of  that  date,  a  large  cylinder  for  the  stean.-cng.ne 
cS.  of  the  water-works  then  in  progress  of  erection,  wa.s  cast  at 
the  foundery  of  Sharp  &  Curtenius.  It  was  said  to  be  "  the  first  per- 
formance of  the  kini  ever  attempted  in  America."  and  to  have  been 
extremely  well  executed.' 


(1)  The  city  had  been  previously  supplied 
with  water  from  wells  and  pumps,  in  ao- 
coruance  with  an  Act  of  Assembly  in  1741. 
This  first  and  early  attempt  to  supply  the 
city  by  menus  of  aqueducts  was  proposed 
ftnd  pnrtially  carried  out  by  Christopher 
Colles,  an  accomplished  civil  engineer  from 
Ireland,  who,  in  1774,  contracted  to  build 
a  reservoir  on  the  east  sido  of  Broadway, 
between    Pearl    and   White    streets.      The 
completion  of  the  design  was  frustrated  by 
the  war  with  England.     After  the  peace,  in 
1785,  schemes  for  supplying  water  were  re- 
newed by  Colles  and  others,  surveys  were 
made,  and  in  1799  a  company  was  formed 
with    large    privileges,   which   were    used 
chiefly  for  banking  purposes.     A  principal 
well  was,  however,  sunk  at  the  corner  of 
Duane  and  Cross  streets,  whence  a  limiiod 
supply  of  impure  water  was  raised  by  a 
steam-engine,    and    distributed    in    pipes. 
Other  projects  for  wells  and  open  canals 
were  proposed  and  abandoned  by  different 
•companies,  until  the  Assembly,  on  May  ad, 

1834,  authorised  a  joint  stock  company,  a.->d 
the  citizens,  at  the  charter  election  in  April, 

1835,  approved  of  the  survey  made  by  com- 
missioners for  an  aqueduct  to  the  head  of 
Croton  river.  This  magnificent  enterprise 
wan  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1837,  and 
Its  completion  was  celebrated  October  14th, 
1842.  The  chief  engineer  was  John  B.  Jer- 
vis,  who,  before  its  commencement,  succeed- 
ed Major  D.  B.  Douglass,  the  surveyor  of 
the  one  previously  suggested  by  De  Witt 
Clinton. 

The  engine  for  which  the  cylinder  above- 


mentioned  was  cast,  must  have  been  one  of 
the  first  attempted  in  America.  Christopher 
Colles,  under  whose  direction  it  was  prob- 
ably commenced,  is  believed  to  have  made 
the  first  steam-engine  ever  constructed  in 
this  country.     In  1771,  as  we  are  informed 
by  M.'.  Thompson  Wcstcott,  Colles  offered 
his  services  in  Philadelphia  as  an  hydraulic 
engineer.    The  next  year  he  delivered  loc 
turcs  in  that  city  on   Pneumotics,  Hydro- 
statics,  Hydraulics,   and  lock  navigation, 
illustrated    by  experiments   and  working, 
models  of  several  machines,  including  the 
steam-engine.      As  the  result,  ho  was  em- 
ployed to  build  a  steam-engine  for  a  distil- 
lery, which  was  reported  upon  by  a  com- 
mittee   of    the    Philosophical    Society    in 
August,  1773,  but,  from  the  cheapness  of  its 
construction,  did  not  prove  efficient.     In 
the  same  year  ho  lectured  in  New  York  on 
canals  and  steam-engines,  and  the  following 
year  was  employed  as   mentioned  in  the 
text.    In  1775,  he  gave  lessons  in  gunnery. 
In  ]784,  he  presented  a  memorial  to  the 
Ne«    York  legislature,  on  the  subject  of 
water  communication  with  Lake  Ontario  by 
the  Mohawk  river.    During  the  next  year, 
with  meagre  aid  from  the  legislature,  he 
explored  the  country  as  far  as  Wood  Creek, 
and  pvblished  a  pamphlet  on  "The  Inland 
Navigauon  of  New  York,"  showing  its  ad- 
vantages  and  feasibility.    His  project  wa« 
considered  visionary,  but    he  peraevercd, 
ond  in  1786  again  memorialized  the  Assem- 
bly and  City  Council,  on  artificial  communi- 
cation between   New  York  and  the  great 
lakes  by  the  above  route.    A  bill  was  ro- 


I 


;  Island,  Staten,  and 
,  magnetic  iron  ores 
erlies  some  portions 
,    It  was  found  there 

;e  air-furnace  in  the 
uary,  1715,  as  stated 
for  the  steam-engine 
erection,  was  cast  at 
to  be  "  the  first  per- 
i,"  and  to  have  been 


ist,  must  have  been  one  of 
id  in  America.  Christopher 
lose  direction  it  was  prob- 
,  is  believed  to  have  maJo 
sngine  ever  constructed  in 
n  1771,  as  we  are  informed 
m  Westcott,  Colles  offered 
hiladelphia  as  an  hydraulic 
next  year  he  delivered  loc 
ity  on   Pneumatics,  Ilydro- 
ilics,   and  locit  navigation, 
experiments    and  vforking- 
al  machines,  including  the 
As  the  result,  ho  was  em- 
a  steam-engine  for  a  distil- 
9  reported  upon  by  a  com- 
Philosophical    Society    in 
lut,  from  the  cheapness  of  its 
lid  not  prove  efficient.     In 
he  lectured  in  New  York  on 
m-engines,  and  the  following 
loyed  as   mentioned  in  the 
,  he  gave  lessons  in  gunnery, 
resented  a  memorial  to  the 
;islature,  on  the   subject  of 
ication  with  Lake  Ontario  by 
iver.    During  the  next  year, 
aid  from  the  legislature,  he 
ountry  as  far  as  Wood  Creek, 
1  a  pamphlet  on  "  The  Inland 
•  New  York,"  showing  its  ad- 
feasibility.    His  project  wa« 
isionary,  but    he  persevered, 
gain  memorialized  the  Assoin- 
Douncil,  on  artificial  communi- 
on  New  York  and  the  great 
above  route.    A  bill  was  ro 


■^MM 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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33  WIST  MAIN  STRUT 

WKBSTIR, NY.  MS80 

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Microfiche 

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.AJ4M--MJtfW*>WreBUMiltJy*'''J»tf^-t*'-J" ' ' 


NEW   YORK.      STATISTICS—NOllTHESN   NEW   YOlUC. 


535 


I- 
J 

1. 

»• 

I- 
It 
>• 


We  lia\e  seen  no  nieution  of  smelting  furnaces  or  forges  in  tlic  island 
at  that  time.  But  one  furnace  and  one  forge,  according  to  Professor 
Aiathei,  remained  in  working  order  in  the  counties  of  Now  Yorlc,  West 
Chester,  and  Putnam  in  1S42. 

Tiie  exi)orts  from  the  port  of  Xew  York  for  the  year  ending  July  5, 
17G6,  included  632  tons  of  bar-iron,  valued  at  £2(J  sterling  pur  ton  ; 
Exports  500  tons  of  pig-iron,  at  £1  lO.s.  per  ton  ;  and  80  tons  of  copper 
ore  at  £100  per  ton.  Some  Iron  was  at  this  time  shipi)ed  to 
Ireland  in  the  emigrant  and  merchant  vessels  in  exchange  for  linen  and 
other  manufactures.  In  1775,  the  first  year  of  the  war,  200  tons  of  iron, 
worth  £16  10s.  (an  average,  probably,  of  the  prices  of  bar  and  i)ig  iron) 
per  ton,  were  imported,  and  in  177(1  only  40  tons.  The  shipments  of 
Iron  from  the  port  in  these  years  amounted  to  2,400  tons  of  pig  and 
750  of  bar  iron  ia  1775,  and  to  800  tons  of  pig  and  690  of  bar  in  1.776. 
The  pig  metal  was  "alued  at  7os.  and  the  bar  at  £17  per  ton.  Six  tons 
of  copper  ore  were  exported  in  177.5,  and  only  one  in  177C.' 

It  was  not  until  after  the  llevolution  that  the  ferriferous  treasures  of 
that  section  of  the  State  in  wliich  its  greatest,  mineral  wealth  is  found, 
Noithorn  ""'l  'ts  most  activd  Iron  business  is  now  comlucled,  were 
^c.w  York,  ijrought  to  the  knowledge  of  its  people.  These  lie  in  tli'e  va.t 
beds  of  magnetic  and  specular  iron  ore  in  the  valleys  of  Li-ke  Cham|ilain 
and  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  Iron  enterprise  of  this  rich  agricultural  and 
mineral  region  is  now  expanding  with  great  riipidity,  an!  promises  ere 
long,  by  the  aid  of  modern  science,  capital,  and  material  agencies,  to 
attain  a  magnitude  hitherto  uiiequaled  in  this  country. 

In  the  great  belt  of  primary  or  lluronian  and  Lawrentiaii  rocks  in 
Northeaste-n  New  York,  throughout  the  counties  of  Washington,  Sura- 
toga,  Essex,  Clinton,  Franklin,  and  St.  Lawrence,  ihe  supply  of  ores  is 
almost  illimitable,  and  the  greatest  aflluence  of  fuel  and  water-jto'ver 
point  to  a  future  developn-ent  of  the  Iroii-nianufaclure  in  that  region 
of  no  ordinary  extent.  The  richest  deposits  of  these  ores  ure  probnbly 
those  Id  the  counties  of  Essex  and  Clinton,  where  the  huge  acclivities 
of  the  Adironday  hills  seem  compacted  of  strata  ami  rocks  of  iron  ore. 
Immense  boulders  also  strew  the  surface  in   many  places,  and  veins, 

ported  to  tli3  llniiiio  liy  JolTroy  Pmilli,  liut  vioen  In  thli  cotineptlon,  ini.l  siicuk^  uf  Mm 

diii  not  l>»8ii.     He  piililislied  njjiiin   on  tlio  an   tlie  projeotcir  i;nd   alltii.hint   nf  ji   til». 

iuhjectln  1807.     Do  Witt  Clinton  iidmiltid  gnipli  croctml  duriiii}   llio  w,ir  uf   lsl2  nu 

tlio  flrstnnd  lie«t  prneticiil  miKKe-lion-   for  Cjirjlo  Cliiiloii.     IIo  was  n  man  cf  nl.Mi.•^ly, 

the  New  York  nnd  Krie  Ciinnl  to  liiive  cnnio  world,  urioncn,  niid  innonnity,  out  cii.  i|  piKir 

from  ColloH,  nnd  on  the  onmplotinn  nf  ilmt  nnd    unrowiirdcd.— .SVc    M',«/,iif^'«    /.if,   „/ 

griMlt  worit  in  IH2i,  four  jeiir.i  iifti.r  lii»  do-  ritrh,  p.  15;t;  Chlint  l.l/t  „f  fulfo,,. 

opiik;',  "hill  ettlnii'd  were  lioriie  witli  Imnor."  (I)  SliuBlold'l  Tubles. 
Mr.  Coldeii  ulso  euiunioudj  lilj;lily  Ills  ivr- 


&  b 


COLONIAL   IXDLSTRY   IN   METALS. 


iB^isscs  aiul  concretions  underlie  the  valleys  of  the  Saranac,  the  Au 
Sable,  the  Scroon,  and  of  the  several  head  streams  of  the  lludson  and 
lilt  tributaries  of  tlie  Lake. 

The  only  settlement  made  before  tl.t   Revolution  north  Ci    Crown 
Point  in  this  region  of  forest,  was,  by  William  Galliland,  a  merchant  of 
^.!W  York,  who,  in  May,  ITv^J,  planted  a  colony  of  mechanics  and  la- 
bo-ers  on  the  Boquct,  where  they  built  saw-mills,  a  smithory,  and  other 
improvements.     The  inlluenee  of  iron  upon  the  compass  was  noticed  by 
Galliland  in  the  followin;^  year,  and  its  existence  taenco  inferred.     In 
July,  1780,  he  notes  in  his  journal  that  "Joseph  Carter,  of  Scituatc, 
llhode  Island,  olVers  GJ.  lawful  money  per  ton  for  iron  ore,  and  raise 
it  at  Ills  own  expense.  500  to  1,000  tons  annually."     In  March,  17^.".,  it 
is  again  recorded  that  "  John  Gilbert,   owner  Berkshire   Furnace  in 
Lenox,  proposes  to  be  concerned  in  it  at  his  own  expense.     Mem.  to 
^vrite  him  as  soon  as  we  may  safely  visit  the  place."'     The  iron-manu- 
hature  in  this  important  region  was  commenced  some  years  after  Ijy  the 
New  Lnglaud  people,  who  tlowed  in  after  the  Peace.     In  1801,  the  first 
"iron-works  were  built  at  AVill.sboro  Falls  on  the  Potpiet,  where 
hoawmks  George   Throop  and  Levi  Highly  commenced  with   Charles 
iuKhmx.      j.^^^^^_^  ^j.  SL.iienectady,  the  manufacture  of  anchors,  of  from 
300  to  1,500  lis.  weight,  under  a  ten  years  contract  with  parties  in 
Troj       Mill  cranks,  for  the  numerous  saw-mills  of  the  region,  grist- 
milt  machinery,  and  afterward  steamooat  irons,  were  made  at  this  foun- 
deij.  which  was  ultimately  changed  to  a  bloomery,  and  is  still  in  opera- 
liob      It  is  noticed  as  a  remarkable  circumstance,  that  the  ore  used  In 
the  I'irst  ten  years,  until  the  discovery  of  the  Arnold  ore  bed  in  Clinton 
Com  ty,  was  principally  obtained  from  Vermont,  the  only  deposit  then 
opened' in  all  that  region  being  at  Basin  Harbor.     Some  ere  was  also 
brought  from  Canada,  whither  one  or  two  unsuccessful  attempts  were 
made  to  export  anchors.'     A  rolling-mill  was,  a  few  years  later,  erected 
bv  W.  D.  Ross  on  the  same  sta'am,  at  which  nail-plates  in  large  quan- 


(1)  Wiitson's  Survey  of  Esfpx  County. 

(2)  Tlio  iiiuiKiiiiu  li.tclics  of  iron  ore  in 
thin  si'otion  of  Now  York  belong  to  il'f  ct- 
tendcil  bolt  of  ininmry  orus  which  ftretehc. 
in  a  i'outliwi'i'liTly  tliructlon  from  the  Cobe- 
quid  Mouutiviu  in  Nova  Sootio— whcro  it 
support'^  thu  Ai'iuliii  Furnucu  nt  (iroiitVil- 

liiKo.  <>n  l''""y  '■''^'•''''  ""''  "ii'K"^''''^  ""'• 
upeculnr  ore  in  Inr^u  (lunnlity,  mid  in  clo^^o 
liroxiniity  to  abundant'O  of  bituuiinous  coal 
—through   Now  Brunswitk,  Ciinadii   Ea^t, 


Maine,  New  Ilumiisliire,  and  Vermont.  In 
Canada  the  Treneh  ii/o  said  to  hiive  had  an 
iron-furnaeo  nsi  early  as  1717,  on  a  hriinoh 
of  the  St.  Maurici'  river,  seven  miles  north 
of  Trois  Uivifirea,  in  the  lower  province, 
wlicro  the  St.  Maurice  ooUl-blast  furnaeo 
now  ii>.  A  luaiiufactory  of  pmall  naila  was 
c.'laMished  ill  Quebec  in  ITI'I,  which,  in  the 
fir^t  fix  months,  exported  .^lU)  ton."  of  naili 
to  Vlurlda,  the  West  Indies,  and  South 
America. 


NEW   YORK.       ELBA   IU(»N-\VOUIvS— C.AST-SrEEL. 


Do  I 


laranac,  the  Au 
tho  lludsoii  and 

lorth  Ci  Crown 
1,  a  latToliaut  of 
ichauies  and  la- 
thery, aud  othei 
s  was  iiolit'cd  by 
ce  inferred.  In 
ter,  of  Scituate, 
III  ore,  and  raise 

Mareh,  US.".,  it 
hire  Furnace  in 
pensc.     !MeHi.  to 

The  iron-nianu- 
'cars  after  by  tlie 
In  1801,  the  first 
lie  Boquet,  where 
ed  with  Charles 
auchovs,  of  from 
t  with  parties  in 
he  region,  (i'rist- 
lade  at  this  foun- 
l  is  still  in  opera- 
t  tlie  ore  used  In 
re  bed  in  Clinton 
only  deposit  then 
jmo  rre  was  also 
ful  attempts  were 
ears  later,  ereeted 
tes  in  large  quau- 

irp,  nnd  Vermont.  In 
;-e  suiil  to  hiive  Imil  nn 
lis  1717,  on  II  briinv'h 
i-cr,  suvn  miles  norlli 
1  Iho  lower  province, 
ico  cold-blast  fiirnneo 
iry  ol'  fmiill  nails  wna 
'  in  ni't,  wliieli,  in  tlio 
iirleil  31)0  tons  of  n.iili 
It    InilieD,    nncl   South 


titles  were  made,  and  supplied  to  the  nail-factory  at  Fair  Haven,  Vt.,  at 
$8  per  cwt. 

The  "Elba  Iron-Works,"  a  forge  with  four  to  six  fires,  was  built  in 
1809,  at  xXorth  Elba,  on  a  braneli  of  the  Au  Sable  river,  by  Archibald 
Mclntyrc  &  Co.,  using  ore  in  the  neighborhood,  which,  however,  proved 
too  refractory.      After  a  few  years  of  prosperous  business,  and  with 
every  other  advantage,  the  worlcs  were  abandoned  on   account  of  tiie 
distance  from  tlie  Arnold  mine  in  Clinton  County,  which  had  been  sub- 
stituted, but  chiefly  owing  to  their  remoteness  from  tiie  markets  reached 
by  way  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Lake  Champlain.     After  the  construe- 
lion  of  the  Champlain   Canal  had  furnished  an  outlet  to  this  region, 
Mr.  Mclntyre,  with  Archibald  Robertson  and  David  Ileiulersoii,  eri'cted 
A,iiiondao    tho  first  furnacc  of  the  Adiroiulac  Iron  and  Steel  Company, 
incorporated   with    a   capital   of  $1,000,000.       It   was   in  'a 
secluded   spot   among  the  Adirondac   hills,   where,   an   Indian   hunter 
bad  revealed  to  Mr.  Henderson  a  vast  deposit  of  the  richest  ore,  sur- 
rounded by  all  the  materials  for  an  extensive  manufacture  of  Iron.'     A 
blast-furnace,  with  forge  fires,  a  puddling-furnace,  etc.,  were  subsetiuciitly 
added,  until  the  business  expanded  to  one  of  tlie  first  class.     The  Iron 
made  was  of  rare  excellence  for  toughness  and  strength,  and  especially 
First  adapted  for  making  nails  and  steel.     At  the  Adirondac  Steel- 

^^.yj.l.g  of  the  Company,  in  Jersey  City,  the  manufacture  of 
cast-aieel  was  first  successfully  established  in  this  country,  and  their 
specimens  of  steel  and  of  the  iron  from  which  it  was  made,  received  the 
premium  at  the  great  London  Exhibition.  The  ore  from  some  of  the 
beds  in  this  county,  as  the  old  Sandford  mine,  yields  75  percent,  of  Iron, 
and  much  is  yearly  exported  to  Pittsburg  and  other  pints  of  Pcnnsyl' 
vania,  to  Maine,  Vermont,  Ohio,  Virginia,  and  Maryland,  to  be  mixed 
with  the  ores  of  those  States.  The  county  now  contains  a  number  of 
furnaces,  some  16  or  more  bloomeries,  and  other  extensive  works,  and 
Clinton  County  an  equal  or  greater  number.  In  all  the  counties  before 
mentioned  are  a  number  of  prosperous  Iron-works.  Several  villages 
and  towns,  as  Keesville,  owe  their  existence  and  prosperity  to  the  grow- 
ing importance  of  tho  Iron-interest,  which  is  nowhere  conducted  with 
more  skill  and  enterprise. 

The  progress  of  New  York  in  the  various  miscellnneou"  branches  of 
manufacture  involving  the  use  of  metals,  was  not  so  great  in  the  last 
century  as  that  of  New  England  or  rennsylvaiiia.  Some  departments 
of  the  gun-manufacture  were  carried  on  at  Albany  as  early  as  1T40. 
Ui;n- stocks  were  then  made  by  Mr.  Vander  Poel,  tiie  propriet.ir  of  a 
saw-mill  on  Beavers  Creek.     It  was  au  active  business  iu  1748,  when 


53S 


COLONIAL   INDUSTRY   ::N   METALS. 


Kalm  vi«ite(l  tlfe  pliiee.  Muskets  or  rifles  were  cude  in  considerao'.e 
quantity  for  the  ludian  traile,  of  which  Albany  was  a  principal  centre. 
The  stocks  were  made  of  wild  cherry,  red  maple,  and  occasionally  of  the 
black  walnut  of  Pennsylvania.  The  armorers  at  Albany  were  employed 
by  the  government  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution. 

Nails  had  long  been  an  article  of  handicraft  production  in  several 
of  tlie  Colonies.  13ut  the  consumption  of  nails  and  spikes  was  enor- 
mous, and  the  importations  from  England  always  large  in  some  of  the 
Provinces.  During  the  war,  when  English  nails  could  no  longer  be  ob- 
tained  with  ease,  some  were  imported  from  France  but  were  not  liked, 
and  the  people  were  forced  to  increase  the  domestic  production.  A 
future  independence  for  all  articles  of  simple  manufacture,  like  nails 
and  spikes,  was  felt  to  be  necessary  under  the  new  hopes  inspired  by  an 
independent  nationality. 

On  the  revival  of  industry  after  the  Peace,  a  nail  manufactory  was 
established  in  the  year  1787  on  Orange  street,  Albany,  by  Garret  Wit- 
j,^,,.  beck.     He  manufactured  8s  and  10s  at  one  shilling,  and  20s 

'*'""^''-  and  24s  ut  eleven  pence  per  pound.  The  quality  was  claimed 
to  be  fully  equal  to  tiiat  of  any  imported.  During  the  same  year,  an- 
otlier  factory,  in  wliich  every  description  of  nails  was  manufactured, 
was  erected  In  or  near  the  same  town  by  Messrs.  Stevenson,  Douw,  anc^ 
Ten  Eyck.  Tlieir  nails  were  also  represented  to  be  as  cheap  as  any 
foreign  nails,  and  superior  to  them  in  quality. 

Carriage- building  has  in  late  years  become  a  considerable  business  in 
New  York.  Among  the  reminiscences  collected  from  aged  citizens  by 
the  late  Mr.  Watson,  the  annalist,  was  the  statement  that  be- 
hMiiTg  fore  the  Revolution,  carts  were  not  allowed  to  have  tires  upon 
*"*""'  their  wheels.  Private  carriages  were  by  no  means  a  common 
thing  in  most  American  cities  in  colonial  times.  About  the  year  1768, 
the  manufacture  of  carriages  of  all  kinds  was  announced  as  a  new  busi- 
ness in  New  York,  by  Elkanah  and  William  Deane  from  Dublin.  They 
brought  out  their  workmen,  as  they  state,  at  great  expense,  and  were 
prepared  to  make  coaches,  chariots,  landaus,  phaetons,  post-chaisos,  cur- 
ricles, chairs,  sedans,  and  sleighs  five  per  cent,  below  the  importation 
prices. 

Coach  springs  were  first  made  in  the  city  by  a  Mr.  Williams,  from 
England,  who  came  out  as  a  shopmatc  of  Mr.  Grant  Thorburn,  and  for 
a  time  prospered  in  the  business. 

Jewelers  and  silversmiths  were  numerous  in  New  York  from  an  early 
period.  Anthony  Lamb  was  a  mathematical  instrument  maker  as  early 
as  1750,  and  manufactured  Godfrey's  quadrant  In  au  improved  form. 


NEW  YORK.      INTRODUCTION  OF  8TEAM  IN, 


539 


e  in  considerao'e 
principal  ceutre. 
ccasioually  of  the 
ly  were  employed 
ition. 

uctiou  in  several 
spikes  was  enor- 
je  in  some  of  tbe 
,  no  longer  be  ob- 
it were  not  liked, 
!  production.  A 
acture,  like  nails 
pes  inspired  by  an 

1  manufactory  was 
y,  by  Garret  Wit- 
!  shilling,  and  20s 
aalitj  was  claimed 
he  same  year,  au- 
ras manufactured, 
'enson,  Douw,  and 
I  as  cheap  as  any 

ierable  business  iu 
n  aged  citizens  by 
statement  that  be- 
to  have  tires  upon 
means  a  common 
out  the  year  1768, 
ced  as  a  new  busi- 
om  Dublin.  They 
e.\pense,  and  were 
},  post-chaisos,  cur- 
w  the  importation 

^Ir.  Williams,  from 
Thorburn,  and  for 

iTork  from  an  early 
lent  maker  as  early 
m  improved  form. 


Jobn 
Stevens 
Rud  steam 


Henry  Witeman,  from  Philadelphia,  set  up  the  manufacture  of  metal 
buttons  near  the  Fly  Market  soon  after. 

Among  those  who  labored  to  introduce  the  era  of  steam  in  the 
Iron-manufacture  and  all  those  branches  which  it  subserves,  several 
citizens  of  New  York  and  its  vicinity  were  early  engaged. 
Its  direct  agency  in  the  several  departments  of  tlio  iron 
business  has  been  as  a  new  creation  ;  and  its  numerous  appli- 
cations to  machinery  of  all  kinds  has  constantly  augmented  the  demand 
for  Iron,  and  e.Ytended  the  field  for  labor,  capital,  and  skill  to  a  degree 
impossible  without  it.  In  this  connection,  Christopher  Collea,  John 
Stevens,  Chancellor  Livingston,  and  Robert  Fulton,  appear  among  the 
earliest  laborers.  The  name  of  Stevens  is  associated  with  that  of  Fitch 
in  tbe  first  application  of  steam  to  navigation ;.  and  his  patented  im- 
provements in  the  engine  of  Savery,  the  boiler,  bellows,  etc.,  were  among 
the  earliest  granted  by  the  new  government.  In  the  year  following  the 
splendid  success,  of  Fulton  on  the  Hudson,  the  steamboat  Phenix,  built 
by  John  C.  Stevens,  and  navigated  by  his  son  Robert  L.  Stevens  from  New 
York  to  Philadelpiiia,  was  probably  the  first  that  traversed  tlie  Atlantic. 
When  the  grand  idea  of  a  canal  through  the  State,  suggested  by  Colics, 
was  advocated  in  New  York,  Stevens  proposed  a  railroad  instead,  which 
would,  if  followed,  have  given  the  Empire  State  the  precedence  in  that 
unequaled  system  of  internal  communication.  To  her  vast  system  of 
canals,  secured  by  the  efforts  of  De  Witt  Clinton  and  others,  and  to  her 
magnificent  railways  in  connection  with  steam.  New  York  owes  the 
devolopment  of  her  great  iron  resources  no  less  than  of  the  great  agri- 
cultural capabilities  of  the  State.  Her  immense  foreign  commerce  is 
equally  the  result  of  steam-power  applied  to  ocean  travel. 

New  Jehsey. — The  system  of  Primary  and  older  Secondary  rocks, 
which  furnish  the  immense  masses  of  iron  ore  in  New  York,  carry  with 
them  where  they  cross  into  New  Jer?  in  the  gneissoid  structure  of  the 
south  mountain  range,  the  same  rich  veins  of  magnetic  oxyd  and  brown 
hematite  ore.  These,  with  the  bog  ore  of  the  Tertiary  and  Cretaceous 
formations  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  State,  have  supplied  numerous 
Iron-works  from  the  earliest  colonial  days.  The  metallic  wealth  of  New 
Jersey  was  partially  discovered  by  the  Dutch  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Delaware  and  Raritan  rivers,  and  early  became  the  principal  source  of 
domestic  Iron. 

The  earliest  Iron-works  in  that  Province  of  which  we  have  any  ac- 
count belonged  to  Colonel  Lewis  Morris,  a  merchant  of  Barbadoes, 
whoso  brother  Richard,  of  Morrisiana,  and  himself  were  the  ancestors 
of  the  Morris  family  in  that  and  adjacent  States,     These  works  were 


;^"-;¥-«r/  '^--  ^■~''^'^^it:^^4S^:--^es,',  T'-^.v-i-^" 


540 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 


situated  in  the  town  of  Shrewsbury,  in  Monmouth  County,  and,  with 
other  Improvements  of  the  owner,  formed  a  large  establishment  for  that 
period      Wo  are  unable  to  say  at  what  date   precisely  they 
wo"rir'"    .vere  erected.     They  are  supposed  by  Dr.  O'Callaghan  to  have 
been  purchased  of  James  Grover,  who  in  1650  was  the  collector  for  the 
poor  at  Gravesend  on  Long  Island.     In  1655,  Grover,  with  other  di.af- 
fected  people,  hoisted  the  British  ensign  at  that  place,  and  read  a  decla- 
ration of  independence  of  the  Dutch  government.    In  the  following  year 
he  was  the  bearer  of  a  petition  from  some  of  the  Yankee  inhabitants  of 
the  Island  to  Cromwell  asking  to  be  emancipated  from  the  Dutch  yoke. 
He  subsequently  removed  to  New  Jersey,  where  he  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  owner  of  the  Iron-works  in  question. «    Shrewsbury  was  settled 
by  Connecticut  people   about  the  year  1G64,  when  the  Province  w;as 
surrendered  to  the  English.    Henry  Leonard,  one  of  the  workmen  at  the 
first  Iv  a-works  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  removed  to  tliis  part  of  Jersey  near 
that  time,  and  is  said  to  have  set  up  one  of  the  first  forges  in  the 

Province.  , 

The  grant  of  lands  to  Mr.  Morris  is  dated  October  25,  1676,  and  cm- 
braced  3,540  acres,  with  full  liberty  to  him  and  his  heirs  "to  dig,  delve, 
and  carry  away  all  such  mines  for  iron  as  they  shall  find  or  see  fit  to 
dig  and  carry  away  to  the  iron  work,  or  that  shall  be  found  in  that  tract 
of  land  tliat  lies  enclosed  between  the  southeast  branch  of  the  llaritau 
river  and  the  whale  pond  on  the  sea  side,  and  is  bounded  from  thence  by 
the  sea  and  branch  of  the  sea  to  the  eastward  to  the  Raritan  river,  he  or 
they  paying  all  such  just  damages  to  the  owners  of  the  land  where  they 
shall  dig  as  shall  be  judged  is  done  by  trespass  of  cattle,  or  otherwise 
sustained  by  the  carting  and  carrying  of  the  said  mine  to  the  work."    _ 

Tiie  East  Jersey  Proprietaries,  in  their  account  of  the  Province  in 
1682  speak  of  its  mineral  treasures  as  remaining  to  be  discovered,  but 
they  state  that  a  smclting-furnace  and  forge  were  already  set  up,  which 
made  good  Iron,  and  were  of  great  benefit  to  the  country.  These  were 
doubtless  the  works  of  Colonel  Morris,  which  then  employed  sixty  or 
seventy  negroes  in  addition  to  white  servants  and  dependents  of  the 
proprietor.  Shrewsbury  was  at  that  date  the  most  southern  settlement 
in  the  Province,  and  had  a  population  of  about  400;  that  of  Ehza- 
beihcown,the  seat  of  government,  being  about  700,  and  of  Newark 

500.  .     .,      T      1      P 

In  December,  1741,  Mr.  Morris  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Lords  ot 

Trade,  transmitting  an  address  from  the  Council  and  Assembly  asking 


(1)  O'Callaghan'a  New   Nothorlands,  il. 
>«3. 


(2)  Whitehead's  East  Jersey,  i.  01 


T 


)unty,  and,  with 
isUmunt  for  that 
!   precisely  they 
allaghan  to  have 
collector  for  the 
with  other  disaf- 
nd  read  a  decla- 
e  following  year, 
ee  inhabitants  of 
the  Dutch  yoke, 
believed  to  have 
sbury  was  settled 
lie  Province  was 
5  workmen  at  the 
•t  of  Jersey  near 
rst  forges  in  the 

!5,  IGIG,  ancl  em- 
rs  "  to  dig,  delve, 

find  or  see  fit  to 
3und  in  that  tract 
ch  of  the  llaritaii 
cd  from  thence  by 
aritan  river,  he  or 
e  land  where  they 
ittle,  or  otherwise 

to  the  work."^ 
'  the  Province  in 
be  discovered,  but 
sady  set  up,  which 
ntry.  These  were 
employed  sixty  or 
iepeudents  of  the 
outhern  settlement 
0;  that  of  Eliza- 
),  and  of  Newark 

r  to  the  Lords  of 
li  Assembly  asking 

3ast  Jersey,  i.  91. 


NEW   JERSEY.      MOUIUS    WORKS— D1CKERS0\   JUNE. 


541 


for  encouragement  of  the  manufucturc  of  Iron  in  the  Proviiico.  It 
would  thus  appear  to  have  already  become  a  promising  industry  in  New 
Jersey. 

The  first  settlement  in  Sussex  and  Morris  counties  is  supposed  to 
have  been  made  about  the  year  1085,  by  people  from  the  older  towns 
Morrin         a"d  from  New  and  Old  England,  for  the  purpose  of  smelting 
the  iron   ores  in   tlie   neigiiborhood  of.llanovor,   in    Morris 


County. 


County.  They  early  erected  several  forges,  and  engaged  extensively  in 
the  Iron-manufacture.  The  several  spurs  of  the  great  Apalachian  cliain 
which  diversify  these  and  the  adjoining  counties  of  No.'liiwestcrn  New 
Jersey  were  alike  remarkable  for  tlie  abundance  and  variety  of  the 
ores  which  tiiey  embosomed,  and  for  their  aflluonce  of  wood  and  water- 
power  for  carrying  on  tiie  manufacture  of  Iron. 

At  the  close  of  the  last  century,  ten  mines  were  wrouglit  witliiu  the 
limits  of  Morris  County,  which  contained  two  furnaces,  three  rolling  and 
slitting  mills,  and  about  forty  forges  with  two  to  four  fires  each.  Dr. 
Kitchell,  in  his  Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  New 
Jersey  for  1855,  enumerates  and  describes  upward  of  eighty  iron  mines 
within  the  four  counties  of  Sussex,  Passaic,  Morris,  and  Warren. 
These  furnish  principally  the  magnetic  oxyd,  hydratod  peroxyd,  and 
other  primary  ores.  Tlie  ores  of  other  metals,  as  zinc  and  copper,  are 
also  found  in  the  same  interesting  region. 

The  site  first  occupied  by  the  settlers  of  Hanover,  still  known  as  "  the 
old  forges/'  was  about  twenty  miles  ea.stward  from  the  mine  whence  they 
obtained  the  ore.  This  was  the  celebrated  Suckasunny  mine  in  the 
town  of  Randolph,  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  State.  The  ore  was  carried 
thence  to  tlie  works  in  leathern  bags  on  pack-iiorses,  and  the  iron  was 
conveyed  back  in  the  same  way  over  tlie  Orange  Mountains  to  Newark. 
Forges  at  Morristown,  and  some  in  Essex  County,  were  long  supplied 
in  the  same  way  from  the  rich  ore  of  the  mine,  some  of  whicll  is  iiighly 
magnetic,  and  yielded,  on  analysis,  over  80  per  cent,  of  iron.  Tlie  ore 
was  for  some  time  free  to  all,  but  in  1717  the  land  was  taken  up  by 
Joseph  Kirkbride.  Early  in  the  present  century,  the  mine  became  the 
Dickenon  property  of  the  Hon,  Mahlon  Dickerson,  formerly  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  who  resided  near  Dover,  and  was  extensively  en- 
gaged in  mining  the  ore.  The  mine  is  still  known  as  Dickerson's,  and 
its  ore,  mixed  with  others  to  correct  a  cold  short  tendency,  is  much'uscd 
by  furnaces  at  Philipsburg  and  elsewhere. 

At  the  village  of  Troy,  in  Hanover,  a  iiloomery  forge,  still  in  opera- 
tion,  was  built  in  1743.  On  the  Rockaway  and  its  branches  several 
forges  were  erected  during  the  next  sixty  years.  Two  of  these  were  in 
the  village  of  Rockaway,  and  a  third,  erected  in  1805,  was  in  185G  con- 


i-i'.M     •j.J^^.yftKjt'.V.-i.'Wim*, 


512 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS, 


verted  into  a  steel-mill.     Beach  Glen  bloomery,  three  miles  north  of 
the  village,  was  built  in  HGO  and  rebuilt  in  185G.     J-]tna  forge,  on 
Burnt  Meadow  Brook,  three  miles  further  north,  was  set  up  about  the 
time  of  the  Revolution  near  the  site  of  the  bloomery  of  Mr.  George  K 
Richter,  and  one  mile  from  the  Denmark  Anchor  bloomery,  ere-.-ted  m 
the  year  1800.     A  bloomery  forge  was  also  built  about  the  year  1780 
seven  miles  west  of  Roekaway  station,  on  the  Rockaway.     Having  been 
twice  rebuilt,  it  is  still  at  work  upon  the  Suckasunny  ore,  and  is  known 
as  the  Valley  For-je.    Several  others  were  early  erected  in  the  Berkshire 
Valley      Two  or'thrce  miles  above  Milton,  and  seventeen  or  eighteen 
north  of  Rockaway,  the  Russia  and  Hopewell  bloomeries  were  set  up, 
the  former  in  1775  and  the  latter  in  1780,  and  both,  having  been  re- 
built, are  still  in  operation  with  hammers  driTcn  by  water-power 

Randolph,  Mount  Hope,  Morristown,   Boonton,  Dover,  and  other 
places  in  the  county,  have  been  chiefly  occupied  with  Iron-works  for  a 
long  period.     One  of  the  slitting  and  rolling  mills  above  re- 
»<">■"<>■>•      fp„eii  to    about   1790   occupied  the  site   of    Old  Boonton 
Bloomery  six  mile's  east  of  Rockaway.     Boonton  is  now  the  centre  of 
Sie  largest  Iron  business  in  the  State.     The  works  of  the  East  Jersey 
Manufacturing  Company,  erected  in  that  village  about  thirty  years  ago, 
are  among  the  largest  in  New  Jersey.     The  Dover  Rolhng-mill  near 
the  Dover  station  of  the  Morris  and  Essex  railroad,  was  built  by  Israel 
Canfield  and  Jacob  Livey  in  1792,  when  the  place  contained  only  four 
dwellings  and  a  forge.     It  has  been  twice  rebuilt,  and  is  furnished  with 
a  steel-furnace,  which  has  made  1,000  tons  of  steel  in  a  year.     A  char- 
coal furnace  at  Mount  Hope,  four  miles  northwest  of  Rockaway,  cas 
shot  and  shell  for  the  army  during  the  War  of  Independence.   It  stopped 
about  thirty  years  ago.     This  place  is  the  centre  of  extensive  mining 
operations,  having  no  less  than  thirty-two  ore  beds  wrought  in  its  neigh- 
borhood.    The  most  northerly  of  this  group,  which  includes  the  Dicker- 
Bon,  Is  the  Hibernia  mine,  a  magnetic  ore  bed  9  feet  in  thickness. 

The  Hibernia  Iron-works,  in  Pequannock  township,  received,  by  an 
Act  of  the  Provincial  Legislature,  in  1769,  a  grant  of  certain  privileges 
in  common  with  others  in  Burlington  County,  for  their  encour- 
"o'a-work..  agement.  The  furnace  was  employed  during  the  war  in  casting 
crape-shot  and  other  ordnance  for  Government.  A  letter  from  the 
owner  or  manager,  Joseph  Huff,  dated  November  21,  1776,  in  which  he 
requests  a  supply  of  salt  to  enable  him  to  lay  in  a  stock  of  provisions, 
without  which  he  must  put  the  works  out  of  blast,  states  that  it  was  the 
only  furnace  in  the  Province  which  he  knew  to  be  then  in  blast,  or  at 
which  such  stores  could  be  supplied  for  the  public  service. 

A  mine  of  the  sulphuret  of  iron  or  pyrites,  at  the  base  of  the  Green 


MEW   JERSEY.      C0PPEUA8-W0KKS. 


543 


e  miles  north  of 
^Elna  forge,  on 
i  set  up  about  the 
of  Mr.  George  E. 
loiiiery,  ere-'ted  iu 
)ut  the  year  1780 
ay.     Having  been 
ore,  and  is  known 
id  in  the  Berkshire 
enteen  or  eighteen 
neries  were  set  up, 
1,  having  been  re- 
ater-power. 
Dover,  and  other 
li  Iron-works  for  a 
ng  mills  above  re- 
of    Old  Boonton 
now  the  centre  of 
)f  the  East  Jersey 
ut  thirty  years  ago, 
■  Rolling-mill,  near 
was  built  by  Israel 
;ontained  only  four 
id  is  furnished  with 
n  a  year.     A  char- 
,  of  Rockaway,  cast 
(ndenoe.   It  stopped 
of  extensive  mining 
Tought  in  its  neigh- 
includes  the  Dicker- 
in  thickness, 
ihip,  received,  by  an 
of  certain  privileges 
ity,  for  their  encour- 
g  the  war  in  casting 
A  letter  from  the 
1,  1176,  in  which  ho 
stock  of  provisions, 
states  that  it  was  the 
!  then  in  blast,  or  at 
ervice. 
he  base  of  the  Green 


Pond  or  Copperas  mountain,  in  the  same  town,  furnished  material  for  a 
considerable  manufacture  of  copperas  in  the  last  century.  At  its 
cpppras-  f-'lo.^e,  the  township  had  two  charcoal  furnaces  and  a  number 
^^•"'•''^'        of  forges. 

Several  early  Iron-works  were  erected  on  the  Ringwood  and  Pequan- 
nock  rivers,  which  unite  at  Pompton.  A  forge  was  built,  about  a  cen- 
tury since,  on  the  present  site  of  the  bloomery  and  anchor  works  of  the 
Messrs.  Smith,  tliree  miles  above  Bloomingdale,  in  Passaic  County. 
After  entirely  disappearing,  it  was  rebuilt  in  1847.  A  cimrcoal  furnace, 
two  or  three  miles  further  northwest,  also  on  the  Morris  County  side  of 
the  Pequannock,  was  erected  previous  to  1770,  as  sliown  by  a  piece  of 
pig  metal  from  it  stamped  with  that  date.  It  was  abandoned  two  years 
after,  and  was  replaced  in  1840  by  the  large  Charlottenburg  bloomery 
and  rolling-mill  of  G.  II.  Renton,  of  Newark.  Between  these,  about  the 
former  date,  were  also  two  forges.  At  the  village  of  Ringwood,  near 
the  State  line,  a  forge  also  existed  formerly.  There  are  8  mines  of  rich 
magnetic  ore  in  this  vicinity.  The  present  Ringwood  bloomery  at 
Boardville,  and  Long  Pond  bloomery,  three  miles  northwest  of  it,  were 
built  by  Baron  Ilass  before  the  Revolution,  and  now  make,  the  former 
about  400  and  the  latter  800  tons  of  blooms  yearly.  These,  with  the 
Charlottenburg  and  Mount  Hope  works,  once  belonged  to  one  company, 
at  which  time  there  were  also  two  forges  between  Smiths'  and  the  old 
Charlottenburg  furnace.  Methodist  bloomery  on  the  Pequannock, 
twenty-five  miles  northwest  of  the  Patterson  station,  in  Passaic  County, 
was  built  about  1780.  The  following  bloomery  forges  in  Morris  County 
were  erected  about  the  year  1790,  and  are  still  running,  viz.:  Hard 
Bargain,  near  Petersburg;  Bartleyville,  near  Mount  Olive,  now  the  old- 
est in  that  vicinity  ;  Ilolsey's  forge  at  Rockaway  ;  Split  Rock  bloomery 
oil  Beaver  Lake,  and  Slickels  Meriden  bloomery  on  Beaver  Brook. 
Stockholm  and  Windliam  bloomeries  on  the  Pequannock,  in  Passaic 
County,  still  in  blast,  were  erected  about  the  same  year.  The  Pompton 
hot-blast  charcoal  furnace  in  that  county,  built  in  1837,  is  said  by 
its  present  owners  to  be  the  oldest  three  tuy5re  furnace  in  the  Union. 

The  Morris  Canal  has  long  rendered  the  Anthracite  coal  of  Penn- 
.'■vlvania  available  for  the  numerous  Iron-works  of  this  metalliferous 
region. 

Furnaces  and  forges  were  built  at  several  places  in  the  adjoining 
counties  of  Sussex,  Warren,  and  Hunterdon,  which  included  Mercer,  at 
Hnnfprdoa  «"  ^^^ly  date.  At  Clinton,  in  the  last  named,  where  mines  of 
CuuBty.  magnetic  ore  now  yield  25  to  30  tons  of  ore  daily,  mining 
was  commenced  over  a  century  and  a  half  ago.  The  Union  Furnace, 
before  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,  was  supplied  from  that 


T 


544 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 


Aniover 
works, 
SuHsex  Co. 


place,  but  was  abaudoucd  in  1778.     Steel  was  made  at  Treutou  during 
the  llcvolution. 

At  Oxford,  on  a  branch  of  the  Pequest,  in  Warren  County,  a  charcoal 
furnace  was  built  in  1143.  It  is  said  to  1)0  tlie  oldest  furnace  now  re- 
w>.rren  maiuiug  in  the  Union,  and,  being  in  complete  repair,  is  still 
coulny.  running  as  a  steam  hot-blast  furnace,  two-tliirds  of  the  year  on 
charcoal  and  one-third  on  antliracite.  it  is  8  feet  across  the  bosli,  and 
38  feet  high,  and  made,  in  1857,  906  tons  of  car-wheel  iron,  nearly  all 
made  into  car-wheels  on  the  spot.  Castings  from  this  furnace  are  found 
in  chimney  backs  a  century  old,  and  pigs  with  much  older  stamps.  The 
iron  was  formerly  rafted  in  Durham  boats  from  Foul  Rift  down  the  Dela- 
ware to  Philadeli)hia.  The  ore  is  obtained  from  a  mine  half  a  mile  distant, 
opened  in  1743,  and  yielding  block  magnetic  ore  with  45  to  60  per 
cent,  of  iron.     Two  other  beds  have  been  opened  since,  and  supply  ore 

to  other  works. 

At  Andover,  twenty  miles  to  the  northeast,  in   Sussex   County,  and 
forty  miles  from  New  York,  a  mine  of  magnetic  ore  >vas  opened  and  a 
blast-furnace  erected  before  the  war.     The  works  were  noted 
for  the  superior  quality  of  the  bar-iron  produced.     The  smelt- 
ing furnace  is  still  standing,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Canal,  at 
Waterloo,  tlie  puddling  furnace  and  forge  are  to  be  seen.     IJy  a  resolu- 
tion of  Congress,  in  January,  1778,  authorizing  the  Board  of  War  to 
contract  with    Mr.   Whitehead  Humphreys,   of    Philadelphia,  for  the 
manufacture  of  steel  for  the  use  of  tlie  Continental  artificers  and  works, 
the  Commissary-General  of  Military  Stores  was  directed  to  stipulate 
that  the  iron  employed  should  be  that  of  the  Andovor  Iron-Works,  as 
the  only  article  that  would  certainly  answer  for  tliat  purpose.     It  was 
also  directed  that  a  letter  should  be  written  to  the  Governor  and  Conned 
of  New  Jersey,  requesting  them  to  put  a  person  in  possession  of  the 
works,  that  they    night  be  put  in  blast  for  the  immediate  supply  of 
iron.'   The  company  which  owned  the  works  was  a  large  and  enterprising 
one,  and  conducted  an  extensive  business  for  the  times.   But  they  appear 
to  have  been  principally  royalists,  and  hence  the  order  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  works.     The  company  was  dispersed  widely  during  the  war, 
and  the  mines  long  remained  unclaimed  and  the  taxes  unpaid.     After 
the  war  some  of  the  iron  from  this  furnace  was  sent  to  Eng- 
^^^-  land,  and  there  made  into  steel,  for  which  purpose  it  was  pro- 

nounced equal  to  the  best  Swedish  and  Russian  Iron.  The  best  foreign 
irons  from  which  steel  is  made  in  England  are  the  product  of  ores  simi- 
lar to  those  of  the   Andover  mine.     After  remaining  long  dormant, 


(1)  Journ.-il  of  Congress,  vol.  iv.  p.  32. 


Treutou  during 

ouiity,  a  charcoal 
furnace  now  re- 
te  repair,  is  still 
tls  of  the  year  on 
Dss  the  bosli,  and 
el  iron,  nearly  all 
rurnace  are  found 
ler  stamps.  The 
ft  down  the  Dela- 
alf  a  mile  distant, 
th  45  to  60  per 
e,  and  supply  ore 

^sex  County,  and 
vas  opened  and  a 
kvorks  were  noted 
jced.  Tlie  snielt- 
s  of  tlio  Canal,  at 
en.  IJy  a  resolu- 
Boiivd  of  War  to 
ladelphia,  for  the 
tificers  and  works, 
jcted  to  stipulate 
^r  Iron-Works,  as 

purpose.     It  was 
ernor  and  Council 

possession  of  the 
Tiediate  supply  of 
re  and  enterprising 
;.  But  they  appear 
er  to  take  posses- 
dy  during  the  war, 
es  unpaid.  After 
I  was  sent  to  Eng- 
)urpose  it  was  pro- 
The  best  foreign 
oduct  of  ores  sinii- 
ing  long  dormant, 


NEW   JKUSEV.       PlIIUPSBUUa   AND   FRANKLIN   FUKN.VCES. 


541} 


mining  was  resumed  at  the  place  by  Mr.  Hewitt,  who,  in  1847,  obtained 
a  title  to  the  mine  at  a  cost  of  $0,000,  and  recommenced  the  manufac- 
piiiiipsiMirg  tare  of  Iron  with  Peter  Cooper,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  and  his 
son  Edward  Cooper,  who  built  the  large  anthracite  steam 
furnaces  near  Thilipsburg,  in  Warren  County,  oppo.site  Easion,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Under  the  intelligent  and  enterprising  direction  of  Cooper  &  Hewitt, 
the  manufacture  of  iron  from  these  ores  has  been  among  tlie  most  exten- 
sive and  successful  in  tiie  country.  Over  200,000  tons  of  the  ore  have 
i)een  used  at  the  Piiilipsburg  furnaces,  and  raiIron,d  iron,  bars,  wire, 
wood  screws,  and  otlier  articles  of  iron  made  by  tiie  puddling  process 
with  antiiracite,  have  sustained  the  ancient  reputation  of  the  Andover 
Iron.  Tiie  first  experiments  with  the  Bessemer  process  in  this  country 
were  made  at  their  works  in  1850 ;  and  at  the  Trenton  Rolling-mill  of 
the  same  Company  the  first  wrought-iron  beams  for  fire-proof  buildings 
are  said  to  have  been  made  for  the  United  States  Government. 

The  Andover  Mine,  which  is  in  the  same  range  with  the  Oxford  veins 
before  mentioned,  is  the  centre  of  another  cluster  of  mines,  some  of  them 
old  and  celebrated,  in  the  primary  gneissoid  rocks  of  the  valley  of  the 
Wallkill  and  tlie  Hamburg  mountains.  Tlie  principal  mineral  wealtli 
of  the  county  is  embraced  in  a  range  of  about  four  miles  north  and  south 
from  Sparta  through  Sterling  to  Franklin.  The  older  metamorphic 
rocks  of  this  region  contain  abundance  of  iron  ore,  but  are  chiefly  re- 
Fra«kiinite,  '"'^'"'^^'^^'l'^  '"'"  dcposits  of  the  scsquioxyd  associated  with  tlie 
I'roum'e'^  '  oxyds  of  ziuc  aud  of  manganese,  wliich,  from  its  vicinity  to 
the  Franklin  furnace  near  Hamburg,  has  been  denominated 
Franklinile.  This  ore  and  the  red  oxyd  and  silicate  of  zinc,  found  iu 
large  quantities  from  Hamburg  to  Sparta,  and  especially  at  Sterling, 
form  the  most  valuable  body  of  zinc  ore  probably  as  yet  found  in  this 
country.  It  was  early  observed,  and  a  quantity  of  it  is  said  to  have  ))cen 
shipped  to  England  as  copper  ore.  Attempts  were  made  just  before  the 
Revolution  to  manufacture  iron  at  the  place  from  the  franklinite,  but 
the  associated  metals  rendered  them  unsuccessful.  The  ore  is  rich,  con- 
taining 66  per  cent,  of  peroxyd,  or  46  per  cent,  of  iron,  16  per  cent,  of 
zinc,  and  17  per  cent,  of  the  red  oxyd  of  manganese. 

Franklin  Furnace,  one  of  the  oldest,  and,  on  account  of  its  ore  and 
iron,  one  of  the  most  celebrated,  was  built  near  the  franklinite  bed  iu 
Fraakiin  1770.  Having  been  repaired,  it  now  runs  as  a  hot-blast  char- 
Furnaco.  ^^^^^  fumace,  we  believe,  ou  other  ores;  an  attempt  to  make 
iron  and  zinc  together  having  failed.  Iron  was  previously  made  from 
the  ore  by  Mr,  Edwin  Post,  at  Stanhope,  by  a  Catalan  forge,  wliich. 
having  been  tried  at  the  French  National  Establishment  for  the  niauu- 
35 


546 


COLONIAL   i:\DLSTRY   IN    METALS. 


factuie  of  chains  and  anchors  for  the  Navy,  was  found  to  possess  an 
absolute  tenacity  ex(  ceding  that  of  any  irou  ever  tried.  Tlie  Iron  and 
sieel  made  from  it,  said  to  possess  superior  qualities  for  cutlery  and 
other  uses,  commanded  a  higher  price  than  any  other.  P  veral  com- 
panies have  oeen  formed  for  smelting  the  ore  for  the  extraction  of  the 
zinc,  and  eight  to  ten  thousand  tons  are  now  raised  annually  for  that 
purpose.  Shafts  have  been  sunk  to  the  depth  of  350  feet.  In  view  of 
its  abundance,  the  beds  being  in  some  places  15  to  30  feet  thick,  and  of 
its  importance  for  the  manufacture  of  iron,  in  whicli  it  works  well  as  a 
corrective  of  red  short  ores,  it  is  an  important  deposit.  But  considering 
also  its  value  for  the  manufacture  of  metallic  zinc,  zinc  white,  and  other 
paints,  for  which  it  is  now  almost  exclusively  used,  it  must  be  regarded 
a.s  of  great  economical  value.  The  metal  has  been  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  brass  for  standard  weights  and  measures  by  Sir.  llassler,  of  the 
United  States  Coast  Survey. 

There  was  formerly  a  furnace,  now  in  ruins,  at  Hamburg,  in  Sussex 
County.  A  bloomery  at  Canistear,  built  in  1196,  and  since  rebuilt,  is 
still  in  operation.  In  the  town  of  Newton,  there  were  one  furnace  and 
four  bloomery  forges  at  the  close  of  tlie  Inst  century. 

In  manv  parts  of  the  neighboring  Highlands,  and  in  some  other  por- 
tions of  the  State,  are  veins  of  copper  ore,  of  more  or  less  value,  wliich 
were  explored  in  former  times. 

The  most  celebrated  and  productive  of  these,  in  colonial  days,  was  the 

mine  of  the  Schuylers,  in  the  town  of  Hanover,  in  Hudson  County.     Ik 

sch«yi«r'8    was  discovered  about  the  year  1719  by  Arent  Schuyler,  an 

Cupper  mine.  gJ^ply  emigrant  from  Holland,  on  whose  laud,  between  the  Tus- 

suic  and  Hackensac  rivers,  near  Belleville,  a  negro  servant  picked  up  a 

piece  of  native  copper,  which  led  to  its  discovery.     Some  hammers  and 

other  tools  'ouud  on  opening  the  mine  furnished  evidence,  however,  of 

its  -laving  been  exi  lored  by  the  early  Dutcli  settlers.     The  ore  proved 

extremely  ric'u,  and  for  some  time  was  a  source  of  much  prolit  to  tlio 

owner.     It  was  transported  by  a  short  land  carriage  to  the  Hudson,  and 

thence  through  New  York  was  shipped  to  Bristol,  England,  whore  it 

sold  for  forty  pounds  sterling  per  ton.     It  was  said  to  yield  80  per  cent. 

of  pure  copper,  and  above  four  nances  of  silver  to  eacli  hundredweight 

of  cupreous  metul.     Tlie  richness  and  celebrity  of  this  ore,  according  tc 

Dr.  Douglas^  was  the  occasion  of  an  Act  of  Parliament,  making  coppei 

ore  on  enumerated  article,  in  order  to  secure  it  to  the  English  marUi^t 

The  minors  originally  received  one-tlurd  for  raising  it  to  the  surface, 

It  was  packed  in  quarter  barrels,  six  of  which  made  a  ton.     The  nmouni 

thus  exported  np  to  1731  was  1,38G  tons.    The  shnft  was  sunk  l.cfoM 

the  Revolution  to  the  depth  of  nearly  200  feet.     The  mining  was  fre 


iMM 


iras  found  to  possess  an 
er  tried.  The  Iron  and 
[qualities  for  cutlery  and 
ny  otiier.  P  vcral  coin- 
or  the  extraction  of  tlie 
raised  annually  for  that 
of  350  feet.  In  view  of 
)  to  30  feet  thick,  and  of 
vliich  it  works  well  as  a 
leposit.  But  considering 
inc,  zinc  white,  and  other 
ised,  it  must  be  regarded 
)cen  used  in  the  maiiufac- 

8  by  Mr.  Ilassler,  of  the 

,  at  Hamburg,  in  Sussex 

79G,  and  since  rebuilt,  is 

jre  were  one  furnace  and 

ntury. 

3,  and  in  some  other  por- 

more  or  less  value,  wliich 

,  in  colonial  days,  was  th-3 
r,  in  Hudson  County.     It 

9  by  Arcnt  Schuyler,  an 
ise  laud,  between  the  Pus- 
legro  servant  picked  up  a 
ery.  Some  hammers  and 
led  evidence,  however,  of 
settlers.  Tiie  ore  provi-d 
rce  of  much  prol'it  to  the 
rriage  to  the  Hudson,  and 
Bristol,  England,  whoro  it 
I  said  to  yield  80  per  cent, 
er  to  each  hundred-weight 
y  of  this  ore,  according  to 
♦urliament,  making  copper 

it  to  the  English  market. 

raising  it  to  tho  surface, 
made  a  ton.  The  aniouiU 
riic  dhnft  was  sunk  befota 
cut.     Tiie  alining  was  fre- 


NflW  JERSEY.      COPPER   Xi!NES   IN. 


647 


quently  suspended  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  mine  free 
froii.  water  by  tlie  means  then  in  use,  a  capital  obstacle  in  the  minhig 
operations  of  that  day. 

This  difficulty  induced  Col.  John  Schuyler,  the  son  of  the  original 
proprietor,  about  the  year  1745,  to  engage  Josiah  Ilornblower,  an  in- 
telligent young  Englishman  of  Sta-^ordshire,  to  come  to  America  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  a  steam-engine  at  his  copper  mines.  This  engine, 
which  was  imported  in  parts,  and  put  up  by  Ilornblower  entirely  to  tlie 
satisfaction  of  his  employer,  continued  in  use  for  forty  years  or  more  ' 
No  attempt  to  smelt  the  ore  appears  to  have  been  made  by  the  pro- 
prietors of  this  mine. 

In  February,  1721,  Dr.  John  Johnston  &  Co.,  of  Perth  Amboy,  mode 
public  proposals  to  any  persuns  who  had  copper  or  other  mines  upon 
their  lands,  which  they  were  not  disposed  to  work  themselves,  to  rent 
the  lands  and  give  the  owners  one-si.xth  of  the  product  of  the  mines  free 
of  all  charges. 

About  the  year  1750,  Mr.  Elins  Boudinot,  of  Philadelphia,  took  a 
lease  for  ninety-nine  years  of  a  piece  of  land  belonging  to  Philip  French, 
s.»Br«n».  ^'^■'  '"'^^"'  ^  quarter  of  n.  mile  of  New  Brunswick,  on  which 
wirk  copper  Several  masses  of  virgin  CLj.;)ef,  weighing  from  5  to  30  pounds, 
had  been  turned  up  by  the  plow.  Having  taken  several  part- 
ners, a  pit  was  opened  iu  the  following  year  ia  the  low  grounds  near 
the  river,  where,  at  the  depth  of  fifteen  feet,  they  found  a  vein  of  bluish 
stone  charged  with  coppjr,  and  also  thin  sheets,  and  occasioaally  large 
lumps  of  virgin  copper  between  the  rocks.  A  stamping-mill  was  erected, 
and  many  tons  of  excellent  copper  were  extracted  and  sent  to  England.' 


(I)  This  (team-engine  wft«  the  third  ono 
erected  in  AmerioA,  two  others,  according 
tn  tho  biogriiiihor  of  John  Fitch,  havinf; 
been  imported  from  England  into  New  Eng- 
land forty  years  before  the  Revolution.  It 
was  probr.bly  upon  the  atmospherir  princi- 
ple of  Nowoomon's  engine,  which  was  at 
that  time  best  ndapled  to  such  uses.  The 
linpro*  amenta  of  Walt  had  uot  then  been 
commenced.  The  Industry  and  genius  dis- 
played by  young  Hornblower  in  the  erection 
of  tho  engine,  and  in  bis  knowledge  of  Min- 
eralogy and  other  branches  of  natural 
•cienoe,  secured  to  him  unlimited  confi- 
dence, lie  married  into  one  cf  the  most  re- 
ipcclab'e  families  of  the  State,  and  lived  to 
•n  Ndvanccd  ajje  in  the  estoem  of  the  eom- 
nninily.  It  was  proposed  to  John  Fitch,  in 
1786,   to  secure  bis  services  or   those  of 


Colics  in  constructing  the  engine  for  the 
first  Btoamboat.  Jonathan  Ilornblower,  of 
Cornwall,  .'England,  iu  1781  patented  some 
impruvemoi  ti  in  tho  steam-engine  in  that 
country.  Thi  Hon.  Josiali  Uurublower  died 
in  18U9,  aged  eighty-oight,  leaving  a  nu- 
merous  issue. 

(2)  Among  the  importations  of  copper 
from  diffureut  countries,  principally  Ger- 
many, Sweden,  and  Spain,  into  England  '.i 
1694,  amounting  in  all  to  a  little  over  I.fiB.t 
hundred-weight,  were  five  hundrod-wcirfht 
from  America.  The  product  of  the  Englifli 
copper  mines,  which  in  1854  wm  i:i,(ira 
tons,  was  then  very  trifling,  and  llie  tornl 
ennsuraption  very  small.  CDpiicr-niininii; 
bad  been  nearly  abandoned  iu  Enulmi'l. 
but  the  scarcity  produced  by  tlie  war  ab.ut 
that  time  caused  its  revival  by  several  j.int 


548  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN    METALS. 

Sheets  of  nearly  pure  copper  were  taken  from  between  the  rocks  near 
f  e  trface,  and,' t  the  depth  of  50  to  60  feet,  a  vein  of  —  o^^^^^^^^^ 
tween  quartz  rocks.     The  cost  of  labor  was,  however,  found  too  gr  at 
and  the  mine  was  abandoned.     A  rich  vein  of  copper  ore  discovered  at 
Rock    Hill  in  the  same  county,  was  also  given  up  for  the  same  reason, 
ffer  having  been  wrought  for  a  time.     Yery  rich  deposits  of  copper 
ore  near  SomerviUe,  known  as  the  Bridgewater  mine,  contain.ng  con- 
siderable  quantities  of  massive  red  oxyd  and  of  the  green  car- 
fofp^e^T^  bu..ate  and  phosphate,  as  well  as  of  native  copper,  was  formerly 
wroucrht  with  spirit.     Van  Home's  Mountain  contains  numerous  veins 
Tfth    ore      A  smelting  furnace  was  erected  before  the  Revolution  near 
Boundbrook  by  two  skillful  German  refiners,  who  made  a  profit  by  re- 
duei.-  the  ore  which  the  inhabitants  collected  «po  i  the  surface  and  1» 
pa     ally  digging  in  the  side  of  the  hill.     The  works  were  destroyed 
Tur    g  the  .^kr.     A  shaft  was  also  opened  in  the  side  of  the  mountam 
by  a  company,  who  obtained  much  valuable  ore  and  a  quantity  of  virgin 
copper,    \^'o  masses  of  the  latter,  weighing  1,900  pounds,  were  found 

^^The  Franlli'^'copper  mine,  formerly  wrought  with  some  zeal,  is  situ- 

,,        ated  near  Georgetown,  on  the  Delaware  and  Rantau  Can  1, 

^co^fJZn.;^  the  same  county.     A  shaft  was  sunk  at  that  place  to  the 

X:!Z!::^r.  part  of  New  Jersey,  the  principal  iron  ores  are  the 
bog  deposits  of  the  green.and  and  tertiary  formations  of  the  seaboard. 
Of  these  the  swamps  and  low  grounds  contain  very  large  quan- 
S^Sore..  tuics  The  most  abundant  collections  are  found  in  the  cedar 
swamps  and  pine  barrens  on  the  several  branches  of  the  Little  Egg 
narbo  river  in  Burlington  County,  whence  considerable  quantiies  were 
exported  in  the  last  century  to  New  England  and  to  Maryland  to  mix 


.took  companion,  of   which  the   princpal 
bore  the  nnme  of  Dockwra,  from  William 
Dookwra,  of  London,  the  originator  of  the 
ponny-i>»8t  system  in  that  city.  Mr.  Dookwra 
was  one  of  the  I'.oprietariof,  of  East  New 
Jer.ey,«r.(l  owned  Urge  estate,  on  each  .ide 
of  the   Millstone  Crock,   in   Middlesex   or 
Bon-erKet    countiei.      We    are    not   awaro 
whether  he  wn»  inlcreitod  in  copper-mining 
in  the  Province,     .l  the  Dockwra  Company 
tn  Englhnd  pro.      ed  ahoiit  80  toni  of  cop- 
per  yeiirly   in       n,  which  wni  about  one- 
half  of  all  that  was  ralfod.    It  sold  for  £100 
to  £120  per  ion.     Ho  i«  alfo  said,  about  the 
•ame  time,  to  hare  oouiuienood  with  otheri 


at  Esher,  in  Surrey,  the  first  manufacture 
from  English  copper  of  botlry,  such  as  ket- 
tles, etc.,  and  soon  after  a  manufoctory  of 

wire  for  rin-m"»^''"K-  ^''^y  •""*  "'*"  "'* 
only  6>'UM  toirt  works  In  England,  drawing 
by  water-power,  with  twenty-four  beiiolic?, 
at  the  rale  of  about  one  ton  per  week,  which 
sold  at  £8  pi-r  cwt  Tl-ey  also  made  copper 
farthings  and  halfpence  from  Swedish  cop- 
per, which  had  been  prcvloualy  used  for 
wire-making  at  Esher.  The  domcsllo  pro- 
duction of  copper  became  equal  to  the  de- 
mand  about  the  year  1725. 
(1)  Morse's  Univ.  Oeog. 


Mail 


NEW   JERSEY.       EARLY    BOQ   ORE   FURNACES. 


549 


eu  the  rocks  near 
D  of  solid  ore  be- 
•,  found  too  great, 
•  ore  discovered  at 
ir  the  same  reason, 
leposits  of  copper 
e,  containing  con- 
i  of  the  green  car- 
appcr,  was  formerly 
ics  numerous  veins 
he  Revolution  near 
ade  a  profit  by  re- 
the  surface,  and  by 
rks  were  destroyed 
lo  of  the  mountain 
a  quantity  of  virgin 
pounds,  were  fttund 

I  some  zeal,  is  situ- 
and  Raritan  Canal, 
t  that  place  to  tiie 

il  iron  ores  are  the 
ans  of  the  seaboard, 
ain  very  large  quan- 
e  found  in  the  cedar 
1  of  the  Little  Egg 
rable  quantities  were 
to  Maryland  to  mix 

•cy,  the  firnt  mftnufiicture 
)cr  of  biiUry,  luch  as  ki't- 
n  after  a  manufnctory  of 
ing.  Thoy  had  (lien  the 
orks  In  England,  drawing 
nilh  twenty-four  beiiolie?, 
it  one  ton  per  week,  which 
t.  They  alio  made  copper 
Ifpenco  from  Swedish  cop- 
been  prKvloualy  used  fur 
Efher.  The  domcuio  pro- 
r  became  equal  to  Iha  de- 
vour 1725. 
ilv.  Oeog. 


with  the  cold  short  sand  and  other  ores  of  those  places.  Owing  to  the 
sulphur  they  contain,  these  run  mostly  red  siiort,  but  the  marl  beds  in 
many  places  also  contain  phosphatic  ores  producing  iron  of  the  cold  short 
kind. 

Tlie  percentage  of  Iron  in  these,  and  their  fitness  for  the  forge,  diCfcr 
somewhat  with  their  position  in  the  sedimentary  mass.  Loam,  seed,  and 
massive  ores  are  described  as  occupying  relatively  the  top,  middle,  and 
bottom  of  the  deposits.  The  "  massive  ore"  forms  a  cake  or  pan  at  tlio 
bottom,  being  a  honey -comb  deposit  of  crystallized  or  hydrated  peroxyd 
of  iron,  with  its  colls  filled  with  yellow  clay.  It  yields  from  47  to  63 
per  cent,  of  metallic  iron.  The  "  seed  ore"  contains  about  45  per  cent, 
of  iron,  and  the  "  loam"  or  upper  portion  is  composed  of  oxyd  of  iron 
mixed  with  vegetable  mould,  at  first  soft  and  easily  fluxed,  but  as  the  iron 
accumulates,  subsiding  toward  the  bottom.  The  ferruginous  green-sand 
and  marl  furnish  a  silicious  ore,  which,  when  niLxed  with  the  bo>;  mine, 
makes  excellent  Iron.  Many  furnaces  were  built  in  the  last  century 
for  smelting  the.se  ores  with  charcoal  from  the  pine  plains,  and,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  primary  deposits  of  the  northern  section,  they  be- 
came the  principal  source  of  wealth  to  the  State.  The  anthracite  iron- 
manufacture  has  caused  most  of  the  furnaces  to  be  abandoned,  or  con- 
verted into  founderies  only. 

On  Wading  River  and  its  branches,  at  the  eastern  border  of  this  fer- 
riferous district,  the  Martha,  Speedweli,  and  Union  furnaces  were  fed  by 
the  ore  beds  of  the  neighborhood.     The  Batsto  furnace,  near 

Furnaci'ii  In  .  .  ' 

s..uih™»ii.rn  the  junction  of  the  Ratsto  and  Fgg  Harbor  rivers,  was  known 

Kow  Jersey.  .  .111  .  .         ,       , 

for  considerable  operations  in  the  last  century.  It  was  built 
about  the  year  1766  by  Charles  Reed.  During  the  Revolution  it  waa 
the  property  of  Col.  John  Cox,  and  was  employed  in  casting  cannon- 
shot  and  bomb-shells  for  the  American  army,  boilers  for  salt-works,  ami 
a  variety  of  other  castings. 

Batsto,  Atsion,  and  Hanover  furnaces  in  Burlington  County  are  now 
out  of  blast,  as  are  also  Bergen  furnace  in  Monmouth  County,  Weymouth 
furnace  in  Gloucester,  Tuckahoe  in  Cape  May,  and  Cumberland  in  Cum- 
berland counties. 

On  Atsion  river  and  its  branches,  another  tributary  of  the  Little  Egg 
Harbor,  still  larger  quantities  of  bog  ore  exist,  from  which  the  Atsion 
Iron-furnaco  was  supMlied.  Several  furnaces  were  early  built  also  in  the 
western  part  of  the  county.  An  Act  of  Assembly  in  Decemiter,  17()9, 
invested  the  owners  of  Iron-works  in  the  townsliips  of  Evesham  and 
Northampton  with  certain  privileges  for  their  better  miinngement. 

Thomas  Mayberry  carried  on  the  manufacture  of  sheet-iron  at  Mount 
Holly  in  1775.     In  May  of  that  year,  Congress  ordered  from  his  numii- 


&50 


COLONIAL   INDXJSTBY   IN   METALS. 


factory  five  tons  of  shect-iron  for  the  use  of  Thomas  Bales,  a  b  acksm.th 

'>vho  proposed  to  supply  the  Continental  troops  ^;th /amp-kettles  of 

that  material,  provided  he  could  have  c.3dit  for  that  quantity 

Steel  was  made  at  Trenton  during  the  Revolution,  but  the  business 

afterward  declined.  „    ,.     .      •    i  >,ot 

A  nail  manufactory  was  in  operation  at  Burlmgton  in  HOT. 
By  a  return  made  in  1784,  New  Jersey  was  ascertained  to  hnvc  8 
furnLes  and  79  forges  for  the  manufacture  of  Iron.     The  production  o 
Iron  iu  the  State,  about  ten  years  later,  was  estimated  at     2  0  tons  ol 
bar-iron,  the  same  quantity  of  pig-iron,  and  80  tons  of  nail-rods  annu- 
ally    exclusive  of  hollow-ware  and  various  castings,  of  which  great 
quantities  were  made.     Iron  in  pigs,and  bars  was  exported  to  a  large 

*""so  numerous  were  the  charcoal  furnaces  and  bloomeries  of  the  State 
that  a  writer,  about  this  date,  observed  that  it  was  impossible  to  travel 
across  the  Province  without  meeting  with  some  little  Iron-forges  It  a 
proprietor  had  a  tract  of  marshy  woodland  which  he  wished  to  clear  up 
L  threw  a  dam  across  the  upper  part  where  the  streams  entered,  and 
there  fixed  the  wheels  for  an  Iron-work.  In  a  few  years,  in  place  of  a 
^ast  pond  filled  with  green  or  blasted  pines,  well-inclosed  fields  and 
green  meadows  met  the  eye  of  the  traveler,  and  the  sounds  of  rural  labor 
replaced  the  noise  of  the  furnace  and  the  forge-hammer. 

PENN8YLVANiA.-The  immense  mineral  resources  of  Pennsylvania 
have  long  been  a  principal  source  of  her  prosperity.  The  ore  exist- 
ing  in  large  quantities  in  close  proximity  to  the  coal  measures,  both 
anthracite  and  bituminous,  give  her  unequaled  advantages  for  the  manu- 
facture  of  Iron,  which,  at  an  early  period,  became  a  staple  product  of 

^'clmpSs  states  that  traces  of  Gold  were  found  in  the  times  of 
Puntz,  and  that  silver,  copper,  iron,  and   lead,  with  marble  jasper, 
emeralds,  and  other  precious  stones,  were  known  to  exist  iii  the 
S:"etu.     days  of  the  Swedes.     The  discovery  of  the  mineral  treasures 
of  the  South  River  or  Delaware  Colony  was  enjoined  upon  the  first 
Dutch  Governor  by  the  authorities  at  Amsterdam  ;  and  the  inhabitants, 
as  an  inducement,  wore  allowed  for  ten  years  the  sole  use  of  any  valuable 
minerals  they  might  discover.      At   Minisink,   above  the   Ki  tatinny 
mountains,  where  the  first  European  settlement  of  equaexteiit  on  t, 
Boil  of  Pennsylvania  is  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  that  people  on 
the  fiats  on  each  side  the  Delaware,  "mine-hole."  and  an  expenme 


Bales,  a  blacksmith, 
th  camp-kcUles  of 
it  for  that  quantity 

n,  but  the  business 

n  in  n07. 

ertained  to  hnvo  8 
The  production  of 
;ed  at  1,2  "0  tons  of 
s  of  nail-rods  annu- 
igs,  of  which  great 
exported  to  a  large 

jmeries  of  the  State, 
impossible  to  travel 
le  Iron-forges.  If  a 
e  wished  to  clear  up, 
streams  entered,  and 
V  years,  in  place  of  a 
11-inclosed  fields  and 
sounds  of  rural  labor 
imer. 

•ces  of  Pennsylvania 
rity.  The  ore  exist- 
!  coal  measures,  both 
antages  for  the  manu- 
(  a  staple  product  of 

lund  in  the  times  of 
with  marble,  jasper, 
known  to  exist  in  the 
the  mineral  treasures 
joined  upon  the  first 
;  and  the  inhabitants, 
ole  use  of  any  valuable 
above  the  Kittatinny 
r)f  equal  extent  on  the 
ade  by  that  people  on 
es"  and  an  expensive 


PENNSYLVANIA.      FIKST   IRON-WORKS  AND  COPPER  MINES. 


55] 


mine  road  thence  to  the  Hudson  remain  as  the  sole  indications  of  ita 
ancient  occupation. 

William  Penn  mentions,  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Keeper  Xortli,  in  July, 
1683,  "  Mineral  of  Copper  and  Iron  iu  divers  places"  in  tlie  Province. 
Gabriel  Thomas,  a  resident  of  the  Province  from  al)out  tliatdate,  writing 
iu  1698,  states  tliat  iron  stone  or  ore  liad  been  lately  found,  which  far 
exceeded  tliat  in  England,  being  richer  and  less  drossy,  and  tiiat  some 
preparations  had  already  been  made  to  carry  on  an  Iron-work.  lie 
also  mentions  copper  "  far  exceeding  ours,  being  richer,  finer,  and  of  a 
more  glorious  colour."  "Backward  iti  the  country,"  lie  elsewhere  ob- 
serves, "lies  the  mines  where  is  copper  and  minerals,  of  which  there  is 
some  improvement  made  already  in  order  to  bring  them  *o  greater  per- 
fection, and  that  will  be  a  means  to  erect  inland  market  Towns,  whicli 
exceedingly  promotes  traffic." 

The  copper  and  iron  above  alluded  to,  and  other  minerals  mentioned, 
were  probably  found  in  Chester  County,  one  of  the  first  counties  erected 
by  Penn.  This  county  included  Delaware  and  several  others,  and  was 
the  seat,  it  i:J  said,  of  the  first  Iron-works  in  the  Province.' 

The  copper  spoken  of  was  doubtless  on  the  lands  of  Charles  Pickering, 
an  Englishman  of  property,  who  purchased  the  township  in  Chester 
PickerinK  Couufy  which,  from  him,  took  the  name  of  Charlestowti,  in 
""'''""''"""•  which  copper  was  mined.  The  proprietor  was,  iu  1().S.'J,  tried 
before  the  Council  on  a  charge  of  uttering  base  money,  which  was  made 
by  one  Robert  Felton.  The  Pickering  mine  was  situated  on  Pickering 
Creek,  twenty-five  miles  from  Philadelphia,  and  in  1705  belonged  wlioUy 
or  in  part  to  Samuel  Carpenter,  a  wealthy  laud  and  mill  owner.  It  was 
offered  for  sale  in  1725. 

In  1708,  William  Penn  wrote  to  James  Logan  to  "remember  the  mines. 


(1)  Thomas  iiientiuns  a  variety  of  otiier 
mioeraU,  aa  limcatniip,  Iollli^tullc,  inin- 
glaai,  "and  (that  wmulor  uf  ^tonc.x)  tho 
salamander  stone,  found  nuar  Dramlywine, 
rare,  having  cotton  in  vvinii  within  it  which 
will  not  oonsuine  in  the  Hre  though  hold 
there  along  time."  All  these  and  numerous 
other  interesting  niinunils  are  found  in  that 
oounv.  The  tremolite  above  referred  to  is 
found  in  two  varieties,  ashostos  and  ami- 
anthus, in  the  tnlcoKO  rocl<8  of  Qoshcn  and 
other  towns.  He  noticed  tho  runs  of  water 
to  have  the  same  color  as  those  which  isauud 
from  the  ciia{  mines  in  Wales.  Among  the 
trudufiiiun  and  artificers  alruady  estnhlishod 
iu  the  infant  city,  which  was  destined  to  he 


tho  greiit  seat  of  manufiictures,  were  several 
worliers  in  metal.  Silversmiths  ruceivod 
from  half-u-crown  to  fliree  nljijliiigs  an 
ounce  fur  working  silver,  "and  fur  gold 
e<|iiiviilcnt."  Tlicro  wcro  hrazicrs,  puiv. 
terers,  cullers,  gunsmiths,  locksmiths,  nail- 
ers, file-cutters,  wiilch  and  cloclc  miikei  j,  am), 
most  useful  of  all,  hlacksmiths.  One  of  tlia 
Inst  named,  his  next  neighbor,  ho  stales, 
earned  with  his  negro  man  80  shilliirgs  a 
diiy,  by  worliing  up  100  Ihi.  of  iron  at  td.  u 
jiound,  tho  common  price.  In  tho  acoountg 
of  Penn,  Cinsar  Griselm  is  mentioned  as  a 
gnldMnith.  D,  Vaughn,  a  watch-miiker,  and 
Francis  Itioliardaon  received  £2  for  a  pair 
of  Duckies  for  Laititia. 


552  COLONIAL   INDISTRY   IN   METALS. 

Which  the  governor  makes  yet  a  secret  even  to  thee  and  all  the  world  but 
:S  and  Michell.  pray  penetrate  that  matter,  and  ^et  -  s- U>e  oa 
in  as  large  a  quantity  as  thou  canst."  Oldmixon  who  H  -^;<';^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
year  mentions  the  deposit  of  iron  ore  called  Iro"  Hi  1,  in  ^^e^ca  « 
city  (now  Delaware)  between  Brandy  wine  and  Chr.Una  and  that 
samples  of  most  kinds  of  ore  had  been  obtained  ,n  every  county. 

S     W    iam  Keith  had  Iron-works  in  that  county,  e-ted  Prev.ous 
1730  and  probably  during  his  administration  from  HH  to  1.2(.     In 
lis  sdentf     the  government  of  the  Colonies  addressed  to  the  k.ng  u. 
28  he  sta    d  that  .he  Colonies  were  then  in  a  condition   with  a  lUtl 
Llcoitentto  supply  England,  among  other  things,  w.h  as  much 
copper  ore  and  pig  and  bar  iron  as  she  might  need  ^_ 

In  July   1718,  Jonathan  Dickinson  mentions  in  a  let  er  that     tUe  e 
„e  tatlons'f    m  He  Iron-works  forty  miles  up  Schuylkill  are  very  gr.at." 
'  T^      reference  here  was  probably  to  the   Coventry  lorge  on 

?rt^u,.  French  Creek,  in  Coventry  township,  Chester  County.     lh,s 
bloomery  was  buiu  by  i  person  named  Nutt.  who  made  other  large  in  - 
"its  at  the  place.     It  is  said  to  have  gone  into  operaUon  a 
he  year  1720.  and  to  have  made  the  first  iron  manufactmed  in  rcn 

vania«    Tie  manufacture  of  Iron  was  carried  on  th^^e  «   «r  t  e 

K  volution  by  Col.  Philip  Benner,  who  subsequently  erected    he  first 

;        Celt  e  County.  ^Having  l-^^bly  been  rebuUt.  tins  booim^^ 

is  sUU  in  operation  with  three  fires  and  one  hammer  driven  by  the  watu- 

power  of  Hock  Run.  1719-20,  at  Monatawnoy.  then 

Aforgeisalsomentioned.  in  March,  niJ  -o,  "i-  i,  w.,^ 

i„  rhihLdphia,  but  now  in  Berks  or  Montgomery  Cou  ty.     I     u 
attacked  by  the  Indians  in  1728.  but  they  were  repulsed  wilh  gie.t  loss 

'^t  nTa^rproprietors  of  Iron-works  in  the  Province  petitioned  the 
Asllwy  lo  pvo'hibit  the  retailing  of  liquor,  except  cider  or  beer,  near 
their  works  to  the  workmen.  . 

In  1728,  Mr.  Logan  wrote  that  there  were  four  furnaces  in  Pen  syl- 
5a  in  1.1.  St '  One  or  more  of  these  were  within  the  present  limits  of 
^■""  "  'llast^r  C:u:ty.  which  was  set  o.  from  Chester  in  the  fol- 
ru'I?r  lowing  year.  The  mineral  wealth  of  that  fine  county  has  been 
industriously  infproved  by  the  thrifty  German  population  from  that  time 
to  the  present,  and  many  of  the  descendants  of  its  early  tamilies  are  still 
identified  with  its  extensive  iron-manufactures. 

S  first  Iron-works  in  the  county  is  supposed  to  have  been  bu„t  by 
a  person  named  Kurtz,  in  1720.    The  enterprising  family  of  Grubbs  com- 

.   ,,.  .  n  11  »f  p.nna    224  (2)  Watson's  Annals,  li.  426. 

(1)  Day's  Hist.  Coll.  or  Penna..  li*.  K-i 


J 


1  all  the  world  but 
et  us  see  the  oare 
mV)lished  the  same 
lill,  in  Newcastle 
hristina,  and  that 
•y  county, 
rected  previous  to 
in  to  172(5.     lu 
sed  to  the  king  in 
lition,  with  a  little 
igs,  with  ns  much 

etter  that  "  the  ex- 
cill  are  very  great." 
Coventry  forge  on 
Iter  County.  This 
ade  other  large  ira- 
:o  operation  about 
iifactured  in  Penn- 
on there  after  the 
ly  erected  the  first 
built,  this  bloomery 
driven  by  the  water- 

;  Monatawuoy,  then 
ry  County.  It  was 
ilscd  with  great  loss 

jvince  petitioned  the 
)t  cider  or  beer,  near 

furnaces  in  Tennsyl- 
the  present  limits  of 
m  Chester  in  the  fol- 
,  fine  county  has  been 
ilation  from  that  time 
early  families  are  still 

to  have  been  built  by 
family  of  Grubbs  com- 

Annals,  li.  428. 


PENNSYLVANIA.      WAUWICK,  UEDDINQ,  AND  CORNWALf,  FURNACES.     553 

menced  operations  in  IWS.  In  a  petition  from  some  of  the  inhabitants 
to  the  Council  in  January,  173G-3t,  praying  for  a  road  from  the  borough 
t(>the  Coventry  Works  on  French  Creek,  they  ask  that  one  branch  of  it 
may  go  to  the  new  furnace  called  Kedding's,  then  erecting  on  the  same 

creek.'  The  last-named  furnace  was  owned  by  a  company  con- 
waiwick      sisting  of  William  Branson,  who  was,  a  few  years  later,  the 

proprietor  of  a  steel-furnace  in  Philadelphia,  a  Mr.  Vanleer, 
and  otliers.  It  is  said  to  have  been  abandoned  ultimately  for  want  of 
ore.  Many  of  the  surface  deposits  of  brown  and  other  heniatitic  ores  in 
the  limestone  valley,  west  of  the  Scliuylkill,  are  not  very  extensive,  but 
have  nevertlieless  employed  many  furnaces  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania. 
Tiie  Warwick,  Cornwall,  and  Chestnut  Hill  ore  beds  in  Berks,  Lebanon, 
and  Lancaster  counties,  liave  been  long  wrought,  and  yield  each  several 
thousand  tons  yearly.  The  Warwick  was  mined  in  colonial  times,  and 
is  worked  as  an  open  quarry  over  several  acres,  and  by  a  shaft  180  feet 
deep.  The  Chestnut  Hill  mine  also  covers  ten  or  twelve  acres,  and  has 
a  shaft  of  100  feet.  Many  smaller  banks  are  worked  in  the  slate  and 
limestone  basins  of  those  counties,  and  supply  hematite  ores  of  diil'erent 
kinds.  Some  copper  is  found  in  the  Warwick.  The  Warwick  charcoal 
blast-furnace,  on  the  south  branch  of  French  Creek,  was  built  in  1736. 
It  was  somewhat  larger  than  the  ordinary  size  of  such  furnaces  at  the 
present  day,  and,  having  been  reduced  from  9  to  7^  feet  in  the  boshes, 
and  consequently  in  its  make  of  iron,  is  still  running  in  other  respects 
unchanged.  It  produced  in  1857,  from  ore  of  the  Warwick  and  neigh- 
boring mines,  759  tons  of  boiler-plate  iron.  In  1776,  the  Warwick  and 
Ileadmg  furnaces  were  engaged  in  casting  cannon  for  the  State.  These 
furnaces  were  blown  by  long  wooden  bellows,  propelled  by  water-wheels, 
and  wheu  in  blast  made  25  to  30  tons  of  iron  per  week.  The  famous 
cornwau  Coruwall  cold-blast  furnace,  in  Lebanon  County,  was  built 
furuiice.  ^^jQ„j  t|,g  ygar  1742  by  Mr.  Peter  Grubb,  of  Chester  County. 
It  was  of  the  same  size  as  the  Warwick  furnace,  and  still  remains  in 
active  use  of  its  original  size.  Its  stack  was  32  feet  high,  21^  feet  square 
at  the  base,  and  11  feet  at  the  top.  Its  bellows  were  20  feet  7  inches 
long,  5  feet  10  inches  across  the  breech,  and  14  inches  at  the  insertion 
of  the  nozzle.  Having  been  blown  three  years  by  the  owner,  it  was,  in 
1745,  leased  for  twenty  years,  along  with  the  Hopewell  forge,  which  be- 
longed to  Mr.  Grubb,  to  twelve  persons,  who  managed  it,  for  a  few  years 
only,  under  the  name  of  the  Cornwall  Company.  For  the  remainder  of 
the  term  it  was  conducted  by  Jacob  Giles,  a  Quaker  gentleman  of  Balti- 
more.    At  the  expiration  of  the  lease,  Mr.  Grubb  managed  it  until 

(1)  Colonial  Rooordi. 


JL. 


554 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 


1198  When  it  became  the  property  of  Robert  eoleman,  who  reahzed  a 
very  'large  fortune  from  it.     All  its  late  owners  are  said  to  have  become 
wea   '.y      Uv.  Grubb  resided  at  the  Hopewell  forge,  which  was  also'a 
very  profitable  concern,  and  remained,  some  fifteen  years  a-o,  still  the 
property  of  the  family.     Mount  Hope  charcoal  furnace,  "ix  miles  south 
„       „      of  Lebanon,  in  Lancaster  County,  was  built  in  1785  or  86  by 
^Zll'!'""  Peter  Grubb,  Jr.     Having  been  several  times  rebuilt  and  re- 
duced in  size,  it  is  still  owned  by  the  Grnbbs,  who  are  also  the  pro- 
prietors and  managers  of  several  others  in  the  county.     This  furnace 
yielded  from  800  to  1,000  tons  of  pig  metal  per  annum,  which  is  about 
its  present  production.     Tlie  price  of  pig-iron  in  1780  was  £300  Conti- 
nental currency,  and  in  1789  £6  lO.s.  Pennsylvania  money,  equivalent  to 
$17  331      In  1800,  when  pig  metal  was  worth  £10  per  ton,  or  $26.07^, 
Henry  B  Grubb  built  the  Mount  Vernon  furnace  on  the  Conewago, 
which  produced  from  50  to  52  tons  of  good  pig-iron  weekly,  or  about 
2  800  tons  per  annum,  by  a  continuous  blast  without  blowing  out     lins 
was  recently  using  the  hot-blast,  and  has  the  same  owners  as  the  last, 
but  stopped  in  1852. 

The  books  of  the  Hopewell  forge,  preserved  since  the  year  1705,  ex- 
hibit, it  is  said,  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  business,  and  an  economy 
of  management  and  productiveness  which  compare  favorably 
I'Z:'''     with  its  present  results.     From  this  and  other  evidence.  Mi-. 
Thomas   Chambers,  a  well-informed  and  experienced    iron-master  of 
Pennsylvania,  from  whose  account  we  have  drawn  many  of  the  foregoing 
particulars,  was  convinced  that  our  early  iron-manufacturers,  even  before 
he  separation,  introduced  into  the  business  as  much  skill  as  prevailed 
at  that  time  in  England,  and  that  their  furnaces,  in  1788,  were  in  size 
and  construction  not  much  inferior  to  many  charcoal  furnaces  of  the 
present  day.     The  abundance  of  wood,  obtained  at  a  merely  nominal 
cost  in  the  process  of  clearing  the  lands  for  tillage,  was  an  importan 
element  in  the  cheap  production  of  pig-iron.     The  ores  which  supplied 
these  furnaces  principally  belonged  to  the  belt  of  primary  magnetic  ores, 
which,  extending  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  occupy  vas:   areas,  and  have 
fed  a  multitude  of  furnaces,  some  of  them,  as  we  have  seen,  among  the 
oldest  in  the  country,  in  several  of  the  New  England  States,  in  New 
York  and  New  Jersey.     Entering  Pennsylvania  near  Easton,  these  ores 
occupy  in  a  much  smaller  extent,  the  gneissoid  formation  of  the  Soutli 
mountain  range,  whose  rugged  hills  were  everywhere  clothed  with  dense 
forests,  requiring  only  the  cost  of  felling  and  charring.     The  most  abun- 
„     dant  deposit  of  the  magnetic  ore  in  Lebanon  County  is  at  the 
X"         Cornwall  mine,  which  is  also  one  of  great  richness.     This  vast 
body  of  ore  furnishes,  according  to  Professor  Rogers,  70  per  cent,  of 


PENNSYLVANIA.      STEIUEL's  IRON- WORKS— STOVES. 


555 


11,  who  realized  a 
id  to  have  become 
which  was  also'^a 
ears  aj-o,  still  the 
;e,  "ix  miles  south 
ill  1785  or  '86  by 
es  rebuilt  and  re- 
are  also  the  pro- 
nty.  This  furnace 
im,  which  is  about 

0  was  £300  Conti- 
oncy,  equivalent  to 
ler  ton,  or  $26.67§, 
on  the  Conewago, 
in  weekly,  or  about 
blowing  out.  This 
owners  as  the  last, 

1  the  year  1105,  ex- 
ss,  and  an  economy 

compare  favorably 
other  evidence,  Mr. 
jed  iron-master  of 
my  of  the  foregoing 
acturers,  even  before 
h  skill  as  prevailed 
I  1788,  were  in  size 
3oal  furnaces  of  the 
it  a  merely  nominal 
e,  was  an  important 

ores  which  supplied 
imary  magnetic  ores, 
ras'.  areas,  and  have 
ive  seen,  among  the 
;land  States,  in  New 
\r  Easton,  these  ores 
rniation  of  the  South 
re  clothed  with  dense 
ng.  The  most  abun- 
non  County  is  at  the 
I  richness.  This  vast 
gers,  70  per  cent,  of 


Elizabeth 
V urn ace. 


iron.  This  mine  also  affords  frequent  specimens  of  copper,  and  now 
yields  iron  ore  at  about  10  cents  per  ton.  With  ore  of  this  quality,  or 
the  argillaceous  o.xyd  and  hematite  of  the  limestone  and  slate  basins  of 
the  Schuylkill  and  its  branches,  aided  by  ample  water-power  and  fuel  at 
hand,  and  labor  at  a  moderate  cost,  the  early  German  settlers  were  able, 
by  frugality  and  industry,  and  a  fair  practical  knowledge  of  the  business, 
to  make  good  iron  at  a  remunerative  price,  and  to  establish  the  early 
reputation  of  Pennsylvania  in  this  department  of  industry. 

At  Colebrookdale,  a  few  miles  west  of  the  Cornwall  ore  hill,  a  large 
charcoal  blast-furnace  was  erected  in  1745.  As  the  property  of  r  3  of 
the  Colemans  it  is  still  in  use.  It  uses  the  Cornwall  gray  magnetic  ore, 
which  then  supplied  the  Mount  Hope  and  several  other  works ;  and  at 
this  time  all  the  furnaces  on  the  Schuylkill  and  Susquehanna  use  it 
mixed  with  the  hematites.  This  ore  bed  is  owned  by  different  persons, 
and  is  worked  as  an  open  quarry, 

Elizabeth  furnace,  fourteen  miles  north  of  Lancaster,  near  Litiz,  was 
built  about  1756.  It  was  at  one  time  owned  by  Benezet  &  Co.,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  was  managed  by  one  of  the  proprietors, 
Henry  William  Steigcl,  of  that  city.  Steigel  was  a  German 
baron  of  some  property  and  much  skill  and  enterprise  in  the  mechanic 
arts,  but  was  too  speculative  and  pretentious  for  the  times.  At  the  vil- 
lage of  Manheim,  in  Lancaster  County,  which  he  founded  in  1762,  he 
erected  large  glass  and  iron  furnaces.  At  this  place,  and  near  the 
Elizabeth  furnace,  he  built  castles  or  towers,  and  mounted  them  with 
cannon,  which  were  discharged  on  his  visits  to  the  country  as  a  signal 
for  his  friends  to  assemljle,  and  for  his  workmen  to  quit  the  smoke  and 
labors  of  the  furnace  to  wait  upon  his  guests  with  music  and  other  feudal 
accompaniments.  One  of  these,  near  Shaefferstown,  is  still  pointed  out 
as  "  Steigel's  Folly."  Becoming  involved,  and  cut  off  from  his  resources 
in  Europe  by  the  war,  his  property  passed  into  other  hands.  He  after- 
ward superintended  the  Iron-works  of  Mr.  Robert,  Coleman,  one  of  the 
most  extensive  and  successful  iron-masters  of  that  day,  who  became  the 
proprietor  of  Elizabeth  Furnace.  This  furnace  is  still  owned  by  one 
of  the  family,  which  has  been  extensively  connected  with  the  iron  inter- 
ests of  Pennsylvania  for  more  than  a  century.  It  was  abandoned  four 
years  ago  for  want  of  wood,  having  made,  the  previous  year,  1,424  tons 
of  pig  metal  by  steam  and  hot  blast. 

Some  of  the  first  stoves  cast  in  this  country  were  made  by  Mr.  Steigel, 
relics  of  which  still  remain  in  the  old  families  of  Lancaster  and  Lebanon 
counties.'     The  Speedwell  forge,  six  miles  from  Litiz,  in  Lancaster 

(1)  Tlieiie  were  probably  the  same  ns  the     of  Ocrmantown,  gomo  of  whieh  were  cnst  m 
"Jamb  stoves"  made  by  Christopher  Suwer,     or  tieur  Lancaster.     They  were,  it  is  pruh* 


^56  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   MKTAL8. 

I    -If  5n  n-iO  and  one  in  Murtic  townsliip, 
County,  now  abandoned  was  bud  tm    750  ana  ^^  _  ^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^ 

m  used  with  tbo  addition  ^^  ^  ;;^-  J^'^^'^rtheast  of  Lan -aster,  are 
-«-  ^;'u?raS'er  It  nm5,  and  since  rebuilt.  Seye- 
.tove».         still  older,  having  ocen  u  ^.^^^ 

,„,  others  were  erected  on  *»'  ..-.m  d«r  "g  *=;-  [„„„  ,„„., 

POO,,  forgo,  „e.r  «>■•  ^'-^^Le  - "'e  l-e,uel  .ates  fro.  1«5, 
from  the  former,  m  1193  B'"""  "  ^  ^  j  „,  n,  s.„c  age.  Sally 
and  Newmarket  forgo,  .n  ^^aa^  C<.unlJ.  ^^  ^„„,„  „,  kuIz- 

A„a  charcoal  Wf  ■'""■;«■  «"  , f^  ,^1°     '„„  „.,  creek,  ia  UOi  ,  .»d 
town,  was  llrst  blown  ,n  1J9    ,  the  '«        ,  ^rexlerstown,  in  1787. 
Mar,  Ana  farnace,  cgUt  .^       oaO^w^  ^^  ,„,  ,„„„^,,,  „,  Lan. 

.i:irr:e:^;:"*.  - -^^^^ 

riSI  rr  ^Tntrg:  Z..  .U.  1,.»0  .«,  of  p.  a,, 
nearly  the  same  .mount  of  bar  iron  amnml  y.  ^^  ^^_^^^j. 

Copper  ore  1,  said  to  I""'"  "-t" 'T'; it  ^  have  beea  ■nine,!  either 
.nd  the  remains  of  an  »"«"  ;'';;yX,'^^^^  .ot  later  than  the  time 

:?  TJ"t  cliToeslir-  0«-'«'.  --  »'  ^°'^  ""'"  °""' 

n:;:™or  Moms,  of  New  .ersey,  in  ^--^.r^r ;:»« 

„55,  speaks  of  the  '^^^^  ^^''^^JZiL..^^^.  •"-  ""'  ""' 
Pcnn,  Mr    All       and  oU,u  _^^^  „„,t,,  „,  .,,. 

„„.„..»  eompatty  thought    '  «"^^  |,„j  ^„rt,j  .t  g„at  expense 

help  of  a  ^''-'^'"i:tZ      u^i^^^^^  ""'  '°  '™°'^  '"  T?" 
rrarp;;S«™-tl,e  proprietary,  share,  to  whtch  he  as- 


able,  the  fi«t  Stove,  cast  in  America,  and 
;,e  described  aa  similar  in  construct.0"  to 

Z  box  form  of  the  old   .en  plaU  stoves 
^Mch  superseded  them,  but  they  were  wub- 

„„n      Tlipv  were  set  m  me 
nii»  a.  cine  or  oven,     mcy  w"-'" 
^de  or  "V-V  of  the  kitchen  flre-pUce,  and 
passed  through  the  waU  so  as  to  present  to 

back  end  in  the  adjoining  room.  Ih  s, 
though  often  red  hot.  but  .mperfect  y 
warmed  the  rooms,  which,  though  small, 
:!  less  impervious  to  cold  air  than  those 
Tf  the  present  day.  Dr.  Franklin  published 
i„  1744,  with  acoppor-plate  illustration,  an 
aecoun;  of  the  open  stove,  or  "newly  .n- 

ventcd     Pennsylvania    Fire     place,     Ac, 
Xeh  bears  his  name.    It  was  afterward 


improved  by  CouBt  Eumford,  »  "»  ';«  "^ 
New  Hampshire,  who  also  investigated  the 
subject  of  heating  houses  by  st.am  conveyed 
in  metal  pipes,  which,  about  '^o  -''i'^  ;;^ 
the  last  century,  was  proposed  by  AVilUam 
Cook,  of  Manchester.    Our  hardy  ancestors, 
however,  depended  little  on  stoves,  which 
„ero  not  in  general  use  in  dwellings  until 
near  the  present  century,  and  HiU  later  m 
churches.     Cannon  stoves  were,  in   1782, 
provided  ai  an  article  of  luxur^  for  Christ 
Church,  Philadelphia.     The  air-tiyht  stovo 
is  said  to  have  been  invented  by  I«''»«  ^rr, 
of  New  Hampshire,  who  died  in  1844,  at 
the  age  of  fifty. 


PENNSYLVANIA.      PIIILADEI.l'llIA    AND   BERKS   COUNTIES. 


557 


Martic  townsliip, 
Windsor  forged 
of  Lan-asttT,  arc 
ce  rebuilt.     Seve- 
xt  dfty  years,  viz., 
;  forge,  three  miles 
a,  dates  from  1795, 
I  same  age.     Sally 
ica  south  of  Kutz- 
;reek,  in  1794;  and 
;town,  in  1797. 
le  borough  of  Lan- 
,  and,  in  or  near  it, 
n   1798,  the  county 
,200  tons  of  pig  and 

ridge  in  this  county, 
re  been  mined  either 
t  later  than  the  time 
iS  of  gold  were  once 

horaas  Pcnn,  in  May, 
Lancaster,  in  which 
rested,  and  that  the 
jously  worked  by  the 
3cted  at  great  expense 
treaty  for  some  small 
share,  to  which  he  as- 

!ouiit  Eumford,  a  native  of 
i,  who  also  investigated  the 
ng  houses  by  sti-am  conveyed 
which,  about  the  middle  of 
y,  was  proposed  by  AViUiam 
liester.    Our  hardy  ancestore, 
nded  little  on  stoves,  which 
ineral  use  in  dwellings  until 
nt  century,  and  etiU  later  in 
innon  stoves  were,  in   1782, 
n  article  of  luxur^  for  Christ 
.delphia.    The  air-tvjht  stove 
e  been  invented  by  laimc  Orr, 
pshire,  who  died  in  1814,  at 


PhilBdelphia 
County. 


sentfd,  but  declined  to  sell.  Mr.  Morris  believed  the  vitriolic  water  of 
the  mine  could  also  be  turned  to  account.  Tliis  mine  was  discovered  by 
a  Gennan  named  Tersey,  about  the  year  1732,  and  a  grant  of  the  land 
was  made  by  John  Penn  to  Governor  Hamilton  and  others.  An  account 
of  the  copper  springs  was  in  1756  communicated  by  John  Rietty,  M.  ])., 
to  P,  Collinson,  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  London,  and  published 
in  the  4th  Volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Society,  Part  2,  page  648. 
The  mining  operations  were  discontinued  after  a  few  years  for  want  of 
an  engine  to  drain  tliem.  In  1797,  |)r()i)osa]s  were  issued  in  pamphlet 
form  by  Benjamin  Henfrey  to  work  mines  in  the  United  States,  in  which 
this  was  included.  It  was  reprinted  a  few  years  since  by  those  interested 
in  the  mine,  which  a  new  company  was,  in  April,  1851,  chartered  to 
work.' 

On  the  JIanatawny  Creek  a  forge  appears  to  have  been  very  early 
erected,  and  otliera  were  built  on  tliat  and  the  Pcrkioraen  before  the 
Revolution.  Green  Lane  forge  on  the  latter,  twenty  miles 
north  of  Xorristown,  now  owned  by  Mr.  Sdiall,  was  built  in 
1733,  and  Glasgow  forge,  on  the  former,  just  witiiin  Berks  County,  in 
1750.  The  Oley  charcoal-furnace  and  Oley  forge  on  the  same  creek, 
near  Princetown,  were  set  up,  the  furnace  in  1770  and  the  forge  in  1780; 
and  Mount  Pleasant  forge,  fourteen  miles  north  of  Pottstown,  in  1799. 
These  were  all  recently  in  operation. 

Two  bloomery  forges  were  also  built  in  Rockland  township,  Berks 
County,  six  miles  southeast  of  Kutztown,  one  in  1788  and  the  other  in 
Berks  1790,  and  are  still  in  use,  as  are  the  two  District  forges  on 

County.  pijjg  Creek,  in  Pike  township,  built  in  1799  and  1800.  Berks 
County  had  in  1798  six  furnaces  and  as  many  forges,  several  of  which 
were  in  Heading. 

Pottstown,  at  the  junction  of  the  Manatawny  with  the  Schuylkill, 
derives  its  name  from  John  Potts,  a  large  land-owner  at  that  place,  and 
an  enterprising  proprietor  of  Iron-works  in  Ciiester  and  Berks  counties. 
He  was  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Burlington  in  the 
days  of  Penn.  The  ancient  forge  at  the  entrance  of  Valley  Creek  into 
the  Schuylkill,  which  gave  the  name  of  Valley  Forge  to  the  memoraI)le 
glen  around  which  Washington  established  his  winter  quarters  in  the 
darkest  period  of  the  Revolution,  was  owned  by  him  and  afterward  by 
his  son,  Isaac  Potts,  whose  stone  house  was  the  General's  head-quarters. 
The  forge  has  long  since  disappeared,  and  a  cotton  factory  stands  near 
its  site.  The  family  of  its  proprietor  has  had  a  long  connection  with 
Iron-works  in  the  Province.     There  were  anciently,  we  believe,  forges  at 

(1)  Pennsylvania  Archives,  ii.  311. 


i^ 


J  ^3  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 

Yellow   Springs,   which    have    also    disappeared.      The    Cheltenham 
Mng-^ill  of  kowland  &  Hunt,  on  Tacony  Creek,  was  cstabl.hed 

'"iT'lition  to  the  very  early  Iron-works  in  Chester  County  already 
mentioned,  and  probably  others,  a  rolling  and  ^^^^^^^ 
no  doubt,  the  first  in  the  Province,  was  built  in  1746  n  Thorn 
f:[;;^«..>n.  bury  township  by  John  Taylor,  and  was  in  operation  from 
that  time  to  n50.  when  a  particular  account  of  such  establishments  was 

^"rromlyC-  erected  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Brandy- 
wife,  two  mills  nonh  of  Downingtown,  in  1785.  It  is  still  in  use  and 
I  known  as  the  Mary  Ann  forge.  Springton  forge,  A-  ™ne^^  ^^^^^ 
of  it  on  the  main  branch,  was  built  five  years  later;  the  Hibernm 
.  rg e  (and  rolling-mill),  four  miles  north  of  Coatesville,  on  the  west 
a'ch  in  1792  ;  and  Rokeby  rolling-mill  on  Buck  Run,  four  miles  south 
rcttesville,  in  1795.  Chester  County  had,  three  years  late,  six 
forges,  estimated  to  make  about  1,000  tons  «f  »'"-'7,.^""""fy-    ^^„  . 

In  Bucks,  one  of  the  three  original  counties  established  by  Penn  m 
1G82,  a  furnace  and  forges  are  said  to  have  been  erected  between  the 
years  1692  and  1743,  by  a  company  who  purchased  a  large 
m"- "       tract  of  land  at  Durham,  within  the  limits  of  the  famous  "  In- 
dian Walk  "     The  ore  of  the  Durham  and  Easton  hills,  coming  within 
tl  e  ran^e  of  the  primary  belt  of  the  South  Mountain,  is  chiefly  a  mag- 
neti    oxyd,  occurring  in  lodes  or  veins,  in  some  places  of  considerable 
tl     kness  in  gneissic  and  quartz  rocks.     At  the  junction  of  the  primary 
w  h        'sand'and  limestone  formations,  brown  hematite  and  argil  aceous 
ores  also  occur  in  sporadic  form,  which,  for  some  time  were  the  ch    f 
dependence  of  furnaces  about  the  "Forks"  of  the  Delaware.     Ihe  old 
Durham  mine,  on  the  hill  south  of  Durham  Creek,  as  well  as  the  o  d 
furnace  have  been  long  abandoned,  although  the  ore  and  iron  are  both 
said  to  have  been  of  excellent  quality.     It  is  not  known  whether  a  de- 


(1)  Pennsylvania  Archives,  ii.  57.     This 
was  tho  only  cslalilii'hincnt  of  the  kind  re- 
turned by  the  sherifls  of  the  counties  under 
onth,  in  obedience  to   tho  proclamation  of 
Gorernor  Hamilton,  mndo  on  16'h  August, 
ITjO,  in  conformity  with  the  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment requiring  certificates  o;  all  rolling  or 
slitting    mills,   plating    forges,  and    steel- 
fnrnnces  erected   in  the   Colonies  previous 
to  .Tune  21  of  that  year-an  Act  which  net 
witn  much  opposition  in  Pennsylvania  and 
Massachusetts. 


The  SheriCr  of  Philadelphia  County  re- 
turned one  plating  forge  to  work  with  a 
tilt-hammer,  which  was  in  By'ierr,"  town- 
ship. It  was  the  only  one  in  the  Province, 
and  belonged  to  John  Hall,  but  had  not 
been  in  use  for  twelve  months.  In  the  same 
county  were  two  steel-furnaces,  those  of 
William  Branson  and  Stephen  Paschal,  both 
in  Philadelphia.  Paschal'g  Ijrnace  was 
built  for  that  purpose  in  the  year  1747,  on  a 
lot  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Eighth  and 
Walnut  streets. 


PENNSTLVANIA.      DURHAM   FURNACE— CHELSEA   FOROE,    ETC.       559 


The    ClicltPiiham 
k,  was  established 

•r  County,  already 
ig  mill,  which  was, 
;  in  1746  in  Thorn- 
in  operation  from 
establishments  was 

,ch  of  the  Brandy- 
t  is  still  in  use,  and 
je,  five  miles  north 
iter;   the  Hibernift 
Bsville,  on  the  west 
lun,  four  miles  south 
ree  years  later,  six 
on  annually, 
ibllshed  by  Penn  in 
jrected  between  the 
)  purchased  a  large 
of  the  famous  "  In- 
hills,  coming  within 
ain,  is  chiefly  a  mag- 
daces  of  considerable 
iction  of  the  primary 
atite  and  argillaceous 
time,  were  the  chief 
1  Delaware.     The  old 
k,  as  well  as  the  old 
re  and  iron  are  both 
known  whether  a  de- 


f  Philadelphia  County  re- 
ing  forge  to  work  with  a 
ich  was  in  Bj'jerr"  town- 
e  only  one  in  the  Province, 
o  John  Hall,  but  had  not 
welve  months.  In  the  same 
TO  steel-furnaces,  those  of 
D  and  Stephen  Paschal,  both 
a.  Paschal's  Ijrnace  wiis 
irpose  in  the  year  1747,  on  a 
liwest  corner  of  Eighth  and 


ficiency  of  ore,  its  hard  and  obstinate  character,  or  a  want  of  fuel  caused 
the  mines  to  be  neglected.  The  present  Durham  steam-furnace,  and  the 
Piiiiipsburg,  Crane,  and  other  large  steam-furnaces  on  the  Lehigli,  now 
use  anthracite,  which  more  easily  and  cheaply  overcomes  the  resistance 
of  the  compact,  primitive  ores  ol  the  neighborhood,  and  those  of  central 
New  Jersey,  where  most  of  the  companies  also  have  mines  of  magnetic 
ore,  which  they  combine  with  the  brown  hematite  of  the  Lehigh  valley 

For  the  transportation  of  their  iron  and  agricultural  produce  to 
market,  in  early  times,  a  species  of  flat-boat  or  barge  was  contrived  at 
Durham  Durham,  about  the  year  1750,  and  thence  known  as  the  "Durham 
*'""'"•  boat."  These  were  about  six  feet  long,  eight  feet  wide,  and 
two  feet  deep,  and  with  fifteen  tons  freight,  drawing  only  twenty  inches  of 
water.  They  Carried  two  sails,  and  were  manned  by  five  men,  and  in  the 
navigation  of  the  Delaware,  Susquehanna,  and  other  rivers,  were  of 
much  service  until  the  State  provided  other  means  of  transportation, 
rig-iron  was  thus  conveyed  from  the  Forks  to  Philadelphia  for  twenty 
shillings  a  ton,  wheat  at  Id.  a  bushel,  and  flour  at  2.'?.  (id.  a  barrel. 

At  the  Chelsea  forge  at  Easton,  the  price  of  Iron  in  July,  1778,  as 
appears  by  a  letter  from  Robert  Levers,  was  £200  per  ton,  an  advance 
Chelsea  of  100  per  ccut  on  the  price  paid  by  the  State  a  short  time 
'""•'*•  previous.     In  the  following  January,  the  same  person  informed 

the  Council  that  bar-iron  could  probably  be  sold  to  b'acksmiths  in  his 
neighborhood  for  £300  per  ton.  It  was  stated,  about  the  same  time, 
that  iron-masters  could  give  one  ton  of  bar-iron  for  four  of  disabled  guns, 
or  old  iron,  delivered  at  Chester  on  the  Delaware. 

In  York  and  Cumberland  Counties,  west  of  the  Susquehanna,  furnaces 
and  forges  began  to  be  erected  for  smelting  the  primary  ores  at  the  base 
York  of  the  South  mountain,  previous  to  the  Revolution.     Spring 

C"""'y-  forge  in  York  County,  built  in  1790,  had  two  fires  and  two 
hammers,  but  is  now  abandoned.  In  the  same  year,  the  Pine  Grove  hot- 
blast  charcoal  furnace,  of  large  size,  and  still  productive,  was  built  on 
CiimbPriana  Mountain  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Yellow  Breeches,  fourteen 
couu.y.  jjjjjgjj  southwest  of  Carlisle,  in  Cumberland.  It  is  fed  by  brown 
hematite,  obtained  near  it.  An  establishment,  called  the  Carlisle  Iron- 
works, was,  about  that  time,  managed  by  Mr.  Thomas  James,  afterward 
in  charge  of  a  forge  in  Virginia.  Holly  hot-blast  furnace,  on  the 
same  stream  with  the  Pine  Grove,  but  several  miles  below,  was  set  up  in 
1795,  but  has  ;"en  place  to  a  paper-mill.  Cumberland  cold-blast  fur- 
nace, on  the  ma'n  creek,  four  miles  nearer  Carlisle  than  Pine  Grove,  was 
erected  in  1794.  It  used  hematite  ore  from  Dillston,  near  the  York 
County  line,  where  a  prolific  vein  exists. 


r^QO  COLONIAL  INDUSTEY   IN   iMETALS. 

William  Denning,  a  blaek.nnth  of  Cun.berland  County,  during  the 
Rev  Ition  endeavored  to  serve  hi.  country  by  the  co..truet.on  of  a 
wrought-iron  cannon  of  curious  description.  One  of  th  .e  . 
c":r  Im  to  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  at  the  battle 
of  the  Brandywine,  and  to  be  preserved  in  the  Tower  of  London,  as  a 
lament  of  his  ingenuity  and  patriotism,  and  another  unfi.nsheu 
specimen  in  tlie  Philadelphia  Arsenal. ' 

The  first  furnace  built  in  Franklin  County  was  the  Mount  1  kas  n 
furnace  iu  the  Path  Valley,  four  miles  south  of  London.  t^  was  erected 
'  Boon  after  the  peace  of  178:',.  by  three  brothers,  Wdhum.  Ben- 
Sr  jamin.  and  George  Chan.bers,  sons  of  Col.  Benja.n.n  Chan>bers, 
from  whom  the  county  seat  of  Cumberland  derives  its  na.ue.  The  eUk- 
Chlbers  with  four  brothers  of  the  Scotch-Irish  stock,  more  than  fit  y 
yer  before  adventured  as  Pioneers  of  the  Conocheague  settlements. 

He  s  sa  d  to  have  had  his  dwelling  burned  soon  after  his  settlen,ent  o. 
the  pr  sent  site  of  Chambersburg  and  during  his  ten.porary  absenc 
for  tSe  sake   as  it  was  afterward  aseertained,  of  the  uads  u  conta.ned 

"tf  the  houses,  at  that  time,  havmg  any  such  article  about  them 

The  vlllge  was.  many  years  after,  ahnost  the  frontier   sett  en.ent.  an. 

11  at  the  time  his  sons  erected  the  forge,  all  the  nads.  null  .rons.  iro, 


(1)  These   ».*n(tiilttr  pieces   of    onlnnnco 
,,ere  i...i>le  "of  wrought  iron  .tt.vee,  hooped 
lilje  a   barrel,  with   bniuls  of  thi  euino  ma- 
terial, exccplini?  there  m-e  four  li..ver«  of 
,ta70S   breaking  joint,   hH   of  which   were 
firmly  bound  togclher,  and  then  bo.xe.l  and 
hrooched  like  other  cannon."     An  obituary 
notice  of  Dcnnin-.  who  died  ii.  Mifflin  town- 
thip,  in  ISSn,  ill  the  age  of  94.  stales  that  he 
WBI  an  artiiiciir  in  the  revolutionary  army, 
•nd  that  his  was  the  "only  Buceei.sful  at- 
tempt ever  made  in  the  w-.rld  to  manulac 
ture  wrougbt.iron  cannon,  one  of  which  he 
oompioted  in  Middlesex,  Pennsylvania,  and 
oommenced    another,   and    larger   one.   at 
Mount  Uolly.  but  could  get  no  one  to  assist 
blm  who  could  stand  ttie  heat,  which  is  said 
to  have  been  so  great  as  "  to  melt  the  kad 
buttons  on  his  clothes."    The  British,  it  is 
added,  offered  a  stnteci  annuity,  and  a  largo 
■urn  to  the  person  wh  )  would  instruct  them 
Sn  the  marufacturo  of  that  article,  but  the 
patriotic  blacksmith  preferred  obscurity  and 
poverty  In  Vi  own  beloved  country,  though 
the  oc-inlry  for  which  he  had  done  so  much 
kept  her  purse  closed  from  the  veteran  «ol- 


dicr,  until   nc-.r  the  close  of  his  long  lif 
Uurher  A  Howes,  Hist.  Coll.,  N.  J. 

A  Mr.  W'R'cleruf  Pliila.lelphi:),  nfterwar 
engaged  in  the  manufiuturo  of  liintfrns  fi 
lisht-houscs,  an.l  work  for  sug.'r-mills,  eU 
also  ma<le  wrought-imn  cannon,  during  tl 
war,  "  of  a  now  construction,  invented   1 

him." 

A  still  rarer  specimen  of  fluid  art.llcry  w 

exhiliited   at  Fort  Henry,  on   the  Wlic.li 

creek,  in  1777.     A   large  party  of  Indiui 

soon  after  nightfall,  advanced  within  si)i 

yardi  of  the  fort,  with  a  hollow  maple  h 

converted  into  a    Held   piece,  by  plujigi 

one  end  with  a  block  of  wood,  and  enco 

passing  it  from  end  to  end  with  iron  chai 

fr.)pi  a  hlaclismith's  shop,  to  give  itstreng 

It  was   heavily  charged  with  powder,  i 

filled  to  the  muwle  with  bits  of  stone,  si 

of  iron,  etc.,  and  was  carefully  leveled 

the  gate  of  the  fort.   On  Bpi>bi"K  H'o  "'" 

it  burst  into  fragments,  killing  and  won 

Ing  several  of  the  Indians,  who  maniloi 

their  disappointment  in  a  loud  y»\\.—Ati 

iean  rionter,  ii.  311. 


AL8. 


PENNSYLVANIA.   MIDDLE  PENNSYLVANIA— COAL  AREA. 


561 


and  County,  during  the 
)y  the  construction  of  a 
riplion.  One  of  these  is 
the  British,  at  the  battle 
3  lower  of  London,  as  a 
and   another   unfinished 

was  the  Mount  Pleasant 
'  London.  It  was  erected 
e  brothers,  Willi'im,  Ben- 
Col.  Benjamin  Cliauibers, 
rives  its  name.  T!ie  elder 
rish  stock,  more  than  fifty 
Conocheague  settlements, 
son  after  his  settlement  o'l 
g  his  temporary  absence, 
,  of  the  u.iils  it  contained, 
such  article  about  them. 
Hi  frontici  settlement,  and 
11  the  nails,  mill  irons,  iron 

ne-.r  the  close  of  bis  long  lif«. 
Hone*,  HiU.  Coll.,  N.  J. 
k"R.uleruf  Pliila.lelplii:!,  nfterwunl 
II  the  mnnufiu'turo  of  liintcrna  for 
.e«i,  an.l  work  for  siii;i'r-milU,  etc., 
wroiight-iion  cmiiion,  aiiriii)}  thu 
11  iiew  construction,  invculeil   bj- 

•Brer  (ipocitnen  of  fieM  iirtai.'ry  w.ia 
ttt  Furt  Henry,  on  the  Wlicilin); 
1777.     A   liirgo  piirly  of  Imliuni', 
r  nightfull.  BdvunciHl  within  sixty 
the  furt,  with  a  hollow  iniiple  lo«, 
1   into   o    n«hi   pitHC,   by  pUi^'giort 
with  a  block  of  wood,  and  eiicom- 
t  from  end  to  end  witti  iron  cliaini-, 
lacl:8mith'»Bhop,  togivoitnlrenglh. 
leavily  charRcd  witli  powder,  and 
the  muizlo  with  bits  of  itone,  Augi 
etc.,  and  was  carefully  leveled  ;il 
of  the  fort.   On  appljing  the  mulch 
into  frngnient«,  killing  and  wound- 
,ra!  of  the  Indians,  wh-j  nianil'o»led 
.appointment  in  a  loud  yell.— ^"><f- 
utiter,  ii.  311. 


wares,  and  household  utensils,  were  transported  from  the  seaboard  t,^ 
these,  and  more  remote  western  settlements,  with  the  salt,  groceries,  and 
other  necessaries,  at  much  expense,  upon  pack-horses,  over  the  rugged 
steeps,  and  through  the  wild  gorges  of  mountains  infested  by  hostile  In- 
dians, and  more  civilized  freebooters.  Chatubersburg  lay  upon  the 
route  from  riiiladelphia  and  Baltimore  to  the  west,  and  was  a  depot  for 
Indian  traders,  with  whom  guns,  hatchets,  and  iron-wares  of  various 
kinds  were  important  articles  of  traffic.  Hence  the  value  of  such  enter- 
prizes  as  the  erection  of  furnaces  and  forges  near  the  frontiers  may  bo 
conceived.  The  brothers,  by  means  of  the  furnace  and  a  forge  at  the 
same  place,  established  a  considerable  manufacture  of  Iron  there.  The 
works  were  destroyed  in  1843.  Col.  Ja.nes  Chambers,  the  elder  of  the 
brothers,  who  had  served  in  a  military  capacity  throughout  the  Revoli:- 
tion,  also  erected,  soon  after  the  war,  a  forge  at  Loudon,  and  with  his 
son-in-law,  A.  Duulap,  Esq.,  fstablished  a  furnace  about  one  mile  distant ; 
both  of  which  were  dcmolisiied  in  1840.  There  ha,s  been  a  succession 
of  iron  masters  in  the  same  family  to  the  nreseut  time.  Soundwell  forge, 
sixteen  miles  from  Chambersburg,  was  built  in  1790,  but  is  now  aban- 
doned. 

The  carbonaceous  and  fossil  iron  ores  of  the  f-oal  basins  north  of  the 
Blue  mountains,  now  become  so  important  from  tlieir  juxtaposition  to 
Middle  Penn-  mineral  fuel,  began  to  be  developed  during  the  latter  half  of 
syivunia  ^j,g  ^^^^  ccutury.  In  the  valuable  tables  of  Mr.  Lesley's  re(;en.t 
manual  on  the  iron  manufacture,'  the  Maria  forge,  on  Pohopoco  creek, 
three  miles  north  of  Weissport,  Carbon  County,  is  mentioned  as  having 
been  built  as  early  as  1753.  Having  been  rebuilt,  it  is  still  doing  good 
service.  At  that  date,  the  wild  valle/s  of  the  Lehigli  were  the  recent 
Indian  missionary  ground  of  the  Moravians,  who  made  the  finst  settle- 
ments in  the  country  only  seven  years  before.  Tiieir  hamlets  soon  after 
experienced  the  merciless  inroivds  of  hostile  and  alienated  tribes  in  tiie 
French  interest,  who  hovered  on  all  the  western  and  northern  frontiers, 
rendering  them  most  unpromising  fields  for  any  industrial  onterprii>es. 
Anthracite  '^'''0  principal  mineral  wealth  of  Carbon  and  the  ailjaicnt 
'"''■  counties,  lies  in  the  exhausllcss  riches  of  their  anthracite  coal 

fields,  which  were  discovered  about  the  year  1791.'     In  1826,  a  furnacc 

(1)  The  Iron  Manufacturer's  Guide,  etc.,     indnstrinl  history,  not  only  of  Carbon  Co., 
by  J.  P.  Ledny,  Ses.  of  the  Americiin  Iron      but  of  the   Union,  and   one  especially  af- 


Aariociatlon,  and  publinbed  under  the  author- 
ity of  the  same.  V/o  are  imlcbted  to  this 
TtUume  for  many  pnrlkulars  ro"pocting  the 
ures  and  iron-nurki  mentioned  in  thin  chap- 
ter. 
(2)  This   moat   important  event    in    the 

86 


feeling  the  iron-maniifie'ure,  ii  said  to 
havj  b.eu  the  ueoldental  discovery 
of  a  solitary  hunter,  Philip  Ginter.  Re- 
turning late,  al'lor  a  day  of  fruitlens  linniing 
in  the  autumn  of  17^1,  to  hin  cabin  on  thn 
bills,    while   vrogain-f    tbo     MaucU    Cliuiik 


562 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS. 


wa^  bu.lt  or  refitted,  at  Manch  Chunk,  to  smelt  iron  with  this  coal. 
But,  like  many  other  earlier  and  later  attempi.^  did  not  succeed.  The 
first  experiment  in  this  country  which  fully  established  the  pra-.ticability 


minintnin   he   stumbled  upon  a  blnck  sub- 
stunco,  wliich,  from   traditionary  accounts, 
he  Buspectetl   to  bo  "  stone  coal."     Having 
ehown   it   to   Col,   Wcias,  residing  at  Fort 
Allen,  it  was  by  him  submitteil  to  the  ex- 
amination of  several  persons  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  in  the  beginning  of  the  following 
year,  John  Nicholas,  Michael  llillugas,  and 
Charles   Cist  of  the  city,  with  Mr.  Weiss, 
associated  themselves  by  the  name  of  "  Tlio 
Lehigh  Coal  Mine  Company,"  and,  without 
a  charter,  took  np  several   thousand  acres 
near  the  spot,  but  did  not  open  the  mine. 
The  ocal  was,  however,  used  by  I'.icksnuths 
to  some  extent,  until  1806,  when  an  ark  load 
of  two  or  three  hundred  bushels  was  taken 
to  Philadelphia  by  Mr.  William  Tp'ribull, 
the  proprietor  of  a  western  I'urnuce,  and  sold 
to  the  water-works  for  the  use  of  the  Centre 
square  steam-engine,  but  it  was  discarded  as 
unmanagoablo.     During   the   war  of  1812, 
when  bituniinouE  coal  was  at  a  high  price, 
the  mine  was  opened  by  J.  Cist,  C,  Miner, 
and  J,  II.  Chapman,  butw,"'  again  neglected 
at  the  close  of  the  wor,  when  the  price  of 
coal  declined.     The  mines  were  then  leased 
to  different  pcisons.     About  the  samo  time, 
lome  cart-loads    of    anthracite    from    the 
Schuylkill  valluy,  where  it  had  been   dis- 
covered, and  also  used  as  early  as  1795,  by 
a  blacksmith  named  Whetstone,  but  vainly 
recommended    to    publio    attention,   were 
brought  to   Philadelphia  by  Messrs.  Shoe- 
maker A  Allen.     The  owner  narrowly  es- 
onpod  prosecution  fo»  swindling  by  those  who 
had  made  unsuccessful  trials  of  the  "stone." 
A   more  successful   attempt  was  made  by 
Messrs.  Bishop  ii  Mellon,  at    iheir  rolling 
mill    in    Delaware  County,   and   White    A 
Ilaiard,  propriotora  of  a  wire-mill  at  the 
Fall)  of  Schuylkill,  hearing  nt  their  success, 
tried  a  cart-load,  but  could  not  raise  a  heat. 
Having    tried    a    second    load,    with    no 
better  success,  the  workmen  closed  the  fiir- 
D«ae  and  went  away.     One  of  thom,  return- 
ing accidentally  sorn  after,  found  the  fur- 
nace in  a  white  libat.    The  men  were  ium- 


moned,  and  four  parcels  of  iron  were  heated 
and  rolled  without  renewing  the  fire.  The 
plan  of  "  letting  it  alone"  was  repeated, 
with  like  success,  and  its  utility  became 
thdnceforth  established. 

Dr.  Thomas  C.  James,  of  Philadelphia, 
employed  it  as  fuel  from  the  year  1S04,  and 
was  ono  of  the  first  to  use  it  for  that  jmr- 
pnse,  and  to  recommend  it  to  others  in  the 
city.  Anthracite  had,  however,  been  usee', 
several  years  before  the  Kovolution,  in 
smiths'  forge.-  in  WMkesbarre,  and  a  grate  for 
burning  it  in  dwellings  wos  devised  by 
Judge  Fell,  of  that  place,  in  1808,  But  0. 
Evans  preceded  both  with  the  "luminou,s" 
grate  stove  for  coal,  with  talc  lights,  pa- 
tented in  1800. 

Some  early  attempts  were  made  by  Mr. 
J.  P.  Wetherell,  at  his  lead  works  in  Phila- 
delphia, to  generate  steam  from  anthracite, 
but  without  much  success.  It  was  &TS-1  ao- 
complisaed,  it  is  said,  in  1S2S,  at  the 
Pbcenixville  Iron-works,  in  Chester  County. 
For  the  development  of  this  most  impor- 
tant branch  of  her  mineral  resources,  Penn- 
sylvania early  projected  the  construction  of 
her  system  of  internal  improvements.  The 
practicability  of  uniting  the  Sjhoylkill  and 
Susquchnnna  rivers,  was  P^st  suggested,  it 
is  said,  by  William  Penn,  in  1090,  before 
any  such  thing  as  a  canal  or  turnpike  ex- 
isted in  England.  The  measure  was  also 
urged  by  Drs.  Kittonhouse  and  Smith,  who, 
as  early  as  1762,  SMrvoyed  and  leveled  a  route 
for  a  cnnal  between  the  Swatara  and  Tulpe- 
hnckcn  creeks.  Robert  Morris,  Robert 
Fulton,  Matthew  Carey,  and  many  other 
euiinen*  citizens  aftorward  used  their  in- 
fluence to  the  same  end.  The  oanal  company 
was  not  incorporated  until  1791,  and  an- 
other the  following  year,  which  two  were 
united  in  1811,  as  the  Union  Canal  Com- 
pany, authorized  to  extend  their  work  from 
Philadelphia  to  Lake  Frio.  The  work, 
which  was  completed  about  1828,  \'overs  a 
part  of  the  route  surveyml  6,5  years  b-fore, 
and  the  first  ever  surveyed  iu  the  coluuiot. 


PENNSYLVANIA.       FIRST   ANTHRACITE    IRON. 


m 


in  with  this  coal. 
ot  succeed.  The 
the  pra'.ticttbility 


ela  of  iron  were  heated 
iiowing  the  fire.  The 
alono"  was  repeated, 
nd  its  utility  bocatne 
id. 

lies,  of  Philadelphia, 
oin  the  year  1S04,  and 
tu  use  it  lor  that  jmr- 
nd  it  to  others  in  the 
d,  however,  been  usec'i 
I  the  llcvulution,  in 
esbarre,  and  a  grate  for 
ings  was  devised  by 
lace,  in  1808,  But  0. 
with  the  "  luminou.s" 
with  talc  lights,  pa- 

its  were  made  by  Mr. 
9  lead  works  in  Phila- 
!team  from  anthracite, 
ccess.  It  was  fir^t  ao- 
lid,  in  182S,  at  the 
rks,  in  Chester  Couuly. 
!ntof  this  most  impor- 
ineral  resources,  I'cnn- 
ted  the  construction  of 
il  improvements.  The 
ng  the  SjhiiylkiU  and 
was  Pfst  sug^^ested,  it 
Pcnn,  in  1090,  befor* 
canal  or  turnpike  ex- 
The  mcBPuro  was  abo 
house  and  Smith,  who, 
tyei)  and  leveled  a  route 
he  Swatara  and  Tiilpe- 
i>b«rt  Morris,  Robert 
ircy,  and  many  other 
tarward  used  their  in- 
id.  The  onnal  company 
ii  until  1701,  and  nn- 
yoar,  which  two  were 
;he  Union  Canal  Com- 
sxtond  their  work  from 
ke  Krio.  The  work, 
d  about  1S28,  rovers  a 
■veyixl  65  years  b-fore, 
irveyud  in  the  culoniot. 


of  employing  anthracite  in  tlie  ma  lufacturo  of  iron,  was  made  in  tht 
Pioneer  hot-blast  steam-furnace  of  Mr.  William  Lymau  of  Boston,  at  Potts- 
First  Anthrr- ^il'e.  i"  Soh.iylkill  County,  buiic  in  iS'dl,  about  the  time  that 
ciisiroa.       the  numerous  attempts  made  in  England  and  France  resulted 
in  the  success  of  Mr.  George  Crane,  of  the  Gniscedlyn  Iron-worlis,  in 
South  Wales.     The  Pioneer  furnace  was  managed  by  Mr.  Lyman  and 
Benjamin  Perry,  an  experienced  and  skillful  English  furnace  manager, 
acquainted  with   the   operations  of  Mr.   Crane,  aided   by  Mr.   David 
Thomas,  now,  or  recently,  of  the  great  Crane  Works  on  the  Lehigh. 
It  was   blown  in  early  in  October,  1830,  and  a  continuous  blast  of 
ninety  days,  with  pure  anthracite  and  argillaceous  ore  alone,  without 
any  old  metal,  v.ood,  or  charcoal,  except  in  the  first  ignition,  secured  to 
the  proprietor  a  premium  of  $5,000,  subscribed  by  citizens  of  the  State. 
Li  Octoljer  of  the  same  year,  Messrs.  Baiighman,  'uluiteuu,  &  Co.,  had  in 
operation,  ai  Mauch  Chunk,  a  furuacj  making  iron,  which  they  were 
selling  at  $18  per  ton,  which  about  paid  the  current  expenses  of  the 
furnace.     These  successes,  occurring  at  a  time  whtu  this  country  was 
importing  annually  from  ten  to  twelve  millions  worth  of  Iron,  with  an 
increasing  demand  for  railroad  iron,  excited  unusual  expectations  of 
profit  and  general  benefit  among  all  classes.     Deposits  of  Iron  were 
everywhere  sought  for,  and  other  .furnaces  were  built  to  use  the  anthra- 
cite.    The  Lehigh  Coal  &  Navigation  Co.  ofTered  a  premium  for  the 
discovery  of  iion  ore  upon  their  lands,  by  allowing  any  who  found  it  to 
make  use  of  the  same  for  five  years,  at  ten  cents  per  ton.   Early  in  the  fol- 
lowing  year,  Mes.srs.  Biddle,  Chambers,  &  Co.,  built,  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciple,  one  or  two  of  'he  extensive  furnaces  of  the  Montour  Works,  at  Dan- 
ville, and  soon  after,  the  large  furnaces  of  Beeves  &  Whitaker,  at  Pha>nix- 
ville,  were  altered  to  make  use  of  anthracite. 

In  Luzerne  County,  where  this  description  of  coal  was  earlier  found 
and  employed  by  smiths  and  others  as  fuel,  a  blo-m  ry  forge  was  built 
i.uiern*       "^J«"t  the  year  1778,  on  the  Xanticoke  creek,  near  the  lower  end 
of  the  Wyoming  Valley,  by  John  and  Mason  F.  Alden.    It  con- 


Cuuuty. 


tained  a  single  Sre  and  one  hammer.  The  hammer  was  carried  on  a  wagon 
from  PhiRideiphia  to  Harris'  Ferry  (Ilarrisburg),  and  thence  up  the  north 
branch  in  a  boat,  at  no  little  expense  i:nd  trouble.  Tiie  bar-iron  made  from 
ore  obtained  in  the  township  of  Newport,  was  of  superior  quality,  and 

The  Lehigh  Company,  and  Lehigh  Navlga-  in  three  months,  in  1827,  wax  the  first  in  the 

tinn   Conipanies  w,ti<  formed  in   1818,  and  United  Slate.«,  excipt  one  at  Quincy,  Mahs. 

united  under  one  charter  in  1822,  and  were  The  Heading  Railroad,  and  other  inloiiial 

the  founilation  of  the  Lehigh  Coul  A  Nuviga-  improvements  of  later  dnte,  and  hi»'h  .'(i.t, 

lion  Company.  prove  alike  the  value  of  her  mineral  wraith, 

The   Riiilroii',   four  miles  long,   to   the  and  the  public  spi.-it  of  ber  oitisens, 
SuiDinil  mine*  ki  M»ucb  Chunk,  completed 


gg^  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN    METALS. 

was  for  some  time,  the  sole  dependence  of  smiths  in  the  v  alley.    The  Iron 
Ts  rJld  by  the  proprietor,  Col.  W.  Lee,  in  1828,  shortly  before  th 
was  soiu     y         11  fo  000  lbs.    Another  bloomery 

works  were  abandoned,  at  $123  pei  ton  ol  -,ouu  io. 
forae  was  erected  on  Roaring  brook,  near  Scranton,  in  1789  b)   Dr 
Wmiam   Hooker   Smith,  and   James   Sutton.     It  cont.nned    o  make 
w!!Z   and   blooms   from   the    carbonate    ores    of  the  Lackawanna 

'1;fe  S'ulfof  the  anthracite  coal  in  a  forge  fire  or  grate,  appears  to 
have  been  made  at  AVilke.barre.  in  the  Wyoming  coal  basm.     In  a  com^ 
,  munication  to  Sllliman's  Journal,  by  Judge  Jesse  Fell,  dated 
rrr.:'  May  1830,  it  is  stated  that,  as  early  as  1708  or  C9,  this  coa  wa« 
first  used  in  ;  smith's  forge,  and  that  it  continued  to  be  used  by  black- 
mUhs  n  the  neighborhood,  from  that  time.     Hi.  informant  was  Judge 
^tluah  Gore,  an  early  Connecticut  settler  of  Wilke..ar.,    y  whom  it 
was  first  employed  in  that  way.     Mr.  Fell  also  made  use  of  it,  he  says, 
abou  l"ar  n8S,in  a  nailery,  and  in  l«0«.-"^-ed  a  grate  fj.  burn- 
L  it  as  fuel  in  his  house,  in  which  he  believes  he  preceded  a  1  other. 
"V.  r        .out  the  range  of  counties  in  Central  Pennsylvania,  from  to 
Delaware  to  the  Maryland  line,  a  variety  of  iron  ores  are  met  with  m 
deposits  or  outcrops,  in  the  limestone  and  .hale  valleys  be- 
ri.:::;-:  tween  the  numerous  ridges  of  hiUs.    Brown  "«-^t'^«' j;;;^ " 

ore    and  the  argillaceous  oxydes  in  a  variety  of  forms  a.ul 
Qualities  bog-ores  and  ochres,  etc.,  in  connection  with  mineial  and  vege- 
Ubt   uel.  are  the  basis  of  a  staple  industry  of  these  fine  valleys,  which 
are  a  so  rich  in  agricultural   resources.     In   Montour's  ridge    .n   the 
"e  gl    orhood  of  Da'nville,  through  Northumberland  and  Union  Counties, 
ed'fossiliferous  ore.  both  of  the  hard  a.d  soft  vanet.es,  is  abund^^^^^^^ 
and  with  the  coal  in  its  vicinity,  supports  a  largo  number  of  a.  hrac.te 
TJ:L,  some  of  them  the  most  e..,ensive  in  the  Union  lu  acld.ion  ^ 
many  charcoal  furnaces,  producing  Iron  of  super.or  qual  ty      ^ »'««««;«* 
consist  pri..cipally  o^  the  peroxyd  associ.Ued  with  oxyd  of  manganese 
X      a'silicL,  and   occasionally  ca.-bonate  of  lime  or  niagnes..j.  and 
V  eld  from  22  to  CO  per  cent  of  metallic  iron.     The  Jun.ata  vail  y.  m 
:«  n'  hborhood  of'  Lewistown.  is  rich  i"  these  descript.^is  of  o. 
and  has  long  been  noted  for  the  quantity  and  qual.ty  o    it    iron.     A 
theba'oof  Tussev's  mountain.  a..d  in  other  situatio..s  ui  Huntingdon 
au.l  Mifflin  counties,  fossil  ore  is  met  with  in  several  places. 

ru.tb.gdon  County,  now  extensively  engaged  in  tl>e  n,anuf.vcture 

Iron  anm-a.-.  first  to  have  atfacted  attention  to  its  lead  ores,  .n  the 

"^  Md  Kagle  or  Sinking  Sp.-ing  valley,  between  Canoe  an    War. 

IX:..    Hor  ridg-s.    There  is  evidence  of  extensive  explorat.ons  having 

been  made  in  the  valley  at  an  early  perio.l,  probably  by  the  French,  whose 


PENNSYLVANIA.    LEAD  MINES — THE  FIRST  WESTERN  IRON  FURNACE.  5G5 


B  valley.  The  Iron 
jhortly  before  the 
Another  bloomcry 
Q,  in  1789,  by  Dr. 
onf.nued  to  make 
the  Lackawanna 

ir  grate,  appears  to 
[  basin.     In  a  com- 
!  Jesse  Fell,  dated 
or  G9,  this  coal  was 
3  be  used  by  black- 
forraant  was  Judge 
esbarre,  by  whom  it 
B  use  of  it,  he  says, 
red  a  grate  for  burn- 
ecedcd  all  others, 
nnsylvania,  from  the 
res  are  met  with,  in 
nd  3hale  valleys  be- 
a  liematite,  red  fossil 
ariety  of  forms  and 
th  mineial  and  vege- 
se  fine  valleys,  which 
tour's  ridge,   in   the 
and  Union  Counties, 
irieties,  is  abundant, 
lumber  of  anthracite 
Jnion,  in  addition  to 
quality.     These  ores 
oxyd  of  manganese, 
le  or  magnesia,  and 
he  Juniata  valley,  in 
e  descripticJns  of  ore, 
iility  of  its  iron.     At 
ilions  in  Huntingdon 
ivl  places. 

u  the  manufacturo  of 
0  its  lead  ores,  in  the 
ween  Canoe  and  War. 
iro  explorations  having 
J  by  tlie  French,  whoso 


object  was  the  discovery  of  precious  metals.     Some  of  the  first  perma- 
nent settlers  were  also  engaged  in  tlie  same  pursuit. 

During  the  scarcity  of  lead,  in  1T78,  General  Armstrong  informed 
President  Wimrton,  that  Mr.  Ilannan  Husbands,  a  Member  of  Assembly, 
had  knowledge  of  a  mine  of  lead,  near  Frunkstown,  on  land  formerly 
surveyed  for  the  Penn  family  Within  a  month  or  two.  Col.  Roberdtau, 
and  a  company,  encouraged  by  the  State,  undertook  to  work  the  mines, 
and  immediately  erected  a  large  fort  of  logs  and  a  furnace,  at  what  was 
called  the  upper  mine.  Several  regular  shafts  were  sank  to  some  depth, 
and  levels  driven  in,  and  n  considerable  quantity  of  rich  ore  was  ob- 
tained. A  quantity  of  lead  was  extracted,  of  which  we  find  an  order 
from  Col.  Roberdeau,  in  May,  1779,  for  500  lbs.,  for  the  use  of  the 
State.  The  most  productive  vein  was  opened  a  mile  nearer  Franks- 
town  than  the  fort  where  they  first  Junk  a  siiaft.  But  fear  of  the  In- 
dians, who  infested  the  neighborhood,  and  the  intrusion  of  water  into 
the  mine,  soon  cai'sed  ilie  business  tc  be  abandoned.  The  lower 
mine,  a  mile  from  the  Little  Juniata,  in  the  sa'iie  valley,  was  worked 
some  years  after,  by  a  Mr.  Sinclair,  a  Scotch  miner,  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Carron  Iron-works,  but  was  given  up  on  account  of  the 
richer  discoveries  of  lead  in  the  West. 

A  few  hundred  yards  from  the  fort,  a  rcmarkal  e  bog  of  iron  ore  was 
found,  some  of  wh'-jh  was  used  in  fluxing  the  lead  ore  and  yield  ;d  a 
malleable  metal.  Rut  along  the  liald  Eagle  ridge  near  Frankstown,  and 
at  other  points  the  fossiliferous  ore  crops  out  and  supplies  many  charcoal 
and  coke  furnaces  in  the  iron  region  of  tiie  Juniata. 

The  first  air-furnace  or  foundery  erected  mi  Western  Pennsylvania,  is 
said  to  have  been  the  Bedford  furnace,  in  Aughwick  valley,  four  miles 
First  furnace  ^outl'  of  Shirle;'si)urg.  It  has  long  since  gone  to  ruins,  nnd 
i»  w«.iera  j},g  (^q^^jj  (jf  Orbisouia  has  been  laid  out  I'pon  its  site.  But 
vauiii.  other  furnaces  and  forges  have  taken  its  place,  to  an  extent 

which  renders  this  one  of  the  most  important  iron  regions  of  the  Union, 
both  on  account  of  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  iron  maiufactured. 
The  Huntingdon  Furnace,  which  has  l)een  the  parent  of  many  others, 
was  built  in  1795-6,  about  a  miie  above  the  present  hot-blast  cliarcoal 
furnace  of  that  name,  by  a  company  composed  of  Judge  Gloninger,  of 
Lebanon,  George  Aushutz,  of  Huntingdon  Peter  Shoenberger,  of  Alle- 
ghany Counties,  and  Martin  Dubli.s,  of  Philadelphia,  who  commenced 
with  a  small  investment  in  fifteen  acres  of  land,  one  horse,  and  a  pair  ot 
oxen.  The  original  site  provetl  to  be  a  bad  one,  and  a  second  furnace 
was  erected  at  the  present  locati(jn.  It  was  managed  with  that  care, 
economy,  and  skill  which  everywhere  enai)led  the  Germans  to  achieve 
success  with  the  most  slender  resources.     From  the  proceeds  and  profits 


666 


COLONIAL   INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 


Of  this  furnace,  in  time  arose  the  Tyrone  Iron-worts,  oons>st>njr  of  two 
forges,  bailt  in  1804,  rolling-mill,  slitting-mill,  nail-works,  savy  au-l  gnst 
mills  with  large  bodies  of  farm  and  woodland  attached.     Ihe   Tyrone 
forge's  again  produced  the  Bald  Eagle  charcoal  furnace,  and  a  forge  ou 
Spruce  creek.     The  Coleraine  ."  >rges,  three  in  number,  three  m.les  south- 
east of  Spruce  crSek,  belonging  to  the  same  owners  as  the  l;^st  were 
built  in  1805,  and  the  two  Barre  forges  on  the  little  Juniata,  in  1800 
The  county,  which  then  included  Blair,  had,  in  1810,  four  furnaces  and 
six  forges,  which  were   increased,  in    183t,  to   sixteen   furnaces,   and 
twenty-four  forges,  and  one  rolling-mill,  making  13,750  tons  of  p.g-.ron, 
and  9,309  tons  of  blooms  annually.     The  Elizabeth  furnace,  in  Bla.r 
County,  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  in  the  country  to  use  gas  for  the 
production  of  steam.  ikaa  i^ 

The  first  forge  in  Centre  County  was  built  about  the  year  1190  by 
General  Philip  Benner,  who,  for  several  years  fc     ./ing  the  war  of  Inde- 
pendence, carried  on  the  manufacture  of  iron  at  Coventry  forge 
countV       in  Chester  County,  and  in  1190  purchased  the  present  site  of 
Rock  furnace  in  Bellefonte.     To  the  first  forge  he  subsequently  added  a 
second  forge,  a  furnace,  and  a  rolling-mill,  and  by  his  example  stimulated 
his  neighbors  in  the  development  of  the  rich  mineral  wealth  of  the  county. 
As  all  the  supplies  for  such  undertakings  could  only  be  obtained  by  the 
most  slow  and  expensive  mode  of  packing,  or  by  carriage  over  almost 
impassable  roads,  and  his  iron  had  to  be  conveyed  in  the  same  way  to 
the  eastern  markets,  he  conceived  and  carried  out  the  idea  of  a  com- 
munication with  Pittsburg,  and  thence  of  supplvi.g  the  Western  Valley 
with  Iron  and  nails.     For  several  years  he  enjoyed  without  competition 
the  trade  in  what  he  designated  "Juniata  Iron."    He  thus  opened  up  a 
market  that  has  become  one  of  immense  importance  to  a  product  which, 
under  its  original  name,  has  obtained  a  wide  commercial  ce  ebr.ty. 
Bellefonte  in  other  respects  bears  evidence  of  the  industry  and  enter- 
prise of  its  first  Iron  manufacturer.     The  Centre  cold-blast  furnace,  nine 
miles  southwest  of  Bellefonte,  was  also  built  in  1190. 

Philipsburg.  the  centre  of  a  rich  mineral  district  of  coal,  iron  ore, 
limestone  and  fire-clay,  and  of  timber  land,  owes  its  name  and  existence 
to  an  enterprising  iron-master,  who  erected  there  many  years  ago  exten- 
sive Iron-works  and  a  screw  factory.  Milesburg  has  also  been  the  seat 
of  Iron-works  for  sixty  years  or  more. 

The  demand  for  Iron  created  by  the  ropid  emigration  to  the  \\  est 
after  the  establishment  of  Independence,  and  the  extreme  cost  of  trans- 
portation by  th':  ordinary  methods,  amounting  in  1184  to  $249  per  ton 
from  Philadelphia  to  Presqu'  Isle  (now  Erie),  led  to  the  early  discovery 
of  iron  ores,  and  to  the  erection  of  furnaces  and  forges  in  the  Western 


PENNSYLVANIA.      FURNACES   IN    WESTERN   COUNTIES. 


561 


consistin<r  of  two 
rks,  saw  ami  grist 
led.  The  Tyrone 
3C,  and  a  forge  ou 
three  miles  south- 
as  the  hist,  were 
Juniata,  in  1800. 
four  furnaces  ami 
een  furnaces,  and 
,0  tons  of  pig-iron, 
I  furnace,  in  Blair 
to  use  gas  for  the 

the  year  1190  by 
ig  the  war  of  Inde- 
1  at  Coventry  forge 

the  present  site  of 
bsequently  added  a 
example  stimulated 
ealth  of  the  county. 

be  obtained  by  the 
irriage  over  almost 
in  the  same  way  to 
the  idea  of  a  coni- 
tho  Western  Valley 
without  competition 
[e  thus  opened  up  a 

to  a  product  which, 
immercial  celebrity. 

industry  and  enter- 
d-blast  furnace,  nine 

ct  of  coal,  iron  ore, 
name  and  existence 
any  years  ago  exten- 
ds also  been  the  seat 

gration  to  the  West 
streme  cost  of  trans- 
.784  to  $249  per  ton 
0  the  early  discovery 
)rges  in  the  Western 


counties.  The  first  furnace  west  of  the  Allcghanies  is  said  to  have  been 
built  l)y  Turubull  &  ]\Iarmie,  of  Philadelphia,  on  Jacob's  Creek,  bc- 
Fiisi  fur-  tween  Fayette  and  Westmoreland  couniies,  fifteen  miles  above 
oi'thn"ATie-  ^^^  entrance  into  tlie  Youghiogeny  river.  It  was  first  blown 
BhauieH.  j^  Novcniber  1,  1190,  and  produced  a  superior  quality  of 
metal  both  for  castings  and  bar-iron,  some  of  it  having  been  tried  the 
same  day  in  a  forge  which  the  proprietors  had  erected  at  the  place. 
Tliis  event  was  justly  considered  one  of  much  importance  to  the  whole 
western  country.  Colonel  Craig  of  Pittsburg,  in  1792,  ordered  balls  lo 
be  cast  at  this  furnace  for  the  ddter.je  of  hat  place. 

Fuirchance  diarcoal  blast-furnace,  seven  miles  south  of  Uidontown, 
beloiigiug  tu  F.  II.  Oliphant,  was  built  in  1794.  It  is  now  abandoned, 
but  the  stoam-furnace  (and  rolling-mill)  of  tiie  proprietor,  one  mile 
distant,  built  two  years  later,  is  still  running  on  ore  from  the  Chestnut 
ridge.  A  forge  was  also  built  near  tlie  place,  which  has  been  owned 
by  the  Oliphants,  father  and  son,  for  sixty  years  or  more,  but  it  is  no 
longer  used. 

Union  furnace  on  Dunbar  Creek,  fourteen  miles  east  of  Brownsville, 
in  the  same  county  (also  claimed  to  have  been  the  first  blast-furnace  in 
Western  Pennsylvania'),  was  built  in  1792-3,  by  Col.  Isaac  Measou,  a 
man  of  note  in  b  der  history,  John  Gibson,  and  Moses  Dillon,  the  l'i.-;t 
of  whom  afterward  erected  a  forge  on  Licking  River,  near  Zanesville, 
Ohio,  possibly  tlie  first  in  that  State.  Union  furnace  is  still  making 
iron  liy  steam  and  iiot-blast  out  of  the  carbonaceous  ores  of  the  coal 
measures.  In  the  tables  of  Mr.  Lesley,  the  Mary  Ann  cold-blast  fur- 
nace, thirty  miles  from  Uniontown,  in  Greene  County,  is  said  to  have 
been  built  by  the  elder  Mr.  Oliphant  as  early  as  1777CO-  At  Browns- 
ville, or  Redstone  Old  Fort,  which,  toward  the  close  of  the  last 
westera  cciitury,  was  actively  engaged  in  building  boats  for  the  lower 
"'""'■  navigation,  the  first  nail  factory  west  of  the  Allcghanies  was 
established  by  Jacob  Bowman.  Wrouglit  nails,  manufactured  by  hand, 
were  the  kind  produced.  The  workmen  were  brought  from  Ilagerstown 
in  Maryland.' 

Pittsburg,  which  now  furnishes  a  market  for  immense  quantities  of 
charcoal  iron  from  the  Juniata  and  AUegliany  regions,  from  Ohio,  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  and  Missouri,  and  coke  and  anthracite  from  the 
western  and  central  couniies  of  Pennsylvania,  owes  its  industrial  pros- 
perity mainly  to  the  great  bituminous  coal  seam  in  its  vicinity,  to  the 
abundance  of  iron  ore  in  the  adjacent  counties,  and  to  its  geographical 
position  as  the  gateway  of  the  West. 


(1)  Araeiican  Pioneer. 


(2)  Ibid.  i.  380. 


568 


COLONIAL   INIHSTRY   IN   METALS. 


The  coal  of  this  neighborhood  had  long  been  known  to  be  good  and 
plentiful.     A  vein  near  the  town  took  fire  about  1765,  and  was  burning 

riixtcen  years  afterward.  i        41  . 

The  privilege  of  mining  coal  in  the  hill  opposite  the  town,  where    ht 
"  great  seam  "  was  struck,  was  granted  in  lots  extendin,^  as  far  as  the 
\         centre  of  the  hill,  at  £30  each,  by  the  Penns,  about  the  year 
^oXulng.  1784     The  tract  had  been  purchased  by  them  some  years 
before  for  the  Pittsburg  Manor  for  $10,000,  and  was  that  year  laid  out 
iu  town  and  out  lots.   The  product  of  this  rich  stratum  of  coal,  regarded 
as  the  largest  In  the  western  coal  field,  along  with  that  received   by 
slaekwater  and  rail  from  the  neighboring  counties,  give  Pittsburg  a  large 
export  trade  and  superior  advantages  for  working  up  by  steam-power 
the  crude  iron  of  the  West  into  a  multitude  of  forms  for  the  supply  of 
the  whole  western  country. 

Furnaces,  founderies,  rolling-mills,  nail-works,  wire-mills,  and  manu- 
factories of  metallic  and  other  materials  had  therefore  an  early  and  rapid 
growth      The  establishment  in  1790  of  the  first  furnace  ainid 
^Z^     the  argillaceous  oxyds  of  iron  on  the  Yo«gl'iogeny.  byJV  il- 
"''«"''•        liam  TurnbuU  &  Co.,  was  regarded  as  an  important  event  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Pittsburg.     Within  two  years  after,  t)^^;-"  .Jj^; 
We  corps  of  mechanics  and  artisans  engaged  in  a  variety  of  tiades. 
ITur    ce  was  built  before  the  e.ose  of  the  century  within  a  few  miles 
yi  town,  and  in  1804  an  air  furnace  for  casting  pots,  kettles,  mill 
iron    etc"  ^-as  erected  in  the  borough  by  Joseph  McClurg.     He  also 
buU  'a  ea  non-foundery  in  1814.     The  foundery  business  has  ever  since 
been  a  considerable  branch  of  the  iron-manufacture  of  ^Jf-^^'J^ 
812  the  first  rolling-mill  was  erected  there  at  the  corner  of  Penn  stree 
Inicil  Alley,  by  Cliristopher  Cowen.     The  steam-engme  was  in  use 
^  tlie  ;  wn  as'iarly  as  1794.     It  was  first  employed  in  t  -  na.ga  ion 
of  the  Western  rivers  upon  the  steamboat  New  Orleans,  built  at  I  itts- 
burg  in  181 1      Two  years  after  there  were  two  manufactories  of  steam- 

''t^^Z:!Z..y  of  Bcaver  an  iron-furnace  was  os^^lislu^ on  the 
west  Bide  of  Beaver  river  falls  at  Brighton,  four  miles  from  the  Ohio, 


(1)  Pitrsburg,  in  1791,  in  130  families 
contiiined  37  nmnufacturor8,  including  5 
blftcksmiihs,  2  whitecmitlis,  3  wheelwrights, 
2  tinners,  1  cl.puk  nnil  wntch  malter.  In 
I  SOS,  the  town  contained  an  air-fiirnnce 
(McClurg'j).  4  nail  factories,  a  wire  factory, 
•  brass  foundery,  2  gunsmiths,  1  bcli-malicr, 
1  icylho  and  bickle  maker  i.nve  miles  up  the 


Alleghany),  2  tinners,  5  watch  and  clock 
makers  and  siWersmitha,  17  blacksmiths,  1 
machinist  and  whitesmith  "  equal  if  not  su- 
perior  to  any  workman  in  the  United 
States,"  1  cutler  and  tool  maker,  2  spinning- 
wheel,  spindle,  and  crank  makers,  in  addi- 
tion  to  glass-works,  cotton  factories,  and 
other  non-metallio  branches. 


iaa 


riM 


PENNSYLVANIA.      STEKL-FURNACES   IN   PHILADEI.PIIIA. 


569 


n  to  be  good  and 
,  and  was  burning 

B  town,  where  the 
din^  as  far  as  the 
IS,  about  the  year 
them  some  years 
that  year  laid  out 
n  of  coal,  regarded 
that  received   by 
e  Pittsburg  a  large 
up  by  steam-power 
s  for  the  supply  of 

e-mills,  and  manu- 
!  an  early  and  rapid 
e  first  furnace  amid 
ughiogeny,  by  Wil- 

important  event  to 
tcr,  the  town  had  a 
a  variety  of  trades.' 
'  within  a  few  miles 
g  pots,  kettles,  mill 

McClurg.  He  also 
siness  has  ever  since 
■e  of  Pittsburg.  In 
orner  of  Penn  street 
im-engine  was  in  use 
ed  in  the  navigation 
•leans,  built  at  Pitts- 
Qufactories  of  steam- 

■as  established  on  the 
niles  from  the  Ohio, 


tiners,  5  watch  and  clock 
rsmitha,  17  blacksmiths,  1 
aitesmith  "  equal  if  not  »u. 
workman  in  the  United 
ind  tool  maker,  2  epinning- 
rd  crank  makers,  in  addi- 
irks,  cotton  factories,  and 
lo  branches. 


in  1803,  by  Hoopes,  Townsend  &  Co.,  and  was  the  commencemeLl  of 
an  active  iron  business  in  that  place. 

The  amount  of  Iron  exported  from  Philadelphia  in  the  year  ending 
April  5,  1766,  was  882  tons  of  bar  at  £26  per  ton,  and  813  tons  of  pig 
Kiti>ort8  i''oi  at  £7  10s.  per  ton.  In  tiie  three  years  preceding  the 
oiirott.  ^^p^  ending  January  5,  1774,  the  exports  were  respectively 
2,358,  2,205,  and  1,564  tons.  The  proportions  of  pig  and  bar  iron  are 
not  stated. 

In  the  manufacture  of  steel,  nails,  fire-arms,  machinery,  and  other 
branches  of  metallic  manufu  ture,  Pennsylvania  early  acquired  the 
same  prominence  she  had  in  the  production  of  the  raw 
maiiufacturea  material.  Some  attempts  in  these  branches  have  been  al- 
ready referred  to  in  their  local  relations,  and  others  in  pre- 
vious chapters,  in  connection  with  the  departments  to  which  they  were 
subservient. 

Philadelphia,  as  the  principal  commercial  city  of  this  country,  possessed 
a  varied  industry  and  a  large  proportion  of  skillful  artificers,  as  well  as 
many  persons  who  were  industrious  promoters  of  all  the  mechauical  arts. 
Her  ship-building  created  a  large  demand  for  nails,  iron,  and  steel, 
material  for  which  was  chiefly  furnished  by  her  furnaces  and  forges. 
We  have  seen  that  a  rolling-mill  was  built  in  Chester  County  as  early  as 
Philadelphia  l'^4C,  and  a  steel-furnace  in  Philadelphia  in  the  following  year. 
sieei.  r|'||g  stecl-fumacc  of  Stephen  Paschal,  at  Eighth  and  Walnut, 

was  probably  the  first  in  the  Province,  and  Taylor's  rolling-mill  the  first 
of  its  kind.  In  August,  1787,  this  steel-furnace,  which  then  belonged  to 
Nancarrow  &  Matlack,  was  visited  by  General  Washington,  and  is  men- 
tioned as  "the  largest  and  best  in  America.'"  The  partnership  was 
dissolved  in  1790,  and  the  furnace,  house,  and  lot  offered  for  sale.  The 
furnace  was  in  good  repair,  and  capable  of  making  twenty-two  tons  of 
steel  at  a  blast.  White  Matlack  soon  after  conveyed  the  property  by 
deed  to  John  Ireland,  and  his  former  partner,  John  Nancarrow,  a 
Scotchman,  removed  to  Seventh  street  below  Arch,  where  he  continued 
the  business  of  steel-making.  There  was  also  an  air-furnace  at  an  early 
period  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Ninth  and  Walnut,  belonging  wholly 
or  in  part  to  Nancarrow,  who  is  said  at  one  time  to  have  made  steel 
under  ground  at  that  place. 

Newly  invented  boxes  for  carriage-wheels  were  in  1785  made  at  the 
air-furnace.  Eighth  and  Walnut,  by  William  Somerton. 

(1)  TnoMPSON  Wkstcott,  Esq.,  of  Phila-  esting  facts  relating  to  the  arts  in  the  oity 
deliibia,  has  kindly  furnished  us  with  iuter-     from  bis  manuscript  collections. 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS. 


510 

•    1-770  tlie  proprietor  of  a  steel-fu'nacfl 
Whitehead  """H'^nx-ys  was  n.  1  70  th^  PJ  P         ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^,^ 

on  Seventh  street  ^^twoen  Ma^^^^^^^^^^  Assembly  for  hi. 

edge-tools.     He  received  £100  f'^-^^  ^'^^  ^^.^,  ^,oO  to  assist  him 

encouragement  and  in  ^:^X^^<^^^^  ^^^^  «-^  "^  'Y'  " 
in  his  steel-works.     la  mS,  Con  res  Continental  arti- 

contract  with  him  for  ^^^  "^'f  f  ;;\;-,  .^New  Jersey.     The  State 
fieers,from  the  Iron  of  the  An^lu^e   ^V  otk    ^       ^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^,^ 

>tll.ate.theTa..i.C.^^^^^ 

duty  on  steel  was  discussed,  ^I---^  >'"*-^'  „„„„i,reYs),  with  very  little 
L'ace  in  Philadelphia  ivro^^^^^yf^^^  ^f^T^I  in  two  years,  and 
aid  from  the  legislature,  had  ^f^l'^X  Although  an  infant 
was  then  making  at  the  rate  of  ^^^^  J^^^^  ,,,^1.  with  a  little 
^manufacture  in  this  country,  he  Wlu^v  d  i^^^  ^^  ,^^  ^.^^^  ^^^^^  ^,,^ 
public  encouragement,  soon  supply  i  .    j^^^  ti,en  decreased 

[mportations  of  steel  into  the  i^rt  oj  ^^  ^^f  P  ^.„     „,  ,,eount  of  the 

from  one-fifth  to  o-f-^^'V^'^^'" ^'^^^^e  ofu"  article.    The  perfection 
improvements  m  the  domesuc—^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^  ,,,, 

it  had  then  attained  m  the  my,  Encouragement  of 

regarded  by  the  Society  mstUuted    n  1787^  ^^^  .^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^. 

Domestic  Manufactures  as  --[^^  ^^^^^^of  some  articles,  and  had 
rial.  It  had  already  restored  the  ^'^^J'''^' ^^.^  ■  t  laws,  and  a 
introduced  new  ones.     Notwithstanding  t^^^^  ^^^.^^  ^^  ,,, 

special  Act  of  20th  Sep  e-^«;.  ^J^^^^ 

importation  of  certain  articles  or  t^^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^  ^.^^ 

factures.  foreign  wares  had  been  viriu     y  ^^^^^^^  .^^^  ^^^ 

was  a  free  port,  and  ™-^-"^f ''^^^^  ^^^^^^^^^^^^        by'the  Act  of  the 
State.     The  local  tariff  ^^-'flf^Zy.lLi    in  the   manufacture 

r:;:;:Soirer---^^---^^--^^^^ 
-^.  t^::^  --  at  -  -  :^-- r  =::i  r 

city  and  interior  towns,  but  it  ^^^1  sL,l„9  for  exportation. 
im         i/was.  however,  sufficient  to  afford  a^u     us  Jo       P^^^^^^  ^^ 


I 


ID  Journals  of  congress:  Law.  of  Pennsylvania. 


PENNSYtVANIA.      NAILS— ANCHORS — WIBE — CARDS. 


571 


of  a  steel-fu'nace 
lere  he  also  niaile 
Asscmljly  for  h\i 
£700  to  assist  him 
5  Board  of  War  to 
e  Continental  arti- 
fersey.     The  State 
oun  to  Humphreys 
ron  "  as  gqod  as  iu 

.ril,  1789,  when  the 
Ivania,  stated  that  a 
eys),  with  very  little 
b1  in  two  years,  and 

Although  an  infant 
e  could,  with  a  little 
on  with  steel.     The 

had  then  decreased 
dy  on  account  of  the 
tide.    The  perfection 
,  price  of  steel,  were 
,e  Encouragement  of 
workers  in  that  mate- 
some  articles,  and  had 
e  impost  laws,  and  a 
lilional  duties  on  the 
ent  of  domestic  manu- 
asmuch  as  Burlington 
ts  way  thence  into  the 
9,  by  the  Act  of  the 
ts'  in  the   manufacture 
lenry  Toight,  a  watch- 
ed many  persons  in  the 
^ether  a  handicraft  art. 
arplus  for  exportation, 
ailer,  at  the  corner  of 
jing  for  sale,  wholesale 
f  his  owa  manufacture. 

the  Province,  in  small 

nsylvania. 


naileries  conducted  by  common  blacksmiths  or  others,  was,  as  in  New 
England,  probably  very  considerable.  li  T^as  one  of  those  branches  in 
which  the  countiy  earliest  became  independent  of  British  supplies,  and 
in  which  the  effects  of  the  war  were  first  felt  among  British  nionufac- 
turers,  as  stated  by  Lord  Dudley  in  the  Ilouse  of  Peers  in  1776.  In 
1789,  Samuel  Briggs,  of  Philadelphia,  memorialized  the  legislature  and 
the  General  Congress  on  the  subject  of  a  machine  for  making  nails, 
screws,  and  gimlets.  He  had,  three  years  before,  made  ihe  patterns  for 
the  castings  of  Fitch's  steamboat,  and  now  deposited  with  the  executive 
of  the  '"jtate,  the  model  of  his  nail-machine,  in  a  sealed  box  subject  to 
the  order  of  the  State  or  Federal  legislatures.  He  and  his  son,  in 
August,  1707,  received  the  first  letters  patent  for  nail-making  machinery 
issued  under  tlie  general  Patent  Laws  of  the  United  Slates.  The  second 
was  granted  in  February,  1794,  to  Thomas  Perkins,  residing  in  the 
same  place. 

David  Folsora  also,  in  1789,  asked  the  General  Assembly  of  Penn- 
sylvania to  protect  his  invention  of  a  new  method  of  making  nails,  sprigs, 
and  brads  by  cutting  theui  without  drawing.  The  business  of  cutting 
nails  and  brads  w^as  some  years  after  establisiied  in  the  State  by  Thomas 
Odiorne,  of  Massachusetts,  wiio  introduced  Jesse  Reed's  machine,  and 
set  up  two  manufactories.  Tlie  low  price  of  rolled  iron  and  nail-rods, 
for  some  time  after  the  peace,"  when  mnch  was  imported  from  llussia, 
la  addition  to  what  was  made  in  tiic  State,  fully  established  the  nail- 
manufacture  in  Pennsylvania.  There  were,  in  1797,  three  manufactories 
of  cut  nails  and  one  of  patent  nails  in  Philadelphia. 

An  anchor  forge  was  set  up  in  Front  street  opi)osite  Union  about  the 
year  1755.     It  was  owned  and  nmnaged  by  Daniel  Ollley,  who 
AQchore.      gn,p]oygji  a  number  of  workmen,  and  over  twenty  years  after, 
during  the  war,  was  still  in  the  business. 

Works  for  drawing  wire  were  erected  iu  or  near  the  city  as  early  as 
1779  by  Nicholas  Garrison,  Valentine  Eckert,  and  Henry  Voight,  who 
wireanj  ^^  *''**  7^*"^  proposcd  to  transfer  them  to  the  State.  Hand 
wire  cards.  cavAs  Were  made  by  Oliver  Evans  and  others  before  the  Revo- 
lution.    The  invention  of  Evans  for  making  the  teeth  is  claimed  to  have 


(1)  The  usual  price  of  bar-iron  boforo  the 
Revolutioa  was  $64  per  ton,  to  which  price 
it  again  fell  after  the  wor.  The  large  cx- 
portationsof  pigand  bar  iron  which  ensued, 
and  the  rapid  increase  uf  domestic  consump- 
tion, raised  it  again.  The  wholesale  prices- 
current  of  iron  in  Philadelphia,  as  quoted 
in  the  General  Advertiser,  published  daily  by 
Benjamin  F.  Bache,  was,  on  November  9th, 


1790,  as  follows:  Iron  castings,  22».  6rf.  to 
30».  per  ton  ;  bar-iron,  £20  to  £30 ,  Pig- 
iron,  £8  10».  to  £9;  sheet-iron,  £60;  nail- 
rods,  £35.  This  was  probably  Pennsylvania 
currency.  A  considerable  rise  in  the  price 
of  Iron  took  place  again  in  1796,  and  gave 
an  impulse  to  the  manufacture  in  England 
and  America. 


j,j|  COLONIAI,   INDVSTUY   IN    MKTAI.S. 

ture  was  so  greatly  extended,      ll.tit  «tie 

in  the  city  in  1797.  f„rnacc3  iu  the  State  durinR  the 

Cannon  was  cast  at  a  nnmher  «  /""'^fwarwiclc  furnaces.     Small 

Revolution,  particularly  at  the  Keadmg  "^"JJ^;;;;.      ^^,  pi.nadelphia. 

arms  were  also  made  in  ^""^'^^'^'r^j^^^^;'  l,,ity  of  the  iron- 

~    Lancaster,  and  elsewhere      ^  -/--f       ^Uau  wars,  the 

tier  settleu^ents,  especially  'l"-^'        ^  j/;  ^^  ,,,,,,,  trade,  tendered 

temptations  of  the  ^^^^J^^^^^^M.^C^c..^^^^^^^^ 
fire-arms  a  necessary  appendage  to  every  manufacture  re- 

demand  for  rifles  and  other  ^^f^X^uSnTUe  Exportation  of  fire- 
ceived  a  great  impulse  durjng  tl-    -v"lU    n  P^^^  ^^^.^^  .^  ^^.^^ 

arms,  gunpowder,  and  other  ^^^  ''^  ^^^^^^  ,  ,,,,,,  manufacture  in 
prohibited  in  1774,  and  ^<^;:f;^^J^Zr.er^^^  of  Parliament,  in 
each  State.  A  letter  from  1 ''  ^  ;'^^'7,,,,i,mation  was  received,  in- 
Decemberof  that  year,  soon  ^^^Y""  '  ^   ^g  there  were  gun- 

formed  him  that  the  Act  would  o  "«  -- '^^^^^^  ^,  ^,,,  ,,,,,, 
n^akers  enough  in  the  ^^^^-^.^^^j'^./a  manufactory  of  gunpowder 
a  year  at  28«- P--' j^  ^f '^^:  f^^^^^^^^  Penn.  in  his  exam - 

bad  been  already  ^^^'^^^'t^ordsh  November,  1775,  stated,  in  reply 
nation  before  the  House  of  Lords    n  ^^^^^^  ^,^^  ^^^^. 

to  the  inquiries  of  the  Duke  o^^^^  ^  in  \n.ladelphia,  had 
i„g  of  cannon,  including  bra.s,  which  ^  ere  ^^^^^  ^^^^^ 

Jen  carried  to  great  P-^-^^j^^ta led     The  workmanship  and   ■ 
ia  as  great  perfection  as  could  }''  '"'^ ZnM  for  their  excellence, 
finish  of  the  small  arms  were  unmr.a  y  ad  med  ^^^^  ^^^^^.^^ 

Some  fire-arms  were  that  yeiu  -P-  «;  ^^  „,^,  „„,1  arms  could  be 
West  India  Islands,  and  pikes  ^veie  recom  ^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^ 

made     Rifles  were  made  in  many  places  in  the 

^hich  were  thought  equal  to  ^^l^^^^''^^''^^^      ^,emed  it  expedient  to 

,„  February.  1776  the  ^— ^^^^  requested  a  conference 

establish  a  Provincial  gun-lc-manufactoy  ^^^^  ^^^^^,^^  ^ 

with  Mr.  Benjamin  Ri;'.enV.ouse  of  Nornng^  '^^^^,,,,,,,,,  .ere  ap- 
suitable  person  to  «»Pf  "-'7^  j'-^^j^^t  the  manufactory,  and  contract 
pointed  to  erect,  superintend  -^  ^^f  f  J^^  ,,,  i„f,rmed.  was  estab- 
for  the  manufacture  o  '^"-•'  .7^;;fp7naven  as  principal  gunsmith, 
lished  in  Cherry  street,  with  M.  ■J^'^'^l  p,  n.^en  as  contract- 

In  April,  1778.  the  gun  ™-"    f  ?;  •;;H:mmelstown.  eight  miles  from 


(1)  Ponnsylrania  Arcluvc,  iv.  V12  j  Col.  Bee.  x.  506. 


wmmmmmmmm 


rENNSYIA'ANIA.      SMALL   ARMS   AND   CANNON. 


573- 


i\nd\  the  manufac- 
[lufactorifs  of  cards 

,c  State  durinR  the 
ck  furniices.  Small 
,ity  at  rhiladelphia, 
isecurity  of  the  fron- 
,d  Indian  wars,  the 
dian  trade,  rendered 
and  crcalod  a  steady 
riie  manufacture  re- 
e  exportation  of  fire- 
X  Great  Britain  was 
their  manufacture  in 
ber  of  Parliament,  iu 
Lion  was  received,  in- 
.,  as  there  were  gun- 
'  stand  of  arras  within 
ifactory  of  gunpowder 
1  Penn,  in  his  exami- 
m5,  stated,  in  reply 
subject,  that  the  cast- 
t  in  Philadelphia,  had 
small  arras  were  made 
The  workmanship  and 
d  for  their  excellence, 
le  French  and  Spanish 
ed  until  arras  could  be 
Provinces  at  that  date, 

• 

deemed  it  expedient  to 
1  requested  a  conference 
1,  whom  they  thought  a 

commissioners  were  ap- 
lanufactory,  and  contract 

are  informed,  was  estab- 
en  as  principal  gunsmith, 
r.  De  Haven  as  contract- 
lelstown,  eight  miles  from 

at  Wyoming,  he  recom 

1.  Bcc,  X.  500. 


mended  its  removal  to  French  Creek  or  to  Piiiladelphia.  The  Council,  ia 
November,  1"7G,  lixed  the  price  to  be  paid  to  gunsmiths  for  good  gun- 
barrels,  delivered  at  the  lock  manufactory,  at  243.  apiece.  Brass  gun 
mountings  were  tlien  made  by  Lewis  Pralil.  The  committee  also  ad- 
vanced £300  to  Lawrence  Biruie  to  enable  iiim  to  erect  an  air-furnace 
and  mills  for  tiie  business  of  file-cutting  in  connection  witii  the  gun- 
lock  factory.  Contracts  were  also  made  in  York  and  Lancaster 
for  a  quantity  of  arms  for  the  State.  Th.,  price  of  a  niusi<et  with 
bayonet  and  steel  ramrod,  made  according  to  pattern,  was  £4  5*-.  (Penn- 
sylvania currency).'  But  it  was  found  dillicult  to  make  contracts  at  less 
than  £4  10s.  or  £4  15s.,  as  materials  were  scarce,  and  workmen  were 
unwilling  to  quit  the  manufacture  of  rifles,  for  which  the  demand  was 
great.  Muskets  were  also  made  at  Carlisle  and  in  Bedford  and  other 
counties.  The  latter  had  but  one  regular  gunsmith.'  There  were  two 
boring-mills  for  gun-barrels  in  the  vicinity  of  Lancaster  in  1186,  and 
the  borough  contained  T  gunsmi^s,  1  nail-mukers,  2  brass-founders,  3 
coppersmiths,  5  silversmiths,  4  tinners,  6  clock  and  watch  makers, 
and  25  black  and  white  smiths.  Washington  County  had  3  gun- 
smiths.' John  Kerlia  contracted  to  make  muskets  and  bayonets  at 
85s.  each. 

In  April,  1176,  Benjamin  Lo.xley  made  proposals  for  casting  brass 
eight-inch  mortars,  howitzers?,  cannon,  and  shells  for  Congress  or  the 
committees  of  safety.  Some  of  the  brass  guns  of  Major  Lox- 
ley  were  tested  by  Daniel  Joy  of  the  Reading  furnace,  who 
was  also  engaged  in  casting  and  boring  iron  nlne-pounders  at  the  rate 
of  one  daily,  to  be  followed  by  others  of  larger  size.  The  iron  pieces 
appear  to  have  stood  the  proof  better  than  the  brass.  Joy,  in  the 
same  year,  proposed  a  method  of  constructing  fire-rafts  for  the  defense 
of  the  Delaware.  Congress,  in  the  following  April,  called  upon  all  the 
legislatures  or  executives  of  the  States  to  exempt  from  military  duty  all 
persons  employed  in  casting  shot  and  manufacturing  military  stores  of 
any  kind  ;  and  in  June  the  Board  of  War  recommended  that  eleven  men 
employed  by  Mark  Bird  in  the  cannon  foundery  and  nail-works  in  Berks 


CanDon. 


(1)  In  recommending  to  the  several  As- 
semblies in  November,  1775,  the  manufwc- 
ture  of  fire-arms  and  boyonet.i,  Congress 
directed  that  each  firelock  be  made  "with 
a  good  bridle  lock,  j  of  an  inch  bore  and  of 
good  substance  at  the  breech,  the  barrel  to  be 
!i  feet  i  inches  in  length,  the  bayonet  to  be 
IB  incho:  'n  the  blade,  with  a  steel  ramrod, 
the  upper  loop  to  be  trumpet-mouthed,  and 


the  price  to  be  given  be  fijted  by  the  As- 
sembly or  Convention  of  c.ich  Colony  ;  and 
that  until  a  sufficient  quantity  of  gooii  arms 
be  manufactured,  they  import  as  many  as 
are  wanted  by  all  the  men  in  their  Pro- 
vince." — Jour.  Cnni/.,  i.  164. 

(2)  Pennsylvania  Arcliive",  iv.  70S,  712, 
717,  777;  vi.  453,  475,  B.'i:?. 

(.1)  Coxo's  View  of  the  United  f-'tutos. 


g,4  COLONIAL  INDtSTRY   IN   METALS. 

and  uteusils  ut  a  ,non,ent's  warrnng  «;  ^«  /^^f^^,,  ,,ae  pro- 
Morgan  Busteed,  Samue    ^-''^' ^f.  ^^^^^^     T^,,,  .^^^ 
peals  to  cast  cannon  in  the  course  of  that  ^'^'^    \        ^,^  ^„„,a  u. 

.nested  permission  to  nse  a    -^  ^^-J/;^'/,!  a  by  the   State. 
Jreek   (the  mine  before  mentioned)     mt  .as  cla  J         ^^  ^^^ 

There  was  also  some  dispute  respecting   the  turnace 

In  May,  1 .  U,  Ausun  i  ^^  „r„^„„  necessary  to  enllUe  trades 

admitted  to  the  freedom  «  ^  ;-^^;^^^^^^^^  founder  either  i 

men  to  carry  on  business  for  themsaves.     ^  *  ^,„i,d  , 

V,rass  or  iron  in  the  city  ten  y--;^;^,,'';!  Hyatt,  and  in  1759  I 
i„  no3  in  Front  street  near  ^ark  t  by  ^«'  J  «       ^^  ^^^^^^^ 

8ion,  on  the  ratiBc.lion  oi  «  »  proecssm 

.ode  m  a  car,  »W>  V'"™™;^     '  '      ,  Ja    Luntod  and  fuod  «i 

,on,  and  numbered  twenty  masters  of  the  trade. 

Money  scales  and  weights  were  made  by  James  Alien,  b 

''clpar  Wi.tar  was  a  brass  button  au".  buckle  manufacturer  in  Ph 
Caspar  vv  .xar  apprentices  set  up  'he  b 

delphia  prcv,ous  ^^  I  oO-jJ-"  «      ^       ^/^^  ^^^^  i„  this  cour 
n'!ss  m   New  rorK.      nn-  .      . 

«---      established   a  glass    factory   in   New    Jersey    and    ml 
llichard  Wislur  unitod  the  two  branches  at  his  nouse  in  ll.gh 

(I)  l.on.>-.vlvnni,v  Archive.,  v.  m,  731,  7;.«i  w.  62,  1.1,  809. 


MMMI 


ALS. 


PENNSYLVANIA.      PHILADELPHIA   MANUFACTURES. 


575 


United  States,  be  dis- 
draughted.  During  tlie 
;un8  for  the  Government, 
imove  witli  his  apparatus 
ipproach  of  the  British. 

llutter  each  made  pro- 
There  was  at  tliis  time 
lot  know  who  owned  it. 

President  Wharton  that 
•  want  of  copper,  and  re- 
l  been  sent  from  French 
,s  claimed  by  the  State, 
e  furnace  as  well  as  the 

work  of  all  kinds  for  dis- 

Indies,  and   reliueries  of 

iloyed  many  tradesmen  in 

Paglan,  "  ffounders,"  were 
necessary  to  enliilc  trades- 
iris  was  a  founder  eitlier  in 
iss-founding  was  carried  on 
3hn  Hyatt,  and  in  1759  by 
eet.     In  the  federal  proces- 
a,  July,  4,  1788,  Mr.  King 
aring  the  whole  procession, 
m  mounted  and  fired  with 
eyraen  and  apprentices  also 
■xpense.     Tl<o  coppersmiths 
lirection  of  Benjamin  Uarbi- 

ade. 

!  James  Allen,  goldsmith,  o 

.uckle  manufacturer  in  Thila- 

apprenliees  set  up  '  lie  busi^ 

,f  the  name  in  this  country 

Now    Jersey,   and    in   1769 

ftt  his  house  in  High  street 

.l,7;.tti  w.  62,  1*1,  309. 


above  Third,  where  he  made  glass  lamps  and  bottles  and  brass  but- 
tons.' 

The  establishment  of  a  tin-plate  manufactory  was  proposed  by  a  con- 
vention assembled  from  the  several  counties  at  Pliiladelphia  in  January, 
1774,  to  consider  the  state  of  manufactures  and  trade.  But  it  was  not 
tlien  found  practicable.  Tin  could  not  be  had  in  1776  suflicient  to  make 
canteens  and  kettles  for  the  army. 

A  sheet-iron  manufactory  was  established  in  1776  on  Water  street, 
at  the  corner  of  Arch,  by  Murray,  Griffin,  &  Bullard,  who  made  camp- 
Sheetiron,  kcttics,  blaze  pans,  tea-kettles,  and  other  wares.  Camp-kettles 
"'*'■  were  also  made  for  the  army  by  Thomas  Bales,  out  of  sheet- 

iron  made  at  Mount  Holly  by  Thomas  Mayberry. 

Pewter  dishes,  spoons,  and  other  honseiiold  wares  of  pewter  and  block 
tin,  then  in  general  use,  were  made  many  years  earlier  by  Cornelius 
Bradford  and  others. 

Gold  and  silver  smiths,  whitesmiths,  and  manufacturers  of  buttons, 
shoe-buckles,  and  such  small  wares,  were  numerous.*  In  1767,  the 
ooM  »nd  silversmiths  of  Philadelphia  petitioned  for  the  establishment 
Biiversuuths.  ^f  ^^  assay  office  to  regulate,  assay,  and  stamp  gold  and 
silver. 

Screws  for  paper-mills  —  which  ^vere  numerous  —  and  many  heavy 


(1)  Benjnrain  Randolph,  at  the  Golden 
Eaglo,  Chestnut  street,  in  1770  manufac- 
tured wooden  bultims  "of  apple,  holly,  and 
luurel  woou  hard  and  clear."  Thovi,  were 
two  button  factories  in  the  city  in  1797. 

(2)  Among  the  tradesmen  admitted  to  the 
freedom  of  the  city  in  1717  and  1718,  were 
George  Plumly,  Joseph  Trotter,  and  lliehard 
Go.iling,  ctir/er«/  Jamoa  Evcrct  and  Simon 
Edgoll, /)eir(ercr«;  Peter  Steel  and  Juinoa 
Winstanly,  brm!fr§;  Francis  I'lichardfion, 
William  England,  and  Edward  Hunt,  guIU- 
tmllk^ ;  Eduinnd  Billington,  ir'ii'(c»mi'(A, 
and  fourteen  bUivlomilhi.  In  June,  1718, 
in  conseniienco  of  u  prtilion  "from  sevora. 
trsilesmen  and  mnnufaetore,"  complaining 
that  notwithstanding  their  having  taken 
out  their  freedoms,  many  strangers  daily 
Clime  in  and  settled  who  were  nut  entitled 
to  carry  on  business, — the  Common  Council 
gave  pi'rmi«iion  to  such  trades  as  decircd  to 
frame  and  bring  in  an  ordinance  whereby 
thoy  could  bo  incorporated. —  .Mimtlet  of 
Cumnuin  Cinnicil, 

la  the  Foilcra!  procession  in  17S8,  a  car- 


riage drawn  by  nine  horses  contained  tho 
Federal  blacksmiths,  whitesmiths,  and  nail- 
ers in  full  employ.  The  blaeksii'ilhs  com- 
pleted during  tho  procession  a  full  set  of 
plow  Irons  out  of  old  swords,  worked  a 
sword  into  a  sickle,  turned  several  horse- 
shoes, and  did  other  jobs  on  demand.  Mr. 
I.  Goodman,  whitesmith,  finished  a  cum- 
p1eto  pair  of  pliers,  a  knifo,  and  so:<ie  ma- 
chinery. The  nailers  finished  and  sold 
spikes,  nails,  and  broad  tacks.  They  were 
followed  by  two  hundred  others  of  their 
trades,  with  tho  device — "  Hy  hammer  .ind 
hand,  nil  arts  do  stand."  Tlie  goldsmiths, 
silversmiths,  ami  jewelers  followed  their 
senior  member,  William  Bull,  to  the  nutu- 
..er  of  thirty-flvo. 

How  dill'ercnt  the  spectacle  we  witness  at 
this  hour,  when  that  i'li'tm  which  wai 
everywhere  1  .ileil  as  t!is  greatei't  blessing 
to  tho  prodaetivo  classes,  after  having  ful- 
filled Its  high  promise,  is  rashly  thrcatenoii 
wilh  destruction,  ami  tho  idowsliaru  and 
sickle  are  being  once  more  beaten  lut* 
swords  for  fralricidiil  conflict  I 


5,5  COim-M  INDtBTEV   IN   METAM- 

.lu.«s  ...  forge,.  .0,.  were  made  .n  ...  city  before  tie  e.o«  of  .... 

,,„.,ica.a„a  Bcienu  e  V"V^'.^^'^,\^^^^  ^„„i„.„  taxation 
a  reputation  ior  skill.      1  le  ret  Godfrey,  the  in- 

c»„tL  few  names  .ore  f -^-^^  CL^^^^^^^    the  f,.t  te.eseopa 
Teulor  of  t.,e  qoaaraat,  of  «'»«»''»"'°  "  „a  „,|ier  seieulille 

conslraeted  In  Amenea,  ami  wUo.c  »""?  "         ,„„i,,„m,tieal 

"••r"    ...trument,  '■''.''"J-V"""  Fa^rF  e  ,  a  d  other,,  whose 

juveutiua..    „„,,:,,„.   of  FrauUliii,  Evans,  Fulton,  Ifiicn,  u 

,„.,„„,.  !;r:o»t™ctivo  *...  ..».«  added  to  the  pennanent  wealth 

the  State  an.l  the  Union  .      ^f  property 

,„„  „,„„h,>.n.n.  of  l^^JZX  '^^  ->«'  "<  "■«  «"'■  "  ;'■ 
...  r..o.^.^^J^^_  ^„^,„,^„,  ordered   to_  he  rn^e     0 

:5.„.       Abraham  Biek.ey,  a  member  of  «"»"=  '  J-r^f ,;  %,,_ 

,„e,i„„.y  ordered.  . " ''- X;  ;r  If  yV  «y "-  ""  '-"" 
nSO,  three  fire-enBtne,  of  "»  ;''^;^„  Jij,  „„d  „rited  the  same 
p„„„ds  respeetively,  were  "f""^      '"^^''^f^  ,„;  ^,  Anthony  N-eko;«, 

previons  to  July,  1135  ,  but  it  «a  ^^^^^^^  ^^  ^i,^ 

'„„a  re.„Hred  much  labor  "■-^^^         ,  ,'  .Icaetur.  of  ftrcen^inc.. 
upuercnd  of  Second  street,  tndirtool-  la  i,„„j,.,ed  the  im- 

il  ..„s  a  native  of  '''^  7';™'";"  f„  ',;,:,,  „„l  at  the  sides  of 

!;:::;:";.i:s:roir:::.:""M..did.-.  of  .re.e„,ne,  o, 

Vhi.adel,hia  in  11.3,  b,  Christ«,>hcr  »;"  '    •  "      ™'  ^J,  „,  ,.;„„,ke. 

irishman,  the  pupil  and  prolesc  in  '"''J    "  ,„ 

llishop  of  Ossory,  after  w  .xe  ''"""■.•■'^;,      ,;,„„„,, 

c  0.1...      Americ.    ,n  .';-P;:;;f;;  J';:: ,     l.;,;,::,^  ..Cety, 

two  coune,  of  lectures  ,n  .  ■,  '';"''•;,,.,„  ;„  „„,„,,  ,„.  experimented 

on  Pueuamties,  Uydrost.tics,  and  'M  »"'     ■  '  centrifugal 

„i,h  an  air-pump  of  Hi.  own  ,i.e    .  «,  «^  ^^^  ^„_^„^„„ 

.„d  .tcam-eugincs,  and  "'''«'"'"'";,„,„  ,„,  „  a,,„i|l„y,  which  was 

to  oo..»truet  .  «»"'-™P»«   °  J  '  J  ^^  ,,.  ,„  .light  that  it  was  ..f 

r:;rrie:r:e''-T:o:,r;^rtrrhiiosophioaiBoeiet,^e.er. 

„>  „,.., '  " —"■    -'••  -  "•"•  '•"'"'°  "•"""  """"" 


HtoRin- 

BIlllllO"- 

C.  CuUes. 


PENNSYLVANIA.      STEAM-ENGINE   BU1LDINC3. 


5n 


•e  tbc  close  of  the 

id  instruments  for 
iiicv  early  acqui^'a 
merioan  invention 
)f  Godfrey,  the  in- 

the  first  telescope 
iind  other  scieutilio 

and  mathematical 
,  ai\d  others,  whose 
lermancnt  wealth  of 

security  of  property 
.yor  of  the  city,  ".  >d 
ed    to  ho   made    lo 
'  for  y°  ffire  engine  " 
as  made.     In  April, 
rty-fivo,  and  twenty 
md  arrived  the  same 
by  Anthony  Nic'.o'is, 
rery  heavy,  unwieldy, 
Jchard  Mason,  at  the 
icture  of  fire-engines. 
0  introduced  the  im- 
nd  not  at  tlie  sitles  of 
ei-'^  of  fire-engines  of 

America  was  made  in 
lucatcd  and  ii.genio\is 
y  life  of  Dr.  I'ococke, 
in  nfiii,  he  came  to 
1772,  Colles  delivered 
riiilosophicali-'^cicty, 
which  he  experimented 
libitcd  the  centrifugid 
8  consequenlly  engaged 
ft  distillery,  which  was 
it)  slight  that  it  was  of 
lophical  Society^Hever- 

tanjnmin   Ftonklin  org»ni«Bd 


theless  reported  that  it  evinced  the  builder's  knowledge  of  the  principles, 
and  his  ability  to  construct  the  machine,  and  that  he  was  therefore  de- 
Rcrving  of  encouragement.  Tlie  career  of  Colles,  wlio  obtained  some 
Fitch  HDd  repute  as  an  engineer  and  mechanician  in  this  department,  has 
Vnigiit.  jj^j^ju  compared  to  that  of  John  Fitcli,  who  in  1786,  assisted  by 
Henry  Voight,  constructed  the  first  worliing  steam-engine  built  in  tlie 
city.  "  Both,"  says  Mr.  Westcott,  "  were  ingenious  beyond  their  time, 
and  both  reaped  a  reward  in  poverty."  Fitch  is  said  to  have  first  ap- 
plied to  John  Nancarrow,  th?  proprietor  of  a  steel-furnace  before  men- 
tioned, who  had  some  reputation  as  a  machinist,  and  afterward  made 
some  improvements  in  the  engine  of  Savery,  which  were  published  in 
the  fourth  volume  of  the  American  Philosophical  Transactions.  His 
drafts  were,  however,  rejected  by  Fitch,  who  was  advised  to  apply  to 
Uorublower  or  Colics  of  New  York.  But  having  become  impressed 
with  the  mechanical  abilities  of  Henry  Yoight,  a  Dutch  wi.tch-maker,  lie 
made  him  a  partner,  and  the  two  jointly  constructed  a  D'.odel  with  a  one- 
inch  cylinder,  the  first  steam-engine  Fitch  had  seen.  This  was  imme- 
diately followed  by  a  larger  three-inch  cylinder  model,  with  whicii  a. 
skiff  was  moved  on  the  Delaware  in  July,  178(i,  by  means  of  oars  at- 
tached to  a  crank.  An  engine  on  the  principle  of  Watt  &  Boulto!'".s 
with  twelve-inch  cylinder,  was  built  the  ne.xt  year,  which,  after  receiving 
several  improvemei  ts  by  Voight,  propelled  a  stenmboat  on  the  Delavvaie 
in  the  presence  of  the  Federal  Convention  then  in  the  city.  Anotiier 
still  larger  was  built,  for  which  an  eigliteen-inch  cylinder  was  cast  ut. 
Warwick  furnace.  Numerous  improvements  in  the  pipe,  boiler,  con- 
denser, and  other  parts  of  the  machinery  by  Voiglit,  Fitcli,  Tliornioii, 
Hall.  Ev  an.s,  and  other  ingenious  persons,  resulted  in  an  elliciciit  engine, 
witl  v-l.lfli  a  steam  packet  and  freight  boat  was,  in  1790,  run  botwei  n 
Phiii*'-  i,''  a  and  Burlington.  A'oigll^  afterward  became  chief  coiner 
at  til-    :J''     and  the  inventor  of  a  steamboat  with   puddles  in  tiiive 


rows. 


Two  steam-engines  were  also  built  and  in  operation  at  the  watei- 
works  in  Philadelphia — the  largest  then  in  the  country — before  ili-; 
close  of  the  century,  one  near  the  Schuylkill,  the  other  at  Centre  square. 
They  were  both  double  engines,  the  one  with  a  thirty-niiie-inch  and  liie 
other  a  thirty-two-inch  cylinder,  and  six-feet  stroke  and  wooden  boih'r,>, 
and  capable  of  supplying  4,500,000  gallons  of  water  daily,  if  required 
One  or  both  were  built  by  Nicholas  I.  Roosevelt,  who,  in  17'.'S, 
putcntetl,  with  J.  Smallman,  a  i.'ouble  steam-engine,  and  after- 
viu-d  built  the  firb^  steamboat  on  the  Ohio  at  Pittsburg.     His  contiaet 


auuMTrlt. 


(1;  ^Vu^U'<llt'»  Lir«  ufFiivb. 


87 


9m 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   MKTALS. 


..  rotonc  n,™o„  .anon,  ....  »d  the  .j'jy-:,"' ^fi: 
manufactunng  uses.     feevtraMama  important  of  winch 

ized.  .         „  r.i.:inrin1i>hift  havinff  become  much  im- 

The  dock  accommodation  of  I''"^/'^^'^;^^^^".; '^^/^  dredging-machine 

B.maMK'ins  „  mWuAt  a  cut  and  description  are  b"^" 

Hippopoumu..  Donaldson,  of  whitli  a  ciu  a  \„.      j^  y^^s  recom- 

first  volume  of  ^^  ^-fZt:^';^:^^  Society,  to  the 
mended  »>y '^  «««^'"'^^^^'  '^'^t^™'l'^d  the  builder  £100  for  his 
attention  of  the  Assembly,  which  •^^^'•^^^  J^^^  york.  he  was  the 

i„,enuit,  ^^;;^:^^x^::::^x^^^^  «^  ^^^^^>''  -  ^-^ 

next  year  sent  thither,  with  ^7*^"  '"  /       ^^^.^io^  of  a  water  Clwvaux- 
everv  way  qualified  to  superintend  t^«    ";™^^^„  ,,  Billingsport.  in 

aid  of  which  Mr.  Robert  »  "'^1-.  P  e«cn  ««  ^^^^^    ^^^  ^^,^.^^^ 

Biddle,the  model  «f  '^^f'^'^I'^J^'l^'r  Peace.  Donaldson  was 
,e  received  the  thanks  of  Y.,"-^^"^^^^  ^'^^^^  Jy  ,,«'  aid  of  that  or 
employed  to  remove  it,  which  he  ac^omp.   n        j  ^^  .^ 

Je  other  curious  ™-'' "^ '"^''"^t;"';  7m  of  years  of  making 
n85.  granted  him  the  exclusive  pnv  g  for  a  e™  o  ,  ^^^^^^^  ^^^^ 
and  using  in  the  Delaware    us  machine    or     ea     g        ^^^      ^^^  ^^^^^ 

.. Hippopotamus."  which  ha  V^^'l^' Vroc^^^  Donaldson 
invented  a  balance-locLl.-ont'^^^^^^  ^^^  j^„^„i„g  y,,r  John 
considerable  reputation  and  T  °^f  ,f ' /"  „^,,,,t  ,,,,e„,c.  To  this  in- 
Fi.h  offered  ^^llX^e^  1  .^  rent  clims^  based  on  the  constr..- 
vcntion  ho  soon  after  set  up  n  t,,.-,,ouilll'8.     For  some  time  he 

.,„„  of  .  pu.p.bo«  on  «;X-'^;   X:;'L  .„a  o.U.r  n,o,>c.  o. 

applying  tho  power.'    Tbo  «.«  or  •';»"'»''"' J^  I,    ,,„,„  oonM 

;.'/.pp,.d, ...  0.0  .-^  J-  ,->' ;  ':::■„  1,  ,„  l,,,.,  p.. 

;:X'a  Sr>  ISH  X  :o„,lnc,c,.  «,.  ..E™..,  A,n„M„o„. 
""wit-"."*  luu.,  n......M  m^nnfacnror,,  1,...  i«  oper.Uo»,  iu  17C0. 

(1)  Weitcotl'iLlfo  «'■'""'''• 


PENNSYLVANIA.      PHILADELPHIA   MILLS   AND   MACHINES.  579 


power  of  the  lower 
ing  rail-  ami  other 
of  the  steam-engine 
important  of  which 
egular  steam-engine 

ere  devised  and  im- 
t  Office  was  organ- 

ig  become  much  im- 
,  a  dredging-machine 
IS  invented  by  Arthur 
tion  are  given  in  the 
175.     It  was  recom- 
ihical  Society,  to  the 
builder  £100  for  his 
ew  York,  he  was  the 
littce  of  Safety,  as  one 
n  of  a  water  ClievnxJ'- 
ware  at  Billingsport,  in 
nmittee,  through  Owen 
rering  ballast,  for  which 
Peace,  Donaldson  was 
by  the  aid  of  that  or 
ity.     The  Assembly,  in 
erm  of  years  of  miiking 
•aning  docks,  called  the 
rhly  efficient.     He  also 
ics  procured  Donaldson 
be  following  year  John 
,at  scheme.     To  this  in- 
i,  based  on  the  construc- 
illl's.     For  some  time  he 
that  and  other  modes  of 
lat  purpose,  in  whatever 
r,  and  his  priority  could 
applied  to  dredging  pur- 
lie  "Eruktor  Amphibolis" 

md  in  operation,  In  11  CO, 


l>. 


a  mustard-mill,  claimed  to  have  been  invented  by  Wagstaff,  and  made  ii4 
England  from  drawings  sent  tliitlier.  Tlie  machine  was  aLso  said  to 
Mustarj.  I'^ve  bcca  immediately  adopted  in  England  by  the  mustard 
"lakers,  and  afterward  obtained  by  others  in  Philadelphia. 
IJenjamin  Jackson  also  at  that  time  made  flour  of  mustard  "superior  to 
English  Durham,"  by  machinery  driven  by  water,  in  a  rival  establish- 
ment  at  the  Globe  Mills  in  Northern  Liberties. 

George  Brassinc,  the  inventor  of  a  snufT-mill,  asked  for  encouragement 
in  1785,  and  William  Sheppard  for  a  mill  for  sawing  and  polishing 
marble.  The  grant  of  privileges  to  James  Kumsey,  the  same  year,  for 
a  boat  to  go  against  the  current  of  rivers,  was  contested  by  Abper 
Cloud  and  Hugh  Cunningham,  who  each  claimed  the  invention  of  tlie 
pole-boat. ' 

Carding  machines,  cotton  gins,  spinning  jennies,  and  other  textile 
machinery  were  early  made  in  Philadelphia.  We  have  in  a  former  chapter 
Ti-xtiid  mentioned  a  spinning  frame  introduced  in  1775  by  Christopher 
inaohiuery.  rp^jj^^  ^j|j^.jj  ^,^  supposed  to  have  been  imported.  That  ma- 
chine, and  another  by  Joseph  Hague,  we  have  re.ison  to  believe  were 
iTiadc  in  the  country,  and  were  the  first  of  the  kind  in  America.  In 
First  .  April,  1776,  previous  to  which  a  spinning-machine  was  in  use 
by  the  United  SocIlM y  for  promoting  American  I  .iinufactures 
in  Philadelphia,  a  committee  of  the  Assembly  reported  "that  upon  ex- 
amination they  find  the  said  machine  was  made  and  used  in  this  Pro- 
vince by  both  the  persons  above  named  nearly  at  the  same  time,  but 
unknown  to  each  other,  and  that  the  committee  think  they  are  therefore 
alike  deserving  of  reward."  They  recommend  that  £15  shall  be  awarded 
each.  On  the  recommendation  of  the  Society  above  named,  the  Assembly 
resolved  to  distribute  one  machine  to  each  county  at  the  expense  of  the 
Province, 

John  Marshall,  an  English  thread-maker  in  the  employ  of  the  Society 
in  1776,  asked  patronage  for  a  silk  twisting  and  throwing  mill  of  his 
invention.  An  appropriation  of  £40  was  recommended  for  his  encour- 
agement by  a  committee.  James  Ilazle  also  in  1775  advertised  a  ma- 
chine to  go  by  clock-work  to  run  48  spindles.  Tlie  encouragement 
given  to  such  inventions  by  the  State  legislature,  the  American  Piiilo- 
sophical  Society,  and  by  associations  for  promoting  genera!  or  special 
ma-jufactures,  was  such  that,  in  1780,  some  macliinery  of  tlie  kind  was 
made  in  Philadelphia  as  well  as  in  England.  A  law  of  the  Assemblv. 
in  March,  1788,  prohibited  under  certain  penalties  the  exi)orlatiou  of 
inanufacturing  machines  for  the  space  of  two  years. 

(1)  Weiloott'i  Life  of  Pitch. 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN    METALS. 

Mr  Robert  Lc.lic,  who  was  the  father  of  C  R.  Leslie,  the  artist,  Major 

J^  !f        United  States  Ar.y,  and  Miss  E^Leslie  the  authoress     a 

'      Scotchman  by  birth,  but  resident  in  Th.ladelph.a  from  1745- 

f;t'::ron,.    ^as  a  clock  and  watch  maker  of  great  mgeuu  ty.     He  wa 

/        ,1     ?n  T7sq  a  watent  for  certain  improvements 

granted  by  the  ^-;-^^>;';"  ^^JjJ.frnd  afterward  under  the  laws 

coin,  and  several  «^^^?      ""^  "  ^^  ,  5^^^  Transactions,  in  which  are  several 
volumes  of  the  American  1  hilosopincai  11  .;'    .nieces  and  other 

•      1     -n..  TJittonhouse  on  improvements  m  time-pietts  mm  v 

tions  by  him  and  Godfiey,  Manuiin,       1  .  received 

i:r;        m  ,..0    »  eK.,aorii..ary  instrument    V,,  t  .e  "'■'"  fj^ 

T':  °t;rn  1    a  '•     =  ^^  .'  A,„cric..„  nancfort,  of  hi,  «.« 
Arcl,    al,o  ""»    "^^     '     /,„,^i,„_  ;„   !„„,  .peak,  ot  Amemaa 

^'"r;      Sei    si       ority  wasin  part  due  to  the  fact  that  wood  sea- 
ported.     Ihur  «"Pe"o    X  i  ^^^^  ^^^^^  Philadelphia- 

it';rr:.;:;:rtr;;:er':.o. ..». ...«.  t,. .,..,  .c, 

""rJ^S,  a  „e»  or,a„  for  Ch™.  C^  ™  X^^  T-S 
Feyring,  who  had  previously  bu.lt  one  for  St.  Peter  s. 

hlt'l 


(1)  The  propri 


llruini 


'"'"'"-—;:.::= t't,i3Sir^^rt:; 


uuU   In   pul'llc   r,orMy.  was 


Mi 


PENNSYLVANIA.      OKOANS — Ml  *El  M    OF   MODELS — IRON   BRIDOE.    581 


lie,  the  artist,  Major 
ie,  the  authoress— a 
lelphiafrom  1145— 
ingenuity.     He  was 
ivtaia  improvements 
vard  under  the  laws 
e  was  formed  to  op- 
ents  in  the  construc- 
a  addition  to  several 
ivented  or  improved 
lis,  wind-mills,  blow- 
iage  springs,  dies  for 
iescribed  in  the  early 
s,  in  which  are  several 
time-pieces  and  other 
pers  on  other  inven- 
Colin,  Mr.  Henry  of 
[r.,  in  1787,  received 
lent  invented  by  him. 
Jescribed,  in  the  cou- 
ced  in  an  instrument 

harpsichord,  appears 
Belmont,  Third  street 
.tea  that  he  "  has  just 
by  the  name  of  the 
larpsichord,  with  bam- 

Juliann,  Fourth  and 
iano-forte  of  his  own 
,  speaks  of  Americau 
at  great  perfection  in 
itely  completed  several 
g  inferior  to  the  im- 
he  fact  that  wood  sea- 

also  that  Philadelphia- 
while  the  foreign  were 

as  ordered  from  Thilii' 
•eter's.'     It  was  tiuislitJ 

Hod  in  question  in  a  piimv^'^' 
PliiUulelpliiK.      OrS«D>    '"'^ 


Organa, 


and  put  .  p  in  17CG,  and  reinainud  .seventy  years,  until  the  present 
one  was  erected.  It  contained  three  sets  of  keys  and  pedals,  two  octaves 
from  foot  C  upward,  twenty-seven  stops,  and  about  1,607 
pipes.  An  organ  was  built  for  the  German  Lutheran  Church 
in  Philadelpiiia,  a  few  years  later,  by  Mr.  D.  Taneberger,  a  Moravian, 
at  Litiz,  iu  Lancaster  County,  and  a  man  of  much  mechanical  inge- 
nuity. 

Robert  Leslie,  in  17 SO,  proposed  to  establish  a  Museum  of  models 
of  machines,  etc.,  in  Philadolphia.  The  models  of  many  other  machines 
MuBeum  I*'"!  lustrumcnts,  in  addition  to  some  of  those  aoove  named, 
01  ruoiiuia.     ^.jjj,g  pyes(;,iteti  ^q  ^]^Q  American  Piiilosophical  Society.     But 

the  first  professed  collection  of  the  kind  in  the  city,  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge,  was  the  model  room  in  Peale's  Museum,  commenced  in 
1785  by  one  who  himself  possessed  considerable  mechanical  as  well  as 
artistic  talent,  as  the  records  of  the  Patent  Office  show.  This  now 
forms  an  impcilunt  feature  in  the  various  institutions  for  practical  me- 
chanical instruction.  It  is  mentioned  to  the  credit  of  Henry  IV.  of 
France  that  he  proposed  such  a  magazine  of  models,  which  was  not, 
however,  carried  out  until  1775  in  the  Conservatory  of  Arts  and  Trades 
founded  by  Vaucanson.  And  when  our  mechanics  and  artists  proposed 
such  a  thing,  however  imperfect  in  plan,  we  believe  a  collection  of  the 
kind  did  not  exist  in  England. 

A  bold  project  for  the  employment  of  Iron  on  the  extended  scale  now 
so  common  for  architectural  purposes,  was  conceived  in  1787  by  Thomas 
,,.„„  Pai  )C,  whose  taste  for  mechanical  and  philosophical  studies 

biuiBes.  jjj^j^  induced  Dr.  Franklin  to  persuade  him  to  come  to 
America.  VHiile  pursuing  his  favorite  speculations  in  mechanics, 
mineralogy,  and  the  uses  of  Iron,  a  permanent  bridge  over  the  Schuyl- 
kill was  proposed,  to  be  built  without  piers,  and  Paine  offered  to  eon- 
suruct  an  Iron  bridge,  with  a  single  arch  of  four  hundred  feet  span.  It 
was  not  then  deemed  practicable.  Notwithstanding  that  casting 
could  be  done  cheaper  and  with  better  iron  than  in  England,  plans  for 
an  iron  superstructure  on  stone  piers,  prepared  by  Mr.  Weston,  an 
English  engineer,  were  also  thought  too  hazardous,  and  the  present 
covered  bridge  on  Market  street,  then  regai'ded  as  a  structure  of  no 
ordinary  kind,  wa:.  c-ected  instead.  Paine,  however,  immediately  re- 
newed his  proposals  in  France  and  England,  and  in  one  or  both  coun- 


boen  in  use   in  Mncsni'liusotls  ginoo  1714.  Hut  tlio  "lawfulness  and  advonlngcs"  nf  in- 

I'ho   Eiiiscopnl   eliuioli   »t  Salem   had   ono  Blruraentttl  music  were  also  quest iotied   iti 

made  by  John  Cliirlte  i»  174.1,  and  iinollicr  a  publication  i««uod  there  in  1771. — /'*.'('• 

bjr  Thomas  Juhuston,  of  Uoston,  in  1704.  i4nita<«. 


ra 


^  COLONIAL  INDtSTKY   IN   METALS. 

.Hes  .c«Uyc.rr«  U  into  exeo..io»     '"^tr  ^^  :";,::lr' 
struction,  will  probably  remain  unrivalled. 


were  mentioned  by 
D  a  coupliinentary 
1  of  the  bridge  over 
ut  of  the  materials 
le  attempt  leads  us 
hich,  as  regards  its 
nployed  in  its  con- 


CHAPTER   XVIIl. 

OOLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS — CONTINUKD.  EAHLY  EFFORTS  IN  THK 
SOUTHERN  COLONIES,  WITH  A  GENERAL  SUMMARY  OP  LEGISLATION 
RESPECTING     IRON,     TA3LES     OF     COLONIAL     IMPORTS     AND     EXPORTS, 

ETC. 


DELAWARE.^Some  early  Iron-works  were  built  within  the  present 
territory  of  Delaware  before  its  erection  into  an  independent  State. 
They  were  principally  for  smelting  the  bog  ores  which  are  deposited  iu 
several  places  in  the  sand  and  clay  of  Tertiary  age  in  all  the  Atlantic 
States. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  Governor  Keith,  of  Pennsylvania,  was 

the  proprietor  of  Iron-works  in  Newcastle  County  as  early  as  1726,  but 

we  are  unable  to  say  where  these  works  were  situated.     Thev 

Early  Froa-  i     ,  i  it  t 

works  in  Were  probably  at  Newcastle,  the  oldest  town  in  the  State,  or 
on  the  White  Clay  Creek  or  its  branches,  near  the  headwaters 
of  which,  at  Iron  Hill,  is  a  mass  of  ferruginous  clay,  sand,  and  quartz, 
yielding  nodular  and  ochreous  iron  ore. 

A  rolling  and  slitting  mill  was  erected  in  the  county  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century,  when  Wilmington  was  already  one  of  the  most 
active  centres  of  several  branches  of  iirdustry  in  the  Union.  The  iron- 
manufactures  of  the  County  have  long  given  employment  to  a  large 
amount  of  capital ;  and  its  rolling-mills  and  other  large  works  are  widely 
known. 

In  Sussex  County  also,  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  State,  where 
bog  ore  in  the  shape  of  a  very  pure  hydrate,  yielding  from  55  to  66  per 
cent,  of  iron,  exists  in  large  beds  in  the  vicinity  of  Georgetown,  and  on 
the  branches  of  the  Nanticoke  and  Indian  rivers,  the  manufacture  of 
iron  and  castings  was  carried  on  before  the  Revolution  to  a  considerable 
extent.  The  compact  hydrated  peroxyd  of  some  of  these  beds  has, 
since  the  early  part  of  this  century,  been  raised  in  quantities  for  ex- 
portation, and  the  local  production  of  Iron  is  consequently  less  than  it 
might  have  been 

(583) 


58^  COLONIAL  INDUSTllY   IN    METALS. 

Iron  ores  of    I  o„mf.  ore    JS    alSO    mCt  Willi    JU    i  "" 

Mary>ana.     iron  ovc.     ^^ »'«    •^™^/' „  '  '  ,„a  the  more  Valuable  deposU. 
County  on  tnc  Western  Shore.     ^^'''^  limits  of  tbe  Tertiary 

,f  brown  oxyd  and  carbonate  -^  ^^f  ^^^J^^'.rations  in  iron  which 

formation,  furnished  -^^-'^^^ ^"'•J  ^^\Ve  Ipa'^'^-  ^'  ^«'  ^°^"'" 
first  made   England  acquainted  with    Ue  <='^P  ^^undel, 

produce    iron    in    any   ^^^^^j::^^.^^^  ^^  .^^ 

Baltimore,  and  mo.t  of  the  <=«"'"  ar-illaceous  ore,  in  nodular, 

South  mountain  ridge,  -u  am  deposU  ^J  >;  ,,,  ,,,Hies  lined 
kidney-shaped,  and  concreionay  --^'^f^^^^^^  ^,  ,,,,,  u  Harford, 
with  brown  oxyd  and  yielding  40  to  50  P     -  ^^^^^^^^  ,^,,  ,f 

Carroll,  Frederick,  and  J^^f^^^^^lJ^^  wrought  and  make  ex- 
brown  hematite,  some  ^J^^^  ^.^d  'county.  and  some  other 
cellent  bar-iron.     At  Deer  Creek,  m  ^,^f,,,tory,  is  smelted  by 

localities,  titaniferous  iron  «>■«;  ^J^  J' ^^^^     .,^,  ^  product  of  good 

.annxture  with  more    .^-^^l^^'::^'   ,,7 New  Jersey  are  frequently 
,p,,lity.     As  a  -rreetive  the  bg  ores  .^.^.^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^ 

o\>tained  in  exchaiige    o^J^^]:  ^.ntgomery  County  and  else- 

State.     Chrome  ^^^^^f'  "      .^^  p,,d,,.ick  County. 

where,  and  specular  oxyd  ot  '"'^y  ^^^  f^el  contiguous  to 

The  facilities  afforded  by  ^^  /^[^  ^^^'^  ^e  early  remarked  by  the 
water-carriage  for  the  '-'^f  ^"^^^  .l^e't  who  described  this  section 
English  settlers  of  Marylan        ^  ai.a.^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^ 

of  the  country  m  1^^«'  ""j' .  .^  ^^^j^g  (the  deposits  being  superficia  ) 
.aving  to  the  i^on-manuf.c  urn  .urn  ,^  ^^^      ^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^ 

aud  in  land-carnage  at  ^^""^  P^";_^^^^^^^  ^^^  timber  floated  down  the 
would  be  saved  in  fuel,  by  ^  "^  jnft  wood  ^  .^  ^^   ^^^_  _^^,. 

rivers,  and  thus  t^e/abor  of  aeb  ™-  w^^^^  J^^^  ^^^^  ,ot,  however, 
Jien.  Iron  being  va  «^f  ^^  ^^f^^  P;j  ^he  legislature,  in  1681.  endeav- 
very  early  introduced  in  o  ^^''^^^^'^^  ,^\^,  channel,  and  among 

ored  to  turn  the  industry  of  '^^^^IZ^  laying  a  duty  on  the  expor- 
^     other  laws  enacted  for  the  1-;  «;  J ^^  ^  j,;  !,  .miths.     The  manu- 

tationof  old  i-".-^«"^^^^;;;;'\rn  eom-nced  not  many  years 

facture   of  Iron  appears   to  have 

after.  ^^^    .     „    .  ,„™„ies  of  Iron  were  received  in  Eng- 

About  the  year  HIS  the  fi  st  b-^^p;  ^  j^  ^he  latter  Province, 

land  from  Maryland  and  ^ ''^S^^!'^-  ..,f  ,  ,ery  good 

oommence.  „^^^.^  ,,„  to  Audcrsou,  pig  and  bar  iron 

mentotiha  accora  iig  I"  *„  K„  mnrle  about  the  year  17 13-     ^"^ 


MARYLAND.      FORGES   AND   ROLMNO-MILL. 


585 


iiorc  of  Maryland, 
if  and  Ihe  greater 
re  deposits  of  bog 

in  Prince  George 
re  valuable  deposits 
nits  of  tbe  Tertiary 
ktions  in  iron  wbifli 
ies  of  her  Colonies 
rd,  Anne  Arundel, 
Chesapeake  and  the 
jous  ore,  in  nodular, 
iiining  cavities  lined 
;  Iron.  In  Ilarford, 
ilso  valuable  beds  of 
•ought  and  make  ex- 
luty,  and  some  other 
factory,  is  smelted  by 
s  a  product  of  good 
Jersey  are  frequently 

primitive  ores  of  the 
nery  County  and  else- 

iiuty. 

and  fuel  contiguous  to 
early  remarked  by  the 
described  this  section 
Albion,  estimated  the 
posits  being  superficial) 
Another  five  pounds 
timber  floated  down  the 
yield  him  58.  lOd.  per 
arts  were  not,  however, 
lature,  in  1681,  endeav- 
at  channel,  and  among 
ng  a  duty  on  the  expor- 
of  smiths.     The  manu- 
lenced  not  many  years 

in  were  received  in  Eng- 
In  the  latter  Province, 
,r  iron  "of  a  very  good 
out  the  year  1715.  But 
ed  of  a  forge  for  bar-iron, 


and  the  exports  of  the  two  Provinces  are  classed  together,  it  is  doubtful 
wliich  had  the  precedence  in  the  permanent  establishment  of  the  manu- 
facture. 

In  1719,  however,  in  consequence  of  the  encouragement  given  by  Act 
of  Parliament  in  that  year  to  the  importation  of  pig-iron  from  the 
Kariy  Colonlcs,  the  legislature  of  Maryland  passed  an  Act,  author- 

'*"''■  izing  100  acres  of  land  to  be  laid  oDf  to  any  who  would  set  up 

furnaces  and  forges  In  the  Province.'  This  measure  wag  followed  by 
the  erection  of  eight  funuices  and  nine  forges  during  the  next  thirty 
years ;'  and  large  quantities  of  wood  land  were  taken  up  on  the  Western 
Shore  by  the  owners.  For  the  encouragement  of  industry  about  this 
time  (1721),  execution  ui)on  judgments  was  suspended  for  a  limited 
period  for  the  benefit  of  the  agricultural  classes ;  and  soon  after,  the 
workmen  at  furnaces,  forges,  and  mills  were  exempted  from  labor  upon 
the  highways,  which  at  the  time  were  kept  in  repair  by  assessment  of 
the  labor  of  taxable  inhabitants. 

Among  the  earliest  forges  in  Maryland  of  which  we  find  any  mention, 
was  the  Principio  forge  at  the  head  of  the  Bay,  two  or  thrpe  miles  east 
I'riDcipio  ^f  ^'i<^  Susquehanna,  in  Cecil  County.  This  was  in  operation 
forge.  previous  to   1722.     In   1730,  the  Principio  Works  were  the 

property  of  John  Ireland  and  Company,  principally  Englishmen.  They 
were  managed  by  Mr.  Ireland,  who  also  superintended  a  furnace  on  a 
branch  of  the  Potomac  in  Virginia,  which  was  owned  by  him  in  common 
with  several  persons  in  England,  and  was  conducted  with  enterprise  and 
skill.  The  Iron  from  that  and  other  furnaces  in  Virginia,  wliich  then 
had  no  forge,  was  converted  into  excellent  bar-iron  at  the  Principio 
forge.  The  Principio  hot-blast  charcoal  furnace  of  the  Messrs.  Whit- 
aker,  of  Philadelphia,  stands  on  or  near  the  site.  It  employs  ore  from 
the  neighboring  counties  of  Maryland  and  Delaware.  A  body  of  ore, 
laid  down  in  the  early  map  of  Herman  Moll  as  Iron  Hill,  near  the  Mary- 
land line,  in  Newcastle  County,  probably  supplied  ore  to  the  ancient 
forge.  Some  good  ore  has  been  obtained  for  these  works  near  North- 
east, and  a  ferruginous  quartz  or  jasper,  too  flinty  for  use,  exists  near 
KoHing-  Elkton.  On  Big  Elk  river,  five  miles  north  of  Elkton,  where 
"""•  the  Elk  rolling-mill  of  Parke  Smith  &  Co.  was  built  in  1810, 

a  rolling-mill  was  in  operation  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  It  is 
supposed  to  have  been  connected  with  copper-works.  Such  works  were 
erected  in  the  Colony  as  early  as  1742,  in  which  year  their  proprietor. 
Mr.  John  Digges,  of  Baltimore  County,  was  patronized  by  the  legisla- 


■issss^rte**""""* 


(1)  GMffitli'fl  Sketches  of  the  Early  Uis- 
tory  of  Maryland. 


(2)  McSlicrry's  Hist.  Maryland. 


58G 


COLONIAL   INDLSTBY    IN   METALS. 


laturo,  whicli  released  his  workmen  from  taxes,  highway  labor,  and 
traiuings.  Mr.  Digges  held,  under  a  title  from  the  proprietor  of  Mary- 
land, an  estate  on  the  Coiiewugo  of  nearly  7,000  acres  of  land,  over 
which  Tenusylvania  also  claimed  jurisdiction ;  and  when  the  survey  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  in  17G8,  terminated  the  long  and  violent  dis 
putes  between  the  proprietaries  of  the  two  Provinces  respecting  the 
boundary,  "  Digges'  Manor"  fell  within  the  last  named,  and  included  the 
present  site  of  Hanover,  in  York  County.  His  copper-works  were  prob- 
ably near  the  borders  and  possibly  in  Cecil  County,  although  copper  u 
found  on  the  Monocacy,  in  Frederick  County,  south  of  the  State  line. 
The  J'-on  rolling-mills  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State  are  now 
numerous  and  extensive. 

In  Baltimore  County,  which  originally  included  the  rich  mineral  region 
of  Harford,  the  manufacture  of  Iron  from  the  ample  deposits  along  the 
Patapsco,  on  both  sides,  from  the  Elk  ridge  to  Deep  Creek  in 
coX^ud  Anne  Arundel,  was  early  commenced.     It  was  one  of  the 
'*""■  earliest  enterprises  attempted  on  the  present  site  of  the  com- 

mercial capital  of  the  State,  where  it  is  now  a  flourishing  industry. 
Soon  after  the  year  1723,  and  previous  to  the  founding  of  the  city, 
according  to  its  annalist,'  Messrs.  Carroll,  Tasker,  and  others,  under  the 
i\ame  of  "  The  Baltimore  Company,"  erected  a  furnace  at  the  mouth  of 
Gwinn's  Falls,  and  a  forge  on  Jones'  Falls,  at  the  site  occupied  one 
hundred  years  after  by  the  mill  of  General  Strieker.  The  land  on  which 
the  furnace  and  ore  were,  belonged  to  Mr.  John  Moale,  an  English 
merchant,  and  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  who  carried  on 
business  extensively  at  the  Point.  An  application  was  made  to  him  by 
the  inhabitants  for  a  grant  of  land  for  a  town  at  Gwinn's  Falls,  and  a 
bill  for  that  purpose  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  in  his  absence.  But 
fortunately  for  the  future  mercantile  interests  of  the  town,  the  measure 
wa»  defeated  by  Mr.  Moale,  who,  fearing  the  loss  of  revenue  from  the 
ore,  or  jealous  of  a  transfer  of  business  to  that  place,  hastened  to  his 
post  and  opposed  the  bill.  A  more  eligible  site  at  Coles  Harbor  on  the 
basin  was,  in  1729,  purchased  of  the  heirs  of  Mr.  Carroll,  and  the  town 
laid  oflf  in  the  following  January.  The  iron  ore  of  the  abandoned  site 
became  a  source  of  much  profit  to  the  owner  during  his  lifetime,  though 
less  profitable  to  his  heirs  than  town  lots  would  have  been. 

The  abundance  of  stone,  iron  ore,  limestone,  timber,  and  water-power, 
soon  attracted  population  and  enterprise  to  the  place,  and  after  the 
Revolution  few  towns  grew  more  rapidly  than  Baltimore.  The  water 
privileges  on  the  Patapsco,  Back  river.  Gunpowder,  and  other  streams 


(1)  Griffilli's  AnnaU  of  Baltimore. 


MAIIYLAXD.      RIDGELY's  AND   HOWAIID's   WOUKS. 


587 


ay  labor,  and 
etor  of  Marj- 
of  laud,  ovt't 
the  survey  of 
id  viulcut  Uifi 
respecting  the 
d  included  the 
rks  were  prob- 
ugh  copper  is 
Lhe  State  line. 
State  are  now 

mineral  region 
}sits  along  the 
Deep  Creek  in 
IS  one  of  the 
te  of  the  com- 
bing industry, 
g  of  the  city, 
liers,  under  the 
t  the  mouth  of 
occupied  one 
land  on  which 
le,  an  English 
'ho  carried  on 
aade  to  him  by 
's  Falls,  and  a 
3  absence.  But 
n,  the  measure 
renue  from  the 
astened  to  his 
Harbor  on  the 
I,  and  the  town 
abandoned  site 
[fetime,  though 

3. 

d  water-power, 
,  and  after  the 
re.  The  water 
i  other  streams 


were  soon  occui)ied    by  Iron-works  and  other    mills,  whose  product 
swelled  the  export  trndn  of  the  city.     At  the  head  of  Uack  river,  a  few 
miles  north  by  east  from  the  city,  on  the  Kingsbury  lands,  purcLased  in 
1'734  by  Colonel  Sheridine,  a  furnace  wa.v  afterward  erected.     Tatapisco 
furnace,  on  the  south  side  of  the  basin,  has  been  abandoned  some  time. 
A^  slitting-mill  was  established  in  or  near  the  town  in  1778  by  Mr. 
"Whetcroft.     About  the  same  time  a  nail  factory  was  set  up  there  by 
Mr.  George  Matthews,  and  another  by  Mr.  Richardson  Stewart,  and  ti 
card  factory  Ijy  Mr.  McCabe.     Cannon  were  cast  in   1780  at  a  furnace 
called   Northampton,  probably  the  same  as  Hampton  furnace,  ten  miles 
west  of  Baltimore,  which  is  said  to  have  run  seventy  years  upon  a  single 
deposit  of  brown  ore  in  the   neigliborhood,  contiguous  to  the  primary 
RidKeiy-H     limestone.     There  was  an  early  furnace,  belonging  to  Charles 
irou-works.  Rijgpiy,  Esq.,  OH  the  falls  of  the  Great  Gunpowder,  in  the 
same  county,  which  produced  superior  Iron  from  the  same  kind  of  ore. 
The  Avalon  Iron-works,  near  the  Relay  House,  now  one  of  the  oldest 
in  the  State,  is  said  to  have  been  built  over  sixty  years  ago  by  the  Dor- 
seys,  and  has  been  lately  rebuilt.    An  old  nail  factory  stood  near  it.    Aa 
air-furnace  was  built  on  the  south  side  of  llie  basin  in  Baltimore,  about 
the  same  time,  by  John  Morton,  and  another,  ten  years  after,  in  Calvert 
street  by  William  Baker.     Four  furnaces  and  two  forges  were  erected 
and  in  operation  within  the  county  before  the  close  of  the  last  ceniuiy, 
which  manufactured  pig  and  bar  iron,  hollow-ware,  and  other  castings 
-xtensively. 

In  Anne  Arundel  County,  two  furnaces  and  two  forges  were  erected 
in  the  sarce  time.  At  Elk  Ridge  Landing,  seven  or  eight  miles  from 
Howard's  Baltimore,  on  the  Washington  railroad,  where  a  large  iron 
tuiiug-forge.  business  is  now  done,  Dr.  Howard  owned  a  tilting-forge  in 
1783.  The  site  of  the  old  Howard  furnace  at  that  place  is  now  occu- 
pied by  the  steam  and  water  hot-blast  charcoal  furnace  of  the  Great 
Falls  Iron  Company,  producing  forge-iron  in  large  quantity.  Curtis' 
Creek  furnace,  eight  miles  southeast  of  Baltimore,  is  very  old  and  in 
ruins ;  and  a  puddling  furnace  on  the  Little  Patuxent,  three  miles  below 
Annapolis,  was  destroyed  many  years  ago. 

On  Deer  Creek,  in  Harford  County,  a  forge  and  slitting-mill  was  also 
built  in  the  last  century.  The  titaniferous  ore  which  occurs  in  talc  and 
Harford  Serpentine  rocks  in  that  neighborhood,  requires  more  fusible 
couaty.  Qj.gg  ^^  jjg  mjxgj  ^j^jj  jj.^  but  affords  an  excellent  Iron.  At 
Joppa  on  the  Little  Gunpowder,  and  near  Abington  on  Bush  river,  are 
large  deposits  of  brown  hematite,  for  smelting  which  works  were  early 
erected.  Hone  ore  of  the  best  quality  is  raised  on  Bush  river,  and  pro- 
duces castings  of  great  strength. 


6ft 


COI.ONIAI.   INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 


Copper. 


The  several  ridges  of  the  South  Mountain  Range,  througliout  the 
counties  of  Montgomery,  Carroll,  Frederiek,  and  Washington,  are  highly 
„  .  . .  metalliferous,  and  in  several  places  furnished  magnetic  u'on  ore 
'•'""'■  and  brown  hematite  for  furnaces  b^^ore  the  Revolution.     iNear 

SykesviUe,  and  at  several  points  further  north  in  Carroll  County,  mag- 
netic ore  occurs  in  connection  with  the  sulphuret  of  copper.  Lead  was 
also  discovered  many  years  ago  near  Unionville.  But  the  most  remark- 
able deposit  is  one  of  brown  hematite  or  liraonite  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Point  of  Rocks,  on  the  Potomac,  in  Frederick  County.  It  extends  back 
along  the  Cotocktin  mountain,  und  is  supposed  to  cover  an 
extensive  vein  of  copper  ore,  so  generally  met  with  in  that 
range  of  hills.  The  iron  ores  here  embrace  the  red  and  brown  hema- 
tites in  their  compact  and  pulverulent  forms,  the  argillaceous  and  specu- 
lar oxyds,  pipe  ore,  the  phosphate,  and  other  varieties  separate  and 
mixed.  In  some  places  these  are  strongly  impregnated  with  zinc  and 
manganese.  They,  however,  yield  a  good  metal,  and  near  the  places 
above  named  on  the  Monocacy  and  its  branches,  brown  iron  ore  was 
once  mined  to  considerable  extent. 

Several  furnaces  and  forges  were  built  in  the  last  century  in  Washing- 
ton County.     The  proximity  of  ore,  limestone,  wood,  rnd  water-power 
at  the  western  base  of  the  South   Mountain  invited  to  the 

Anilelam  ,    i  i- 

furuiicea.  manufacture  of  Iron,  and  much  pig  and  b.ir  metal,  castings, 
etc.,  for  the  supply  of  the  fertile  and  well-cultivated  Conecocheague 
Valley  and  western  counties  were  produced.  Three  forges  were  l)uilt 
on  Antietam  Creek,  which  also  supplied  povt-cr  to  fourteen  merchant 
flouring-mills  before  the  close  of  tlie  century.  Antietam  furnace,  at  its 
junction  with  the  Potomac,  seven  n.iL>s  above  Harper's  Ferry,  was  built 
as  much  as  a  ■  entury  since.  It  was  the  only  one  of  the  old  ones  in 
operation  twenty  years  ago.  It  obtained  ore  from  both  sides  of  the 
river  between  it  and  tlie  Ferry.  Its  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  hot- 
blast  charcoal  and  coke  furnace  of  the  same  name.  Mount  Etna  furnace, 
on  the  same  stream,  near  Hagerstown,  cast  cannon  for  the 
cl'lutm'"'*  army  during  the  Revolution,  a  specimen  of  which  is  preserved 
furnace.  ^^  Frcuericktowii.  Cotocktin  furnace,  three  miles  from  Mc- 
chanlcstown,  on  the  Monocacy,  in  Frederick  County,  was  built  in  1774, 
rebuilt  in  1787,  and  again  more  recently,  and  is  still  running  upon  ore 
raised  in  its  neighliorhood. 

The  vigorous  preparations  which  were  everywhere  made  in  the  summer 
and  autumn  of  177C  to  provide  the  sinews  of  war,  were  nowhere  more 
apparent  than  in  the  furnaces  and  gun-shops  throughout  tiie  country. 
At  the  time  the  bill  was  before  Parliament,  in  1750,  to  restrain  the  use 
of  slitting,  plating,  and  steel  mills  in  the  Colonies,  which  was  one  of  the 


MAltVLAND.      lUON-WOUKS   AND   CANNON-FOUNDEPJES. 


589 


e,  tlirongliout  the 
linglon,  are  highly 
magnetic  u'on  ore 
ilevolution.  Near 
roll  County,  mag- 
opper.  Lead  was 
I  the  most  remark- 
the  vicinity  of  the 
r.  It  extends  back 
poaed  to  cover  an 
met  with  in  that 
and  brown  hcma- 
llaceous  and  specn- 
eties  separate  and 
ated  with  zinc  and 
d  near  the  places 
rown  iron  ore  was 

sntury  in  Washing- 
1,  ond  water-power 
ain  invited  to  the 
».ir  metal,  castings, 
ed  Conecocheague 
3  forges  were  built 

fourteen  merchant 
jtam  furnace,  at  its 
;r's  Ferry,  was  built 
of  the  old  ones  in 
I  both  sides  of  the 
cupied  by  the  hot- 
lount  Etna  furnace, 
ist  cannon  for  the 

which  is  preserved 
eo  miles  from  Mc- 

was  built  in  1774, 

running  upon  ore 

made  in  the  summer 
»rcro  nowhere  more 
ighont  tiie  country. 
,  to  restrain  the  use 
hich  was  one  of  the 


acts  for  whicli  the  latter  were  about  to  seek  redress,  there  had  been 
erected  in  Maryland,  according  to  the  report  made  by  the  Governor  and 
i™.«„rk.  Council  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  eight  furnaces  and  nine  forges. 
Virginia  and  iMaryland  together  at  that  time  exported  yearly 
to  England  over  two  tho-isand  five  hundred  tons  of  pig-iron.  When  the 
war  commenced,  the  number  had  p.obably  somewhat  increased.  There 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  many  furnaces  in  a  condition  to  cast 
cannon,  for  which  an  imperative  necessity  had  suddenly  arisen. 

Messrs.  Daniel   &   Samuel  Hughes  were  tlie  proprietors  of  an  air- 
furnace  in  Frederick  County.     On  the  1st  of  July,  177C,  the  Maryland 
Cannon-       Convention  authorized  the  Council  of  Safety  to  lend  the  pro- 
HuKhcV."'-    P"*^^<^''s  for-ni'ie  months  the  sum  of  two  thousand  pounds,  com- 
mon money,  u  encourage  them  "to  prosecute  their  canron- 
foundery  with  spirit  and  diligence."     They  had  then  nearly  completed 
a  contract  for  casting  cannon  for  the  State,  and  were,  a  few  days  after 
introduced  to  the  Continental  Congress  by  a  letter  from  the  Convention, 
which  states  that  the  Messrs.  Hughes  had  been  at  much  expense  in 
fitting  up  their  works.     Although  their  first  guns  did  not  stand  the 
proof,  the  foundery  was  then  in  condition  to  make  very  good  oi  es  in 
greater  number  than  the  Province  would  probably  require.     They  pro- 
posed to  enlarge  their  works  if  Congress  would  take  all  the  guns  they 
could  make  during  the  next  year.     A  contract  was  accordingly  made 
with  them  for  one  thousand  tons  of  cannon,  toward  which  $8,000  were 
advanced.     In  the  course  of  the  same  year,  the  people  of  Alexandria, 
Virginia,  applied  to  Congress  for  permission  to  purchase  cannon  at  the 
Messrs.  Hughes'  furnace,  stating  that  they  were  "  the  only  persons  in  this 
part  of  tiie  continent  to  be  depended  on  for  cannon."   Congress  promised 
compliance  so  soon  as  its  own  pressing  wants  were  supplied.'     In  May, 
1777,  Congress  by  resolution  allowed  them  $22^  per  ton,  in  addition  to 
the  sum  mentioned  in  the  contract. 

General  Thomas  Jolinsou  and  his  brother  were  also  at  this  time  the 
proprietors  of  a  furnace  in  Frederi^ktown.  In  answer  to  application 
john.on'.  f"'"'"  t'lc  Provincial  Council,  in  July,  for  cannon,  he  staled 
furu»««.  ^     ^iiiij  j||^,.j.  c,,^,,,^^.^  ^,^^  ji^j.  j,j^,|j  .|^  ,^j^^^^^  1^^^^  ^^^^^  intended  to 

get  it  in  readiness  to  cast  such  cannon  and  swivels  as  were  wanted,  and 
if  they  succeeded  in  making  good  puns  they  wouM  deliver  them  at'uai- 
timore  for  forty  pounds  per  ton,  after  tiiey  liad  been  proved  at  the 
works  at  the  i)ublic  'xpense.  They  had  on  hand  and  could  .siip|dy  of 
th.Mr  manufacture  some  pots,  kettles,  and  Dutch  ovens.  He  also  stated 
that  Mr.  Butler  was  getting  his  furnace  into  blast  with  all  diligence. 

(1)  Amcrii'ftn  Arcliivos,  4th  Series,  v..l.  vl.  nU4;  5lli  .''orie-,  vol.  I.  519,  If.gT. 


jgQ  COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 

'"sL.  cnnon  .nd  ™,v*  .e,.  0I.0  ordered  in  ■>*■  "'«;,;„7„ 

..,.,,,._-;.._..  «^^^^^^^ 

KiaKeiy.     bounty.      in«  i  s  f  j,.  ^.^g  pur- 

furuai.       be  the  best  in  tlie  State  at  that  time,  ana  so 

•" ""  r- ::.  cM'r«f.^  err  srAfr^B^s 

KJ;..    S  ;rLr  S  in  rMWdc,pW.,proUUyon  .ccounto 

.„e  demand  fo^  '-"^^-""-^V^rrt'";:.,       .  -e" 
export  duty  of  3s.  M.  a  ton  on  pig,  and  158.  on  bar 
was  laid  by  the  Assembly  of  Maryland  ^^ 

fr»,or«  nrft  few  reliable  statistics  either  of  the  numoer  or  piu 

fo  Is  a  the  extent  to  which  the  manufacture  had  been  earned  in  Mary- 
nd      Tls  was  perhaps  exclusive  of  furnaces  for  pig-iron  and  castings, 
wuth  were  nTmJrons  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.     Iron- 
works  then  existed  'n  six  counties  in  the  State.  ,   „„„  tn  hn 

It  wa  not  until  about  that  time  that  furnaces  and  forges  bognn  to  be 
erected  nllghauy  County,  near  Cumberland.     This  county  now  con- 
pVises  the  richest  mineral  and   iron  producing  region  m  the 
w.«t.rn      r"^*'^  ^""^  .     ^„_t:„uitv  of  vast  bodics  of  carbonate 

Maryuud.    gtato,  ou  accouut  of  the  contiguity  oi  vu,  t  ,„„iprlie 

and  fossilifcrous  iron  ore  to  the  semi-bituminous  coal  stra  a  which  unde  e 
th  m  The  Chesupeuke  and  Ohio  Cannl  and  the  Baltimore  and  Oln^ 
R  Lad  whch  are  among  the  most  important  internal  unproveme^ 
hi  le  Uni""  have  opened  the  coal  and  iron  of  this  section  of  country 
Zl  ^L  of  thl  world,  and  rendered  them  a  p..nc,pal  source  of 

^t^gr^ ': ':::ing  industry  of  varied  character  has  been  c.a.d  on 
tho  wostorn  borders  of  the  State,  and  largo  quantities  of  coal  and  iron 
Iheret^^iorted  Kast  and  West.     Holling-mills  and  furnaces  are  now 

U)  Am«;«n  ArchlTC.  6lh  Ser..  v>,l.  1.  491.  114,  vol.  iU.  !«?.  vol.  I.  361. 


MARYLAND.       MT.  SAVAGE    WORKS — GUN-SIIOPS. 


691 


steamboat  were 
linson,  ten  years 

uly,  1776,  from 
•ks  in  Baltimore 
was  reported  to 
ne  of  it  was  pur- 
;iO  per  ton.  Tlie 
Saltimore,  we  be- 
(J  that  it  blowed 
aonths  to  prepare 
were  also  cast  by 

olution,  as  quoted 
ron  £8,  exchange 
aperin  Baltimore 
bly  on  account  of 
mia.  In  1780  an 
iron,  real  money, 

iber  or  product  of 
The  Abbe  llaynal, 
enteen  or  eighteen 
L'n  carried  in  Mary- 
[T-iron  and  castings, 
ith  century.     Iron- 
forges  began  to  be 
lis  county  now  com- 
jcing  region  in  the 
bodies  of  carbonate 
strata  which  underlie 
[Jaltinjoro  and  Ohio 
ternal  improvements 
is  section  of  country 
piincipal  source  of 

p  has  been  created  on 
tics  of  coal  and  iron 
nd  furnaces  arc  now 

,1.162?;  vol.  1.  Ml. 


numerous  in  the  county.  The  Mount  Savage  Iron  Company's  Works, 
eight  or  nine  miles  west  of  Cumberland,  in  the  Frostburg  coal  basin, 
Mt  Savage  Consisting  of  three  very  large  steam  hot-blast  coke  furnaces, 
Wurks.  j^^j  j^  rolling-mill  with  twenty-seven  furnaces,  and  two  trains 
of  rolls  driven  by  steam — is  one  of  the  great  works  of  the  country. 
It  is  a  creation  of  the  railroad  enterprises  of  1839,  and  has  at  times  cm- 
ployed  several  thousand  persons  in  its  various  operations.  Tlie  coal 
in  its  neighborhood,  as  that  of  the  Parker  vein  on  George's  Creek,  is 
for  many  manufacturing  purposes  considered  superior  to  any  mined  in 
the  United  States. 

Maryland,  in  common  with  the  other  United  Colonies,  extended  a 
general  encouragement  to  manufactures  during  the  disputes  with  Great 
Britain.  In  addition  to  the  casting  of  cannon,  the  manufacture  of 
small  arms  and  ammunition  received  the  earliest  and  most  constant 
attention. 

In  August,  1775,  a  Committee  of  the  Maryland  Convention  ap- 
pointed to  inquire  into  the  practicability  of  establishing  a  manufactory 
MHiiuracturo  ^^  '^^^^  '"  ^hc  I'rovincc,  and  the  expense  and  best  means  of 
offlre-aiin«.  jjarryiug  it  into  execution,  reported  against  the  scheme  as  in- 
volving too  much  expense  and  delay  for  the  exigencies  of  the  times. 
They  recommended  instead  that  proper  persons  be  appointed  in  each 
c  jnty  to  contract  with  gunsmiths,  so  as  to  engage  all  acquainted  in 
any  way  with  the  business  in  the  immediate  manufacture  of  arms,  and 
that  money  bo  advanced  to  them  to  enable  them  to  fulfdl  thei-  contracts 
o„„.,,,„p,,„with  expeditioQ.  Tliey  reported  twelve  gunsmith-shops  then 
Maryimid.  j,j  ^^q  PfovincB,  of  which  tlirco  were  in  Baltimore  town ;  one 
in  Georgetown ;  four  in  Frcdericktown  ;  one  near  Fredericktovvti :  two  in 
Ilagerstown,  and  one  in  Jerusalem  town.  Each  of  those  shops,  they 
were  iufnned,  could  in  one  month  complete  twenty  substantial  mus- 
kets (42  inches  in  kngtii,  ;^  inch  clear  in  the  bore,  ^  inch  in  diameter 
at  the  breech,  and  I  of  an  inch  at  the  muzzle),  with  steel  rammers,  and 
l)ayonets  20  inches  in  lengtli,  including  the  stock.  The  price  of  a  mus- 
ket with  its  bayonet  would  be  about  £4,  and  the  accoutrements  about 
20«.  By  this  plan  they  could  have  240  mu.«kets  furnished  monthly  at 
about  £5  each.  There  were  also  some  gunsniith.<?  on  the  Eastern  Shore, 
and  the  number  would  jirobably  be  much  increased  by  the  encourage- 
ment  given,  llilles  could  also  be  had,  it  was  8up[»osed,  if  iipcessary 
(which  were  recommended  to  be  3  feet  4  inches  in  length,  and  h  inch 
lore),  and  would  cost  about  £5  each.  Swords  and  tomahawks,  they 
liolicvcd,  might  also  be  mn<le  in  the  Province.  The  word  "  Maryland" 
should  be  stamped  on  the  gun-barrels, 


502 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 


Persons  were  accordingly  appointed  in  Frederick  and  several  other 
counties  to  malie  contracts  for  muslsets  to  be  made  according  to  a  pre- 
hcribed  form,  with  accoutrements,'  at  a  price  not  exceeding  $105  each  m 
bills  of  credit.  An  advertisement  was  inserted  in  the  Maryland 
Gazette  on  31st  August,  by  the  Council  of  Safety,  otfering  liberal  en- 
couragement to  any  who  would  engage  in  the  manufacture  of  fire-arms, 
or  erect  a  gunpowder-mill  near  lialtimore,  or  salt  or  saltpetre  works 
elsewhere,  and  inviting  proposals  for  that  purpose. 

Isaac  Harris  was  ordered  to  receive  $4§  iu  bills  of  credit  for  every 
proved  musket-barrel  he  should  deliver  according  to  a  sample  furnished 
by  him. 

In  October,  William  Whetcroft,  of  Annapolis,  was  encouraged  by  the 
Council  to  import  in  the  ensuing  spring  a  sufficient  number  of  workmen 
to  make  and  deliver  every  week  during  the  next  two  years  fifty  complete 
muskets,  which  the  public  would  agree  to  take  at  £i  each,  common 
money.  In  case  the  diiferences  with  Great  Britain  were  brought  to  a 
close  before  that,  they  would  compensate  him  for  his  expense  and  trouble. 
He  was  allowed  to  use  imported  locks  of  not  less  thtn  Is.  each,  prime 
cost,  for  the  first  800  stand. 

In  December,  the  Convention  resolved  to  establish  a  gun-lock  manu- 
factory at  Fredericktown  or  its  vicinity,  for  which  it  api)ropriated  twelve 
oun-imk  hundred  pounds,  common  money,  and  authorized  one  dollar 
fHriory.  ^-g  g(^_)  iQ  ije  paid  for  each  musket-lock  made  thereat.  A 
committee  appointed  to  receive  proposals  for  the  establishment  of  manu- 
factories about  the  same  time,  reported  in  favor  of  several  appropria- 
tions, including  £1,000  for  a  powder-mill,  and  £500  to  Frederick  County 
and  £300  to  each  of  the  other  counties  for  linen  and  woolen  manufac- 
tories. A  loan  of  £200  was  recommended  and  granted  for  one  year  to 
Frederick  Gaunt,  who  proposed  to  supply  the  Province  with  lead  from 
two  veins  of  lead  ore  which  he  had  discovered  between  Fredericktown 
and  the  Cotoektin  mountains. 

Several  proposals  had  been  mad'  to  tlie  committee  for  the  erection 
of  a  sheeting  and  slitting  mill,  an('  in  January  the  Convention,  by  their 
Roiiin  and  otlvicc,  granted  £C00  in  bills  of  credit  as  a  losin  for  two  years, 
.luuagmiii.  without  interest,  to  William  Wlietcroft  above  named,  '.10 
contracted  to  build,  within  six  mouths,  at  his  own  risk,  a  rolling,  sheut- 

(1)  The  conlrn«t«  wore  for  "good   pub-  roili",   double   trn-m;    jiriminj?   wires  and 

ntnntlal  proved  muskets,  H  fuct  in  the  bivr-  brusbes  filtod  thereto,  wilb  a  pair  of  briiss 

rel,  I   inch  bore,  with   good  douldo   bridle  nioiildj  for  every  80  infkflli.  to  cunt  12  bnl- 

lonkii,  bliick  wnlnut  or  mnple  (tookn,   iind  l«t«   on  one  cide,  and  on   the  other  fide  to 

plain   ftronn    brnsis    ninuntings;    bayonrta  cnjt   »bot  of  BUch  the  nt  the  mufkot  will 

with  iteel  bliidun,  17  incliin  long;  oU'fl  rum-  tdmiiiber  three  of  them." 


MARYLAND.       GUNS  AND   BAYONETS. 


593 


several  other 
ling  to  a  pre- 
»  $105  each  lu 
he  Maryhuul 
ig  liberal  eii- 
e  of  fire-arms, 
allpetre  works 

reilit  for  every 
luple  furiiished 

)uragcd  by  the 
>r  of  workmen 
i  fifty  complete 
each,  common 
I  brought  to  a 
ise  and  trouble. 
Is.  each,  prime 

:un-loek  manu- 
jpriated  twelve 
zed  one  dollar 
le  thereat.  A 
iment  of  manu- 
;ral  appropria- 
ederiek  County 
jolen  mauufac- 
for  one  year  to 
with  lead  from 
Fredericktowu 

for  the  erection 
ention,  by  their 
ri  for  two  years, 
iG  named,  '.10 
a  rolling,  sheet- 

jrlminjt  rflres  ftnil 
Mill  a  piiir  of  briiKS 
kutn  In  ciiat  12  l)ii|. 
n  tho  uthor  Me  lu 
RR  the  tnu^kot  will 


ing,  and  slitting  mill  within  twenty  miles  of  Baltimore,  or  such  other 
place  as  the  Convention  sliould  designate.  He  engaged  to  supply  tlie 
jtublic  and  individuals  with  slit  or  slieet  iron  at  tho  current  price  in 
Pennsylvania  or  Virginia,  and  that  it  should  never  exceed  £35,  comm.on 
money,  per  ton.  He  also  engaged  to  slit,  roll,  or  make  into  sheet  or 
flattened  iron  of  any  quality  iron  brougiit  to  tlie  mill,  at  the  rate  of  £b 
for  the  public  and  £G  for  private  individuals  per  ton.  It  went  into  ope- 
ration in  or  near  Baltimore  about  two  years  after. 

In  February,  inc,  Henry  IloUingsworth,  at  head  of  Elk  (Elktoii). 
Cecil  County,  made  proposals  to  mannfacturt  arms,  and  was  advanced 
£500  in  May,  to  be  repaid  in  gun-barrels  at  20,s.  eacii  and  bayonets  at 
8s.  each.  At  tlie  same  lime  money  was  advanced  to  Elislia  Winters  fur 
600  stand  of  muskets  at  £4  5s.  each.  John  Yost  also  contracted  to 
make  muskets  at  the  same  price,  and  rifles  at  £4  15s.  Priming  wires 
and  brushes  were  made  by  Ciiristopher  Ilabrcck,  of  Baltimore  town,  at 
7s.  Gd.  a  dozen.  Richard  Dallam  also  made  guns  for  the  Province,  and 
Robert  Read,  of  Chestertown,  sought  a  contract  for  making  muskets. 
Samples  of  gun-locks  were  presented  in  May  by  one  :\lessersmiih,  who 
could  make  ten  a  week,  for  which  he  expected  about  i'd  each. 

In  August  of  this  year,  Elisha  Winters,  who  was  making  forty  mua 
kets  per  month  according  to  contract,  proposed  to  undertake  the  control 
of  the  Fredefck  gun-lock  factory,  which  iiad  cost  over  £1,000,  and  by 
mismanagement  iiad  been  of  little  account.  The  works  were  put  in 
order  and  furnished,  and  in  October  wore  transferred  to  Winters,  who 
was  to  i)iiy  G  percent,  on  the  ap|)raised  value  of  the  concern.  But  it 
does  not  apj.ear  to  have  been  successful,  and  in  June,  1778,  an  Act  of 
the  Assembly  authorized  it  to  be  sold. 

Henry  Holliiigsworlli  ajjpcars  to  have  been  principally  depended  ui»on 
for  gun-barrels.  Some  of  his  bayonets  were  complained  of  as  being  too 
soft,  which  he  ascribed  to  the  bad  quality  of  the  American  steel  witli 
which  they  were  pointed,  and  which  he  had  since  found  to  lie  little 
better  tlian  raw  iron,  and  not  at  all  converted  into  steel.  Thi.s  oiijcc- 
tion  he  had  taken  care  to  avoid  by  contracting  with  Shoemaker  & 
Humphreys,  of  Philadelphia,  for  flit  burr  or  blistered  steel  of  their  make. 
We  have  not  met  with  the  mention  of  any  steel  furnace  in  Maryland  al, 
that  time. 

There  was  at  this  time  also  a  gun  manufactory  in  Dordicster  County. 
Guns  were  made  on  the  Eastern  Shore  at  £4  5.s.  each,  and  probably  in 
several  other  parts  of  the  Province' 


(1)  Amor.  Arcli.,  4lli  Scr.,  vol.  iii.  ];iO,  418,  449;  v.l.  iv.  720,  817; 
Sur.,  vol.  i.  155,  014,  i;t,1l,  13:17,  olu. 

as 


vul.  V.  1691)  itk 


$u 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 


Ravnai  mention  a  Mr.  Stirewith  who  had  established  several  manu- 
factures 1,1  as  silk  and  cotton  stuffs,  hardware  of  al  k.nds  and  lav- 
Is  which  branches  w.re  then  united  in  one  at  eonsulerable  .x,.e  . 

T'  Tt    much  sacucitv      The  encouragement  given  to  these  and  othei 

ProKre»8of  al  an  tuiij-  ,  „,,,prnrise  which  soon  raised  it  to 

Baltimore,    factur  ug  and  commercial  enterprise,  «»ii-'i 

.  A     „.;„.>r  ,.iHPs      Fredericktown  and  Ilagerstown 

ft;  Jes  abl  Fr'edericktown.     Copper,  brass,  iron,  and  various  other 
metallic  wares  were  manufactured  in  the  t^v^n 

The  effects  of  the  British  Act  shutting  ^l^eWest  India  ports  ag.^ 

dustrv  partTcularly  in  Baltimore.     A  committee  of  tradesmen,  in  ITSG, 

f,M.  n.  Xftviffation  Act  similar  to  the  English. 

As  a     ad    mentioned,  a  slitting-miU.  two  nail  factories,  a  cai  -  fac- 
tory  a  d  several  other  manufactories,  were  already  in  operation  in  o 

e  ;  Baltimore.    The  ship-building.  mills,  and  trade  of  the  to«ni  cre^ 
a  «t«adv  demand  for  forged  and  cast  iron  work,  nails,  etc..  and  its  pio 
:r  n  popa  "  ion  and  the  arts  was  rapid.     One  of  Uie  earhest  patent 
L  nLvking  cut  nails  in  this  country  was  granted  to  Peter  Zachane,  of 
Maryland  for  a  machine  for  cutting  nails  and  brads. 

The    team-engine,  which  is  now  the  great  dependence  o    the  manu- 
fad  rerwaT  eafly  brought  into  use  in  the  factories  of  Baltimore  an 

IS  dffeent  parts  received  several  modifications  at  the  hands  of  Ik 
Lhauie       The  improvements  of  James  llumsey,  of  Cecil  County,  and 


^ 


MARYLAND.      STEAM-ENGINES — GAS. 


595 


I  several  niiinii- 
kinds,  and  liro- 
ilerable  pxpeiise 
these  and  otlici 
;suUs   upon   the 
d  Virginia  liad 
my  of  the  Colo- 
nianufat'ture  of 
),  particularly  in 
ade,  not  only  in 
laltimore  became 
,  growing  manu- 
50on  raised  it  to 
and  Ilugerstown 
anches  were  very 
hing  trade  with 
rn  Pennsylvania. 
County,  in  17  9G, 
8,  and  the  Etna 
nch  of  tlie  same, 
iud  various  other 

dia  ports  against 
ill  kinds  of  liard- 
to  the  domestic 
e  in  considerable 
)ehalf  of  home  in- 
adesmen,  in  IISG, 
•otecting  and  pro- 
on  after  petitioned 

torics,  a  cat  -  fac- 
in  operation  in  or 
if  the  town  created 
,  etc.,  and  its  pro- 
the  earliest  paten's 
Peter  Zacharie,  of 

lence  of  the  maiui- 

of  Baltimore,  ami 

,  the  hands  of  h<i' 

r  Cecil  County,  luul 


ehose  of  Oliver  Evans,  inchiding  his  project  for  a  steam-carriage,  were 
promptly  patronized  by  the  Icgi.slature,  and  some  of  them  were  soon  in- 
steam  troduced  into  the  mills  and  manufactories  near  the  city.  As 
*n''uier'  ^'^'''^'  ^^  ^^^^'  Englchart  Cruse,  whcse  father,  with  S.  Colvcr, 
of  Connecticut,  had  already  essentially  contributed  to  the  har- 
bor accommodations  by  improving  upon  a  dredging-machine  of  the 
Mes.srs  Eliicolt,  petitioned  Congress  for  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
making  and  vending  an  improved  steam-engme  invented  by  him  for 
raising  water  for  manufactories,  grist-mills,  and  the  like.  In  the  same 
year  he  erected  a  steam  grist-mill  near  Pratt  street  wharf,  but  the  enter- 
prise was  not  fully  successful.  On  the  26th  August,  UOl,  Mr.  Cruse, 
Rumsey,  and  Jolin  Stevens,  of  Xew  York,  each  received  letters  patent 
for  improvements  on  Savcry's  steam-engine.  Rumsey's  patents  for  im- 
proveiijcnts  on  mills,  tlie  bellovvf?,  the  generation  of  steam,  and  in  the 
propulsion  of  boats,  and  Fitch's  for  marine  propulsion  by  steam,  all  bear 
the  same  date. 

Mineral  coal,  also  a  prime  agent  with  the  manufacturer  at  this  time, 
and  a  great  source  of  wealth  to  Alaryland,  was  discovered  upon  the 
Coal  and  ^i^ds  of  General  Ridgely,  six  miles  northeast  of  Baltimore,  by 
*•'"•  Benjamin  Henfrey,  an  Englishman,  in  1801.     lie  did  not  tlien 

succeed  in  bringing  it  into  use,  but  made  some  experiments  there  and 
iu  other  cities  to  manufacture  gas  from  mineral  coal  and  wood,  for  which 
he  obtained  a  patent  from  the  United  States  Government  in  the  follow- 
ing year.  He  is  said  to  have  lighted  the  city  of  Richmond,  Virginia, 
soon  after  with  wood  gas.  The  first  permanent  introduction  of  carbu- 
retted  hydrogen  from  coal  for  the  illumination  of  cities  vas  in  Baltimore, 
bv  a  company,  composed  of  the  late  Rembrandt  Peale  and  others,  char- 
tered for  tiiat  purpose.  In  the  same  year  another  company  made  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  to  bore  for  coal  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city. 

Virginia. — The  first  attempt  to  manufacture  Iron  in  Virginia,  and 
probably  on  this  continent,  as  early  as  1620,  and  its  disastrous  termina- 
tion, has  been  already  mentioned,  with  the  remark  tliat  it  was  not  re- 
newed in  tlie  Colony  for  nearly  a  century.  Anderson,  in  his  History  of 
Commerce,  and  other  writers  following  him,  give  tlie  year  1T15  as  about 
the  date  of  its  permanent  commencement  in  Virginia.  In  tlie  manuscript 
journal  left  by  Colonel  William  Byrd,  of  Westover,  entitled  "  A  Pro- 
gress to  the  Mines,"  and  first  published,  with  other  diaries  of  the  uutlior, 
in  1841,  a  lively  and  entertaining  account  is  given  of  his  visit  in  1732  to 
the  Iron  mines  and  furnaces  of  Colonel  Alexander  Spottswood,  on  the 
llappahannock,  in  Spottsylvania  County.  The  writer,  who  was  in  (jiicst 
of  proctical  information,  apparently  with  a  view  to  engaging  in  the 


596 


COLONIAL   INDLSTUY    IN    METALS. 


same  business,  says  he  was  informca  by  Colonel  Spott^wood  that  he 
"  was  not  only  the  first  in  tins  country,  but  the  first  in  >orth  America, 
wlio  had  evoctecl  a  regular  furnace.  That  they  ran  altogether  upon 
I,loomeries  in  Xovv  England  and  Pennsylvania  till  his  example  had  made 
them  attempt  greater  works."  The  date  of  the  constructmn  of  this 
furnace  is  not  given,  but  it  is  mentioned  in  a  very  rare  work,  1  he 
Present  State  of  Virginia,"  by  Hugh  Jones,  in  1724,  and  was  possibly 
built  some  vears  before.  Mr.  Cyrd  learned  from  the  proprietor  that 
there  were  'then  four  furnaces  in  Virginia.  But  there  was  no  forge, 
although  there  was  a  very  good  one  in  Maryland,  the  rrincipio  forge 

before  mentioned.  .,-,,.11 

The  principal  furnace  of  Colonel  Spottswood  was  at  Fredericksburg 
upon  a  large  tract  of  4.5,000  acres  of  barren  land,  abounding  in  iron  ore 
„  in  several   places.     The  mine,  from  which  the  ore,  of  good 
frrer''q,,,Uity,  was  raised  by  bla.sting,  was  thirteen  miles  from  the 
residence  of  the  proprietor  at  Germanna,  an  ancient  settlement  of  Ger- 
man Palatines  al)ovo  the  falls  of  Bappahannock,  and  one  mile  nearer 
than  the  furnace.     He  had  also  a  very  complete  air-furnace  with  two 
fires  recently  erected  for  melting  sow  metal  for  foundery  work,  situated 
at  Massaponux  on  the  Rappahannock,  fifteen  miles  distant,  V)  which 
the  metal  was  carted  from  the  smelting-fnrnace.     The  mine  tract  which 
lay  in  the  belt  of  primary  magnetic  and  brown  hematite  ores  of  the  I.Iue 
Ridge  and  its  eastern  declivity,  was  originally  taken  up  by  Mr.  F.tz- 
william   who  drew  into  the  enterprise  Governor  Spottswood,  Cap.ain 
Pearce  '  Dr.  ^'icholas,  and  Mr.  Chiswell,  the  manager  of  the  furnace. 
Having  thus  disposed  of  his  land  at  a  good  price,  he  sold  his  own  share 
for  £500  to  a  Mr.  Nelson;    and  of   these  persons  and   Mr.  llobert 
Carv  an  influential  capitalist  in  England,  the  company  was  then  corn- 
nosed      Mr.   Cliiswell,  the  only  one   practically  acquainted  with  the 
business,  was  the  manager,  at  a  salary  of  £100  per  annum.     From  h.m 
and  Governor  Spottswood,  who  was  endeavoring  to  shake  off  his  part- 
nTS   Colonel  P.yrd  obtained  much  information  of  a  practical  kind  re- 
specting the  expense  and  management  of  a  furnace.    Some  of  the  advice 
was  hi-hly  judicious,  and  suggested  precautions  which  had  been  neglected 
by  the"companv,  as  well  as  by  the  proprietors  of  other  early  colonial 
Iron-works,  whereby  they  were  sometimes  abandoned  or  rendered  un- 
profitable. . 

The  works  at  Fredericksburg  had  been  for  some  yerrs  unproductive, 
and  were  nearly  ruined  by  mismanagement  during  the  owner's  absence 
in  England,  but  were  tlien  becoming  remunerative.  Tliey  were,  more- 
over, built  too  far  from  navigation  and  upon  too  small  a  stream,  niul 
were'  managed  with  too  strict  economy  for  complete  efficiency.     , 


VIUaiNIA.       SPOTTSWOUD    lUON-WUIlliS. 


597 


i'ood  that  he 
H-th  America, 
ogelhcr  upon 
iplc  had  made 
action  of  this 
;  work,  "  The 
I  was  possibly 
roprietor  that 
was  no  forge, 
rincipio  forge 

Fredericksburg 
ing  in  iron  ore 

ore,  of  good 
niles  from  the 
lenient  of  Gcr- 
nc  mile  nearer 
rnace  with  two 

work,  .situated 
;tant,  V)  which 
ine  tract  which 
)res  of  the  I>lue 
p  by  Mr.  Fitz- 
swood,  Captain 
of  the  furnace, 
d  his  own  share 
nd   Mr.  Robert 

was  then  cora- 
linted  with  the 
urn.  From  him 
ike  olT  his  part- 
ractical  kind  re- 
mo  of  the  advice 
d  been  neglected 
er  early  colonial 
or  rendered  un- 

>rs  unproductive, 
owner's  absence 
Hiey  were,  niore- 
dl  a  stream,  and 
cieuey. 


The  company  had  then  expended  nearly  £12,000,  including  the  cost 
of  15,000  acres  of  land,  ne-rocs,  ,ind  cattle.     The  number  of  negroes 
employed  was  about  80,  which  was  forty  less  than  were  required.  ^The 
standing  charge  for  hired  labor  was  about  £200  per  annum.      The  blast 
in  the  furnace  was  maintained  by  two  vast  bellows,  which  cost  £1(»0 
each,  and  were  driven  by  an  overshot  water-wheel,  20  feet  or  more  in 
diameter,  to  which  the  water  was  conveyed  in  wooden   troughs   over 
1,000  feet.     The  supply  of  water  often  failed  and  put  out  the  furnace. 
The  ore  was  raised  by  contract  at  l.s.  Cul.  per  cartdoad  of  2G  cwt.     The 
contract",,  .vas  obliged  to  employ  laborers  belonging  to  the  company  at 
2os.  a  month.     The  ore  was  mixed  with  that  of  poorer  quality  and 
roasted  before  smelting.      Tlie  flux  employeu  was.  limestone  brought 
from  Bristol  as  ballast,  and  cost  2s.  M.  a  ton  at  Rappahannock  river, 
whence  It  was  conveyed  twenty-four  miles  to  the  works  in  the  carts  re- 
turning from  carrying  down  Iron.     It  was  used  in  the  proportion  of  one 
ton  to  ten  tons  of  ore.     The  wood  for  ciiar«oal,  of  which  the  best  was 
red  oak,  and  next  pine,  walnut,  and  hickory,  was  felled,  cut,  and  delivered 
at  the  pits  by  contract  for  2,s-.  a  cord,  and  was  charred  for  5s.  a  load  of 
160  bushels.     Two  square  miles  of  woodland  would  support  a  furnace. 
The  furnace  when  in  Idast  r.,n  about  20  tons  of  iron  per  week,  and  the 
founder  was  pdid  4.s\  ior  every  ton  of  sow  iron  made.     A  good  furnace 
could  be  built  for  £700  ready  for  use,  and  could  easily  run  800  tons  of 
metal  in  a  year.      Tlie  necessary  hired  workmen,  including  founder, 
mine-raiser,  collier,  stock-taker,  clerk,    smith,    carpenter,  wheelwright,' 
and  several  carters,  would  cost  annually  £500.     The  freight  (7.>'   (}d 
per  ton)  and  customs  duty  in  England  (Ss.  9-/.  per  ton),  with  commission 
and  other  incidental  charges,  amounted  to  27s.  a  ton,  which  the  mcr- 
chants  contrived  to  inca-ase  so  that  the  total  cost  was  about  £2   per 
ton.     The  market  value  in  England  was  £5  to  £0,  leaving  a  profit  of 
£3  to  £4  per  ton. 

Mr.  Chiswell,  an  experienced  iron  master,  informed  our  author  that  a 
Mr.  Harrison  in  England  possessed,  through  his  extensive  dealings  in 
PHce  every  kind  of  Iron,  so  complete  a  control  of  the  market  as  to 

be  able  to  keep  the  price  of  American  below  that  of  English 
make,  to  which  it  was  considered  superior,  so  that  American  Iron 
brought  but  £0  when  English  sold  for  £7  or  £8  per  ton.  Tiie  duty  on 
bar-iron  in  England  was  24s.  a  ton,  and  its  price  from  £10  to  £1(J  per 
ton,  which  would  abundantly  pay  the  cost  o*"  forging.  But  he  was  of 
opinion  that  Parliament  would  soon  forbid  that,  lest  tliey  should  go 
further,  and  make  it  into  all  sorts  of  iron  ware,  as  they  already  did  in 
New  England  and  Pennsylvania.  He  even  doubted  if  they  would  be 
allowed  to  east  any  iron,  as  ihey  could  do  in  their  furnaces. 


598 


COLONIAL   INDUSTRY   IN   METALS, 


The  air-furnace  at  ^lassaponux,  five  miles  from  Fredericksburg,  it  i* 
givid  was  "  a  very  ingenious  and  profitable  contrivance."  It  was  .nlended 
for  the  production  of  castings  for  the  use  of  the  surroundh.g  cojnti-y, 
sucli  as  backs  for  chimneys,  andirons,  fenders,  plates  for  hearths,  pots, 
skillets,  mortars,  rollers  for  gardeners,  boxes  for  cart-wheels,  etc.,  which, 
one  with  another,  could  be  delivered  at  people's  doors  at  20.s^a  ton 
Being  cast  from  sow  metal,  they  were  better  than  those  from  England 
which  were  mostly  made  directly  from  the  ore.  The  chimney  and  out- 
side  of  the  furnace  were  built  of  freestone,  and  the  lining  was  of  Stour- 
bridge brick.*    Seven  mines  of' iron  ore  were  worked  in  Spottsylvania 

County  in  1839.  _     ,    .  ,   , 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Rappahannock  from  Fredericksburg,  in 
King  George  Couutv,  twelve  miles  distant,  were  also  iron  mines  upon 
lands  belonging  to  Mr.  Washington,  and  called  Engla.  d's  Iron 
?a'?uace.       Mjnes  after  the  chief  manager.     Two  miles  distant  from  the 
mines  was  a  furnace  for  smelting  the  ore,  which  was  raised  and  carted 
to  the  furnace  by  Mr.  Washington  for  20-?.  the  ton  upon  every  ton  of 
metal      The  crude  metal  was  thence  carted  six  miles  to  the  Potomac, 
on  a  branch  of  which  the  furnace  stood.     Besides  Mr.  Washington  and 
Mr  En-land,  who  also  had  tho  chief  management  of  a  forge  at  Pnn- 
cipio  in  Maryland,  there  were  several  other  proprietors  of  these  works 
resident  in  England.'     No  expense  was  spared  to  make  these  works 
profitable,   and  they  were  well  managed.     This  furnace   and  that  at 
Fredericksburg   were   built  by   a  Mr.    Taylor,  who   was   engaged   in 
Gloucester,  England,  for  that  purpose,  at  3...  Qd.  a  day  from  the  day  he 
left  home  until  his  return. 

These  particulars  exhibit  in  some  measure  the  amount  of  skill  and  en- 
terprise  with  which  the  manufacture  vas  introduced  in  the  Colony. 
Tliere  is  reason  to  believe,  although  the  details  of  early  operations  are 
few  that  many  of  the  colonial  enterprises  in  this  branch  were  not  far 
behind  the  existing  state  of  the  business  in  England.  The  want  of  ships 
of  their  own  to  carry  their  Iron  to  England,  compelled  the  Virginia 
Iron  manufacturers  to  confine  themselves  principally  to  the  home  market. 
But  the  four  furnaces  then  in  operation  were  believed  to  be  of  much 

highlands  everywhere  were  a  mere  rook  of 
it.  Sufficient  Iron  coiild  be  made  in  the 
Colonies  to  supply  all  Europe.  The  princi- 
pal drawbacks  were  the  duty  and  freight 
and  the  prohibition  of  forges.  The  cost  of 
raising  an  Iron-works  and  the  addiction  to 
the  tobacco  culture,  were  additional  reaeont 
fur  its  neglect. 


(1)  A  fine  quality  of  clny,  which  made 
fire-bricks  nearly  equiil  to  Stourbridge,  was 
afterward  found  on  the  Tuckahoe,  a  branch 
of  James  river. 

(2)  The  historian  Oldmixon  snya  he  was 
about  this  time  concerned  in  a  project  for 
Iron-works  in  Virginia,  which  did  not  fail 
from  any  scarcity  of  ore  or  fuel,  for  the 
cliffs  of  the  rivers  were  full  of  Iron,  aud  the 


VIRGINIA.      COPPER   AND  IRON  ORE. 


599 


icksburg,  it  is 
was  intended 
Hug  cojntry, 
hearths,  pots, 
s,  etc.,  which, 
it  20.S.  a  ton. 
'rom  England 
uney  and  out- 
was  of  Stour- 
Spottsylvania 

lericksburg,  in 
m  mines  upon 
Engla.  d"8  Iron 
;tant  from  the 
ed  and  carted 
n  every  ton  of 
I  the  Potomac, 
''ashington  and 
forge  at  Prin- 
of  these  works 
:e  these  works 
e  and  that  at 
[IS   engaged   in 
rom  the  day  he 

of  skill  and  en- 
n  the  Colony. 
r  operations  are 
;h  were  not  far 
le  want  of  ships 
d  the  Virginia 
le  home  market, 
to  be  of  much 

rore  a  mere  rook  of 
Id  be  made  in  the 
lurope.  The  piinci- 
e  duty  and  freight 
forges.  The  cost  of 
ind  the  ndiliction  to 
re  additioual  reueona 


lervice  to  the  Cobny,  circulating  a  large  amount  of  money,  and  with- 
drawing many  men  from  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  to  more  profitable 
labor.  They  also  lessened  the  importation  of  bar-iron  from  the  conti- 
nent, and  enabled  Kngland  to  dispense  with  all  other  pig-iron  than  the 
colonml.  She  paid  for  it  in  her  own  manufactures,  and  transported  k 
in  her  own  ships,  and  thu.s  derived  much  benefit  from  the  industry 

This  view  of  the  importancx'  of  these  early  Iron-works  is  substantially 
that  of  several  English  commercial  writers  of  the  period.  Iron  in  pi^s 
IS  named  by  Macpherson,  in  1731,  among  the  commodities  which  ren- 
dered Maryland  and  Virginia  the  most  valuable  acquisitions  to  Great, 
I3ntam.  The  tobacco  alone  of  these  two  Provinces  wa.s  worth  annually 
i3T5,000,  and  the  whole  net  gain  to  England  upon  the  transportation 
customs,  and  sale  of  their  produce,  which  was  all  paid  for  in  merchan' 
dise,  was  set  down  at  £180,000  per  annum.'  The  two  Colonies  from 
this  time  until  the  Revolution  exported  to  England  annually  between 
\wo  and  three  thousand  tons  of  pig-iron. 

The  older  secondary  and  metamorphie  rocks  of  Eastern  and  Middle 
Virginia  above  tide  water,  especially  throughout  the  whole  extent  of 
4ro„  and      the  IJluc  Kidge,  abound  in  Iron  and  other  metallic  ores     Rich 
surlace  indications  of  cupriferous  ore,  which  have  not  been  e.x- 
tensively  explored,  are  found  along  the  IJlue  Ridge  from  Manassah  Gap 
nearly  to  the  Carolina  line.     The  proto-sulphuret,  red  oxyd,  and  car- 
bonate  of  copper  occur  in  graywacke  and  epidotic  rocks  in  many  places 
In  his  "Journey  to  the  Land  of  Eden,"  in  1731,  Colonel  IJyVd  men- 
tions sundry  mines  and  veins  of  copper  ore,  which  he  visiled  on  the 
branches  of  the  Roanoke  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Province.     At  one 
of  these,  called  Cargill's  mine,  between  the  Bluestone  Creek  and  James 
river,  the  appearances  of  copper  were  so  numerous  that  the  inhabitants 
boeraed  to  be  all  "mine  mad,"  and  neglected  their  husbandry  to  search 
for  mines.     On  his  return  to  his  estate  of  Westover  on  19th  September 
he  adds,  "  we  laid  the  foundation  of  two  large  cities,"  Richmond  and 
Petersburg.' 

Thirty  hundred-weight  of  copper  ore  with  forty  tons  of  Iron,  are  men- 
tioned by  Aaderson  as  having  been  received,  along  with  some  hemp, 
Copper  ore  silk,  and  beeswax,  from  Virginia  in  1730.  Must  of  them  were 
new  and  unexpected  productions.  The  copper  ore  was  prob- 
ably from  some  of  these  early  diggings.  In  Mecklenberg  County,  on 
the  Roanoke,  not  very  distant,  a  mine  of  copper  which  promised  con- 
siderable  gold  was  opened  about  seventy  years  ago  on  the  lands  of 
Solomon  Draper. 


(1)  Macpherson's  Anoals  of  Cominorce. 


(1)  Westover  Manuscripti. 


T?: 


600 


C(,1.0NIAI-   INl'VSTHV    IN    METALS. 


once  rebuilt.     On  Mos^    Lcc  stauuton,  in  Augusta 

fork  of  the  Sl.eunml^.ah,   .teen  ""'^^  ^^  j^   i>j,,7^  and 

County,  is  also  a  forfre  winch  was  bu  It  '"      "      bu  ^^_ 

again  "in  ISIir,.     It  is  still  nvak.ng  bar-iron    ''^  /",'„^,,  Creek 

finery  au.l  chaf.ry  and  two  }^^^;^<;^^  Z:ZJ^  half  fr- 
d.arcoal  furnace,  aluu.t  a  uuc  fiom  tic  foi^.a.Kl  ^^^^^^^^  .^^ 

tbe  Manassah  Gap  Ilail-road  was  bud^  '  ^^  «;"^^^,^,,  ,,aace  on 
1841.  It  was  8^  feet  in  the  boshes  --^^^^''^  J,^^  ^„,  ,,,„ao«ed 
TIawksblll  Creek,  n..r  Luray.  .n  ^^^^^^^  :    ^^^avnesborough.  in 

^"  '''  'Z'  'T  T  ::^;k  t;.e^rNor;h  dvcr,  ninc-.nes  north  of 
Augusta  Conn  J  ^^^^f  ^J  ^^,„^,  ,.,,anee  south  of  Lexington,  on 
Lexington  ;  and  Luflalo  tor  c,  ^g^^^      ^^ 

f„„mce  on  Sm,.l  »  C.cck  in  „  ^^^^^^^.^^^  ,^,^,,„^  „„ 

situated  on  ^^  -/  ^^^^  7,  .,  ,,,  ,I„,ts  of  the  range,  was  the 
^-r^  :r :  1  Ser  ::f  charcoal  furnaces  erected  in  the  l.t  ce. 
,.,  to  s^elt  the  primary  iron  ores  and  hen.ti^  °  /^f :X  ^ 
metalliferous  products  of  diitcrent  kinds.      These  aie 

abandoned.  _  _    „  „„wi=hod  in  1781,  contain  the  following 

The  "Notes  on  A  irginia,"  ru»"snca  in  itoi, 

eat:',,:  ;;:,:  Bof  •^.*..  ..-  ab.„t  1.600  ton,  „r  pi^-^rou  »«u. 

(1)  Lesley's  Iron  Manufacturer's  Guide. 


VIROINIA.      IBON-WllUKS   IN   THE   WKSTERN   COUNTIES. 


GOl 


limestone  valley 
opened  in  several 
!  on  Cedar  Creek 
region,  has  l)een 
t  has  bc-'n  some 
a  half  north  of 
lilt,  according  to 
having  been  Ijut 
anis  of  the  south 
uton,  in  Augusta 
uilt  in  111)7,  and 
e  ores,  with  a  rc- 
er.     Mossy  Creek 

0  and  a  half  from 

1  burned  down  in 
[sabella  furnace  on 
iiilt  and  abandoned 
^Vaynesborough,  in 
inc  miles  north  of 
,h  of  Lexington,  on 
the  year  1800.     A 

still  older,  and  was 
harcoal  furnace  on 
f  as  long  neglected, 

town  of  Lynchburg, 
gorge  of  the  Blue 
the  range,  was  the 
•eted  in  the  last  cen- 
,  of  a  region  rich  iu 
are  now  nearly  all 

ontain  the  following 

s : 

illaway's,  Ross's,  and 
i's  on  the  north  side 
rederick.  Th'fit  two 
,ud  North  mouiitain. 
t  150  tons  of  bar-iron 
;ons  of  pig-iron  annu- 

lo. 


ally ;  Ballandine's,  1,000 ;  Callaway's,  Miller's,  and  Zane's  about  600 
each,  lie  ides  tliese,  a  forge  of  Mr.  Hunter's  at  Fredericksburg  makea 
aliout  300  tons  a  year  of  bar-iron  from  pigs  imported  from  Maryland ; 
and  Taylor's  forge,  on  Neupsco  of  Potomac,  works  in  the  same  way, 
but  to  wliat  extent  I  am  not  informed.  The  undertakers  of  Iron  in 
utiier  places  are  numerous,  and  dispersed  through  all  tlie  middle  country. 
The  tougiiness  of  tlie  cast-iron  of  Ross's  and  Zane's  furnace  is  remark- 
able. I'ols  and  otlier  utensils  cast  thinner  tlinn  usual  of  tliis  iron  may 
be  safely  tlirowu  into  or  out  of  tlie  wagons  in  which  they  are  trans- 
ported. Salt  pans  made  of  the  same  and  no  longer  wanted  for  that  pur- 
pose, cannot  be  lu'okeii  up  in  order  to  l)e  melted  again  unless  previously 
drilled  in  many  jiarts.'" 

Ross's  Iron-works,  above  mentioned,  were  on  Beaver  Creek,  seven 
miles  south  of  cast  from  Lynchburg,  and  were  abandoned  nearly  twenty- 
five  years  r.iro.  They  arc  mentioned  by  ISIr.  Lesley  under  the  name  of 
Oxford  furnace.  A  forge  and  bloomery  by  that  name  in  Hartley  County 
were  advertised  for  sale  in  December,  1772,  by  Robert  Harper,  and 
Thomas  Callaway's  were  near  Rocky  ^Mount  or  Franklin  Court-house. 
Saunder's  furnace,  at  tlio  same  place,  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  Lesley  as 
having  been  abandoned  as  early  as  the  year  1800. 

Many  other  furnaces  and  forges  were  built  in  these  counties  before  the 
end  of  the  last  century.  In  Loudon  County  a  furnace  was  owned  by 
Mr.  Clapham,  who  cut  a,  canal  through  the  end  of  Cotocktin  mountain, 
500  feet  through  solid  rock  and  60  feet  beneath  the  surface,  to  obtain 
water  for  his  furnace  and  mill.  On  Chestnut  Creek,  in  Carroll  County, 
a  forge  was  built  about  1790,  which  has  been  abandoned  fifty  years,  and 
another  on  Little  Reed  Island  Creek,  has  been  nearly  as  long  neglected. 
In  Craig,  Wythe,  Grayson,  Washington,  and  other  counties  of  the 
southwest,  iron-works  were  erected  soon  after.  The  brown  hematite 
ores  in  their  several  varieties  are  abundant  throughout  the  great  Win- 
chester Valley,  are  generally  rich  in  metal,  and,  though  frequently  asso- 
ciated with  manganese,  yield  a  very  good  Iron.     The  frequent  sulphur 


(1)  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Lesley  considers 
"the  manufacture  of  Iron  in  the  country 
of  the  Blue  Kidge  and  to  the  cast  of  it, 
where  the  primary  Hurotiian  (and  perhaps 
Laurontian)  system  is  developed,  although 
very  old  for  the  New  World,  has  been  as 
unsuccessful  as  in  Pennsylvania.  Of  IS 
furnaccf  cast  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  only  one 
was  in  blast  in  1856,  and  that  but  for  half 
the  yeai,  making  760  tons  in  a  region  where 
♦he  standing  capacity  was  at  least  20,000 
tons  per  annum."     Of  the  great  number 


built  along  the  great  valley,  he  further  ob- 
serves, "but  21  made  any  Iron  in  1866,  and 
these  only  13,000  tons  insteaU  of  30,000,  as 
they  should  have  done ;  and  not  one  of  these 
are  reported  as  using  any  ore  but  the  brown 
hematite  of  the  valley  Limestone  Lower 
Silurian  No.  II.  It  is  not  to  be  imagined 
that  this  immense  stretch  of  Huronian  rocks 
is  barren  magnetic  iron  ground.  The  re- 
sources of  the  Blue  Ridge  must  some  day 
bo  explored." — Iron  Manufacturer' t  Guide, 
445,  440. 


602 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 


Westcra 

Virijiuia, 


springs  in  tliis  region  denote  the  presence  of  pyritous  Iron  in  the  slate 
and  limestone  ro  iis. 

"  In  the  Western  country,"  writes  Mr.  Jefferson,  "  we  are  tolu  of  iron 
mines  between  the  Muskingum  and  Ohio,  and  of  others  oa  Kentucky 
between  the  Cumberland  and  Barren  rivers,  between  Cumljer- 
land  and  Tennessee,  on  Reedy  Creek  near  the  Long  Island, 
and  in  Chestnut  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Great  Kanahway  near  where  it 
crosses  the  Carolina  line.  "What  are  called  the  Iron  banks,  on  the  Mis- 
sissijipi,  are  believed  by  a  good  judge  to  have  no  Iron  in  them.  In 
gceral,  from  what  is  hitherto  known  of  that  country,  it  seems  to  want 
Iron." 

Such  was  the  caution  with  winch  it  was  thought  proper  to  speak  of 
the  great  deposits  of  the  carbonate  and  peroxyd  of  iron  which  every- 
where occupy  the  vast  areas  of  the  coal  measures  of  Western  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  Tcnnessre,  and  Southeastern  Ohio,  then  principally  included 
in  the  territory  of  Virginia.  Associated  as  these  ores  are  with  the 
mineral  fuel  of  the  Western  country,  they  are  already  more  extensively 
wrought  in  these  newer  States  and  in  Pennsylvania  than  in  Virginia, 
but  are  capable  of  a  development  throughout  a  large  portion  of  tlie 
West  to  which  there  is  at  present  no  assignable  limit.  Iron 
Kcniucky.  ^^^^  discovered  in  several  places  throughout  this  region  before 
i!ic  end  of  the  last  century,  and  a  number  of  furnaces  and  forges  were 
erected  for  smelting  it.  A  few  adventurers  had  penetrated  beyond  the 
Cumberland  mountains  before  the  Revolution,  but  it  was  not  until  after 
the  Peace  that  the  agricultural  and  mineral  resources  of  the  Western 
country  attracted  settlers  in  large  numbers  from  Middle  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvni'.ia  Population  and  improvements  rapidly  increased  from 
that  i-ime,  and  Kentucky  was  separated  from  Virginia  in  1780,  and  Ten- 
nessee from  Xorth  Carolina  in  1790.  They  were  admitted  as  States  of 
the  Union,  each  m  six  years  after  its  organization  as  a  territory.  Pre- 
vious to  this,  several  Iron-works  were  erected  within  their  borders. 

The  first  in  Kentucky  are  said  to  have  been  the  old  slate  charcoal 
furnace  erected  by  Government  troops  in  1701  on  Slate  Creek,  a  branch 
Fir«t  of   Licking  river,  in  Bath  County,  tiiea   Bourbon.      It  was 

UiTu»"«.^  thirty-two  nules  southeast  of  Paris,  and  a  few  miles  northeast  of 
Owingsville.  It  ran  forty-seven  yoars  on  magnesian  limestone  ort  of  tlie 
Upper  Silurian  rocks,  and  blew  out  in  18:i8.  A  large  numlter  of  fur- 
naces aiul  forges  were  built  within  a  few  years  after  in  Estill,  Edmondton, 
Greenup,  and  other  counties  in  Eastern  Kentucky,  which  have  bin-n  long 
abandoned.  The  carbonate  ores  and  limonites  of  Western  Kentucky 
hi»ve  called  into  existence  a  great  number  of  works,  some  of  them,  as 
the  Great  Western  in  Stewart  County,  of  large  size.     In  the  northern 


IS  Iron  in  the  slate 

'  we  are  tola  of  iron 
thers  oa  Kentucky 
s,  between  Cumljer- 
•  the  Long  Island, 
ihway  near  where  it 
banks,  on  the  Mis- 
Iron  in  them.  In 
y,  it  seems  to  want 

proper  to  speak  of 
f  iron  which  every- 
'  Western  Virginia, 
principally  included 

ores  are  with  the 
ly  more  extensively 
a  than  in  Virginia, 
rge  portion  of  tlie 
gnable  limit.  Iron 
it  this  region  before 
!es  and  forges  were 
letrated  beyond  the 
t  was  not  until  after 
•ces  of  the  Western 
liddle  Virginia  and 
idly  increased  from 
a  in  nSfi,  and  Teu- 
Imitted  as  States  of 
s  a  territory.     Pre- 

their  borders. 

old  slate  charcoal 
late  Creek,  a  broiich 

Bourbon.  It  wns 
w  miles  northeast  of 
limestone  ort  of  tlio 
irge  numlter  of  fur- 
I  Estill,  Edniondloii, 
hich  have  Ihhmi  long 

Western  Kentucky 
;s,  Bunie  of  them,  as 
!.     In  tbo  nortberu 


OHIO.      COPPER  AND   LEAD   MINES. 


6Gt 


Ohio, 


part  of  the  State,  connected  with  the  Ohio  navigation,  are  now  about 
seventeen  furnaces. 

In  the  southern  part  of  Ohio,  where  Virginia  also  claimed  extensive 
jurisdiction  to  territory,  much  of  it,  as  that  on  the  Muskingum  and  its 
branches,  known  to  abound  in  coal  and  iron,  are  now  between  forty  and 
fifty  furnaces  seeking  an  outlet  for  their  product  by  the  same  channel. 
These  lands,  with  the  claims  of  New  York  and  Connecticut, 
were  all  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  those  States  previous 
to  the  erection  of  a  T:iritorial  Government  in  1787.  The  immense  coal 
field  which  underlies  the  surface  of  twenty-eight  counties  in  a  broad 
Ix'lt  between  the  Ohio  and  Luke  Erie,  comprising  a  body  of  mineral 
fuel  many  times  the  extent  of  tliat  of  Great  Britain,  and  a  very  consider- 
able iron  ore  field,  embracing  many  varieties  of  the  burrstone  and  other 
argillaceous,  carbonacoo\is,  and  bog  ores,  have  been  industriously  de- 
veloped during  the  last  lifty  years.  Numerous  charcoal  and  coke  fur- 
naces have  rendered  the  iron  interest  of  Cliio  one  of  great  magnitude. 
Raw  bituminous  coal  is  said  to  hir/e  been  first  used  in  the  Iron-manufac- 
ture in  America  in  a  furnace  of  that  State.  We  are  not  aware  that 
any  Iron-works  were  erected  within  its  limits  in  the  last  century. 

Among  the  metals  of  Virginia  rcfcronce  has  been  made  to  the  early 
discovery  of  copper  ore  in  the  lieu  Sandstone  formation  east  of  the 
Blue  Ilidge  and  along  tiiat  range,  wliioh  furnislies  cupreous  ores  through- 
out almost  its  whole  length  from  New  I^ngland  to  Carolina.  Two  mines 
of  copper  are  mentioned  by  Mr.  Jefferson  as  having  been  opened  along 
James,  one  on  the  north  side,  in  Amherst  County,  and  another  oppo- 
site to  it  on  the  south  side.  For  some  reason,  however,  the  mining  had 
been  discontinued. 

A  lead  n\ine  near  Fincastle,  in  Botetourt  County,  was  wrought  during 
the  Revolution.  There  was  also  a  lead  mine  on  the  Great  Kanawha, 
Lf-ad  '"  Wythe  County,  opposite  tiie  mouth  of  Cripple  creek,  and 

"'■""•  one  in  Montgomery  County,  al)out  twenty-five  miles  from  the 
Carolina  line.  Two  mines  were  worked  in  these  places  which  yielded 
about  25  tons  of  lead  yearly.  Thirty  men  had  produced  GO  tons  in  a 
year,  btsiJcs  raising  their  own  corn.  The  ore  was  sometimes  found 
mixed  with  earth,  and  sometimes  in  rock  wliich  required  blasting.  It 
produced,  on  an  average,  00  pei  cent,  of  lead,  with  a  small  i)roportion 
of  silver,  not  worth  extracting.  The  furnace  for  reducing  the  ore  waa  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  rivci'  from  the  mine,  and  a  mile  distant.  The 
ore  was  taken  to  the  river  in  wagons,  carried  over  in  canoes,  and  thence 
wagoned  to  the  furnace.  Tliis  expensive  arraugement  was  made  to 
secnre  a  good  site  for  a  pounding-mill  on  the  creek,  which  end  could 
have  been  better  attained  by  a  fshort  canal  to  bring  water  to  tho  other 


C04 


COLONIAL  INDUSTllY   IN    METALS. 


Side      From  the  furnace  the  lead  was  transported  over  a  good  road  one 
Lndred  and  d.h-ty  miles  through  the  Peaks  of  Otter  to  Ly"el-  il'-y  or 
to  Winston's,   on  James  river,  and  thence  almut  as  far,  by  .  a  er,  t 
WesLun,  six  miles  above  Ilieiunond.     A  mine  in  Wythe  County  is  stdl 
worked  by  several  shafts  exclusively  for  lead  ore,  though  much  >ron  or. 
is  al.o  met  with.     Of  three  principal  veins  which  are  wod.ed,  one  h  d 
been  mined  in  185^  for  1,0U0  feet,  and  150  feet  below  t]>e  surface    o 
water  level,  and  at,   J.er  nearly  200  feet  deep,  the  dip  vary.ng  from  lo 
to  600  southeast.     The  principal  ore  is  the  sulphnret  or  galena   w, 
occasionally  the  compact  carbonate,  and  from  500  to  700  tons  of  k.ul 
were  annually  obtained.     The  carbonate  of  lead  in  these  nunes  was  .n 
earlv  tin>es  thrown  away  as  white  clay.     Tl>ese  lead  ccposUs  nea,  tl. 
sour'ces  of  the  James  river  were  more  extensively  mined  .n  the  last  cen- 
tury than  any  others  in  the    country,   and  notw.thstaud.ng    the  bud 
economy  of  their  managers,  furnished  lead  to  the  greater  part  of  the 

Union.'  ,         ,    ^  .i      aii„ 

Lead  mines  were  also  opened  in  several  other  places  between  he  Alle- 
ghany and  Cumberland  mountains,  particularly  on  the  l-rench  broad 
river  and  soutli  of  tlie  Green  river  in  Kentucky. 

A  lump  of  gold,  yielding  17  dwls.  of  very  ductile  metal,  was  found 
near  the  falls  of  Rappahannock.  15ut  it  did  not  lead  to  any  lurther 
discoverv  of  tlie  metal  at  that  plac^.  Some  granules  of  gold 
mi'u'»,  were  afterward  found  between  the  James  and  Apponuittox 
But  the  certainty  that  the  rocks  in  different  parts  of  this  State  and 
North  Carolina  are  highly  aurilVrous  has  been  more  recently  ascertained 
In  18;i9  no  less  than  sixty  gold  mines  (so  called)  or  diggings  were  said 
to  be  worked  in  the  Slate,  of  which  twenty-six  were  iu  Spottsylvania 


(1)  Tho  1l>i\J  mintM  of  Mlssotiri  were  ills- 
(i,vorea  iiliout  lliu  yt-ur  ITl'.l,  iin<l   ;.■   172:! 
were  |{riiHti'<l  to  M.  Ueimult,  w'.io  hud  iiui    i 
tho  first  ai(!t,'i''K'^  I'y  '>'»  celfbnitcMl  Mi.«.-i.«- 
gippi  Comiiiiny,  wh.KO  fchymes  were  l""i"- 
ciimlly  hiifi-'l  ""  th«rep<it«'l  minpral  wcalih 
of  LouUirtiin.     Tlie  eoinpnny  is  said  to  hi.ve 
lent  500   nion   lo  smircli  for  mincrnU,  but 
lloniiult,  fill. ling   fow  of  tho  precioun   or.'S, 
turnod  his  nttoiition  to  tho  luiid  wliiiti  .vim 
funnel  nliiuidnntly  nciir  tho  mirfiico  on  tho 
Maruinnk  (iiid  other  rivers.     Thoy  nro  ho- 
liovcd   to  liitve   niisod  groiil  nimntitics   of 
ore,  Hiid  miido  sonio  ullempts  to  fniflt  It. 
Tho  mining  did  not  iininiiiif  to  inuph  undiT 
tho   Krenfh  and  Ppnnifh  dominiition.     lUit 
tbo    old    digglngii    and    new   mines    «cro 


wr.ni),'''t  nftor  tho  territory  was  purchnced 
by  tlin  United  States  in  1801,  and  in  1811 
twelve  diggings  aionnd  St.  fleneviovo  were 
worked,  and  each  liad  a  rude  open  or  ash 
fnrnaeo  attached.  Only  one,  tho  Mine  1 
llurton,  had  a  sliaft,  wliieh  was  sunk  80  feet 
by  Moses  Austin.  Austin  lind  also  tho  first 
and  only  itir-furnaco  then  erected  at  the 
mines.  Tho  twelve  mines  produced  about 
Olio  and  a  half  million  iiounds  of  lead  annu- 
ally, and  employed  ."l.'iO  men,  besides  smoltcrs 
and  some  other  workmen. 

At  least  3,000  niuiiro  milos  In  Missouri 
nro  occupied  with  lead  deposits,  and  Ur. 
Owen  slates  that  tho  Western  lead  region 
covers  also  four  townships  In  Iowa,  ten  in 
llliuois,  and  sixty-two  in  Wisconsin. 


VIIIGINIA.      GOLD,    IHOX,    AND   COAL   MINES. 


605 


,  good  road  one 
[jynchV  ferry  or 
iir,  by  w  ater,  to 
e  County  is  still 
li  rauch  iron  orp 
rorked,  one  had 
{  the  surface  to 
arying  from  15° 
or  galena,  witli 

00  tons  of  lend 
;se  nunes  was  in 
eiiosits  near  the 

1  in  the  last  cen- 
auding  the  bad 
titer  part  of  the 

letween  the  Alle- 
e  French  Broad 

metal,  was  found 
id  to  any  further 

granules  of  gold 
,nd  Aiiponiattox. 
jf  tins  State  and 
;ently  ascertained, 
iiggings  were  said 

in  Spottsylvauia 

rritory  wiis  purchnpeil 
I  In  1804,  oiul  in  1811 
ml  St.  flenoviove  wore 
ul  a  ruili!  open  or  Hiih 
)nly  oiiu,  the  Miiio  1 
*lii('b  was  sunk  80  feet 
iintiii  liiiil  iiUo  tho  first 
J  then  erectoil  nl  thu 
mines  jirudiicod  about 
n  iiounils  of  leml  unnu- 
■)0  men,  besides  »nieltcr» 
(men. 

uiiru  miles  In  Misfouri 
leml  liepo.sltK,  Hinl  l>r. 
0  Western  lend  reniou 
»n»hips  in  lown,  ten  in 
vu  in  Wiseousiu. 


and  fifteen  ia  Orange  Comity.  Still  more  recently  machinery  was  some- 
what extensively  introduced  by  Commodore  Stockton,  for  reducing  the 
gold-bearing  (luartz  of  a  rich  vein  in  Fluvanna  County  ;  and  quartz-mills 
have  been  erecteil  in  Buckingham  County  and  other  places  by  diflerent 

companies. 

But  the  gold  mines  of  Virginia  are  greatly  subordinate  in  value  to 
her  Iron  and  coal.  The  latter  had  ijeen  observed  in  so  many  places 
^„^,  tlirougliout  the  Western  country,  that,  as  mentioned  in  the 

muos.  «  A^'uies  on  Virginia,"  the  whole  country  between  tiie  Laurel 
llidge  and  the  .Mississippi  was  supposed  to  be  underlaid  by  it.  It  was 
also  known  in  many  places  north  of  the  Oldo  and  on  the  branches  of  the 
Mouougahela.  On  both  sides  the  James  river  for  severid  miles,  and 
fifteen  or  twenty  tibove  Richmond,  coal  seams  had  been  long  opened. 
Tlie  pits  were  owned  by  different  persons,  and  were  worked  to  an  ex- 
tent equal  to  the  demand.  The  coal  was  superficiid,  and  is  stated  to 
iiave  been  first  found  by  a  boy  in  digging  for  crayfish,  and  was  found 
adhering  to  the  roots  of  upturned  trees.  It  was  exported  to  I'hiladel- 
piiia  and  other  places  in  1789  in  considerable  quantities,  and  sold  in  the 
former  by  retaU  at  l.s.  G(/.  a  bushel. 

To   render  available   for  market  the   valuable  semi-bituminous  coal 
deposits  of  the  Bichmond  and  Chesterfield  coal  basin,  and  the  mineral 
resources  of  the  western  counties,  the  improvement  of  the  navigation 
of   the    r.itomae  and  James  rivers  so   as  to  interlock  by  canals  and 
short  portages  with  the  head-waters  of  ihe   Great  Kanawha  and  Mo- 
nongidiela,  received  early  attention.    In  178.3,  tho  Assemblies  of  Virginia 
and  Maryland  passed  Acts  to  encourage  a  compn,>v,  in  which  rieneral 
Washington  was  a  large  stockholder,  to  reach  Will  s  creek  near   Fort 
Cumberland,  at  the  foot  of  tiie  A  ilcglianies,  by  means  of  the  Potomac 
river  and  a  canal  30  feet  wide  with  8  feet  of  water,  estimated  to  cost 
$.-)0,000.     About  the  same  time  the  legislatures  .if  Viruinia  and  North 
Carolina  jointly  incorporated  a  .M.mpany  to  construct  a  canal  latween  tho 
navigiddJ  waters  of  Flizab.'th  ai.     I'ascpiotank  rivers,  thus  uniting  Albe- 
marle Sound  with  I'iiiladelphia,    xcept  a  short  passage  between  Flk 
river  and  Christina  creek.     Tiiis  c;     il  passed  through  a  portion  of  the 
Dismal  Swamp,  whose  terrible  soli.iides  were  first  penetrated  by  a  por- 
tion of  tlie  company  which  surveyed  the    line  between  Virginiiv  and 

Carolina  in  1728. 

A  canal  was  soon  after  oom]deted  nronml  the  falls  of  James  river, 
opening  direct  water  cominmiiciition  witli  some  of  the  finest  portions  of 
tlie  interior.  The  ample  water-power  of  the  falls,  which  have  a  descent 
of  «0  feet  within  a  few  miles  above  llichmond,  had  iieen  some  tiuu'  before 
iippropriated  to  various  manufacturing  purposes.      An   excellent   ttir- 


606 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS. 


furnace  was  built  at  Wcstham,  six  miles  above  the  city,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  during  the  Revolution.  Some  of  the  largest  and  best- 
constructed  merchant  mills  in  the  country  were  built  on  the  canal  aud 
falls  near  the  city  a  few  years  later. 

A  rolling  and  slitting  mill  was  afterward  built  at  the  same  place  to 
work  the  Iron  which  came  down  from  the  upper  country.  This  was 
„  ,  .  probably  not  the  first  in  the  State,  although  we  have  seen  no 
from  lion,  nicntiou  of  an  earlier  one.  Although  the  btates  soutn  oi 
Pennsylvania  were  supposed  to  make  more  pig-iron  than  those  to  the 
northward,  the  manufacture  of  that  metal  into  its  various  forms  for  use 
had  made  less  progress,  and  most  of  their  iron  wares  were  iiiiported  from 
England  or  the  northern  Provinces  before  the  war. 

The  erection  of  mills  and  Iron-works  was  encouraged  by  the  Assem- 
bly of  Virginia  at  different  times.  The  Revolution  forced  upon  all  the 
Southern  Colonies  an  increased  attention  to  domestic  manufactures. 
Employment  was  furnished  in  many  of  the  manual  arts,  luid  several 
branches  of  metallic  manufacture  were  introduced  by  that  event. 
The  non-intercourse  resolutions  were  early  adopted  and  faithfully  car- 
ried out. 

A  committee  of  the  Virginia  Convention  previously  appointed  to  re- 
port a  plan  for  the  encouragement  of  arts  and  manufactures,  reported, 
March  27, 1775,  a  series  of  resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted, 
urging  the  people  to  promote  tiie  manufacture  of  cloth,  salt,  gunpowder, 
nails,  wire,  etc.,  and  largely  to  encourage  the  making  of  sted,  as  there 
would  be  a  great  demand  for  the  article.  Wool  combs,  cotton  and 
wool  cards,  and  heckles,  which  had  been  for  some  time  made  in  some 
neighboring  Colonies,  were  also  commended  to  their  attention.  The 
formation  of  societies  and  the  giving  of  premiums  for  the  promotion  of 
these  and  other  useful  objects  was  recommended. 

In  August  a  resolution  was  passed  "that  in  case  the  British  Ministry 

attempts  to  enforce  the  Act  of  Parliament  preventing  the  erection  of 

platinK  and  slitting  mills   in   America,  the   Convention  will 

Rolling-  I  o  "  i.  1  11 

"""■  recompense  to  the  proprietors  of  the  first  two  of  such  mills  as 

shall  bo  finished  and  set  to  work  in  this  Colony  all  losse^,  uiey  may  re- 
spectively sustain  in  consctpience  of  such  endeavours  of  Administrai/jn." 
An  ordinance  was  also  passed  to  encourage  the  manufacture  of  salt- 
petre, gunpowder,  lead,  the  refining  of  sulphur,  and  providing  fire-arms 
for  the  use  of  the  Colony.  The  industry  of  the  Virginians  in  that  and 
the  following  year  in  some  kinds  of  domestic  manufacture,  ami  tlieir  zeal 
in  promoting  the  use  of  home-made  goods,  are  described  as  almost  sur- 
passing belief.     To  provide  lead  for  the  troops,  the  Convention,  in 


VIRGINIA.      CANNON   AND  SMALL  ARMS. 


601 


tj',  on  llie  north 
largest  and  best- 
jn  tlie  canal  aud 

ic  same  place  to 
mtry.  Tliis  was 
we  have  seen  no 
States  south  of 
han  those  to  the 
3US  forms  for  use 
re  iruported  from 

>d  by  the  Assera- 
irced  upon  all  the 
tic  manufactures, 
arts,  and  several 
by  that  event. 
md  faithfully  car- 

r  appointed  to  re- 
actures,  reported, 
nimously  adopted, 
,  salt,  gunpowder, 
;  of  steel,  as  there 
ombs,  cotton  ami 
me  mode  in  some 
r  attention.  The 
the  promotiou  of 

e  British  Ministry 
ig  tlie  erection  of 
;  Convention  will 
vo  of  such  mills  as 
osse.>(  mey  may  rc- 
)f  Administrai!on." 
aimfacturc  of  salt- 
providing  fire-arms 
;ininns  in  that  and 
ture,  ami  tlieir  zeal 
ibcd  as  almost  sur- 
Lho  Conveutiou,  in 


Caiinon. 


May,  ITTG,  reprieved  a  number  of  condemned  negroes,  and  sent  them 
to  work  in  the  lead  mines  in  Fincastle  on  the  public  account. 

These  efforts  doubtless  secured  some  attention  to  the  branches  indi- 
cated. But  for  cannon,  small  arms,  and  other  munitions  of  war,  Vir- 
ginia appears  to  have  depended  less  in  the  early  part  of  the 
war  on  her  own  resources  than  Maryland  and  some  other 
States.  An  order  for  some  small  cannon  for  the  State  was  sent  to 
France  early  in  the  year  1776.  An  application  was  also  made  ta  Con- 
gress for  leave  to  purchase  cannon  at  Hughes'  furnace  in  Maryland, 
whence  the  State  would  appear  not  to  have  been  well  provided  with 
the  facilities  for  making  cannon  at  the  outset.  One  of  the  best  cannon- 
founderies  in  the  country  was,  however,  in  operation  before  the  end 
of  the  war  at  Westham,  a  few  miles  above  Richmond,  and,  with  a  large 
quantity  of  cannon  and  other  military  stores,  was  destroyed  when  Gen. 
Arnold  invaded  the  State  in  January,  1781. 

Cannon  and  small  arms  were  made  in  some  other  parts  of  the  State, 

but  we  cannot  say  to  what  e.xtent.     The  price  for  iron  cannon  was 

about  £35  per  ton,  Virginia  currency,  and  for  muskets  £4  58. 

Small  arms.  i      ikr         t         i 

each.  At  New  London,  in  Bedford  County,  and  probably  in 
several  other  towns,  were  a  number  of  workshops  for  the  manufacture 
and  repair  of  fire-arms  during  the  war. 

After  the  peace  (1780),  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Marquis  de  Lafayette  were 
commissioned  to  purchase  fire-arms  in  France  for  the  Virginia  militia. 
France  is  said  by  M.  de  Warville  to  have  withdrawn  the  prohibition 
resting  on  the  exportation  of  fire-arms  and  ammunition  in  consequence 
of  this  order,  which  was  made  at  a  time  when  there  was  a  strong  foreign 
competition  for  the  trade  of  the  American  States.' 


(1)  Congress  at  (iiffcrcnt  times  obtiiincit 
fupplics  of  arms  from  FrniiCB.  A  letter  I'rnm 
Ilarbuo  Ditborg  to  Dr.  Frnnklin,  in  Juno, 
1776,  f^pcaks  of  obtaining  from  tbo  king's 
nrscnal,  ns  on  assumed  merenntilu  transno- 
tion  of  the  manufacturer,  15,000  muskets  of 
tlio  model  of  176.1,  for  tlie  mo  of  the  United 
States,  lie  alludes  to  an  improved  tnu.<kot  in- 
vented by  one  Ueynard,  whieli  It  was  hoped 
would  first  bo  employed  in  tlio  servico  of  lib. 
erty  in  America.  Mr.  .TelTerson,  in  a  letter 
from  I'aris  to  John  Jay,  in  Aug.,  I'Hi,  and 
afterward  to  the  Oovirnor  of  Virginia,  men- 
tiuiied  a  valuable  improvomoni  which  hiid 
just  been  inudo  in  tho  mnnufaeturu  of 
muskets  in  I'aris.  It  had  been  approved  of 
by  the  Uovernmont,  whieh  was  then  pslab- 
UsUlag  »  large  manufactory  to  put  it  in  exe- 


cution. It  consisted  "in  tho  making  every 
part  of  thorn  so  exactly  alike  that  what  be- 
longs to  any  one  may  be  used  for  every 
musket  in  the  inngatino."  It  had  then  been 
applied  only  to  tho  manufacture  of  the  locks, 
but  would  soon  bo  extended  to  all  parts  of  the 
gun.  Tho  principle  is  so  analogous  to  that 
adopted  a  few  years  after  by  Eli  Whitney 
at  Now  Haven,  and  subsequently  in  publio 
arsenals  of  the  Qovernment,  that  it  seemi 
prdbable  tho  idea  was  obtained  from  abroad. 
Mr.  Jefferson  alluded  to  it,  ho  says,  in  case 
CongrofS  should  wish  to  purclia,"C  orms, — 
whence  it  may  be  inferred  that  ho  did  not 
consider  his  own  State  or  the  country  as 
affording  any  scope  for  its  introduction. 
He  was  not  at  that  time,  however,  an  UUT0> 
cute  of  Manufactures. 


608 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 


In  accordance  with  the  Act  of  May  4,  1798,  Harper's  Ferry,  in  Vir- 
ginia was  selected  as  the  site  of  one  of  the  public  nrmories  and  gun- 
p„,„„  manufactories  of  the  United  States,  where  the  latest  improve- 
armory.       mcuts  in  the  manufacture  were  introduced. 

Under  the  old  Confederation,  in  January,  1788,  Virginia  enacted  a 
State  impost  law,  which  laid  the  following  duties  on  Iron  and  its  manu- 
factures :  On  bar-iron  pots  and  other  castings  the  duty  was  4s.  per  hun- 
dred-weight ;   on  nail-rods,  Cs-.  ;   on  axes  per  dozen,  8s.  ;   on  hoes,  6,-'. ; 

and  clocks  paid  £5. 

The  manufacture  of  these  articles  had  probably  received  an  impulse 
during  and  subsequent  to  the  war.     Virginia  and  Carolina  made  hoes 
had  been  for  sale  in  New  York  several  years  before  the  Revo- 
hoSuid'  lution.      Nails,   which    had  always  been   imported   in   large 
industry.      ^,„q,j„,._  ^.^^.Q  ^q^  made   in  considerable  quantity.     Many  of 
the  planters  had  taken  pains  to  instruct  their  negroes  in  that  and  other 
handicraft  brandies,  and  in  some  sections  their  labor  went  far  toward 
supplying    the   demand.      Mr.  Jefferson,  who   had    much   of  his   do- 
mestic   coarse    clotliing,    cabinet-ware,    masonry,   bricklaying,    smith- 
work,   etc.,   thus    done    by   his   own   slaves,   also    employed   about   a 
dozen  of  the    younger  ones    in  the   manufacture  of  nails,  who  made 
about  a  ton  of  nails  a  month  at  a  considerable  profit.     His  mechanical 
tastes  also  led  hii.i,  previous  to  the  time  that  he  assisted  in  the  organi- 
zation and  presided  over  the  Patent  Board  of  the  General  Government, 
a  little  into  the  field  of  invention.     While  in  England,  in  1786,  he  con- 
trived a  portable  copying  machine,  on  the  principle  of  a  large  one  then  iu 
use  and  in   Paris  he  set  a  workman  to  make  them,  who  had  his  hands 
full',  such  was  the  demand  for  them,     lie  also  devised  a  mould  board  of 
improved  construction  for  a  plow. 

In  illustration  of  the   progress  made  in  domestic  and  particularly 
household  manufactures  in  the  ten  years  following  the  peace,  some  fa<:ts 
were  carefully  collected  and  furnished  to  Mr.  Tench  Coxe,  and  appended 
to  his  review  of  Lord  Siieffiold's  pampiilet  in  1792.     From  several  parts 
of  Virginia  and  other  Southern  States,  where  the  results  were  expected 
to  be  less  striking  than  iu  the   Xortliern  ones,  the  evidence  seemed  to 
prove  that,  even  in  towns  aeeessil)ie  to  sliipping,  the  advance  in  neces- 
sary manufactures  liad  been  as  visible  and  rapid  as  in  agriculture.     The 
progress  in  Frederick  and  Elizubethtown,  in  Maryland  ;    in  Staunton, 
Virginia;    Lexington,   Kentucky;    and  some  other    interior  towns  of 
the  South,  tliere  was  reason,  to  believe,  had  been  nearly  as  great  as  in 
the  counties  of  Lancaster,  York,  and  Ik-rks  in  Pennsylvania,  whicli  were 
the  most  advanced  in  manufactures  of  any  iu  that  State,  and  pcrliaiJS  in 
the  Union.     Wiiuliesler,  Virginia,  was  remarkable  for  tiie  number  of  it.s 


VIRGINIA   AND    NORTH   CAROLINA.      EARLY   EXPLORATIONS.         609 


Ferry,  ia  Vir- 
iries  and  giin- 
ulest  iniprove- 

iniii  enacted  a 
and  its  mann- 
as 4s.  per  hun- 
011  hoes,  G.-'. ; 

ed  an  impulse 
lina  made  hoes 
?fore  the  Revo- 
orted  in  large 
tity.     Many  of 
that  and  other 
cnt  far  toward 
ich   of  his   do- 
^laying,    smith- 
doyed   about   a 
iiils,  who  made 
Ilis  mechanical 
i  in  the  organi- 
ral  Government, 
in  1786,  he  con- 
arge  one  then  in 
0  had  his  hands 
mould  board  of 

and  particularly 
)eace,  some  fucts 
:e,  and  appended 
oni  several  parts 
ts  were  expected 
ieiioe  seemed  to 
Ivance  in  neces- 
gricuUure.     The 
1 ;    in  Staunton, 
iterior  towns  of 
rly  as  great  as  in 
,ania,  wliich  were 
e,  and  piM'hiips  in 
tlie  number  of  its 


manufacturers,  as  also  several  interior  towns  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
Philadelphia,  where  one-fourth  of  the  adult  males  belonged  to  th'^  classes 
which  could  properly  be  called  manufacturers.'  Que  communication 
represents  that  the  manufactures  of  Iron  exceeded  all  others  in  Virginia, 
which  was  supposed  to  be  exclusive  of  the  household  manufactures  of 
every  kind.  In  ship-building,  Virginia  :hen  exceeded  New  Hampshire, 
and  in  merchant  mills  her  progress  was  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
State,  thuugii  still  behind  some  in  that  class  of  machinery.  These 
brunches  were  a  support  to  the  iron  interest.  Of  the  facilities  afforded 
Kichmond.  ^'^  I^ii^l'iiKJud  for  somc  of  those  branches  of  manufacture  in 
which  it  has  since  become  so  prominent,  Mr.  Coxe  makes  the 
following  observation  at  a  time  when  the  coal  deposits  of  other  parts 
of  the  Union  had  not  been  discovered:  "There  are  but  two  scenes  in 
the  Atlantic  counties  in  which  coal,  iron,  and  water-falls  arc  yet  found 
together  in  abundance.  These  scenes  are  therefore  peculiarly  qualiliod 
for  the  iron  branch  of  manufactures.  The  city  of  Richmond  on  the 
bank  of  James  river,  in  Virginia,  which  is  one  of  the  places  contem- 
plated, may  be  considered  in  a  permanent  view  as  having  an  incontestable 
natural  advantage  over  any  more  northern  seaport  in  this  interesting 
branch.  IIow  profitable  would  it  be  to  Virginia  were  all  her  pig  and 
bar  iron  passed  under  the  tilt-hammers  or  through  the  rolling  and  slit- 
ting mills  which  might  be  erected  at  that  place." 

North  Carolina.— In  the  Provinces  south  of  Virginia  the  manufac- 
ture of  Iron  was  not  attempted  either  as  early  or  as  extensively  as  in 
those  further  north.  And  notwithstanding  the  abundance  of  excellent 
ore  in  some  of  them,  and  plenary  facilities  for  its  nmnul'acture,  the  pro- 
duction of  Iron  is  still  relatively  inconsiderable. 

Within  the  limits  of  Nortli  Carolina  probably  the  first  discovery  of  ir<'n 
ore  in  this  country  was  made  by  the  colony  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  left  iu 
Eariyex-  Augu.st,  1585,  ou  the  island  of  Roanoke,  under  Captain  Lane, 
piuratioiu.  ^„,idas,  and  Thomas  Ileriot,  the  inventor  of  the  system  of 
Algebraic  notation.  Lane  and  his  men,  impelled  by  the  hope  of  golden 
discoveries,  which  was  certainly  as  excusable  iu  that  age  as  in  this,  ex- 
plored the  country  along  the  Roanoke  and  on  both  sides  from  Elizabeth 

(l)Winchc«toroontiiined  about  200  Iious>ea  sadiller.'!,  who,  as  well  as  the  hattcr»,  did  a 

and  hnd  4  or  5  tan-yards;  1  large  ropewiilk  ;  lnr({e  Ipusincss  ;  5  or  0  bliickemillig,  ono  oni- 

1  or  2  coBCh-mnkorg;  3  or  4  diftillerie?,  and  ployed    in    plnling    siidillo    trees;    3  or    4 

many  others  in  tho  neighborhood;  soveral  wheelwrights;  8  or  10  tailors;  8  or  9  »hoe- 

oil-mills;  numerous  grist-mills;   1  copper-  makers;   4  or  5  weavers;   2  tpinning  wlieol 

smith,  whose  business  was  oxteiifivo  ;  .1  tin-  makers  ;   .•?  or  4  snddle-treo  ii;akers.-   f'uxt't 

plato  workers;  8  or   10  hatlor';    12  or   15  Vitw  of  the  CiiiteJ  Sontn. 

89 


610 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 


river  to  the  Neus,  and  obtained  the  first  knowledge  of  several  ,nd.ge,ious 
productions,  such  as  tobacco,  maize,  the  potato,  and  sugar  cane      At 
wo  places,  one  fourscore  the  other  sixscore  furlongs  from  tin-.-  set  e- 
:.„  ,  IleAot,  the  historian  of  the  Colony,  says  they  fonn     near  the 
wate;  side  rocky  ground,  "which,  by  the  trial  of  t  e  nuner.    n.an    v 
found  to  hold  iron  richly.     It  is  found  in  many  places  o.    he  cunn.n 
else.     I  know  nothing  to  the  contrary  but  that  it  may  oe  allowed  for  a 
good  merchantable  commodity,  considering  there  the  smal    charge  fo 
L  labour  and  finding  of  men.  the  infinite  store  of  wood,  t  e  want 
wood  and  dearness  thereof  in  England,  and  the  necessity  of  bal]a,t.ng 
ships  '"     Copper  and  silver  ornaments  were  found  with  the  natives,  who 
disco'vered  in  the  strangers  credulous  and  willing  listeners  to  ma„y  he 
tions  of  rich  mines  in  the  far  interior.  •     ,  pr  = 

The  second  charter  to  Lord  Clarendon  and  his  associates  in  IGGo. 
confirming  to  them  under  the  title  of  Carolina,  and  extendingthe  fomier 
natent  to  the  whole  territory  of  the  two  Carolinas,  with  palatinate  rights 
Ind  jurisdictions,  granted  the  proprietaries  "all  veins,  mines,  and 
quarries,  as  well  discovered  as  not  discovered,  of  gold,  sdver,  gems,  and 
precious  stones,  and  all  other  whatsoever,  be  it  of  stones,  metals,  or  any 
other  thing  found  or  to  be  found  within  the  Province,  terntory  inlets, 
and  limits  aforesaid."  They  were  to  pay,  as  a  feudal  acknowledgnient 
a  rent  of  twenty  marks,  and  one-fourth  of  the  gold  and  silver  that  should 

be  found  therein.  .  •     i 

Though  less  important  every  way  than  the  baser  metals  con  aincd 
within  it.  the  limits  of  this  patent  embrace  the  principal  gold-producing 
re-ion  of  the  Atlantic  States.     If  the  proprietaries  made  any 
min'es.         effort  to  promote  the  discovery  of  the  precious  or  useful  ores 
the   metallurgic    knowledge   brought   to    the   Investigation   does    not 
appear  to  have  been  ade.iuate  to  its  detection.     Although  many  of  the 
earlier  adventurers  doubtless  kept  a  vigilant  watch  for  traditional  treas- 
ures  in  the  soil,  it  was  not  until  a  comparatively  recent  date  that  Caro- 
lina and  neighboring   Stales  were  found  to  hold   gold   and   silver   in 
appreciable  amount.     Gold  is  first  mentioned  in  Mr.  Jefferson  s  >  otos 
as  a  known  constituent  of  the  porphyritic  structure  of  the  Appalachian 
chain      It  is  confined  in  the  United  States  to  the  newer  metamorphic 
scries  and  where  the  "  Appalachian  gold  field  "  crosses  the  western  part 
of  North  Carolina,  it  occurs  in  auriferous  quartz,  pyrites,  and  othor 
crvstalline  forms,  associated  with  silver,  copper,  lead,  iron,  barytes,  etc.. 
Bome  of  them  also  in  useful  proportions.     It  is  not  known  how  early  it 
was  found  in  this  State,  but  a  large  lump  was  discovered  in  1799,  wlueli, 
when  melted  at  the  Mint,  is  said  to  have  yielded   25  lbs.  of  gold  2;l 
(1)  lK'riot'6  N«rrative  in  Dr.  Hawk's  IlUt.  N.  Curoliua,  i.  liS. 


NORTH   CAROLINA.       MIXES— lUON-WORKS. 


611 


cral  indigenous 
igiir  ciine      At 
)in  tlu'i'-  sctllf- 
fuiinil   near  the 
iner.il  man,  was 
ci"  the  cunnu'v 
)e  alh)\vL'(l  for  a 
;niall  cliargo  for 
od,  the  want  of 
ity  of  balla.stin<r 
the  natives,  who 
lers  to  nianj'  tic- 

ociates  in  1GG5, 
nding  tlic  former 
palatinate  rights 
:ins,  mines,  and 
silver,  gems,  and 
;s,  metals,  or  any 
,  territory,  inlets, 
aclinowk'dgiuent, 
silver  that  should 

metals  contained 
il  gold-i-troducing 
:etaries  made  any 
9US  or  useful  ores 
gatiou   does    not 
ough  many  of  tlie 
traditional  treas- 
t  date  that  Caro- 
M   and   silver   in 
Jefferson's  Notes 
r  the  Appalachian 
ewer  metamorphic 
IS  tlie  western  part 
pyrites,  and  othor 
iron,  barytcs,  etc., 
nown  liow  early  it 
red  in  1799,  which, 
25  lbs.  of  gold  2;5 

iiiii,  i.  108. 


carats  fine.     It  was  first  obtained  in  any  considerable  quantity  in  this 
State.  1 

The  iron  ores  of  this  State  emlu-ace  the  bog  deposits  of  tlie  alluvial 
seaboard  counties,  whicli  are  common  to  the  cretaceous,  tertiary,  and 
iroaores.  ^"^^  fonuatious  of  the  whole  Atlantic  slope,  and  to  similar 
formations  elsewhere,  as  well  as  to  those  of  earlier  age  where 
circumstances  are  favorable  to  their  deposition.  Eeds  of  brown  hematite 
are  met  with  in  the  older  and  newer  secondary  contiguous  to  the  primary 
series.  At  Egypt,  in  the  Deep  river  coal  basin,  which  is  a  continua- 
tion of  the  Richmond  coal  field,  fo.ssil  or  black  band  ore  occurs  in  juxta- 
position with  the  coal,  and  in  workable  quantity.  The  middle  and 
northeastern  counties  are  crossed  by  three  considcra!)le  belts  of  primary 
magnetic,  specular,  and  pyritous  ore,  charged  in  many  places,  as  already 
observed,  with  gold,  silver,  and  other  metals  in  economical  proportions. 
Some  of  these  have  been  long  worked  for  the  production  of  Iron.  In 
the  transmontane  territory  of  Carolina,  now  the  State  of  Tennessee,  the 
carbonate  and  Dyestone  fos.sil  ores  come  up  in  the  upper  Silurian  and 
Devonian  system,  with  numerous  beds  of  brown  hematite  on  the  lime- 
stone valleys  between  the  mountain  ranges. 

Several  Iron-works  were  in  operation  in  the  Province  before  the  revo- 
lutionary war,  some  of  which  were  put  out  of  blast  by  that  event.  Thev 
Iron-  "'ere  situated   on  the  primary  ore  belts  of  the   middle  and 

'""■'''•  western  districts,  principally  Salisbury',  on  b.,MicIies  of  the 
Cape  Fear,  Yadkin,  and  Dan  rivers.  John  Wilcox  was  the  proprietor  of 
a  furnace  and  Iron-works  on  Deep  Run  in  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Its 
site  is  not  definitely  mentioned.  There  were  also  Iron-works  in  Guilford 
County,  probably  on  the  same  stream.  In  April,  1776,  the  Provincial 
Congress  sent  commissioners  to  treat  with  Mr.  Wilcox  for  the  use  of 
his  furnace  and  works  for  two  years,  or  to  purchase  and  repair  those  in 
Guilford,  for  casting  ordnance,  shot,  etc.,  and  empowered  them  to  draw 


(1)  Of  tho  gnld  coinage  of  1804  about 
eleven  tliou!>iiii(l  dollnrs  were  the  pro<liic6 
of  virgin  gold  from  Cabarrus  County,  N.  C. 
From  that  time  to  1827  all  tho  gold  in  this 
country  was  obtninetl  from  this  Stato, 
amounting  in  nil  to  $110,000.  Tho  Gold 
Hill  mines  in  Kowiin  County  are  the  rieh- 
ett  in  tho  Atlantic  States,  and  now  yield 
ubiiut  $200,1100  worth  annually.  It  is  ex- 
triioted  from  iron  pyrites  contained  in  tiil- 
co?o  sintc,  qunrtz,  and  other  rock,  whieh  is 
forth  usually  from  one  to  throe  dollars  per 
bushel,  and  occasionally  $1,000.  The 
"Washington   Silver  Mine,"   in   Davidson 


County,  furnishes  goM,  silver,  lend,  and 
iron.  A  bar  of  silver  from  one  of  these 
mines  in  the  New  York  E.xhibition  in 
IS53-1,  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  smelted 
from  tho  ores  in  the  United  Stated.  Several 
counties  of  this  State  produce  gold  in  vari- 
ous association  with  other  metals.  Tfiu 
copious  yield  of  gold  by  the  mines  of  tho 
Southern  States  induced  Congress  in  l«;ks 
to  establish  three  branch  mints,  one  Ht 
Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  one  at  Dahlniint'ii, 
flcorgin,  and  one  at  New  Orleans,  the  first 
two  for  gold  coin  only. 


COLONIAL  INDt'STRY  IN   METALS. 

netic,  specuUvr,  and  betnafte  iron  m  S'-^f Jl""^\^Jj  ]        ^„,_     On  U.c 

their  nJigLborhood  show  them  *«/-«  "^J ^J^taf^  ..for. 

I   u  .^f  ti.P 'jainp  ores,  a  furnace  aim  lorgt  was  ai 

western  belt  «f  j^  ^  ;j^".  Cleveland  County,  not  far  from  K-ng'. 
the  war  on  Buffalo  creek         ^  blooraery  forge  near 

mountain  on  the  sou  .ern  -  -^^^^^^^l,,,  ,.,  fro.  a  magnetic 
its  site  and  several  ^'-''^''^  "^^ y=°jj/,f  ^he  mountain.  In  the  adjo-n- 
vein  forty  feet  tluek,  on  the  ^^est  «^J«  «*  ^^  i„      .nought, 

ing  county  of  Lincoln,  nch  --^^«f  ^  '  ,;,  ^.^J,  At  the  end  of  the 
and  furnished  in  early  tunes  a  metal  of      gh  repute  ^^^^^  .  ^ 

last  century,  four  forges,  two  ^J^  ";;;;,',  7^  ye.^  i" 

operation  in  ^'^  ---.     0-^      ;:r::fLincolntou,  and,  having 

n95,  71;"  ^-;^  :  ;""it'  Stokes  County,  where  these  ores  spread 
been  rebuilt,  is  stiU  in  ubC.     u  ir,.n-works  were  built 

out  in  broad  seams  and  maintain  several  '2^' ^.  ^ 

ou  Iron  creek,  and  conducted  with  spint     -^      ev^    y  j^^^^  ^^^^^^^ 
,nagnetie  ore  bank  was  early  opened  .        t  tlnee  ^  ^^^^^^ 

and  ten  miles  ^^^-;^^^^^Z::t"^    On^-w  creek,  ten  miles 
near  the  town  yields  77  pei   cent,  ol  iron  ,^^^^_^ 

northeast  of  Danbury,  a  loonier,-  wasbuiltn  HBO     a- _^      ^^^^^^^^_^ 
Fork,  ten  miles  south.es  ,  m  17%   -a  0^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^.^^ 

nnles  west  of  the  same  P  --  ^  J  ^^^  ^^ J  ^^  in  operation.  In  Surry 
within  a  few  years,  and  all  but  tlie  ^^^^  a  «  1  tradesmen, 

county,  where  ^^^^^^^: ^^^Z^Zl^  erected  a  few  years 
,„ade  settlements  as  -''b'  -  IJ'^^;^  ^^  "  \^  ^^,  ,,,  ,;,  forges  and  a 
after  the  Revolution  near  the  ^iadkin      U  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^.^^ 

f..nace.     Ou  Uie  same  stream  in  J  UU^Co..^ 

..ear  the  same  time.     A  f»'^'^'^'^\'7       °  ,.        5^011  ore  found  in  several 

parts  of  it.    ^^^;''^^^j2\crmUe^ 

remains  <>f -^'';^;"\f,\ri, guided  enterprise  of  some  one  who, 

;:::;  of  the  secular  oxyd  to  hope  for  cerain^  ^^  ^^^^^^^,^ 

la  Burke  County.  M.rgan  d.stnc    t-^e  mik    t^  J^  ^^^.^^^ 

-jrr^iirrisfsc^^^^^^^^^ 

was  also  a  lead  mine." 

.      .     .u-     „„nw      has  been  found  ftocorapanied,  as  in   1.1  a/I 

(, ,  In  LinvUle  mountain,  .n  this    o«n  ,      ha,  beo  ^„„„t,i„,,  by  diamu.,,..,  o! 

the  rare  miaeral  ficxibK.  .pur  (ita  columUe)     and  the  Ural  m 


NOUTIl    CAU(!I.!NA    AND   TENNESSEE. 


C13 


nni,  on  Dcop 
id  in  Guilford 
furnishes  niag- 

cxcavations  in 
T  ago.  On  tlic 
Iso  built  lii'foru 
ar  from  King's 
mery  forge  near 
from  a  magnetic 

In  the  adjoin- 
1  long  wrought, 
t  the  end  of  the 
irnacos.  were  in 
■e>uvius,  built  in 
uton,  and,  having 
these  ores  spread 
works  were  built 
y  years  ago.     A 
38  from  Danbury 
;  ore  from  a  shaft 
V  creek,  ten  miles 
another  on  Town 
a's  river,  nineteen 
each  been  rebuilt 
iration.     In  Surry 
f  them  tradesmen, 
rected  a  few  years 

six  forges  and  a 
orge  was  also  built 
id  also  on  Trouble- 
)re  found  in  sevend 
lar  iron  ore.  The 
ear  Trogden  moun- 
>  of  some  one  who, 
d  by  the  deceptive 

1. 

from  Morgnntown, 
ies  and  two  forg" 
from  the  same  place 


ocompanied,  as  in  r.ianlj 
intains,  by  diamu"!", '>! 


The  name  of  tlic  Great  Iron  Mountain,  given  by  the  first  settlers  to 
that  portion  of  tlie  Biiio  Ridge  which  is  prolonged  on  the  western  bouii- 
vve«u.rn  '^'"'7  "^  ^''"'^  Statc,  indicates  their  knowledge  of  its  great 
T.'iritury.  abundaiicc  of  magnetic  iron  ore,  and  red  and  brown  Iiciniitite. 
The  whfde  region  is  rich  in  other  valuable  ores.  Tiie  lliwassee,  Duck- 
town,  and  other  copper  mines  in  Polk  Couiily,  adjoining  the  Georgia 
line,  are  celebrated  as  among  the  richest  in  the  country,  alTording  the 
black  o.xyd  and  sidphuret  of  copper  forwiiich  they  are  wrouglit,  in  great 
aniiiiint.  They  are  equally  rich  in  hydratcd  peroxyd  of  Iron,  rcsnlting 
from  the  decomposition  of  the  pyritiferous  rock.s,  and  carry  their  veins 
of  botii  metals  into  the  State  of  Georgia.  A  furnace  was  once  built  to 
smelt  iron  from  these  ores.  The  streams  which  flow  westward  from  this 
elevated  dividing  ridge  into  the  great  valley  of  the  Tennessee,  are  now 
studded  with  numerous  iron-works.  Tlie  hardy  emigrants  from  Virginia 
and  neighboring  States,  and  from  Europe,  who,  on  the  restoration  of 
peace  with  England  and  the  indigenous  Indian  tribes,  penetrated,  chiefly, 
by  way  of  the  Cumberland  Gap,  into  the  fertile  limestone  valley  of  tlie 
"West,  erected  several  Iron-works  within  tiie  present  limits  of  the  Slate, 
before  it  obtained  a  sei>aratc  federal  existence.  Tlieir  fir.st  operations 
appear  to  have  been  made  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  State,  on 
the  head  streams  of  the  ITolsten,  the  main  branch  of  tlie  Tennessee. 
Tliey  are  said,  however,  to  liave  rejected  the  richest  of  the  brown  hema- 
tite ores  of  this  section,  mistaking  it  for  the  blavk  jack,  (sulphuret  of 
zinc)  of  the  English  miners. 

A  bloomery  forge  was  built  in  1190,  at  Emeryville,  eiglit  miles  south- 
east from  AVashington  College,  and  the  same  distance  south  of  Jones- 
borough,  in  Washington  County  and  district.  It  is  now  known 
Bi"  Teuues"  as  the  Pleasant  Valley  Rolling-mill  and  Nail-works,  to  which 
use  it  was  converted  in  1833.  At  Elizabethtown,  on  Doe 
river,  a  branch  of  the  Watauga,  in  Carter  County,  the  bloomery  of 
Messrs.  Carter  &  Co.  was  built  in  llflo.  It  is  now  surrounded  by  a 
number  of  similar  works.  A  bloomery  was  also  erected  on  Camp 
Creek,  of  the  Xolachucky,  seven  miles  southeast  of  Greenville,  Greene 
County,  in  1797.  It  was  rebuilt  in  1856,  and  still  makes  Iron  from 
hematite  in  its  neigiiborhood.  Wagner's  bloomery,  a  working  forge 
on  Roane's  Creek,  a  few  miles  from  Taylorsville,  in  the  extreme 
northeastern  corner  of  the  State,  in  Johnson  County,  is  said  to  have 
been  built  in  1795.  Two  blooineries  in  Jefferson  County,  the 
Mossy  Creek  forge,  ten  miles  north,  and  Dumpling  forge,  five  miles  west 

which  sorao  small  ones  have  been  found  in     North  Carolina,  and  also  in  Suutb  Carolina 
this  State  and  Georgia.     The  same  mineral     and  Georgia, 
is  found  in  Stokes  and  Wilkes  counties  in 


eii 


COLONIAL   IXDVBTUY   IN    METALS. 


ol  Dandrulgo,  wore  built  about  the  same  year,  and  were  both  abandoned 

"^^l^.;f !,::r^iue,  ir  not  earner,  Mr.  David  Ross,  the  proprietor 
of'lrun-works  In   Can.pbell  County,  Virginia,  erected  a  large    urnaee 
and  forge  at  the  june.iou  of  the  North  fork  of  the  llolsten  with  he  ma  u 
"am  :.ear  the  Virginia  line.     It  was  on  the  great  road  from  Knoxv  U 
to  Philadelphia.     A  bloomcry  was  also  set  up,  at  dus  tune,  belo  v  th 
,nouth  of  the  Watauga,  and  another  25  miles  above  the  n.outh  of  Fi  .  cl 
Broad  and  30  above  Knoxvllle.     Good  ore  was  found  in  seveiul  places 
on  the   llolsten,  and  had  been  worked  to  advantage  in  one  or    wo^ 
Boats  of  25  tons  burden  eould  ascend  to  Ross'  Iron-woi^s,  nearly  1000 
^iles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee,  and  about  280  above  Nashvi  e 
It  Long  Island,  a  short  distance  above,  on  the  llolsten  where  the  f  s 
pennanfnt  settlement  iu  Tenaessee  was  made  in  1775,  boats  were  lui 
0  transport  Iron  and  castings  made  in  considerable  quantities  a   th    t 
works  with  other  produce,  to  the  lower  settlements  and  >ew  Oieans 
r  ead  mine,  yielding  Vo  per  cent,  of  metal,  was  worked  on  the  French 
Br  ac'  Tnd  galena  .' s  found  elsewhere  in  the  valley.     Sa  t  was  made 
by  boiling  at  Campbell's  Salines,  10  miles  up  North  llolsten,  and    n 
1T95  several  tons  of  saltpetre,  collected  from  the  nitrous  caves  m  the 
couniy,  were  sent  to  the  Atlantic  markets.     Coal  had  also  been  discov- 
ered not  far  from  Campbell's  Salines.  ,      ,-   . 
Adventurers  had  also  passed  the  wilderness  between  tliese  frontiei 
settlements  and  the  vast  ridge  of  the  Cumberland  or  Laurel  mountains, 
and  had  founded  Nashville  in  1780.     In  the  sub-carboniferous 
^^e^^euue.'.  limestone  region,  south  of  the  Cumberland  river  iron  ore  was 
discovered  a  few  years  later,  about  30  miles  below  Nashville, 
iu  Mero  district.     Between  the  years  1790  and  1795,  a  charcoal  furnace 
was  erected  near  the  place,  ou  the  iron  fork  of  Barton's  ereek,  in  Diekson 
County,  and  seven  miles  west  of  Charlotte.     This  fumade  called  Cum- 
berland, now  uses  steam,  and  made,  in  1857,  over  1.800    ons  of  cold- 
blast  foundery  metal  out  of  brown  hematite.     This  part  of  the  State  s 
now  one  of  the  most  productive  in  charcoal  Iron  lu  the  country.     The 
hemu'.ized  carbonate  ores  of  the  coal  series  here  furnish  abundant  out- 
crops  throughout  an  area  115  miles  long  by  about  50  broad,  across  the 
entire  St.Le,  and  occupying  about  a  dozen  counties,  between  the  Cum- 
herland  and  Tennessee  rivers,  well  supplied  with  wood  and  water-power, 
«nd  with  mineral  coal  easily  accessible.     The  ore  is  worked  chiefly  by 
open  quarries,  and  levels  iu  the  spurs  of  the  hills,  which  project  numerous 
digitations  and  knobs  of  ferruginous  material  into  the  valleys  and  ravines 
alon-  the  several  rivers  and  creeks  of  the  great  valley.     These  ore  banks 
furnilh  the  argillaceous  carbonate,  changed,  by  exposure  to  the  hydrous 


NOUTU   CAROLINA.       niKMlLMS   i'lUl    MANLi'ACTl'UES. 


C15 


oth  abandoned 

tlic  proprietor 
largo  furnace 
,  with  the  main 
from  Knoxville 
time,  below  the 
louth  of  French 
1  several  places 
in  one  or  two. 
rks,  nearly  1000 
ibove  Nashville. 
,  where  the  first 
joals  were  built 
antities  at  these 
d  New  Orleans, 
d  on  the  French 
Salt  was  made 
Ilolsten,  and  in 
)us  caves  in  tlie 
also  been  discov- 

en  these  frontier 
jaurel  mountains, 
sub-carboniferous 
iver,  iron  ore  was 
below  Nashville, 
I  charcoal  furnace 
1  creek,  in  Dickson 
nade,  called  Cum- 
BOO  tons  of  cold- 
art  of  the  State  is 
the  country.     The 
lish  abundant  out- 
I  broad,  across  the 
between  the  Cum- 
l  and  water-power, 
1  worked  ch.iefly  by 
h  project  numerous 
valleys  and  ravines 
These  ore  banks 
sure  to  the  hydrous 


peroxyd,  in  a  variety  of  forms,  from  tlie  most  compact  liver  ore  to 
masses  of  iioncy-comb,  and  uclireous  bru\vn  hematite,  granular,  nodular, 
pot,  and  pipe  ores.  Those  varieties  also  >lre";  the  surface  in  many 
places,  and  yield  of  metallic  Iron  frequently  over  60  per  cent.  Though 
often  containing  sulphur  and  other  modifying  elements,  they  make,  we 
believe,  a  belter  quality  of  Iron  than  tlie  clay  iron-stone  of  the  English 
coal  measures,  from  which  the  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  limonites  difl'ei 
somewhat  in  constitution,  and  in  geological  relations.  They  are  i)ar 
ticulurly  abundant  in  Stewart,  Davidson,  and  in  one  or  two  other  coun- 
ties in  the  angle  between  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  rivers,  where 
an  extensive  iron  business  is  done.  The  ores  at  the  eastern  base  of  the 
Cumberland  mountains  are  piineiimlly  of  the  red  fossiliferous  variety. 
These  valuable  deposits  extend,  also,  southward  into  Alabama,  where 
they  are  wrought  to  some  extent.  The  Iron  and  coal  deposits  of  West- 
ern Tennessee  and  Kentucky  alone,  to  say  nothing  of  those  north  of  the 
Ohio,  and  the  almost  illimitable  masses  of  rich  magnetic,  and  specular 
Iron  ore  contained  in  the  Pilot  Knob  and  Iron  mountain  of  Missouri, 
and  those  of  the  northwest  form  a  vast  future  resource  for  the  great 
Mississippi  basin,  the  development  of  which  has  yet  only  just  begun. 

Engaged,  like  her  sister  provinces  of  the  South,  during  colonial  times, 
principally  in  llie  production  of  tobacco,  grain,  tar,  pilch,  turpentine, 
etc.,  which  were  their  staple  exports,  Carolina  had  made  no  great  pro- 
gress in  the  mechanical  arts,  and  derived  her  principal  supplies  of  metal- 
lic, and  other  manufactured  wares,  from  England.  The  impulse  given  to 
domestic,  and  i)articularly  to  family  manufactures,  by  the  suspension  of 
foreign  trade  and  the  events  of  the  war,  was  considerable.  The  necessity 
of  this,  early  forced  itself  upon  the  Convention  and  Congress  of  the 
Province. 

The  Convention  assembled  at  Newbern,  on  the  3d  Ajiril,  1715,  re- 
solved, "  from  common  prudence  and  regard  for  the  Colony,"  to  encourage 
arts,  manufactures,  and  agriculture,  and  every  kind  of  economy,  and  to 
use  their  influence  to  that  end.  With  this  view,  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress, on  the  10th  September  of  the  same  year,  endeavored  to  stimulate 
several  branches  of  the  most  needful  manufactures,  including  that  of  salt- 
petre and  gunpowder,  by  a  series  of  premiums. 

To  the  first  who  should  erect  a  rolling  and  slitting  mill,  to  prepare  for 
making  nails,  the  sum  of  £250  was  pledged,  provided  it  were  set  to 
work,  and  slit  five  tons  of  Iron,  within  two  years  from  that 
time.  A  further  sum  of  £200  was  offered  for  the  second  mill 
put  in  operation  in  like  manner. 

The  sura  of  £50  was  offered  for  the  first  fifty  pairs  of  cotton  cards, 
worth  two  shillings  a  pair,  manufactured  in  the  province,  of  wire  made 


RoUing-mUI. 


61G 


COI.dNIAI.  INI/lSTliY   IN    METALS. 


ItMl. 


Air  furnace. 


and  drawn  in  tl.o  province,  and  i  like'  preminni  for  the  first  hundred  pairs 
of  wool  cards,  worth  Ibd.  a  pi  ir,  made  within  twelve  months. 

The  vnanulac^ax'  of  pins  aul  needles  was  encouraged  b..  tho  oTer  of 
£50  for  the  lirst  twenty-five  dozen  of  the  former,  equal  to  British  imported 
pins  costing  :«.  U  a  dozen ;  and  to  the  manufacturer  of  the  first  2o,0U0 
needles,  sorted  from  one  to  twelve  inclusive,  and  equal  to  needles  from 
Great  Britain  of  the  price  of  2s.  GJ.  sterling  per  thousand,  the  same  re- 
ward if  made  within  twelve  months. 

To'  the  first  wlio  should  erect  a  furnace  for  manufacturing  good  mer- 
chantahle  steel,  equal  in  goodness  to  British  steel,  £100,  provided  it  was 
8et  to  worlv,  so  as  actually  to  make,  witliin  eighteen  months, 
one  ton  of  steel.     For  the  second  steel-furnace,  erected  in  like 

manner,  £2.5.  , ,  ,    •,  i 

A  premium  of  £500  was  offered  to  any  person  who  would  build  .i 
furnace  for  mai..ifacturing  good  merchantable  i)ig-iron,  and  hollow  iron- 
wore,  and  other  articles  necessary  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  province— proof  of  its  adequate  accomplishment  to  be 
presented  to  the  Council  within  two  years. 

The  sum  of  £250  was  jdedged  for  the  erection  of  a  paper-mill;  £100 
and  iou  respectively  for  the  encouragement  of  the  woolen  ar,.^  linen 
cloth  manufactures,  £750  for  the  erection  of  a  salt-work  on  the  sea  shore, 
and  £150  for  the  extraction  of  the  greatest  ([uantity  of  refined  sulphur, 
fit,  fvjr  gunpowder. 

In  the  following  Ai)ril,  the  Trovincial  Assembly,  in  committee  of  the 
whole,  on  the  means  of  providing  amn:unition  and  warlike  s'ores, 
adopted  measures  to  promote  tlie  erection,  at  the  puljlic  exi)ense,  of  salt- 
petre works  and  a  powder-mill,  in  Halifax  County,  and  of  Bult-works  in 

tlie  province.  .         r 

Comndssioners  were,  at  the  same  time,  appointed  in  the  districts  ol 
Washington,  Newbern,  Edenton,  Halifax,  Hillsborough,  and  Salisbury, 
"  empowered  to  direct  tlie  establishment,  in  their  respective  dis- 
""""■  tricls,  of  good  and  sufllcient  muskets  and  bayonets.     For  this 

purpose,  they  were  to  collect  together  all  the  gunsuullis  and  other 
mechanics  accustomed  to,  or  capable  of  assisting  in  such  manufacture, 
and  to  employ  them  at  the  puolio  cxpen.^e.  They  were  to  be  paid  for 
each  complete  musket  and  bayonet  made  according  to  the  prescribed  pat- 
tern, not  over  £5,  and  each  district  was  allowed  to  draw  on  the  treasury 
for  £1,000,  for  that  end. 

For  casting  cannon  ond  shot,  Wilcox  Furnace,  on  Deep  Run,  or  one 
in  Guilford  County,  was  to  be  fitted  up  as  before  mentioned.' 

(I)  Araer.  ArclLve-.  4tl.  S.rio.,  vol.  i.  270  ;  vol.  lii.  209,  210,    vc.'.  v.  13R8.    8fl>  Per., 
tlI.  i.  1384. 


IRON-WOUlvS   IN    NOIITII   AND   SOfTlI   CAROLINA. 


617 


first  hundred  pairs 
months. 

;ed  b..  tho  oTur  of 
to  British  Imiiorttd 
■  of  the  first  25,000 
lal  to  needles  from 
isaud,  the  same  re- 

during  good  mer- 
00,  provided  it  was 
11  eighteen  months, 
lace,  erected  in  like 

who  would  build  a 
n,  and  hollow  iron- 
ic of  the  inhabitants 
coniplishment  to  be 

a  pnpermill;  £100 
e  woolen  iun'  linen 
)rk  on  the  sea  sliore, 
f  of  refined  sulphur, 

in  committee  of  the 
nnd  warlike  s'orcs, 
iljlic  expense,  of  salt- 

uud  of  salt-works  in 

d   in  the  districts  of 

jugh,  nnd  Salisbury, 

their  respective  dis- 

bayonets.     For  this 

cunsuuths   und  other 

u  such  manufacture, 

were  to  1)0  paid  lor 

lo  the  prcsfTibi'd  jiut- 

draw  on  the  treasury 

an  Deep  Run,  or  one 
lentioned.' 

;);    >•«;.  V.  1SS8.    8t!i  Per., 


On  tlie  representation  of  the  commissioners  appointed  in  the  district 
of  Hillsborough,  for  the  above  object,  that  Iron  proper  for  guns  could 
not  be  obtained  in  the  State,  and  that  the  provincial  currency  would  not 
purcliase  it  in  any  otiier,  tiie  Council  of  Safety,  in  October  of  the  same 
year,  granted  thcin  an  order  for  £100  on  tlie  (.'ontinental  treasury,  to  be 
deducted  from  the  contingent  (£1,000)  voted  by  Congress  to  the  State 
for  that  purpose.' 

How  far  these  measures  wore  successful  in  promoting  the  particular  ob- 
jects intended,  does  not  appear  At  Saleiii,  in  the  Moravian  settlement 
of  Wacliovia,  in  Stokes  Cminty,  a  ]iaper-mill  was  establi-l'c'd,  previous  to 
1701,  and  aided  by  a  loan  from  the  .State.  It  was  the  most  remote  from 
tiie  sea  of  any  in  tlie  United  States,  and  Mr.  Co.kc  states  that  no  such 
manufactures  as  those,  establislied  by  the  tradesmen  of  tlie  place,  existed 
in  any  piM-t  of  the  Union,  c(|ually  distant  (300  miles)  from  the  coast. 
Shiiibuilding  was  actively  carried  on  in  some  of  the  ports,  nnd  it  is 
probable  that  wrouglit  nails,  hoes,  axes,  etc.,  were  made  in  considerable 
quantities  by  slave  labor  ami  otherwise,  lint,  notwithstanding  n  consid- 
erable emigration  of  I'hiropean  meciianics,  after  tic.  var,  and  a  household 
manufacture  in  tlie  interior  counties,  amounting  to  more  than  their  con- 
sumption of  iinp(U-ted  manufactures,  the  State  still  remained  essentially 
agricultural,  and  depended  on  foreign  sources  for  its  ])rincipal  sujiplies 
of  all,  except  the  coarsest  metallic  wares.  Its  recent  progress,  jiarlicn- 
larly  within  the  la.st  deeeunium,  in  the  Iron  branches,  has  been  very  con- 
siderable. 

SoiTii  Cauoi.ina. — Of  the  manufacture  of  Iron  in  South  Carolina, 
there  is  not  mucli  to  record  in  this  place,  ns  well  on  account  of  the  late 
eommenccment,  and  limited  extent  of  tliat  industry  within  the  period 
under  review,  as,  from  the  absence  of  acces.sible  information  on  tlie  sub- 
ject. It  appears  not  to  have  begun  in  the  province  until  after  the  diffi- 
culties with  Great  Britain  rendered  n  separation  probable.  Various 
causes  have  retarded  its  development  until  the  present  time.  The 
genius  of  the  people  inclined  tlieni  wholly  to  agriculture.  The  profits  of 
servile  labor  in  the  maritime  sections  of  the  South,  furnished  the  means 
of  j)nrchasing  every  description  of  manufacture  which  could  minister  to 
convenience  or  luxury.  Skilled  labor  was  dear,  and  met  with  little  en- 
couragement, and  tlic  exi>ense  of  Iron-works  was  more  jirofitably  in- 
vested in  land  and  slaves.  Witli  the  small  farmers  of  the  interior,  the 
demand  for  Iron  and  its  mannfiictnres^  was  limited,  and  confined  to  the 
coarser  de.scriiitions  of  wares,  much  of  wliieh  was  manufactured  among 

(1)  Ainrr.  Arclilvcfl,  4th  Sorics,  vol.  1.  270;  vol.  Hi.  200,  210;  vol.  v.  ISSS.  Mil  Scr., 
vol.  i.  lysi. 


T 


COLONIAL   INDUSXllY   IN   METAL8. 


them  The  miueral  resources  of  the  State,  though  no  extensive  are, 
ve;theh,-ss  adequate  to  a  considerable  pro.]actiou  of  Iron  and  other 
fadlities  are  quite  aniple.  Yet  these  still  renuvin  but  part.ally  ur.proved 
uador  the  overshadowing  importance  of  one  great  e.mmercial  arUek, 
which  has  displaced  nearly  all  the  early  staples  of  Carolina,  and  appro- 
priated most  0''  the  productive  forces  of  the  State. 

In  addditior.  to  the  bog  ore  deposits  of  the  tertiary  formation  o     h. 
tide-water  section,  the  primitive  series  of  the  high  country  toward  the 
Blue  Ridge,  afford  considerable  quantities  of  magnetic  and 
" ""  '"■"'•     sDccular  Iron  ore.     One  of  the'belts  of  magnetic  oxyd,  beiore 
mentioned  as  traversing  the  central  counties  of  North  Carolina,  crosses 
the  divisional  line  on  tl.e  north  side  of  King's  mountain,  into  Yoik, 
Spartanburg,  and  Union  districts,  and  furnished  several  valuable  ore 
binks  on  Broad  river  and  Its  bra.d.es.     Magnetic  ore  is  also  found  in 
Chester  and  Abbeville  districts.     The  ore  is  imbedded  in  talcose  slate, 
and  is  underlaid  by  Uexible  spar  and  limestone.     It  is  of  three  varieties, 
the  dark  pulv  ■rulent  kind,  in  favor  with  iron-.:.akers  for  its  facde  working 
and  smeUin.s  the  richer  granular  seini-cry'^uimne  ore,  yielding  60  per 
cent ,  and  ti'ie  pure,  compact,  highb  magnetic  peroxyd,  yielding  U  per 
ceni  of  Iron.     Outcrops  of  red  oxyd,  and  siiecular  iron  ore,   .re  also  de- 
scribed as  contained  in  a  belt  of  mica  shvte,  overiying  the  tale  slate,  m 
which  the  gray  magnetic  o.xyd  beds  are  found,  and  e.xtenthng  from  both 
sides  of  King's  mountain,  across  th.«  line  into  Union  and  York  districts. 
The  same   kind  of  ore  is  abundantly  m.-t  with   on  the  north  side  ot 
Gelky's  mountain,  and  in  some  other  places.     Nearly  all  the  iron-works 
in  the  Slate  ure  in  this  region  having  tlieir  ore  banks  of  greater  or  less 
thickness  in  these  primary  slates.    Ami  here  the  fir.',  furnaces  and  forges 
in  the  State  were  built.     Iron  py-ites  is  also  an  invariable  constituent  o. 
the  gold  bearing  rocks  r.f  Carolina.     Several  mines  of  the  latter  metal 
have  been  wrought  in  this  State ;  but,  with  the  exception  ot 
""'''  tlie  Dorn  mine,  discovered  a  few  years  ago,  which  gave  promise 

of  extraordinary  productiveness,  they  have  been  fur  less  prolilic  in  gold 
than  those  of  neighl)oriiig  Slates.  .     ,  „    .       ■ 

Cobalt,  which  is  found  in  but  few  places  in  the  United  Slates,  is  met 
with  at  Silver  Bluff,  on  tlu  Savannali  river  below  Augusta.'     There  is. 


(1)  Tho  only  (HHcovcry,  hs  yut,  iniwlo  in 
till-  country,  "I'  muoli  (.ruelioiil  viiluc,  of  tho 
ore.  of  oulii.ll-  tli«  oxyd  of  wliidi,  In  tlio 
f„rin  of  Snwll  iuhI  ^-'/T'".  >»  •"  viiluiil.U)  in 
tlio  miiniifHCiuro  ihhI  eniimeling  of  kIiikb, 
porofliiin.  an.l  iMirtluMnvnro,  on  iipomnt  of 
tU«  umi!nill.'«nt  Muu  il  iinimrl*— is  i»  Mi»- 
iuuri.     At   tlio  liua   uiiuo   ciill«a   Mino  U 


Mnttc,  it  oppiir"  in  ponsiJcrnbto  qnnnlity,  a* 
liliiik  or  ciiriliy  oxyd,  wllti  tho  oxyds  of 
uiiiii«iincsi',  iron,  I'lippcr,  Bnd  niikid,  niid 
with  Kulpliur  lUid  iirscuio.  A  iiiiuu,  iit 
Cliiitlmin,  Conni'clli'iit,  is  also  worked  lor 
oohii't,  l)Ht  lioth  it  Bnd  Mino  In  Motte  con- 
tain nickel— imotlii-'r  .netiii  valimlilo  in  tli» 
ftrtt,  hltlmrtu  fuuud  lu  no  grout  quantity  iu 


MM 


1MB 


Sot  Til  c.\ror.ixA.    premiums  for  manitactcres. 


C19 


extensive,  are, 
•on,  and  otlier 
lally  in. proved 
iiercial  article, 
ua,  and  appro- 

rmaliou  of  tlic 
trj'  toward  tlie 

magnetic  and 
lie  oxyd,  before 
arolina,  crosses 
lin,  into  York, 
il  valuable  ore 
is  also  found  in 
in  talcose  slate, 

throe  varieties, 
s  facile  working 

yielding  60  per 
yielding  03  per 
ore,   .re  also  de- 
hc  tale  slate,  iu 
iding  from  both 
,  York  districts. 
c  north  side  of 
11  the  iron-works 
if  greater  or  less 
naces  and  forges 
le  constituent  of 
the  latter  metal 
the  exception  of 
licii  gave  promise 
ss  prolitic  iu  gold 

ed  States,  is  met 
usta.'     Tiiore  is, 

siJcrnblo  qimntity,  ni 
I,  with  Iho  nxyitx  of 
ijicr,  and  iiiikil.  nii<l 
rscuio.  A  miuu,  at 
t,  !•  olmi  worked  lor 
(i  Mine  In  Motte  oon- 
.iietii\  viiluablo  in  tlm 
II  uo  gruut  quautity  iu 


also,  some  silver,  lead,  and  copper  in  the  State,  but  little  skill  was  used 
in  tlieir  extraction  in  early  times. 

The  first  Iron-works  iu  Soutli  Ctirolina  are  stated,  by  Dr.  Ramsay,  to 
have  been  erected  in  the  upper  country  by  a.  Mr.  lUiiliiigton,  in  tlie  year 
Fi-stiroa-  1"^,  «'id  to  huvc  bccu  destroyed  by  tiie  tories,  during  tlie 
works.  llevolutionary  war.  .  Tiic  Caridinas  sulfered  mucli  (luring  llio 
latter  part  of  llie  contest,  and  the  iiattles  of  King's  mountain  and  tlie 
Cowpcus  were  iu  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  ore  di.itrict  above  men- 
tioned.    Several  forges  and  furnaces  were  erected  after  the  peace. 

At  the  coinmencement  of  the  Revolution,  iu  1775,  a  coiuinittec  con- 
sisting of  influential  citizens,  was  api)ointed  by  the  Provincial  Congres.s 
to  take  into  consideration  the  state  of  manul'actures,  and  rejiort  what 
branches  were  proiicr  to  be  encouraged  and  establislied  in  the  colony, 
and  the  best  means  of  cfl'ecting  it.  Tliey  reported,  in  Xoveinber  of  tiie 
same  year,  through  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tennent,  and  tiie  Congress  thereupon 
resolved  to  oiler  pivp.iums  of  X200,  H.'jO,  i.'100,  and  £')0  to  tiie  persons 
who  sliouM  erect  tin  lirst  four  saltpetre  works  in  the  province,  and  pro- 
duce fifty  pounds  of  good  merclianlal)le  •iilt[)ctre  each  ;  and  like  sums  for 
as  many  works  for  rc'lning  suljiliur,  on  producing  100  lbs  of  suljihur,  of 
wliicli  the  iiuljlic  would  purclia.sc  all  that  was  made,  at  5.-!.  per  lb. 

To  encourage  the  Iron  manufacture,  a  prciiiium  of  £I,0(.''J  was  offered 
for  the  erection  of  a  blooinery  in  the  colony  that  should   first  produce 


Bar-lMii. 


one  ton  of  good  bar-iron.     For  the  second  and  third  forges  of 


the  same  kind,  the  sums  of  £800  and  £700,  respectively,  were 
promised,  the  premiums  to  be  paid  over  and  above  the  common  price  of 
Iron. 

The  sum  of  £.500  was  offered  as  a  reward  for  each  of  the  fir.st  three 
works  erected  for  manufacturing  good  bar  steel,  on  tlieir  producing, 
severally,  five  hundred  jiounils  of  steel. 

A  premium  of  £700  was  set  apart  for  the  manufacturer  of  the  first 
1000  Ibii.  of  iiail-roils,  made  at  a  proper  rolling  and  ;,littiiig  mill,  erected 
Ijy  him  in  the  colony,  over  and  above  the  common  price  of  such  iron. 

The  sum  of  £150  currency,  iu  addition  to  the  common  price,  was 


ttin  United  Stttto— though  in  turgor  propor- 
ti'in  timn  c'lilnill. 

Aliiiiit  I  III)  yuiirn  ngn,  the  Siioioty  of  Arts 
In  London,  nuioni;  a  numlior  of  prmiiiuinn 
t/fl'ored  for  tlio  advantiiKo  of  llio  liritish 
.Vuutriciui  riliiiiicr,  and  lCn)(lli^h  nmiiufiip- 
turcn,  iniludinK  Iho  prodiiitlun  of  nmgnotio 
(imd  Iron,  iwarl-asli,  i-mhini'iil,  scnimnony, 
viuoK,  filk,  tiiiriltii.  iiitio,  ill'.,  iili'd((cd  iJO 
tu  tliu  di^cuvuror  uf  uubult  iu  lli»  MaJvHt^r't 


doininionii  in  Ainc-li'n,  in  (lunn'ily  probiildy 
sufliciuiit  for  II  iiiiiiiufacinri'r  of  ZiillVii  mid 
Siiiiilt.  Tlio  inctiil  wn>  afterward  ili."covcrod 
in  the  niinen  of  Cornwall,  in  oonseqiienpe  of 
tlio  pruiniuinH  of  thu  name  Souiuty.  Tniwi- 
I'lli'inii,  rill.  ).  Ill  1770,  the  jiroprietorn  of 
a  oliinawnre  tnanulai'tory,  cutatiliMhcd  in 
Southwark,  I'liiliidelphin,  adverlined  for 
/.alTro,  and  ulTurud  a  reward  fur  ill  pruduu- 
liuu, 


%m 


COLONIAL  TNl.rSTin-   IN   METALS. 


Load. 


1 1        i„  fiftv  Kro-c  and  substantial  gnn- 
offered  to  the  person  who  would  nrA    ^^^^^  ^^  ^.^  ,,  ,o. 

locks  of  the  kind  commonly  called  brulle-loeks,  wnu  li  son  a 

""  "''°"":;L  rioo  lr..:iOO  »c.e  .,„.ro,.rin.od  for  U-c  »«t  u.o 

works  wdiieh  produced  each  a  like  quantity. 

lu.  ;n  1770   and  for  woolens  in  proportion. 
'  T     'I."     ■«"     .K  fron.  .he  in.erv,n,.i««  .f  «  FO^P"-"  ~'!""7 

eral  resentment  of  the  rtvenut  mis  o  ..roduced  some 

„,,Hed  by  the  local  f^of:iJZ^.ZZ\^^^^^  ^^  '-'' 
good  influence  upon  domestic  n.du  t     -^^^^  . 

Bteel.  nails,  guns,  etc..  ^^evc  promoted  w    I  ave  no  mt  ^^^^ 

Four  or  f.ve  years  after  the  penee,    -;--•;      „  ^^^  ;;  ^,.;,  fl,,. 

---t:itrs;::;';rr:::^^-^vo. 

cam.irn       '""  '  „„.,.wto,1  of  the  Mto.  fumacp,  budt  in  It  hi, 

irou.wo...  u.e  river.     Ih-y  eons  sted  «    ^'"^     >^  ,.^^^^^  ,,„^i    , 

and  the  Etna,  erected  th-  followu..^  yea.^  ,,^;;    Ore  which  was  easily 

Nests  of  ochie  and  seed  '>'^^  ^^^^  machinery  gener- 

„etal  .as  esteemed  good  for  m  1.  o  s  ^'^^        '  and  was  tried 

ally,  and  for  hodo^v-worc      It  als    mad    tol  ^^  ^^^^^ 

,,   -el  wi,lM.r.n^.  ^:::ZJ: ^^^^.  "n-"tus.     By  the 
cipal  proprietors  of  the  works,  ac  contrived,  it  is 

...  '    .1  vi.,...d  likewise  all  accidents  from  freezing. 

lie  thus  obviated,  iiKcwist,,un  u  i^on   w.w  nt  damden,  70  miles 

(il  Am.  Arch.,  -llh  Ser.,  vol.  W.  OS,  1\,  72. 


SOUTU   CAUOLINA.      DOMESTIC   INDUSTRY. 


621 


i\)stantial  g«n- 

,  at  35«.  to  40s. 

ss. 

lad,  llie  owner, 

oive  £500,  and 

r  the  next  two 

two  salt-works 
the  same  pro- 
be General  As- 

crons  commerce 
r  restraining  the 
,t  year ;  the  gen- 
.he  stimulns  thus 
c  prodnced  sonic 
lufacture  of  iron, 
sof  knowing, 
retty  larjre  scale, 
_  on  a  creek  flow- 
two  miles  west  of 
cc,  built  in  1187, 
II  the  road  leading 

which  was  easily 
wo  miles  from  the 
,bovc  the  surface, 

to  shafts  or  Icve!-^, 
red  was   roasting;, 
of  the  rocks.     The 
[  machinery  gener- 
iron,  and  was  tried 
1,  one  of  the  prin- 
ipparatus.     By  the 
',  he  contrived,  it  is 
aces,  so  as  to  render 
p  kind  of  bellows," 

t  Camden,  TO  miles 
ad,  previous  to  that 
the  Catawba  to  the 


North  Carolina  line,  and  another  charter  from  that  State  empowered 
them  to  e.Ktend  their  improvements  80  miles  further  within  its  borders, 
which  would  enable  boats  of  30  tons  to  come  within  two  miles  of  the 
furnace.  Uy  oiiening  the  navigation  of  the  creek,  they  could  go  quite  up 
to  the  works,  which  were  carried  on  with  considerable  spirit.  A  canal, 
along  the  same  river,  afterward  formed  an  important  outlet  to  the  Iron- 
works of  North  Carolina. 

These  were  the  principal,  if  not  the  only  Iron-works  in  operation  in  the 
Stale  at  that  time.     Others  were  soon  after  erected,  in  diifercnt  jdaces, 
including  several   in  the  mountain  district  of  Washington,  where  Iron, 
the  only  article  made  for  sale  to  any  e.Mcnt,  was  manufactured,  at  the 
beginning  of  this  century,  as  cheap  and  good  as  the  imported.     Bar-iron 
had  long  been  wrought  up,  by  the  blacksmiths  of  the  upper  country,  into 
plowshares,  hoes,  a.xes,  and  farming  utensils  of  all  kinds.     Some  rifles 
were  also  made  in  that  part  of  the  country,  where  considerable  zeal  was 
manifested,  about  the  year  1790,  to  encourage  domestic  manufactures. 
Cotton,  flax,  and  woolen  machinery,  of  the  imyroved  con.struction,  were 
soon  after  set  in  operation,  and  flour-mills,  and  similar  works  were  under- 
taken upon  an  e\ilargcd  scale.    The  country  pcojile  already  manufactured 
a  large  proportion  of  their  own  clothing  and  necessory  supplies.     In  the 
lower  maritime  and  i)lantation  districts  they  slill  remained  greatly  de- 
pendent upon  the  Northern  provinces  and  European  commerce. 

Carolina,  daring  its  colonial  state,  had  enacted  several  general  laws  to 
encourage  the  arts  and  the  introduction  of  useful  machines  and  engines 
for  the  benefit  of  its  iirincipal  staples,  which  were  also  fostered  by  the 
parent  government.  Between  the  years  1732  and  1750,  legislative  en- 
couragement was  extended  by  tlie  Assembly  to  four  different  persons,  for 
machines  for  pounding  and  cleaning  rice.  Under  the  Old  Confederation, 
in  1784,  a  law  was  passed,  securing  to  authors  nnd  inventors  of  useful 
mochini's  the  exclusive  benefit  of  their  labors,  nnd  a  number  of  persons 
availed  themselves  of  its  immunities,  previous  to  the  transfer  of  sucli  powers 
to  Congress,  in  1788.  The  invention  of  Whitney  met  with  a  more  lil)eral 
appreciation  in  this  State  than  in  some  others  not  less  benefited  by  his 
genius.  But,  though  legislatures  may  do  much  to  cncourajre  or  ol)struet 
the  progr  ■  ;s  of  the  arts,  they  can  rarely  create  the  enterprise  which  gives 
them  vitality,  where  the  general  sentiment  is  not  in  their  favor,  and  free- 
dom of  lal)or  is  wanting  to  secure  its  rewards.  Where  the  mechanic  arts 
do  not  flourish,  the  luanufaclure  of  Iron  cannot  be  expected  to  prosper. 

GEomiiA.— In  Georgia,  adjoinins  (lie  Carolinas  and  Tenn.'ssee,  are 
now  several  furnaces,  forges,  and  rolinig-mills.  But  in  this,  the  ynnngesl 
of  the  original  Slytes,  with  staples  ami  industry  similar  to  those  of  Curo- 


C22 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY   IN   METALS. 


litm,   the   manufacture  was  of  still   later   introduction.      Tlie   mineral 
resources  of  the  State  in  iron,  gold,  and  coal,  are  very  ami>le.     They 
lie  in  the  northern  mountainous  districts  of  the  State,  among 
resources.      ^],g  terminal  and  outlying  ridges  of  the  Alleghany  cliani.     llie 
furnaces  which  occupy  the  head  streams  of  the  Chattahoochee  and  Ala- 
bama rivers,  at  present  chiefly  use  brown  hematite.     Tliis  ore,  and  the 
specular  and  magnetic  o.\yds,  exist  in  great  richness  and   abundance. 
The  primary  ore  belts  of  Carolina  are,  on  the  one  hand,  prolonged  into 
Georgia  through  Habersham,  Lumpkin,  and  other  counties,  in  tiie  north- 
east, and  the  Ducktown  Tennessee  veins,  on  the  other,  through  the  north- 
western counties  into  Alabama.     The  hematite  heds  are  ol'ien  in  close 
proximity  to  the  gold-bearing,  metamoriihic  slate  and  quartz.     Two  or 
three  of  the  northern  tiers  of  counties  are  well  supplied  with  ore  from 
them.     In  Cass  County,  particularly,  north  and  west  of  the  Allatoona 
hills,  on  both  sides  of  the  Etowa  river,  and  extending,  on  either  hand, 
iuto'cherokee  and  Wuldir,,  Counties,  <!e  distance  of  40  miles,  are  very 
extensive  beds  of  superior  hematitic  ore.     It  much  resembles  the  ore  of 
West  Stockbridge,  Ma.ssachusetts,  and  that  wliich  produces  the  Salisbury 
and  Juipata  Iron.     It  is  easily  smelted,  and  yields  an  excellent  iron, 
either  for  heavy  castings  or  bar-iron.     Very  pure  specular  peroxyd,  like 
that  of  the  Iron  mountain  of  Missouri,  and  frequent  veins  of  magnetic 
ore  abound  in  that  vicinity.     These  great  deposits  of  rich  ore  are,  more- 
over, contiguous  to   silieious  liini'.stjne  beds,    which  furnish  the    flux, 
while  nume°-ous  rapids  among  the  hills,  supply  excellent  water-power, 
and  the  hill  sides  and  river  bottoms  are  densely  clothed  with  timber,  for 
a  cheap  supply  of  charcoal  for  years  'o  come.     The  bottom  lands  are 
fertile,  and  the  distance  from  the  seaboard  markets,  which  has  been  a 
principal  impediment  to  the  iron  manufacture,  hitherto,  renders  provi- 
sions cheap  for  a  manufacturing  population.    A  railroad  to  Chattanooga, 
in  Tennessee,  brings  the  bituminous  coal  fi^'ld  within   80  miles  of  the 
Etowa,  whence  the  railroac'  extends  southwest  to  Atlanta,  and  thence 
westwardly  to  Montgomery,  Alabama,  and,  in  the  oppo.Mte  direction,  to 
Augusta  and  to  Charleston,  and  centrally  to  Ma.son,  and  other  parts  of 
llielower  country.     This  northern  part  of  the  State  has  already  become 
ihe  seat  of  a  considerable,  and  increasing  manufacturing  industry,  and  the 
facilities  are  such  that  its  metallic  resources  must  prove  an  important  ele- 
ment of  its  future  prosperity. 

The  gold  mines  of  this  portion  of  the  State,  until  the  richer  placcns  of 
California  withdrew  attention  from  them,  were  among  the  most  produc- 
tive in  the  country,  and  occasioned  the  eslablishinent  of  n  brunch  mint  for 
gold  coin  at  D.vhlonegii,  Lumpkin  County,  in  ISIJS,  at  which  time,  6,000 
or  1,000  periioB*  were  engaged  in  washing  for  gold  in  the  State. 


Tlie  niinerul 
y  ample.  They 
lie  State,  among 
aiiv  fliaiii.  The 
jochee  and  Ala- 
liis  ore,  and  the 
and  aluindanec. 
,  pvolonffcd  into 
k's,  in  tlie  north- 
rough  tlie  north- 
re  ol'ien  in  close 
:|uartz.  Two  or 
d  with  ore  from 
)f  tlie  Allatoona 
on  either  hand, 

0  miles,  are  very 
.'mbles  the  ore  of 
ces  the  Salisbury 
11  excellent  iron, 
lar  peroxyd,  like 
eins  of  magnetic 
I'h  ore  are,  more- 
fiirnish  the  flux, 
eiit  water-power, 
.  with  timber,  for 
joitom  lands  are 
Anch  has  been  a 
to,  renders  provi- 

1  to  Chattanooga, 
80  miles  of  the 

laata,  and  thence 
ositc  direction,  to 
id  other  parts  of 
IS  already  become 
'  industry,  and  the 
an  important  elc- 

^  richer  placers  of 
(he  most  produc- 

■  a  i)niiH'li  mint  for 
wiiirli  time,  0,000 

the  State. 


BRITISU   LEGISIiATION   RESrECXINQ   lUON. 


General  Observations. 


623 


The  facilities  possessed  by  the  colonists  in  the  abundance  of  iron 
ore,  fuel,  and  water-power  for  the  manufacture  of  Iron,  and  their 
early  entrance  upon  the  business  were  difJerently  regarded  in  England, 
according  to  the  views  taken  of  the  ultimate  effects  upon  the  pros- 
perity of  the  parent  state.  The  jealousy  of  those  classes  who  were 
opposed  to  the  establishment  of  any  description  of  manufactures  in  the 
deiif'iidencies,  particularly  those  in  the  Iron  interests,  procured,  as  early 
as  1719,  when  Iron  first  began  to  be  received  from  America,  a  prohibition 
Briiish  of  the  manufacture  of  any  iron  wares,  or  of  bar-iron,  or  nail 
i.efc'i,*iation.  rods,  by  forgcs  or  other  works.  In  February,  1731-2,  when 
returns  of  the  manufactures  set  up  in  the  Colonies  were  made  by  the  gov- 
ernors, in  pursuance  of  an  order  of  the  House  of  Commons,  New  EngLind 
was  reported  to  have  six  furnaces,  and  nineteen  forges,  one  slitting-miil, 
and  a  nail  factory.  In  Massachusetts,  iron-works  had  existed  for  many 
years,  but  did  not  supply  one-twentieth  part  of  the  Iron  required  for  the 
country's  use.  There  were  Iron  mines  in  Pihode  Island,  but  not  one- 
fuurth  part  enough  to  serve  their  own  use.  There  is  no  account  of  iron- 
works in  the  other  Colonies,  and  the  returns  probably  give  a  very  imper- 
fect idea  of  the  enterprise  of  the  provinces  in  this  branch. 

Much  discussion  arose,  in  1737,  respecting  the  polic;*  of  encouraging 
the  importation  of  Iron  and  hemp  from  the  Colonies,  and  petitions  ia  i?avor 
of  the  plan  were  presented  to  Parliament. 

It  was  urged  that  England  then  imported  20,000  tons  of  foreifni  Iron, 
annually,  15,000  tons  of  which  were  from  Sweden,  costing  £15<i,000  in 
money,  and  6,000  tons  from  Russia,  most  of  which  was  also  paid  for  in 
specie.  All  this,  it  was  said,  could,  with  a  little  eneouragemeiit,  be  ob- 
tained from  the  Colonies,  of  equal  quality,'  and  could  be  paid  for  in  Brit- 
ish manufactures,  at  a  saving  of  £180,000,  annually,  in  the  balance  of 
Undo,  and  this  amount  could  be  much  increased  by  such  encouragement. 
The  amount  of  bar-iron  then  made  in  England,  was  computed  at  18,000 
tons,  annually,  and,  on  account  of  the  high  price  of  cord  wood,  produced 
by  Iron-works,  could  not  be  increased;  but  the  same  quantity  of  wood, 
employed  in  refining  American  pig-iron,  would  produce  a  much  greater 


(1)  From  copies  of  spvprnl  returns  inndo 
ti)  the  Coinmi-sioiiprs  ol'  tti.)  Niivy  liy  tlio 
iifllecri' of  tlic  scv.riil  Navy  Yiinls,  |iiir,«iiiint 
to  nn  orilcr  (if  the  llouiio  of  Common!',  of  4lli 
.Miirch,  173(1,  it  appenrs  thnt  b  wiirrnnt  for 
nix  tons  of  Amcriciin  liHr-iron,  of  ilinV'ront 
mrlH,  imp.irltil  by  u  Mrn,  Crowley,  from 
Aiuerioii,  was  givou  In  July.   17115,  to  His 


Mnjo!"ty'«  ynril,  nt  Poptford  fortrini,  and  one 
ton  of  it  frnt  to  each  of  tlio  other  yiirds. 
The  first  oortifieate  rccoiveil  was  from  Wool- 
wich, dated  .''opt.  8,  17:i5,  and  was  as  fol- 
lows : 

"We  have  liiloly  rcpoiv*d,  from  His  Ma- 
jesty's yard  at  Deptford,  liarr-irun  flntts  of 
two  and  a  quarter  incheti  broad,  and  half  iin 


■■ 


m 


COLONIAL   INDUSTRY   IN    METALS. 


quantity  of  bur-iron.  To  encourage  such  crude  manufactures,  as  pig. 
60W  and  bar-iron,  hemp,  etc.,  would  be  the  most  effectual  means  of  pre- 
venting  such  manufactures  as  would  interfere  with  their  own,  an.,  might 
prove  as  beneQcial  to  the  kingdom  as  the  bounties  ou  tar  and  P'tdi  1'"^ 
done  since  1103.  To  this  end  it  was  proposed  that  a  duly  should  be 
laid  on  all  Iron  imported  into  the  Colonies  from  Europe,  and  an  addi- 
tional duty  on  all  bar-iron  imported  into  England,  except  that  Irom 
America,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  existing  duty  on  American  Iron 
(yiz  £2  Is.  6jgd.  per  ton  on  bar,  and  3.-.  9/ocZ.  on  pig-iron,)  should 
be  repealed.  From  the  opposition  of  the  proprietors  of  Iron-works,  and 
woodlands,  and  other  causes,  the  scheme  did  not  become  a  law  at  that 

time.  ,    -    ,  i        1 

The  representations  of  the  merchants,  however,  and  of  the  agents  and 

friends  of  the  Colonies,  at  length  so  far  prevailed  that,  in  1750,  an  Act 
(23  Geo.  II)  was  passed  for  the  encouragement  of  the  impor- 
Act  of  i7:,o,  ^^^.^^^  ^j,  pi^,.ij.on  from  the  British  Colonies  in  America.     After 
a  full  inquiry  into  tire  adverse  nature  of  the  trade  with  Sweden,  whicli, 
after  being  paid  in  money  for  the  princiijal  part  of  the  iron  and  steel  im- 
ported iiuo  Great  Britain,  expended  it  in  purchasing  her  supplies  of 
France  and  other  States,  and  also  into  the  importation  of  Iron  from 
America  a  committee  of  the  whole  House,  of  which  Charles  Townse.id 
was  chairman,  resolved  that  the  duties  on  pig  and  bar-iron  from  America 
should  be  repealed.     The  bill  entitled  "an  Act  to  encourage  the  impoi- 
taiion  of  pig  and  bar-iron  from  his  Majesty's  Plantations  m  America, 
etc  "  provided  "That  pig-iron  made  in  the  British  Colonies,  in  Amencu, 
muyb«  imp'Hted,  duty  fm^,  and  bar-iron  into  the  port  of  London;  no 
l,ar-iron,  so  imported,  to  be  carried  coastwise,  or  to  be  landed  at  any 
other  port,  except  for  the  use  of  his  Majesty's  dock-yards ;  and  not  to  be 
carried  beyond  ten  miles  from  London."      While  the   production   and 
exportation  of  bar  and  pig-iion  were  thus  encouraged,  anoth-r  clause  m 
the  bill  was  designed  to  arrest  tiio  manufacture,  at  (hut  «l"go.     il  en- 
.     acted    "Tiiat  from  and  after  the  24th  day  of  June,   11.00,  no  mill,  .h 
olher'engine  for  slitting  or  rolling  of  Iron,  or  auf  plating  forge  to  work 


inch  thick— 15  cwt.  0  qrs.  4  Hjs.,  siiunrea  of 
seven  cis'hs  of  nn  inch— 5  cwt.  0  qrs.  12 
lbs.,  imported  by  Mrs.  Crowley  from  Amer- 
ica;  and,  pursuant  tu  your  WBrriint  of  the 
lllh  July,  niir),  have  made  eullicienl  tryal 
of  each  of  the  sorts,  find  the  siiid  iron  to  he 
very  good,  and  fit  for  UU  Miijcsly's  service  ; 
•uperior,  in  every  respect,  to  Swoed's  Iron, 
and,  in  our  opinion,  worth  £17  lOf.  6d,  per 
ton." 


Tlie  return  from  the  oilier  yiirds  geucriilly 
agreed  in  representing  tlie  Anicrlciin  Ir'ii 
as,  in  all  respects,  eciual  in  goodness  and 
valuu  to  the  best  Swedes  Iron,  csccpting  one 
lot  of  I'hilftdolphiii  and  Maryland  Iron,  tried 
ul  Deplfurd,  which  proved  brittle,  and  was 
returned  to  Mrs.  Crowley  again.— Scni-etior'i 
Hial.  <>/  the  Iron  Trade,  Appendix  B, 


mm 


PARLIAMENTARY  RETURNS   OF   IRON-WORKS. 


625 


icturcs,  as  pig, 
[  means  of  iire- 
wii,  and  miylit 
and  pitch  had 
diiiy  should  bo 
e,  and  an  addi- 
cept  that  from 
\merican  Iron, 
g-iron,)  sliould 
Iron-works,  and 
,e  a  law  at  tliat 

'  the  agents  and 
n  n^O,  an  Act 
at  of  the  impor- 
Lmerica.     After 

Sweden,  whicli, 
on  and  steel  ini- 
her  supplies  of 
)n  of  Iron  from 
imrk'.s  Townsend 
on  from  America 
urage  the  impor- 
ions  in  America, 
iuies,  in  Americii, 
,  of  London  ;  no 
le  landed  at  any 
Is  ;  and  not  to  be 

production  and 
anotli'T  clause  in 
tit  Hliigo.  It  cn- 
n.OO,  no  iiiill,  or 
rig  forge  to  work 


with  a  tilt-hammer,  or  any  furnace  for  making  steel  shall  be  erected,  or 
after  such  erection,  continued  in  any  of  his  Majesty's  Colonies  of 
America,"  under  a  penalty  of  £200.  This  prohibition  was  an  enor- 
mous injustice  to  the  Colonies,  and  was  reasonably  complained  of  by 
them. 

The  governors  of  the  Colonies  were  ordered  to  make  returns  to  Gov- 
ernment of  slitting-mills,  plating  forges,  and  steel-furnaces  in  the  Col- 
onies, which  was  done  in  the  following  year.  The  clause  in  the  bill  re- 
quiring the  governors  to  examine  witnesses  under  oath,  and  to  cause  any 
such  mills,  forges,  or  furnaces  to  be  abated  within  30  days,  or  to  for- 
feit the  sum  of  £500,  gave  particular  offense  in  the  Colonies.  The 
proposition  to  suppress  them  was,  however,  rejected  by  a  small  ma- 
jority. 

Certificates  were  returned,  with  the  following  results:  Massachu- 
setts Bay  contained  two  slitting  and  rolling  mills,  Pennsylvania  one, 
and  New  Jersey  one,  not  then  in  use.  Of  plating-forges,  to  work  with  a 
tilt-hammer,  Massachusetts  contained  one  ;  Connecticut  six  ;  New  York 
one ;  New  Jersey  one,  not  in  use  ;  Pennsylvania  one  ;  and  Maryland  one, 
with  two  hammers.  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  New  Jersey  had 
each  one  steel  furnace,  and  Pennsylvania  two. 

The  first  iron  imported  from  the  British  American  plantations  was 
from  Nevis  and  St.  Christophers,  in  the  year  ITlt,  and  in  the  following 

Colonial  Iron  Y^^^'  -^  ^'"'^"  '9*  ^f  H  ''^"^  ""^^  received  from  Virginia  and 
Exports.  Maryland.  Or  the  amount  received,  if  any,  during  the  next 
ten  years,  we  have  no  account.  The  amount  of  teon  imported  from  the 
Continental  Colonies,  subject  to  the  above  duty,  from  1728,  when  its 
regular  exportation  appears  to  have  be^un,  to  the  date  of  the  inquiry 
respecting  the  repeal  of  the  duty,  appfo/^  from  the  following  state- 
ment, compiled  from  Scrivenor's  'f^lf§  ffi/B  "^te  Custom  UoUM 
Returns : — 
40 


iitliiif  yiirds  generally 
ig  tlie  Aiiirriciil]  U'li 
jual  in  gdddnei's  nmi 
leslriin.ciii'eiitingiiiio 
i(i  Marjliiiul  iruii.tiiuil 
roved  brittle,  and  was 
ley  again.— Son'i-eiior'i 
de,  Appendix  B, 


626 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS, 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  BAK  AND  PIG  IHOX  EXPOIITKD  TO  ENGLAND  FROM 
MK  BRITISH  NORTH  AMERICAN  COLONIES  FROM  1V28  '10  1748. 


The  repeal  of  the  duty  elicited,  during  the  profrress  of  the  bill  various 
remonstraBces  and  representations  from  iron  masters,  propne  ors  of 
woodlands,  merchants,  and  others  in  England,  y'--.-;-- ^  T 
likely  to  be  affected  by  its  provisions.  The  interest  manifested  by  these 
classes  in  the  subject  shows  that  the  provincial  Iron-manufacture  was 
thus  early  regarded  as  a  rival  to  that  of  the  mother  country. 

iron-masters,  tanners,  and  owners  of  coppices  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Sheffield  were  alike  apprehensive  that  the  Iron-works  erected  at  gre 

expense  would  be  ruined;  the  laborers  be  rendered  do.titute 
Z'XT    or  forced  to  emigrate;  and  the  tanneries  be  left  without  bark 
from  the  woods  remaining  uncut,  or  the  land  being  converted  to  tillage 
unless  the  number  of  forges  should  be  increased  and  of  furnaces  lesseed 
by  removing  the  duty  from  pig-iron  only.     The  plenty  and  cheapne.. 
of  wood  wo'uld  enabll  American  Iron  to  undersell  the  Brit  sh   and  thus 
ruin  the  trade,  while  the  iron  manufactures,  rendered  wholly  dependent 
on  so  distant  and  precarious  a  source  for  material,  would  probacy  decay, 
and  reduce  thousands  of  workmen  to  want  and  misery.      The  iron- 
mongers and  smiths  of  Birmingham,  on  the  other  hand,  Pf '^J^n^d  " 
Tavor  of  the  bill  as  a  benefit  to  their  trade  and  to  the  colonists,  who 
could  exchange  larger  quantities  of  their  own  produce  for  British  manu- 
fectures.     The  importation  of  Iron  from  America  could  no  more  affec 
the  Iron-works  and  freeholders  than  the  same  quantity  from  any  othe 
runtry,  and  the  home  production  was  not  more  than  half  the  amount 


DISCUSSIONS   ON   THE   IMPORTING   OP   COLONIAL   IRON. 


627 


3NGLAND  FROM 
28  TO  1748. 


Toltl  of  B»r 

na,        >D<I  I'lg  Iron. 

q.  Ib.l      T.     c.  q  lb. 

0    0     1127    3  3   4 

Jl    0.  172.114  3    7 

22."iO   .^  3  14 

2332  14  3  l:i 

2404  17  1  12 

212 

11  5  12 

00    0 

2196  10  I  14 
,55    6  3  21 

90    0    2M1U3  11 

9  2  27    2113  18  1    4 

ri  4 1  21 

00   0    2275    7  1    0 

5    0  0    01 

3157    9  0  18 

2075    0  0  23 

2985    92    8 

57    0  0    ( 

10  19 

1861  16  1  22 
4    a  2  14 

93    0 

2274    5  1  1' 

196  18  0  1' 

1861    2  3i; 

82  11  2  1 

21.55  15  3  1 

3 

4121 

21,55  15  2  23| 

)f  the  bill,  various 
3,  proprietors  of 
se  interests  were 
mifested  by  these 
i-manufacture  was 
untry. 

!  neighborhood  of 
3  erectid  at  great 
rendered  doiititute 
3  left  without  bark 
inverted  to  tillage, 
,f  furnaces  lessened 
nty  and  cheapness 
!  British,  and  thus 
I  wholly  dependent 
lid  probably  decay, 
lisery.      The  iron- 
liand,  petitioned  in 
the  colonists,  who 
e  for  British  manu- 
)uld  no  more  affect 
tity  from  any  other 
m  half  the  amount 


PetltioQ 
«f  the 
ontp08t8 


required.  At  the  same  time,  they  prayed  that  the  erection  of  slitting 
or  rolling  mills  or  plating-forges  might  be  prohibited,  as  an  interference 
with  British  manufactures.  It  was  doubtless  at  tiie  instance  of  this  class 
and  merchants  in  the  export  trade,  that  the  clause  was  inserted  with 
that  view. 

In  1756,  the  society  of  raerclmnt  adventurers  in  the  city  of  Bristol, 
which  was  largely  engaged  in  colonial  trade,  petitioned  that  American 
bar-iron,  which,  by  the  Act  of  the  23d  of  His  Majesty's  reign, 
was  admitted  without  duty  iiii  >  the  port  of  London,  but  was 
not  allowed  to  be  carried  coastwise,  or  more  than  ten  miles 
inland,  whereby  several  manufacturing  towns  were  deprived  of  its  use, 
and  the  outposts  lost  the  advantage  of  exporting  it,  might  be  imported 
duty  free  by  all  Ilis  Majesty's  subjects.  Tliis  produced  other  petitions, 
counter-petitions,  pampidets,  and  discus.sions,  which  evinced  a  deep 
national  interest  in  the  subject.  The  chief  opposers  of  the  measure  were 
those  interested  in  Iron-works  and  the  supply  of  fuel.  They  represented 
that  109  forges  in  England  and  Wales  (exclusive  of  Scotland)  produced 
18,000  tons  of  iron,  a»id  consumed  198,000  cords  of  wood,  grown  on 
barren  land,  which  was  nearly  valueless  but  for  the  use  of  iron-works 
and  tanners ;  that  American  iron  could  never  supply  the  place  of  the 
Swedish  for  edge-tools,  anchors,  chain  plates,  and  other  articles  for 
ship-building,  or  compete  with  Russian  iron  In  cheapness,  and  therefore, 
even  duty  free,  could  only  interfere  with  British  iron,  the  manufacture 
of  which  would  be  stopped  and  a  great  number  of  families,  dependent 
thereon,  be  reduced  to  beggary.  To  this  it  was  responded,  that  a  manu- 
facture is  much  more  valuable  than  the  raw  materials,  and  as  these  could 
not  be  produced  at  home  in  such  quantity  and  at  such  a  price  as  to  maintain 
the  manufacture,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  encourage  the  free 
importation  of  materials  if  it  should  arrest  their  production  in  the  island  ; 
that  the  increased  attention  among  neighboring  nations  to  the  produc- 
tion of  rough  materials  rendered  it  more  than  ever  necessary  to  obtain 
them  at  a  lower  price  or  lose  the  manufacture  of  fine  articles  of  steel  and 
iron ;  the  only  way  to  do  this  was  to  reduce  the  duty  on  foreign  iron, 
or  make  it  necessary  for  the  iron-masters  to  reduce  their  price  by  raising 
up  a  rival  in  America ;  that  iron  could  not  be  produced  as  cheap  in 
the  plantations  as  in  England,  on  account  of  the  high  price  of  labor  and 
of  the  interest  on  capital,  the  cost  of  freight,  insurance,  etc.,  especially 
in  time  of  war ;  that  the  coppices  grew  on  barren  land,  unfit  for  tillage, 
and  improved  the  pasturage,  and  were  always  worth  something  for 
wood  or  timber,  an  \  therefore  the  tanners  had  nothing  to  fear. 

A  bill  was  at  length  reported  for  extending  the  privilege  of  importa- 
tion to  the  other  ports  of  Great  Britain  and  with  a  clause  for  the  relief 


COLONUt  INDUSTRY  IN   METALS. 

Of  the  proprietors  of  coppice  woods,  passed  both  houses,  and  received 
the  royal  assent  in  1757.  The  House  also,  in  an  address  to  the  king 
desired  that  returns  might  be  laid  before  them  at  the  next  session,  of 
the  quantity  of  Iron  imported  from  America  in  each  year  from  Christmas, 
1749,  to  January,  1756,  of  which  the  following  is  a  statement  :- 

PIG  AND  BAR  IRON  EXPORTED  FROM  THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  COLONIES 

FROM  1750  TO  1756. 


4 


New  KogUnd. 


New  York. 


PconsylvanJa. 


Uftryland  nod 
VirglDia. 


Year  Iron. 


1760 
1751 
1752 
1753 
1754 
,1755 


Bar. 
l',g. 
Bar. 
I'ig. 
Bar. 
PiK. 
Bar. 
Pi({. 
Bar. 
PiV. 
Bar, 
V\g. 


T.     0.  q.  lb. 


.  q.  lb. 


T.     0.  q.  lb. 


21    12   8 
9  16  2  13 


2    8019 
40  10  1    7 

4  16  0  22 


75121    4 

2    00    0 

S3    0  3  22 

41    00    0 


87    4  3 

6  10  0 

115  16?    0 

1112  0    0 
457    8  014 


318    9  3  11 

199  15  2  22 
64  16  2  ft 
1,5'J  8  2  26 
147  13  2  1 
212  15  1  0 
110  9  3  24 
612  19  3  12 
79  6  0  20 
8:i8    6  1    0 


T.     0.  q.  lb. 


6  17  3    0 

2.508  16  123 

3    42    9 

2950    5  3  15 

16  10  2  21 

2762    80    4 

97  18  0  19 

2347    9  218 

1.53  15  1 

2.)91    4  3  17 

299    13    0 

2132  15  1  22 1 


OarollUK 


Totala. 


T.     0.  q.  lb.        T.      c.  q.  lb, 


17  14  012 
20  00  0 
10  00  0 
20  00  0 
14  13  0    o| 


617  3    0 

2924    0  0  20 

ft    42    9 

3210  13  1    0 

81    7  0  26 

2980    1  3    2 

247  19  3  11 

2737  19  3  27 

270  15  1    4 

3244  17  1  23 

3S9  18  3  20 

3441    23    8 


In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  there  were  exported  to  Scotland  during 
the  last  sixteen  years  the  following  quantities,  viz.  : 


BAR-IROlf. 


PlO-IBOK. 


T.     c.   q.    lbs.      T.       c    q.  lbs. 

in  ten  years,  from  1739  to  1749, 10  13  2  11    2G3  18  2    0 

In  six  years,  from  1750  to  1756, ^^»  A-*  ^  ^" 

In  1705  a  further  modification  of  the  law  was  made,  allowing  the 
Colonies  to  ship  their  Iron  to  Ireland.  From  about  this  period  to  the 
Revolution,  there  was  a  considerable  increase  in  the  exportation,  espe- 
cially of  bar-iron,  as  appears  from  the  following  table. 


AMOUNT  OF   BAR  AND   PIG   IRON  EXPORTED  FROM  ALL  TnK  CONTI- 
NENTAL  COLONIES  TO  ENGLAND  IN  EACH  YEAR  FROM  1761  TO  r.76. 


I          Bar  Iron.           |           Pig  Iron. 

1 
Year. 

Bar  Iron, 

Pig  Iron. 

Year. 

T.       0.     q.   lb. 

T.      0.    q.  lb. 

T.      0.    q.  lb. 

T.      0.    q.  lb 

17111 
1782 
1763 
1764 
1765 
1768 
1767 
1768 

.39     10     0 
122  12  2  14 
310  19  3     2 
10-|9   18  0  10 
1078  13  0  16 
12,i7   14   3     9 
i:i2-.   19  0  18 
1989  11   0     6 

2768     2  3  12 
1766  16  0     2 
2588     8  0  25 
2554     8  3   21 
3284     8  1   22 
2887     ft  1   15 
3313     2  1   19 
2953     0  2  14 

1769 
1770 
1771 
1772 
1773 
1774 
1775 
1778 

1779  13  1   23 

1718     S  0  21 

2222     4  3  24 

985  15  0  23 

8:I7   15  0    6 

639     0  0  2:1 

916     6  2  11 

28     0  0     0 

3401    12  2     2 
4232  18  1   18 
ft:303     8  3  13 
3724   19  2  25 
29:i7  13  0     2 
3151   12  2  19 
2996    0  2  24 

316   1  a   8 

),  and  received 
iss  to  the  king, 
icxt  session,  of 
roni  Christmas, 
lent : — 

CAN  COLONIES 


T.      0.  q.  lb, 


12 


617  3    0 

2924    0  0  2tl 

»    42    9 

3210  13  1    0 

81    7  0  28 

2980    1  3    2 

217  19  3  11 

2737  19  3  27 

270  1.il    -1 

32U  17  1  23 

3S9  18  3  20 

3141    23    8 


Scotland  during 


PlO-tBOK. 


T.       c    q.  lbs. 

2G3  18  2    0 
228  13  1  10 


de,  allowing  the 
lis  period  to  the 
xportation,  espe- 


.LL  tr.'ti  CONTI- 
M  1761  TO  1'.76. 


PU  Iron. 


e.    q.  lb 


3401  12  2  2 

4232  18  1  18 

6303  8  3  l:t 

3724  19  2  23 

2937  13  0  2 

3151  12  2  19 

2996  0  2  24 

316  I  a  8 


i.jj.:::V>.aJa««Jai.gs^-^y^*-?'=^rtf^T:^ 


-,  ^r-^'^-t^^-  ?,r^rT' 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


IJ 


2.0 


1.4 


L8 


1.6 


Ws^ 


n 


A^ 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  t>TRIIT 

WHSTIR,  N.Y.  14510 

(716)  17  2-4503 


m' 


i\ 


c 


V 


4 


6^ 


KdB 


riM 


1 


y? 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for 


Historical  MIcroreproductlons  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historlque. 


i 


STATISTICS   OP   IRON   IMPORTED   FROM   GREAT   BRITAIN. 


629 


Mnch  bar-iron,  steel,  and  nails  were  imported  into  the  Colonies  before 
the  war.  By  far  the  larger  proporti'^n  of  the  bar-iron  and  steel  went 
impnrtM.nn  *"  ^^^  ^^^  England  Colonies,  and  of  the  nails  to  the  Southern 
I'ror'"'*"  ^'■^^'"^^s-  The  steel  and  nails  imported  were  principally 
made  from  Swedish  and  Russian  Iron,  as  being  tougher  and 
better  than  those  made  of  English  coke  iron.  For  several  years  before 
the  peace,  England  imported  from  Russia  alone  an  average  of  30,000 
tons  of  Iron  annually,  so  greatly  had  the  Iron-works  increased  in  that 
country  within  a  few  years.  The  duty  on  foreign  Iron  imported  into 
England  was  about  £2  168.  3d.  a  ton,  and  the  drawback  on  exportation 
about  £2  lOs.  a  ton.  In  Ireland  foreign  Iron  paid  10s.  a  ton  duty,  to 
which  a  duty  of  10s.  a  ton  was  added  on  manufactured  iron  exported  to 
the  Colonies.  Xo  drawback  was  allowed  on  foreign  iron  or  sLeel  ex- 
ported from  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  from  March  25,  1711,  as  by  9th 
of  Queen  Anne.  Nails  of  foreif-n  Iron  were  shipped  in  large  quantities 
from  Glasgow  to  the  Southern  Colonies,  and  cost  15  per  cent,  more  than 
nails  from  Bristol  made  of  English  Iron. 

The  following  table  exnibits  a  statement  of  the  amount  of  Iron, 
wrought  aud  in  bars,  imported  by  the  Colonics  from  1710  to  1735. 


WROUOUT  AND  BAR  IRON  IMPORTED  FROM  GREAT  BRITAIN  BY  THE 
NORTH  AMERICAN  COLONIES  FROM  1710  TO  1735. 


Curollna. 

New  Knglind. 

New    York. 

Penn»x.»!iiil«. 

VirfftniaaDd     1 

veir. 

Iron. 

1     T.    .. 

q.  lb. 

T.     c.     q.    lb. 

T,     0.       q.  lb. 

T.     0. 

4' 

lb. 

T.       0.    q.    lb. 

1710-U 

Wriiiixht. 

1143 

0  27 

4.')1I8   2     fl 

fiH7   0    IH 

987 

2 

0 

3014   0      8 

Pur. 

200     1!)  M     7 

10       2   1    10 

12     10 

2 

21 

1      10    1       1 

1712 

WMH((lit. 

l.Wl 

0     7 

fi34l   3  21 

639   1     7 

sto 

0 

20 

Ai:03  2     4 

Bar. 

4     13 

0     0 

281      13  3   19 

32      :;  0    0 

2       0 

0 

a 

6       3  2    14 
28.19  2   21 

1713 

WMiltfllt. 

UOI) 

2     7 

48.S.)  0  13 

88.1  2  21 

1040 

0 

9 

Dnr. 

27     n 

0     0 

211       »  0     2 

49       8  2  13 

7       4 

3 

26 

8       A  2     4 
6.197   2   12 

17U 

Wrought. 

10.1 1 

1    18 

463.1  0     9 

P3H  3  1,1 

92.3 

3 

1 

B»r. 

8     10 

0     0 

279       6  3     0 

98       7  0  18 

24     12 

0 

7 

S       A  0     0 
8946  3   13 

1713 

Wrought. 

601 

0  21 

WIW  2  21 

1379  3     0 

987 

3 

4 

Bur. 

1     18 

0     1) 

372     in   I    1« 

110     19  0  20 

8       A 

0 

20 

16     17  0   14 

1/18 

WroiiKht. 

670 

1     7 

r.:,m  2    2 

1094  0  14 

r62 

2 

0 

7ttfl  0  22 

Bar. 

372     19  3   11 

147       0  0  21 

10       I. 

0 

0 

6     19  0     6 

1717 

WrDiight. 

GHH 

1    11 

3.S1S)  0     A 

114.1  0     fl 

1147 

0 

26 

8728   1    27 

Bar. 

4       2 

0     0 

140     IH   3   20 

42     14   1   23 

8   lA 

2 

18 

iO       0  1     8 

1718 

WriiiiKht. 

m> 

0  21 

3110   1      I 

1306   1   2tl 

887 

0 

2 

6734  2     3 

Bar. 

3       0 

0     0 

1S4       400 

2     18  2   18 

3     10 

0 

13 

26     10  3   14 

4866  0  23 

17!» 

Wrought. 

1312 

1    21 

7393  3     0 

1B03  2  2.1 

8.11 

0 

14 

Bur. 

3     10 

0     0 

337     12  2  2) 

68       0  0  2.1 

4       0 

0 

0 

1       10     0 

1730 

WrouKht. 

U7!» 

3  •» 

73J9   2  24 

277i1  0     II 

2628 

3 

20 

6389  2  34 

B«r. 

9     10 

0     0 

149     1.1   1     A 

91      10  2  13 

2 

3 

2       9  0     7 
96H1    3    11 

1731 

Wri.UHlil. 

1770 

0    11 

H7;-     1     7 

2627  2     7 

2846 

II 

7 

Bum. 

10      18 

1     7 

143       8  2     7 

101      II    1     1 

A       0 

0 

0 

3     18   0     0 

1733 

WriiiiKht. 
Bar 

21(17 

3     7 

S.W?   2     4 

2.3t;o  0  24 

2207 

2 

26 

74tA  3  27 

0       0 

C     () 

413      ft  2   17 

88       fl  3  27 

2     16 

0 

21 

4     14  0     0 

1733 

Wniiigiil. 

2612 

3    11 

7104   3  It 

1609  3     7 

3419 

3 

8 

881.)    1    1U 

Bar. 

a     0 

0     0 

.370     14   2     7 

AA       0  0     0 

3       0 

u 

II 

12       0  (I     0 

1734 

Wrought. 

2880 

3  111 

6191    3     fl 

2291   0     6 

314') 

2 

21 

86tl    II     7 

Bar. 

7    K< 

3   21 

203       8   3     0 

00       8  3  20 

1      1 1  3     3 

I7SS 

WniiiKht. 

33,W 

1    23 

9.U3   2  23 

21.16  2     7 

2102 

0 

0 

9709   1    24 

Bar. 

»      1» 

0   It 

101       II  3     0 

108       8   1     A 

1 

1     13  0     0 

m 


COLONIAL  INDUSTRY  IN  METALS. 


With  the  Rcvolutioa  terminated  the  legislation  of  Great  Britain  over 
the  trade  and  manufactures  of  the  Colonies.     That  legislation,  winch 
was  the  cause  of  the  separation,  had,  for  several  years  before 
frma^u-  the  war,  produced  numerous  efforts  in  the  Provinces  tc  lessen 
""""•        the  dcn,,ndence  upon  foreign  sources  for  manufactured  pro-     ^ 
ducts     The  market  for  their  pig-iron  being  cut  off  by  the  war,  and  the 
importation  of  British  iron  and  manufactures  necessarily  suspended 
capital  was  turned  to  the  creation  of  supplies  for  the  public  service,  and 
to  the  conversion  of  Iron  into  vo-'ous  articles  of  ironmongery  previously 
imported      The  production  of  steel  and  different  descriptions  of  hard- 
ware  was  recommended,  and  in  some  cases  encouraged  by  bounties  by 
the  General  Congress  and  the  local  assemblies  or  conventions.     Many 
Iron-works  and  small  manufactories  were  called  into  existence,  some 
of  which  were  as  quickly  ruined  by  the  flood  of  foreign  Iron  and  manu- 
factures  at  the  close  of  the  war.   The  inefficiency  of  the  old  Confederation 
left  to  the  separate  legislatures  the  duty  of  protecting  their  interests  m 
this  respect  as  they  might  see  fit.  ,   i  •    ., 

A  dangerous  rivalry  to  British  iron  interests  was  apprehended  in  the 
i^-ncrican  Slates,  not  only  in  the  production  of  rough  iron,  from  the 
cheapness  of  fuel  and  the  quality  of  the  iron,  but  also  in  the  articles  of 
steel  cutlery,  and  other  finished  products,  from  the  dexterity  of  Americans 
in  the  manufacture  of  scythes,  axes,  nails,  etc.  In  these  they  exceeded 
the  French  and  most  European  nations,  as  well  in  the  style  and  finish 
as  in  the  quality  of  their  articles,  being  made  from  the  best  iron,  which 
in  Europe  was  reserved  for  finer  manufactures  not  attempted  in  America 
Some  of  the  political  writers  of  England  recommended  the  removal  of 
all  duties  on  foreign  iron  in  order  thereby  to  secure  the  control  of  the 
American  and  Russian  markets  for  her  manufactures  of  Iron. 

The  great  improvements  which  had  been  made  in  England  in  all 
branches  of  the  Iron-manufacture,  and  the  competition  springing  up  in 
Europe  and  America  in  the  production  of  raw  iron,  doubtless  prompted 
the  Act  of  1785  (25  Geo.  III.  c.  67)  to  prevent,  under  severe  penalties, 
the  enticing  of  artificers  or  workmen  in  the  iron  and  steel  manufactures 
out  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  exportation  J  any  tools  used  in  these 
branches  to  any  place  beyond  the  seas.     This  Act,  embracing  as  it  did 
not  only  near'y  every  description  of  tool,  engine,  or  machine,  or  parts 
of  such,  used  in  making  or  working  up  iron  and  other  materials,  but  also 
the  rooilels  and  plans  of  such  machinery  and  implements,  created  no 
small  difficulty  in  the  introduction  of  many  new  branches  of  the  practical 
ftrts.      It  was  the   supplement  to  numerous  Acts  affecting  colonial 

manufactures.  ,  ,    .      « 

It  was  not  until  coaQicting  State  legislation,  an  almost  total  dram  of 


DUTIES  ON  IKON  1789  AND  1794. 


C31 


at  Britain  over 
jislation,  wliich 
al  years  before 
nnees  to  lessen 
lufactured  pro- 
be war,  and  the 
rily  suspended, 
jlic  service,  and 
gery  previously 
iptions  of  hard- 
by  bounties,  by 
ontlons.  Many 
existence,  some 
Iron  and  manu- 
Id  Confederation 
their  interests  in 

irehcnded  in  the 
\i  iron,  from  the 
in  the  articles  of 
■ity  of  Americans 
se  they  exceeded 
3  style  and  finish 

best  iron,  which 
ipted  in  America, 
d  the  removal  of 
he  control  of  the 
[•  Iron. 

I  England  in  nil 
ti  springing  up  in 
mbtlcss  prompted 
r  severe  penalties, 
jteel  manufactures 
ols  used  in  these 
mbracing  as  it  did 
machine,  or  parts 
materials,  but  also 
mcnts,  created  no 
les  of  the  practical 

affecting  colonial 


specie  for  foreign  manufactures,  a  wortliless  national  currency — of  which 
several  thousand  pounds  coulu  only  jjurchase  a  ton  of  iron,  it  not 
being  lawful  to  refuse  it, — and  a  lan^uisliing  state  of  trade  and  manu- 
factures, proved  the  necessity  of  endowing  Congress  with  power  to 
protect  the  national  industry  and  redeem  its  credit,  that  the  Iron-manu- 
facture and  its  allied  Interests  received  any  protection  from  Government. 
The  Tariff  enacted  in  July,  1789,  laid  a  duty  higiier  than  upon 

Protectioa  ,        ,  ,.   ,  ,,  ,        ,,     ,  .  ,  ..  ,      i 

by  Hist        most  other  articles  upon  sht  and  rolled  iron  and  castuigs,  stee), 

Tiirilf 

nails  and  spikes,  and  wool  cards,  and  a  few  articles  in  other 
branches,  evincing  thereby  the  disposition  of  its  framers  to  give  special 
encouragement,  limited  though  it  were,  to  those  important  interests. 
On  bar,  bolt,  and  pig  iron  the  rate  was  7^  per  cent,  on  the  invoice 
value.  Upon  steel  the  duty  was  laid  at  half  a  cent  per  pound,  and 
upon  nails  one  cent  per  pound. 

Mr.  Uamllton,  in  his  Report  on  Manufactures  in  1791,  stated  that 
manufactures  of  Iron,  thougii  generally  understood  to  be  extensive,  were 
found  to  be  much  more  so  than  was  sui)posed.  Iron-works  had  greatly 
increased,  and  were  much  more  profitable  than  formerly ;  the  price  of 
Iron  having  increased  from  about  $64  per  ton,  before  the  Revolution,  to 
$80  a  ton  at  that  time.  The  rise  in  price  was  chiefly  attributed  to  the 
increased  manufactures  from  that  material.  He  recommended  special 
encouragement  to  this  branch  of  Industry  by  increased  duties  on  foreign 
iron  and  its  manufactures,  and  by  the  establishment  of  national  armories 
for  the  public  service.  In  the  following  year,  the  duty  on  steel  was 
therefore  raised  to  $20  per  ton,  and  on  iron  cables  from  Great  Britain 
to  $30  a  ton.  The  tariff  on  rolled  iron  and  steel  imported  in  American 
vessels  was,  in  1794,  fixed  at  15  per  cent.,  on  hardware  at  10  per  cent., 
and  on  all  other  manufactures  of  Iron  at  15  per  cent.,  with  an  addition 
of  10  per  cent,  when  imported  in  foreign  bottoms.  These  rates  wero 
retained  until  1816,  when  the  tariff  was  adjusted  with  special  reference 
to  the  encouragement  of  manufactures,  of  which  the  iron  b."anch  received 
an  extraordinary  impulse  during  the  war  of  1812,  to  be  again  remarkably 
depressed  by  the  influx  of  foreign  Iron  and  the  manufactures  of  that 
material.  ' 


uost  total  drain  of 


INDEX  TO  PORTRAITS 


OF 


OLD  PRINTERS  &  EMINENT  TYPE  FOUNDERS. 


George  Bruco;  New  York, 

One  of  the  most  eminent  of  American  Type  Founders,  was  born  in  Edinburgh, 
Scotland  June  2Gth,  1781.  When  scarcely  fourteen  years  of  age.  lie  left  his 
native  land  for  the  United  States,  where  his  elder  brother  David  had  preceded 
him  and  arrived  in  Philadelphia  in  1795.  Here  he  commenced  to  learn  the 
trade  of  book  binder,  but  rebelling  against  the  excessive  e.xartions  of  his 
master,  ho  left  the  city,  determined  to  follow  the  sea.  By  the  persuasion  of 
his  brother,  he  relinquished  this  purpose,  returned  to  Phila.lelphia,  and 
entered  the  ofiice  of  Thomas  Dobson,  as  a  printer's  apprentice,  where  he 
served  two  or  three  years. 

About  1798,  Mr.  Dobson's  office  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  yellow  fever 
prevailing  in  the  city,  the  brothers  left  that  place.  Arriving  at  Ambov 
George  sickened  with  the  fever,  but  under  the  care  of  his  brother,  his  life  was 
preserved,  and  they  continued  on  through  New  York  to  Albany,  where  thcv 
obtained  employment  in  the  printing  office  of  the  Webster  Brothers.  In  the 
fall  they  returned  to  New  York,  talking  the  whole  distance.  In  180.T  he 
beca  ne  toreman  and  occasional  contributor  to  the  Daili/  Advertiser,  and  in 
November  of  that  year,  the  name  of  George  Bruce  appears  en  the  paper  as 
'  printer  and  publisher  for  the  proprietor." 

The  extent  and  str  of  the  printing  business  at  the  opening  of  the  present 
century,  have  been  alluded  to  elsewhere.  In  1806,  when  David  and  George 
Bruce  opened  their  Book  Printing  Office  at  tlie  corner  of  Pearl  street  and 
toffee  House  slip,  now  Wall  street,  in  New  York,  there  were  less  than  three 
hundred  book  and  new,.paper  offices  in  the  whole  Union,  where  there  are  now 
over  four  thousand  five  hundred.  Their  commencing  business  at  this  par- 
ticular  time,  was  rather  accidental.  The  printing  of  ■'  Lavoiser's  Chemistrv" 
was  offered  them,  and  they  resolved  to  try  to  do  it.  Having  no  office,  tl.Py 
hired  the  use  of  a  font  of  type  and  a  press,  and  the  work  was  executed  l)y  the  r 
joint  personal  labors.  To  give  greater  satisfaction,  they  decided  to  procure  a 
stunding.press  to  press  the  sheets,  and,  on  explanation  of  their  prospects  to 
Adam  Uamage,  of  Pliiladelphia,  he  forwarded  one  to  them  on  credit,  dir.-cted 
to  the  care  of  I).  &  (}.  Bruce,  which  was  assumed  as  the  title  of  the  firm  and 
80  continued  until  its  dissolution. 

(C33) 


634 


EMINENT   PRINTERS   AND   TYPE   FOI'NDERS. 


This  was  the  first  stan.linj^-press  used  in  the  printing  business  inXcw  York, 
and  some  of  the  printers  considered  it  an  imneoessary  innovation.  Tlie 
printing  of  this  book,  giving  great  satisfaction,  an  abundance  of  work  flowed 
in  upon  tliein;  and  by  close  attention  to  the  economies  of  the  business,  and 
unremitting  industry,  they  soon  began  to  accumulate  the  materials  of  an 
extensive  office,  so  that,  in  1809,  when  they  moved  to  Sloat  Lane,  near 
Hanover  Square,  they  had  nine  presses  in  operation.  They  occasionally 
printed  and  published  a  work  on  their  own  accoimt. 

In  1812  David  Bruce  went  to  England     Earl  Stanhope,  who  was  celebrated 
for  mechanical  investigations,  had  recently  perfected  his  method  of  stereo- 
tYpin<-  by  immersion.     David  purchased  the  secret,  and  learned  the  process 
in  part.     Returning  the  next  year  to  New  York,  the  brothers  made  their 
arrangements  to  introduce  the  process  in  this  country.     They  had  a  large 
share  of  obstacles  to  surmount  in  their  first  efforts,  as  every  thing  was  ex- 
perimental     But  they  were  not  men  to  abandon  an  undertaking,  once  decided 
upon,  where  success  was  possible.    To  David's  genius  the  art  owes  the 
application  of  the  planing-machine,  which  overcame  the  objection  that   he 
pl'tes  were  of  irregular  thickness  as  cast.    The  English  used  a  turning-lathe 
to  within  a  few  yean,  and  their  plates  were  never  true  until  they  adopted  the 
American  machine.     Mahogany  shifting-blocks,  to  bring  the  plates  to  type 
height,  were  also  his  invention.    Type  had  heretofore  been  cast  with  a 
bevelled  shoulder,  and  this  was  so  low  that  it  interfered  with  the  moulding 
and  weakened  the  plate.    To  remedy  tliis,  they  began  that  year  manutactur- 
ing  type  for  their  own  use,  adapted  to  stereotyping.     The  first  book  stereo- 
ty p-d  by  them  was  a  New  Testament,  in  Bourgeois,  completed  m  1814.     1  hey 
made  two  sets  of  plates,  publishing  from  one  themselves ;  the  other  they  sold 
to  Matthew  Carey,  of  Philadelphia.    This  was  followed  the  next  year  by  the 
Bible  in  Nonpareil.    These  were  the  first  school  editions  of  the  Bible  and 
New  Testament  issued  in  America,  and  except  the  "  Westminster  Catechism.' 
the  first  works  stereotyped  here.    The  following  year,  1816,  the  American 
Bible  Society  was  founded,  and  they  stereotyped  their  first  issues.    Subse- 
quently they  stereotyped  and  published  a  series  of  Latin  Classics.    In  IBl.i, 
they  moved  their  office  to  William  street,  near  G  .I'den. 

In  1816,  they  sold  out  the  printing  department,  and  bought  a  building  la 
Eldridge  street  for  the  foundry.  George  devoted  his  exquisite  taste  and 
energies  to  enlarging  the  type  business,  while  David  gave  his  thought  and 
genius  to  stereotyping.  From  costly  experience,  George  had  learned  that  to 
be  independent  of  the  caprice  of  workmen  who  understood  the  art  of  punch- 
cutting  and  casting,  he  must  acquire  a  thorough  practical  knowledge  of  the 
manufacturing  process  in  all  its  details.  The  first  attemp.s  of  Mr  Bruce  at 
punch-cutting,  were  crude  and  imperfect,  though  they  clearly  indicated  the 
germs  of  that  correct  taste  and  accuracy  of  eye  which  his  subsequent  artistic 
design  and  mechanical  skill  in  typography  displayed. 

In  1818  Chambers  street  was  opened,  and  they  bought  the  lots  and  erected 
a  house  fo'r  the  foundry,  which,  with  the  adjoining  building.  Mr.  Bruce  cou- 
tinned  to  occupy  till  his  death. 
The  first  Specimen  Book  of  "The  New  York  Type  Foundry    issued  by 


RS. 

iness  in  Xcw  York, 
innovation.    Tlie 

nee  of  work  flowed 
the  business,  and 

le  materials  of  an 
Sloat   Lane,  near 

Tliey  occasionally 

who  was  celebrated 
method  of  stereo- 
learned  the  process 
rothers  made  their 

They  had  a  large 
ivery  thing  was  ex- 
aking,  once  decided 

the  art  owes  tlie 
!  objection  that  the 
used  a  turning-lathe 
til  they  adopted  the 
■  the  plates  to  type 
',  been  cast  with  a 
with  the  moulding 
it  year  manufactur- 
le  first  book  stereo- 
etedinlSU.    They 

the  other  they  sold 
he  next  year  by  the 
ns  of  the  IJible  and 
minster  Catechism." 
1816,  the  American 
first  issues.  Subse- 
a  Classics.    In  ISl.!, 

bought  a  building  in 
exquisite  taste  and 
■ave  his  tliought  and 
e  had  learned  that  to 
)od  the  art  of  punch- 
cal  knowledge  of  the 
ipts  of  Mr.  Bruce  at 
clearly  indicated  the 
is  subsequent  artistic 

t  the  lots  and  erected 
ding,  Mr.  Bruce  cou- 

!  Foundry"  issued  by 


GEORGE    HRUCE,    NEW   YORK. 


635 


D.  .t  G.  Bruce,  1817-18.  was  a  thin  pamphlet,  exhibiting  a  variety  of  Roman 
fonts,  from  Nonpareil  to  English,  with  a  fair  assortment  of  plain  job  type  and 
borders.  Enlarged  editions  have  been  issued  at  various  periods,  until  now 
the  ••  .Specimen  Hook"  of  this  foundry  is  a  bulky  volume.  The  last  edition 
contains  specimens  of  plain  and  ornamental  type,  borders,  cuts,  etc.,  that  have 
re.iuirod  'he  cutting  and  titling  up  of  probably  two  hundred  thousand  di.stinct 
punciies  and  matrices. 

The  health  of  David  Bruce  becoming  impaired  by  excessive  application  to 
busmess,  he  purcha.se.l  a  farn.  in  New  Jersey,  and  the  firm  was  dissolved  in 
,  .,.-     ':''"'-'-'  '•'•'i"q»isl'ed  stereotyping  that  he  might  devote  his  time  u,id 
fa^kill  entirely  to  systematizing,  improving,  and  enlarging  the  Type  foundry 
It  would  greatly  enlarge  our  memoir  to  notice  all  his  labors  in  this  direction 
Up  to  1822,  there  had  been  no  uniform  standard  of  bodies  for  type  in  the 
several  foundries.     Mr.  Bruce  undertook  to  harnmnizo  and  grad.iate  the  size 
of  the  different  bodies  as  they  ranged  in  the  eleven  series  from  Pearl  to  Canon 
by  enlarging  some  and  reducing  others,  giving  them  a  relative  proportion! 
Ihis  was  a  difficult  task,  involving  great  labor  and  expense.     But  the  system 
of  steel  gauges  he  then  established,  has  generally  prevailed  as  the  standard 
among  the  American  founders.    He  then  introduced  the  Agate  body  for  the 
first  time  into  the  series. 

Scarcely  had  the  manufacture  of  type  begtm  in  this  country,  before  thou-ht 
and  ingenuity  were  brought  into  exercise  to  devise  a  maehine  for  castin- 
more  rapidly.     The  prevailing  idea  among  the  experimenters  was  that  this 
must  be  attained  by  casting  a  number  of  type  at  the  same  time.    The  first 
invention  of  this  class  was  patented  in  1805,  by  William  Wing,  of  Hartford 
Connecticut.     It  cast  twenty  or  thirty  type  at  once-the  type  projecting 
from  the  shank  like  the  teeth  of  a  comb.     This  patent  he  sold  to  Elihu  White 
who  spent  large  sums  in  efforts  to  perfect  it,  but  was  finally  compelled  to 
abandon  it.     But  solidity  and  sharpness  of  outline  could  not  be  obtained  in 
that  direction.    Several  other  machines  of  like  character  were  patented  in 
the  succeeding  thirty  years.    Large  sums  were  expended,  and  much  time 
and  talent  employed. 

Inventors  now  conceived  the  idea  that  a  machine  misht  be  constructed  to 
east  singly,  on  the  principle  of  the  hand-mould.  The  earliest  of  these  was 
William  M.  Johnson,  of  Hempstead,  L.  I.  He  was  followed  by  Starr  &  Stur- 
tevant,  of  Boston.  The  eccentric  type  founder,  (ieorge  B.  Lothian,  brought 
an  original  and  somewhat  complicated  machine  to  great  perfection  At  the 
fame  time,  David  Bruce,  Jr.,  a  thorough  artizan  and  ingenious  inventor  in  all 
that  pertains  to  type  making,  had  been  encouraged  by  his  uncle  George  to 
devote  his  mind  to  the  subject.  After  five  years'  study  and  experiment,  in 
18.^8,  he  produced  the  machine,  that  with  some  improvements  of  more  recent 
date,  has  superseded  the  others,  and  is  now  in  general  use  in  all  the  type 
foundries  of  the  world.  One  of  the  chief  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  rapid 
casting  was  the  danger  of  the  mould  overheating.  Mr.  Lothian  remedied 
this  by  the  ingenious  device  of  a  continuous  stream  of  water  through  the 
mould.  Mr  George  Bruce  met  the  same  objection,  and  devised  a  way  to  cool 
the  mould,  by  driving  an  artificial  blast  of  wind  through  it,  which  he  patented 


(•36  EMINENT    PBINTEUS    AND    TYPE    FOUNDERS. 

in  ^m  This  imi^rovomont  e.t.Wisho.l  .ho  suoooss  of  Ihe  invention  He 
aho  do  i=.Ml  .  i>hu  for  .ul,stituting  «team  instead  of  han.l  power,  so  that  one 
i/ca  at  euJ  two  or  n»ore  machines.  An  expert  workman  can  onl^  average 
Ten  ; yra  minute  by  the  hand  proce..  while  each  mach.ne  w.ll  cast  one 
»       1  ,  ,1  i.>  tl...  c;ime  soace  of  time,  and  more  umtormly  perlect. 

";  S^     re^  ■"  C  Sou  became  a  partner  with  Mr.  Br«.e.  and  re,muno. 
„s    uch  tm^^^^^^^  On  hil  retiring,  Mr.  Bruce  gave  his  son  I  av.d  an  n.teres 

n         fo  ul-y  -d  he  mainly  conducted  the  business  in  the  later  porUor. 
his  fathe"s  li?e,  though  his  name  did  not  appear  until  the  firm  was  changed 
in  iSfifi  to  Georsre  Bruee's  Son  &  Co. 

iln;  of  the  novelties  and  improvements  Introduced  into  the  trade  to  m- 
ere  se  th     facilities  for  printing  and  to  elevate  the  standard  o    exeellenc 
iZgh  new  styles  of  type,  borders,  ornaments,  etc.,  were  des.gn.d  or  mv  nted 
lyMr.  Bruce,  Iho  also  cut  the  punches  and  fitted  up  the  matrices  wUh  h  » 
olu  hands.    The  lloman  faces  he  produced  in  successive  years  wer     so 
superior  that  they  gave  his  foundry  a  commanding  reputation  among  pr.nte. 
In  1830  he  received  a  patent  for  combining  printmg  type  ior  mus.c.     Ihc 
ines  o?'th    stave  were  formed  by  brass  rules,  and  the  characters  were  cast  m 
Lctiol'o  occupy  the  spaces  between,  thus  forming  mu.co    a    -,..d 
description  more  perfectly  than  by  the  old  method.    Kerned  type  weie 
avoided  and  the  number  of  characters  reduced. 

As  early  as  18:^2,  his  Scripts  had  become  famous  among  prmters.     No  one 
evfr  equaUed  him  in  beauty  of  design  and  neatness  of  finish  m  any  thmg 
per  a Xg  to  his  various  styles  of  Calligraphic  art.    The  last  set  of  punches 
he    ut  was  for  a  Great  Primer  Script,  when  in  his  seventy-e.ghth  year,  and 
i   uxlrpas     1  bv  the  best  artists.   The  first  issue  of  the  Patent  Office,  under 
he  Act  of  1842,' for  protecting  designs,  was  granted  hun  for  one  of  h.s  m- 
comparab  e    cripts.    Ilis  designs  for  fancy  type,  combination  borders,  and 
0  S  nts %  ow  rare  artistic  merit.    He  was  never  so  happy  as  when  he 
ITeav    the  details  of  business,  and  sit  quietly  at  the  bcncl.  in  )us  pnva  e 
offi  e  devising  and  cutting  something  new  in  typographic  art.    To  brmg  o« 
som  iS  new  and  useful  was  his  ambition.     For  this  he  would  dev.s.  and 
aTorS  unwearied  perseverance,  and  would  reject,  without  a  murmur 
that  ww'h  had  cost  him  months  of  patient  toil,  if  it  did  not  please  his 

'te  w"  feld;  with  his  profound  advice  and  means,  if  need  be,  to  enc^ura^ge 
Ja  assist  in  developing  any  substantial  improvement  in  the  art.  Several 
"arss  nee  he  desired  to  stimulate  inventive  genius  to  the  production  of  a 
power  p  -  that  should  do  for  the  country  papers  whiU  "  Hoe's  Lightning 
ha  done  for  the  large  dailies-a  press  that  should  be  comparatively  inev 
pensivT  economical,  and  rapid.  He  offered  a  handsome  premium  to  the 
Inrcessful  inventor.     Several  new  presses  were  the  result. 

Ceeig  years  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Bruce,  his  sight  began  o  weaken, 
andTe  was  ompelled  to  relinquish  his  mechanical  labors  from  hat  cause. 
But  helont  iZ  his  daily  walk  of  two  or  three  miles  to  the  foundry,  and  his 
!veVXhto  business  with  sound  discernment  until  the  year  before  his  decease 
cTadfX  his  suength  continued  to  decay,  though  his  intellect  remained 


IS. 

le  invention.  TTe 
jower,  90  that  one 
n  can  onl>  averape 
iiine  will  cast  one 
rl'cct. 

•uce,  and  remained 
1  David  an  interest 
;ie  later  portion  of 
1  firm  was  changed 

to  the  trade,  to  in- 
dard  of  excellence, 
esign.!d  or  invented 
!  matrices  with  his 
dve  years  were  so 
ion  among  printers, 
le  for  music.  The 
racters  were  cast  in 
isic  of  any  required 
Kerned  type  were 

g  printers.    No  one 
finish  in  any  thing 

last  set  of  punches 
aty-cighth  year,  and 
Patent  Office,  under 
m  for  one  of  his  in- 
ination  borders,  and 
)  happy  as  when  lie 
bench  in  his  private 
c  art.  To  bring  out 
he  would  devise  and 

without  a  murmur, 
t  did  not  please  his 

leed  be,  to  encourage 
in  the  art.  Several 
the  production  of  a 
t  "  Hoe's  Lightning" 
e  comparatively  inex- 
irae  premium  to  the 
lit. 

ight  began  to  weaken, 
lora  from  that  cause. 
0  the  foundry,  and  his 
rear  before  his  decease. 
lis  intellect  remained 


GEORGE   ilRUCE,    NEW  YORK. 


637 


clear,  until  the  final  termination  of  his  long  and  useful  career,  on  the  5th  of 
July,  18()(),  m  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

Of  slight  fro.me,  Mr.  Bruce  had  the  appearance  of  a  man  of  infirm  health, 
yet  he  was  seldom  sick.    No  doubt  his  extreme  regularity  of  habits  in  exercise 
and  diet,  prolonged  his  life.     His  white  cravat  and  neat,  simple  attire  and 
serene  countenance,  gave  him  the  appearance  of  a  venerable  clergyman.    He 
was  endowed  with  marked  positive  individuality.     He  had  much  of  the  sim- 
plicity, hiunor,  self-control,  and  direct  plainness  of  speech  of  the  Quaker 
combined  with  the  unbending  integrity,  tenacity,  and  self-will  of  the  Scotch' 
The  peculiar  deliberate  and  concise  tone  in  which  he  spoke,  always  left  the 
Idea  he  wished  to  impart  distinctly  on  the  mind  of  tiie  hearer      He  was 
eminently  a  practical  man,  but  slow  of  decision.     Every  thing  submitted  to 
him,  or  his  own  self-originated  plans,  was  only  decided  on  after  mature  delib- 
eration.   But  when  once  decided,  it  was  the  end  of  controvert'  until  time  o- 
experience  had  found  them  wrong,  when  he  was  equally  frank  to  acknowled.ne 
an  error     He  was  not  naturally  devoid  of  temper,  and  had  underneath  his 
cabu,  cold  exterior,  a  warm,  forgiving,  and  generous  nature.     But  so  tliorou-h 
had  been  his  self-discipline,  that  all  his  faculties  were  under  subjection      He 
never  could  be  thrown  off  his  guard,  however  great  the  provocation,  thou-h 
his  sharp,  cutting  retorts  would  often  be  more  painful  and  liumiliating  thin 
an  outburst  of  passion. 

He  was  ever  anxious  to  enhance  the  prosperity  of  the  craft,  both  mechanical 
or  moral.     He  took  a  warm  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Typographical 
Society,  and  was  the  first  and  most  liberal  patron  of  the  Printer's  Library 
connected  with  that  society.     His  own  library  was  rich,  containing  a  number 
of  rare  works  of  the  earliest  period  of  black  letter  print,  with  illuminated 
initials,  and  also  in  MSS.  of  the  same  character  of  an  earlier  date.     Durin- 
the  existence   of  the   Mechanics'   Institute,  of  wliich   he  was   for   several 
years  president,  and  the  earlier  years  of  the  American,  he  was  an  active 
member,  and  at  their  scientific  conversational  meetings  and  lectures    fre 
quently  gave  interesting  and  instructive  talks  on  some  mechanical  subject 
He  was  also  an  early  member  of  the  IIi.storical  Society,  and  as  late  as  im 
.  wT*^  °"  *''^  committee  for  the  celebration  of  the  two  hundredth  birthdav 
of  WiHiam  Bradford,  the  pioneer  printer  of  Pennsylvania.     He  was  a  member 
and  officer,  for  many  years,  of  the  General  Society  of  Mechanics  and  Trades- 
men, and  aided  in  the  establishment  of  the  Apprentices  Library      He  was 
also  the  senior  member  of  the  St.  Andrew's  Society,  liaving  joined  it  in  iHO-t 
and  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.    Soon  after  the  rebellion  com- 
menced, the  manufacturers  of  type,  in  the  various  cities  of  the  North  or- 
gamzed  a  Type  Founder's  Association,  for  the  reirulation  of  tlieir  business 
Mr  Bruce  was  elected  president,  and  filled  the  office  during  the  remainder 
of  his  days. 

The  life  of  Mr.  Bruce  was  cotemporary  with  the  rise  and  progress  of  tvr.o- 
graphy  during  the  present  century.  He  found  the  art  of  printing  insi.rnifi  Juut 
type  founding  undeveloped,  .nereotyping  unknown,  the  hand-press  imperfect' 
power-presses  not  conceived,  American  literature  unwritten,  and  tlic  news' 
paper  but  a  handbill,  and  retired  from  the  scenes  of  iiis  activity  with  the 
1  ress  till-  nughtiest  potentate  of  the  nations. 


C38 


EMINKNr   PRINTERS   AND   TYPE   FOUNDERS. 


James  Conner,  New  York, 

A  practical  printer,  but  better  known  as  the  ori^'iniitor  of  the  extensive  Typo 
foundry  in  New  York,  bearing  his  name,  was  born  in  Duchesis  county,  near 
Hyde   Park,    April   22d,    1798.     In  1814,   ]<e   was   apprenticed   to   Samuel 
Urowcr,  publisher  of  the  Public  Adverther,  which  counted  among  its  contribu- 
tors  many  well-known  politicians  of  that  day,  among  others,  Henry  Wheaton, 
who,  it  is  said,  never  altered,  even  by  a  single  word,  the  original  manuscript 
given  into  the  compositor's  hands.    In  this  ofiSce  James  Conner  first  learned 
the  art  of  setting  type  wliilc  also  performing  many  of  the  other  duties  inci- 
dent to  the  publication  of  a  newspaper  at  that  time.     Before  completing  his 
apprenticeship,  he  made  an  arrangement  for  cancelling  the  articles  of  inden- 
ture, and  entered  as  a  half  pay  hand,  the  office  of  Major  M.  M.  Noah,  tlien 
issuing  the  National  Advocate,  but  imbibing  the  idea  that  the  business  would 
be  hut  half  learned  in  a  newspaper  office,  he  decided  upon  an  application  to 
jlbraham  Paul,  then  a  celebrated  pointer,  who  accepted  him  as  a  two-third 
compositor.     His   nc::t   engagement  was    with    Eplsraim   Conrad,   a  much 
esteemed  printer  of  his  time,  and  whose  office  was  on  the  corner  of  Chatham 
and  Frankfort   streets,  where  French's  Hotel  now  stands.    While  in  Mr. 
Conrad's  employ  he  advanced  rapidly  in  a  practical  knowledge  of  fine  jib 
work,  and  became  also  a  first  class  pressman. 

An  Englishman  named  Watts,  was  his  next  employer,  and  while  in  this 
office,  he  worked  in  the  capacity  of  an  ordinary  compositor,  on  the  first  quarto 
Bible  ever  stereotyped  Id  America.  It  may  be  proper  to  state  thrt  this  Mr. 
Watts,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Fay,  the  father  of  the  recent  minister  to 
Switzerland,  was  among  the  first,  if  not  the  very  first,  who  brought  the  art  of 
sterotyping  to  any  degree  of  perfection  in  the  United  States.  It  was  proba- 
bly here  tliat  he  learned  the  rudimerts  of  finishing  stereotype  plates  in  whicli 
he  afterward  so  greatly  excelled  that  he  confined  himself  exclusively  to  the 
stereotyping  business.  Not  long  after  this,  he  was  induced  to  remove  to 
Boston  to  take  charge  of  Timothy  IT.  Carter's  stereotype  foundry  with  a 
promise  of  a  large  weekly  salary,  which  was  soon  changed  to  a  contract  at  a 
certain  price  per  thousand  ems  for  composition  and  finishing  plates  for  the 
press.  To  this  the  addition  was  subsequently  made  of  the  supervision  of  the 
press  rooms  in  which  several  of  the  Treadwell  power  presses  (being  almost 
the  first  power  presses  ever  used  in  this  country)  were  run.  Here  he  labored 
from  ten  to  eighteen  hours  a  day  for  nearly  three  years,  and  then  returned  to 
New  York  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  account  with  a  capital  of  some 
three  thousand  dollars,  the  net  accumulation  of  his  personal  labors. 

Mr.  Conner  at  first  located  himself  in  Frankfort  street  near  Pearl,  but 
soon  secured  a  lease  on  the  building  No.  1  Murray  street.  It  was  while  in 
this  location  that  he  made  an  important  advance  in  type  founding,  by  taking 
old  stereotype  plates  and  cutting  an  alphabet  of  some  sixte«n-line  Pica 
Antique  which  was  much  wanted  at  that  time  for  large  posters.  Of  these  he 
stereotyped  and  sold  immense  quantities,  blocked  on  wood.  From  Murray 
street  Mr.  Conner  removed  to  Spruce  street  near  Gold,  where  he  erected  a 
new  building  for  the  casting  of  plates  to  accommodate  his  increa^^ing  business. 
In  addition  to  his  ordinary  custom,  that  of  the  Episcopal  and  Methodist 


JAMES   COXNr.K,    NEW    YORK. 


639 


10  extensive  Typo 
hes<s  countY,  near 
iticed  to  yumiiol 
iTiong  its  contrihu- 
,  Henry  AVheaten, 
iginal  manuscript 
Duner  first  learned 

other  duties  inci- 
ire  completing  his 
:  articles  of  inden- 
M.  M.  Noah,  then 
,he  business  would 

an  application  to 
lira  as  a  two-third 

Conrad,  a  much 
orner  of  Chatham 
Is.  While  in  Mr. 
vledge  of  fine  jib 

and  while  in  this 
on  the  first  quarto 
state  thi"!  this  Mr. 
recent  minister  to 
brought  the  art  of 
,es.  It  was  proba- 
>'pe  plates  in  which 

exclusively  to  the 
iced  to  remove  to 
pe  foundry  with  a 
1  to  a  contract  at  a 
King  plates  for  the 

supervision  of  the 
esses  (being  almost 
;.  Here  he  labored 
id  then  returned  to 
h  a  capital  of  some 
al  labors. 

et  near  Pearl,  but 
t.  It  was  while  in 
'ounding.  by  taking 
e  8ixte«n-line  Pica 
istcrs.  Of  these  he 
od.  From  Murray 
(vhere  he  erected  a 
increasing  business, 
pal  and  Methodist 


Societies  had  recently  o'-crued  to  him.  The  occasion,  he  thought,  was 
opportune  for  the  publication  of  a  folio  B'Mo,  being  the  first  ever  stereotyped 
in  the  States,  or  any  other  country.  For  this,  long  before  lie  had  finished  it, 
he  found  a  customer,  in  Silas  Andrus  of  Harlford,  Connecticut,  who  readily 
agreed  to  the  price  first  asked,  live  thousand  dollars.  Elated,  as  he  well 
might  be,  by  his  success  in  this  connection,  and  anxious,  as  he  ever  was,  to 
keep  good  tUitli  to  the  very  moment,  Mr,  Conner  was  compelled  to  devote 
himscU'  eighteen  hours  daily  to  the  personal  supervision  of  the  work. 

About  tliis  time  ho  was  induced  to  embark  in  the  casting  of  type,  more 
with  the  view  of  manufacturing  such  as  he  required  in  liis  own  business  than 
with  any  idea  of  sale,  and  he  was  also  elected  by  his  fellow  printers  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  New  York  Typographical  Society,  a  chn,rtercd  instiiuticm 
with  considerable  capital.  Not  long  afterwards  he  erected  a  five  story  type 
foundry  on  Nassau  street,  corner  of  Ann,  and  commenced  the  issue  of  his 
Miniature  Specimens  of  Light-face  Printing  Types,  exhibiting  in  Latin  some 
ten  or  fifteen  lines  of  Itomau,  from  Nonpareil  to  English,  on  a  sheet  of  India 
paper,  folio  page.  So  highly  was  this  appreciated  that  the  introduction  of  lijiht 
laced  type  became  quite  an  epoch  in  founding.  He  also  embarked  largely  in 
stereotyping  standard  works  for  his  own  account,  selecting  Maunder's 
Trcaaary  of  Knowledge,  The  Million  of  Facts,  Shakspeare's  Works,  and  an 
improved  edition  of  the  Common  Prayer.  He  also  undertook  the  stereotyping 
of  a  Polyglot  Bible  and  for  this  purpose  prepared  a  new  size  and  style  of 
type  called  Agate,  cut  in  a  condensed  and  compressed  manner  with  a  view  of 
aiimitting  a  certain  number  of  figures  and  points  within  a  given  space,  the 
whole  included  in  a  centre  column  of  i.>otes,  otherwise  the  notes  would  not 
come  on  the  same  page  as  the  text  to  wh-  ;  they  referred.  Of  this  Bible  lie 
made  several  sets  of  plates  from  the  sami;  composition,  then  took  out  the 
references  and  centre  column  of  notes,  and  completed  many  sets  of  an 
eighteen  mo.  Bible,  and  a  proportionate  number  of  plates  for  the  New  Te.';ta- 
ment. 

The  publication  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  entire  ''Vork.'i,  which  consisted  of  seven 
octavo  volumes  of  closely  printed  matter,  was  his  next  undertaking.  In  con- 
nection with  this,  it  is  said  that,  after  completing  Scott's  works,  his  impression 
was  that  there  was  an  additional  volume.  Determined  that  nothing  coming 
from  his  hands  should  be  imperfect,  he  took  hold  of,  and  stereotyped  half  a 
volume  before  he  discovered  that  Sir  Walter  was  not  the  author  of  the  book ! 
consequently,  it  was  abandoned.  An  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  extent  of 
his  dealings  at  this  time  from  the  fact  that  on  this  work  alone,  he  invested 
from  forty  to  fifty  thousand  dollars.  At  this  period  his  Type  foundry  had  so 
enlarged  that  he  was  induced  to  dispose  of  his  stereotyping  establishment, 
and  devote  himself  entirely  to  the  manufacture  of  type,  and  the  publication 
of  Scott's  Works,  in  parts. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  follow  the  subject  of  our  sketch  through  all  the 
incidents  of  good  and  evil  fortune  that  attended  him,  or  the  various  changes 
of  location  that  were  made  before  he  became  established  at  28  Centre  street, 
where  Conner's  Type  Foundry  is  now  a  most  conspicuous  object.  A  mong 
the  most  noticeable  of  thii  experiments  made  by  him,  was  an  attempt  to  cast 


640 


EMINENT  PRINTERS   ANP   TYPE   FOUNDERS. 


letters  from  an  electrotyped  matrix  by  the  process  of  ohem.oal  prcc'P'M  ""• 
Previous  to  his  successful  eftbrts  in  this  direction,  Messrs.  Mapes  and  Lh.  ton 
chemists,  had  experimented  to  produce  a  fac  simile  of  a  copper  ph  te  ^inch 
Mapes  wisned  to  use  for  his  magazine.     Ascertaining  the  perfect  succe  so 
the  experiment  under  other  hands,  he  vvas  anxious  to  have    heir  bate 
tried  on  a  copper  plate.     It  was,  to  his  and  Mr.  Chdton's  jom    del.gh  , 
suecessful.  ond  a  very  favorable  report  was  inserted  iu  many  of  the  European 

scientific  periodicals.  ■n..i,^ov 

In  the  courso  of  his  experimenting,  Mr.  Conner  took  a  Long  Tr.  ner 
Italic  capital  T,  and  inserted  it  through  a  piece  of  stereotype  plate  I  ms 
was  attached  to  a  copper  wire  by  soldering;  some  zmc  was  attached  to  the 
other  end  of  the  wire  ;  a  weak  solution  of  sulphuric  acid  was  made  «";!  P''^"'! 
in  a  vessel ;  a  solution  of  common  blue  vitriol  in  another  apartment-  then  the 
matrix  and  the  zinc  were  placed  in  their  respective  apartments  and  the  pro- 
cess  of  extracting  the  copper  from  the  sulphate,  through  galvanic  aeon, 
commenced,  and  the  copper  obtained  was  thrown  on  the  intended  matrix 

lie  and  his  assistants  then  took  a  small  cut  of  a  Ueeluve,  and  setting  this 
also  in  the  same  way,  obtained  a  perfect  matrix,  which  is  now  in  use  at  his  sons 
foundry.    These  successes  encouraged  him  to  attempt  other  experiments  on  a 
larger  and  more  valuable  scale.     Mr.  Conner,  therefore,  ordered  a  fancy  font 
of  type,  which  he  originally  had  cut  on  steel,  selecting  therefrom  a  perfec 
alphabet,  points,  and  figures,  and  then  shaved  a  stereotype  plate  on  both 
sides     This  he  lined  off  into  sizes,  equal  to  the  matrices  he  desired  to  make, 
lie  then  made  the  necessary  openings  through  the  plate,  and  inserted   he 
types  designed  to  be  precipitated  on,  which  he  cut  off  and  soldered  on  the 
back     This  proved  a  highly  successfnl  experiment,  as  it  gave  hira  a  perfect 
set  of  matrices  at  one  precipitation.    This  plate  is  still  to  be  seen  at  Mr. 
Conner's  establishment,  as  originally  made,  and  is  regarded  as  a  great  tnrios- 
,ty-bcing  supposed  to  be  the  first  alphabet  thus  made,  in  this  or  any  other 

"^"nis'next  experiment  was  made  on  a  more  extended  scale,  and,  to  this  end, 
the  apparatus  was  enlarged  so  as  lo  admit  three  fonts  of  fancy  types,  which 
were  nlaced  in  communication  with  the  precipitated  copper  at  the  same 
operation.     Between  each  1  Hter  was  inserted  a  piece  of  wood,  made  to  the 
height  necessary  to  separate  each  matrix  from  the  other,  as  it  came  out,  it 
being  impossible  to  connect  the  wood  along  with  the  precipitated  metal. 
Thus  divided,  eacli  matrix  would  fall  apart  without  ihe  labor  of  sawing.    1  his 
experiment,  however,  was  by  no  means  successful.     From  the  circumstance 
of  wood  being  introduced,  us  dividing  lines,  and  becoming  wet,  it  swellcd- 
such  swelling  causing  the  typo  to  sprir?  from  the  bottom  of  the  trough.     In 
the  process  of  precipitation,  only  a  very  thin  shell  was  found  on  the  lace  of 
the  type;  about  the  same  quantity  having  found  its  way  to  the  bottom,  m 
consequence  of  the  springing  of  the  di"iding  lines,  and  the  throwing  of  the 
types  off  their  feet.     All  these  difficulties   have  been  sinco  overcom",  and 
tids   establishment  lias  several    thousand   y.recipitatcd  matrices   thvt   can 
BCftwelv  he  told  from  those  made  from  a  steel  punch. 

When  DftviU  Bruce  Jr.  had  invenUd  his  machine  for  casting  type,  which 


JS. 


JOHN    C.    CLARK,    PIIILADELPUIA. 


641 


nical  precipitation. 
Mapes  and  Chilton, 
ioppiT  pli  te  wlacli 
3  perfect  success  of 
have  their  battery 
ton's  joint  delight, 
uy  of  the  European 

ok  a  Long  Primer 
eotype  plate.    This 
was  attached  to  the 
as  made  and  placed 
ipartment;  then  the 
tments.  and  the  pro- 
;gh  galvanic  action, 
intended  matrix. 
live,  and  setting  this 
ow  in  use  at  his  sons' 
her  experiments  on  a 
ordered  a  fancy  font 
therefrom  a  perfcc 
3type  plate  on  both 

I  he  desired  to  make, 
ate,  and  inserted  the 

and  soldered  on  the 
;t  gave  him  a  perfect 

II  to  be  seen  at  Mr. 
ded  as  a  great  cnrios- 
,  in  this  or  any  other 

cale,  and,  to  this  end, 
[)f  fancy  types,  which 

copper  at  the  same 
)f  wood,  made  to  the 
ler,  as  it  came  out,  it 
e  precipitated  metal, 
labor  of  sawing.  This 
rom  the  circumstance 
iiing  wet,  it  swelled— 
im  of  the  trough.  In 
1  found  on  the  face  of 
way  to  the  bottom,  in 
d  the  throwing  of  the 

ainco  overcom",  and 
sd  matrices  thit  can 

'or  casting  type,  which 


was  far  in  advance  of  any  that  had  preceded  it,  Mr.  Conner  was  among  tlie 
first  to  perceive  its  advantages  and  he  secured  not  only  a  certain  number  of 
these  new  machines  but  the  privilege  of  raaniifacturing  as  many  more  as  his 
business  wantt  might  require.  The  firm  are  now  the  owners  of  tlie  extended 
patent  and  liave  introduced  them  .successfully  in  several  of  tlie  type  foundries 
of  England  and  tJermany.  In  these  and  other  diligent  labors  lie  passed  a  long 
life  until  the  messenger  of  death  summoned  him  away,  on  May  30th,  18G1. 

Mr.  Conner  po  ..essed,  in  a  large  degree,  those  personal  qualities  tliat  win 
esteem  and  command  popularity.  In  1844,  he  was  elected  to  the  ofTice  of 
County  Clerk  for  three  years,  and  on  tlie  expiration  of  the  first  term,  was  re- 
elected for  the  same  period.  Aifable  and  courteous,  and  abounding  in  anec- 
dote, yet  possessed  of  courage  and  determination,  he  exhibited  many  of  tlie 
attributes  chat  constitute  true  manhood.  Since  his  decease,  the  busiiir^ss 
established  by  iiim  has  been  carried  on  by  his  two  sons,  James  M.  &  William 
C.  Conner,  located  at  the  corner  of  Ileade  and  Centre  streets,  who  have  made 
niaiy  important  i.aprovements,  especially  in  machines  for  finishing  electro- 
typed  cuts,  also  improvements  in  machines  for  casting  type.  They  have  now 
in  their  foundry  about  thirty  type  casting  machines,  and  employ  in  all  the 
departments  over  one  hundred  persons. 


John  C.  Clark,  Philadelphia, 

Who  is  now  the  o'  ,i  living  printer  in  the  City  of  rhiladelpliia,  was  born  in 
New  York  city  in  the  year  1787.  Whilst  the  memory  of  his  early  life  is 
somewhat  dim  and  faded,  he  remembers  having  lived  in  Orange  Street,  so 
culled  at  that  time,  and  unpaved,  running  from  Broadway  to  the  North  I  ver, 
beyond  which  street,  he  thinks  there  were  no  wharves.  He  recollects  stand- 
ing iu  Chatham  street  previous  to  the  close  of  the  yer-  1794,  as  t)ie  ball 
was  being  put  up  Oii  the  steeple-rod  of  St.  I'aul's  Chiinh. 

About  that  date,  he  removed  to  rhiladelpliia  and  picked  up  his  first  type 
in  the  printing  oflSce  of  his  step-father,  Mr.  William  Ross,  then  printer  for 
Congress,  in  the  old  Loganian  Library  building,  on  Sixth  street,  opposite 
Independence  Square.  Drawing  a  case  from  the  rack,  he  earned  the  boxes, 
and  set  up  an  anecdote  of  a  si  ilor,  which,  jiUasing  his  childish  fancy,  probalily 
engendered  a  taste  for  the  p-ofession,  which  nine  years  later  lie  adopted. 
During  those  early  years,  he  fr  '(|uently  sew  (jienerul  Wa.shington,  then  Dres- 
iuent  of  the  United  States,  anil  witnessed  the  mournful  ceremonies  which 
commemorated  his  death  in  171)9. 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  growth  of  Philadelphia,  when  he  states 
.nat,  in  l79."),  Si.xth  street  below  Cheslnut  was  not  pavMl,  and  even  Market 
street  had  but  few  foot-pavements  west  of  Tenth  street.  Even  at  that  time 
there  were  the  remains  of  a  post  and  rail  fence  at  the  nortli-weat  corner  of 
Seventh  and  Chestnut  streets,  and  beyimd  Eleventh,  on  Chestnut,  only  one 
house  on  the  line  of  the  street,  very  near  the  Schuylkill  river,  that  of  Mr. 
K.sling,  brick-maker. 

In  the  yc^ar  1800,  ('ongress  sat  in  Washington,  and  Mr.  Ross,  still  their 
printer,  took  his  step-son  with  him  to  that  city,  having  removed  his  nflicc 

a 


C42 


EMINENT   PRINTEIIS   AXD   TYPE   FOUNDERS. 


there     At  the  fire  which  destroyed  the  Treasury  Department   Mr.  Clark 
stood  beside  the  then  venerabl.  President,  John  Adan...  str.nd.ng  in  hno, 
TLl  water  to  extinguish  its  flames,  and  he  also  recollects  see.n|.   Ihon.a. 
S  rson     ke  his  oath^f  office,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  from  the 
:   U    y  of  the  Senate.     Returning  to  Philadelphia  in  1801,  he  was  apnren- 
K  dfn  1803,  being  then  sixteen  years  old,  to  Robert  Carr,  to  learn  the  pnut- 
ng  business.     At  U.is  period,  Mr.  Carr's  office,  (though  it  contau^ed  but  lour 
cfew  presses.)  was  one  of  the  largest  in  the  citv.    Whilst  work.ng  as  a  com- 
posiro?here  he  set  up  nearly  the  whole  of  WHson's  American  Orn.thology, 
L  Grea  Pdmor  type,  making  the  accents  with  his  penknife  from  a  ha.r  space, 
no  found  y  as  ye   having  cast  any.    Ha  also  set  up  from  the  or.gmal  manu- 
script  a  volume  of  Thomas  Moore's  poems,  the  author  then  bemg  m  the  c  ty 
and  lorked  on  Deidrich  Knickerbocker's  History  of  New  York,  when  fir  t 
puJlilhed  Washington  Irving  calVng  (incog.)  at  the  office  to  super.ntend  i  . 
'  l)urh.g  the  year  1805,  the  publication  of  Rees'  Cyclopedia  m  46  vols.  4to, 
wrcommcnced  by  Samuel  H.  Bradford,  the  heaviest  uudertah.ng  m  the  pub- 
SngTine  of  any  then  known  in  this  country.    The  first  and  many  subse- 
nuent  volumes  were  printed  in  Mr.  Carr's  office. 

'  m  book-prhiters  of  the  time,  amongst  some  others,  were  Hugh  Maxw 
Thomas  S.  Manning,  Fry  &  Kammerer,  T.  L.  Plowman,  James  Ma.vwell, 
Bartholomew  Graves,  and  Rober*  Carr.  .  .     ,  ».^    r.  i 

M  Clark  formed  a  co-partnership  in  1817,  with  his  fnend  M.  Raser,  a  ul 
under  the  firm  of  Clark  &  Raser.  pursued  his  vocation  w.h  n;"^;"^*^^; 
"ess.  They  printed  the  first  Sunday-school  book  issued  in  tne  United  State  . 
probably  tL  first  anywhere.  This  was  ordered  by  John  P  Bankson,  llu.'h 
DeTven,  and  Ashton  Claxton,  three  young  gentlemen,  teaching  m  bt^Pau  s 
Sunday-school.  Mr.  Bankson  was  sent  by  the  American  Coloni^a  ion  Society 
as  the  first  missionary  to  Africa,  but  died  soon  after  his  arrival  there.  Mr. 
I)e  Haven  died  in  this  city.    Mr.  Claxton  is  still  living. 

About  the  year  1817,  Mr.  Adam  Ramage,  press  mulcer  in  Philadclph  a.  im- 
ported  the  "  Ruthven  Press"  from  Scotland,  and  mauufuctured  a  number  c, 
hem.  This  press,  and  the  "Clymer  Press,"  invented  bj  George  (  lymer.  cl 
h  s  city,  were  probably  the  earliest  improvements  on  the  o.d  screw  pr  ss 
o  uJ^d  into  Philadelphia.  In  the  year  1831,  Mr.  Cia.k  removed  h. 
office  to  Dock  street,  and  opened  in  connection  with  it  a  stationery  store,  a.id 
commenced  the  printing  and  sale  of  Commercial  and  Law  blank  tonus.  I  hut 
he  has  since  remained,  and  with  his  two  sons,  still  carries  on  the  b««."-  • 

Mr  Clark  has  lived  to  se-;  astonishing  improvements -u  the  art  of  lunt- 
ipg.  The  beauty  and  great  variety  of  fancy  type,  tho  improved  presses 
and  other  facilities  for  the  convenience  and  efficiency  of  the  craft,  have  p  ac-d 
,he  printer  of  1867  on  a  highly  elevated  platform,  when  compared  w.th  the 
printer  of  1804.  A  single  printing  office  of  the  present  time,  with  its  fit  ecu 
or  twenty  power  presses,  will  do  more  work  in  -.ne  day  than  could  have  .eon 
done  by  the  combined  offices  of  the  city,  when  Mr.  Clurk  commeuced  bu.. 
uciB  iu  tbo  year  1817. 


1 


IS. 


JOHN   PAOAN,   I'llILADELPHIA. 


C43 


tment,  Mr.  Clark 
str.ntling  in  line, 
ts  .sceinjr  Thomas 
1  States,  from  the 
ll,  I'vi  was  iipnren- 
to  learn  the  print- 
contained  but  four 
working  as  a  com- 
rican  Ornitliology, 
!  from  a  hair  space, 
the  original  manu- 
n  being  in  the  city, 
w  York,  when  first 
I  to  superintend  it. 
idia,  in  46  vols.  4to, 
■rtahing  in  the  pub- 
st  and  many  subsc- 

ere  Hugh  Maxwell, 
.n,  James  Maxwell, 

•lend  M.  Raser,  and 
with  moderate  siic- 
n  the  United  States. 

P.  Bankson,  lUij;li 
sachinginSt.  Paul's 
Colonization  Society 

arrival  there.    Mr. 

in  Philadelphia,  im- 
ictured  a  number  of 
y  George  Olymer,  of 
the  Old  Bcrew  press 
Ciaik   removed   his 
stationery  store,  ami 
V  blank  fo'-ms.  There 
}8  on  the  busine.'tK. 
s  in  the  art  of  Print- 
id  improved  presses, 
the  craft,  have  placd 
■n  compared  with  tlio 
,  time,  with  its  fifteen 
Ihau  could  lune  l)eon 
ark  commeuced  busi- 


John  Fagan,  Philadelphia, 

One  of  the  old  printers  and  stereotypers  of  Pluladi'l]ihia,  was  born  in 
that  city  on  the  'Jyth  of  December,  179'J,  a-id  began  to  learn  tlie  printing 
'i\isincss  at  the  early  ago  of  thirteen,  or  about  the  end  of  the  year  1812. 
It  may  well  be  supposed  that  such  an  era  was  not  likely  to  l)e  one  of  favor- 
able progress,  for  the  second  war  with  (Jieat  Britain  was  just  I  eginning,  and 
(luring  its  continuance  of  two  years  and  a  half,  little  progress  was  maile  in 
tlie  peaceful  arts.  There  was  but  little  machinery  in  use,  steam  power  was 
only  in  limited  operation,  capital  was  scarce,  skilled  artizans  few  in  number, 
and  inventive  genius  sadly  at  a  loss  as  to  the  means  of  testing  or  carrying 
out  its  most  promising  suggestions.  The  typographical  art  was  almost  in 
its  infancy,  in  the  city  of  Brotherly  Love,  and  although  some  iron  printing 
presses  liad  been  introduced,  the  simple  old  screw  press  of  Adam  Ramage 
was  chiefly  used  by  the  fraternity,  and  their  awkwardly  cut  tyi>es  were 
manufactured  by  Binney  &  Ronaldson,  near  tlie  corner  of  South  and  Tenth 
streets.  Some  heavy  works,  howevr,  had  been  printed  in  Philadelphia, 
including  quarto  Cyclopedias,  Hume's  History  of  England,  Robertson's  His- 
torical Works,  embracing  India,  Scotland,  America,  and  Charles  V.  Some 
books,  too,  aspiring  to  a  good  degree  of  elegance,  had  issued  from  t)vc 
riiiladelphia  press;  such  as  Barlow's  Columbiad  and  Wilson's  Orriitholog>, 
both  in  tlie  quarto  form,  and  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington.  But  in  these 
early  days  of  the  Republic,  wealth  or  competence  \7a8  not  so  generally 
diffused  as  to  make  sucli  publications  profitable ;  and  on  each  of  the  works 
comprised  in  th'i  above  list,  the  enterprise  involved  a  considerable  loss. 

But  when,  a  few  years  afterwards,  the  country  began  to  aciumulate  capital, 
H'ld  the  new  art  of  stereotyping  came  in  to  supplement  that  of  printing, 
there  was  a  decided  change  for  the  better.  The  bookseller  had  more  cus- 
tomers, and  he  was  not  obliged  to  pay  for  setting  the  type  anew  for  each 
edition.  So  books  were  clieapened,  and  purchiisers  incr'  used,  making  the 
publishing  business  more  steady  as  well  as  more  profitable,  and  enabling 
some  publishers  to  realize  competencies  and  fortunes. 

It  was  in  182;i,  that  Mr.  J.  Howe  came  to  Philadelphia  with  his  stereotyp- 
ing machinery,  where  Mr.  L.  Johnson  had  preceded  him  in  the  same  voca- 
tion, and  both,  had  a  fair  share  of  business  in  stereotyping  Bibles,  school 
hooks,  and  other  standard  works.  In  1827,  Mr.  Fagan  entered  Mr.  Howe's 
establishment  as  proof-reader,  and,  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Howe,  in  18:14,  took 
the  foundry,  and  conducted  it  with  reasonable  success  until  18(I3,  when  he 
retired  from  the  business,  relinquishing  it  to  his  son. 

The  respective  stereotype  foundries  of  Messrs.  L.  Johnson  and  J.  Fagan 
were,  for  many  years,  almost  the  only  ones  in  Philadelphia.  But  us  the  city 
advanced  in  population  and  resources,  enterprising  young  men  entered  into 
the  business,  and  the  establishments  have  ((uadrupled  in  number.  Electro- 
typing,  or  stereotyping  in  copper,  gives  superior  sharpness  in  c.isting  wood- 
'  Ills,  and  in  that  respect  is  a  valuably  adjunct  to  stereotyiied  works,  besides 
lu'iug  often  employed  for  an  entire  work,  where  immense  numbers  of  copies 
ri'quire  greater  duruliility  in  the  plates.  But  most  books  are  still  stereotyped, 
ti.'W  reaching  sale:;  umuunting  to  hundreds  uf  thousundn. 


C44  EMINENT   PRINTERS   AND   TY7>E   FOUNDERS. 

U,   ,1.0   t.vouty-uinc  years   comprehended   within  this  P^/^J' ^^^  ^rt  of 
p,. ,  tin.^  h..l  nnule  great  stri.kvs.     Aided  by  Stereotyping  and  K  ectroty  p  ng, 
raved  n.ueh  expenditure  in  the  way  of  type.ettn.g  and   he  r.-enUon 
Adam,  press,  the  great  book  printing  n.achine  of  the  UnUed  blate.. 
wl^h  brough     the   agency   of  ingenious  n.eehani.m,  prope  ed  by  st.a.u 
:l.  .  to  pW  an  important  part  in  the  great  ndvancenu-n    the  produ..  ... 
bo  ks  was  immensely  cheapened,  whilst  in  elegance  and  fuush  t  uy     -n- 
Lted    trongly  with  the  homely  appearance  of  the  old  editions.     It  turlu 
np  0  e«.ent  in  book-n.aking  seen.s  to  have  received  a  temporary  che A  by 
"    on  o    the  nuiltiforn.  taxation  resulting  from  the  great  Cnd  ^^  ar,  let  u. 
hope  that  a  vigorous  National  growth  in  the  fu.uro  will  tend  to  restore  the 

'"  U  m.^r  S^opriate  to  add,  in  connection  with  the  sul^^t  of  tjus 
nun"  t  at.  apart  iVo,l  his  special  interest  in  the  art  typograph.cal,  Mr, 
"    "n  in    b  e    for  u.any  years  an  earnest  and  active  advocate  o    home  nj- 

h  :t  -v  w^^^h  all  its  varied  interests.  He  has  constantly  endeavored,  through 
the    d'ito   1  columns  of  a  leading  daily  journal,  to  procure  such  a  change  m 

,ll  c   I  Lent  as  shall  lead  to  an  explicit  National  recogmt.on  of  thejust.c 

andHicyoffuU   protection  to   all  Anu-rican  industries,   whether   agr.ul- 

tural,  raining,  manufacturing,  or  commercial. 

Lawrence  Johnson,  Philadelphia. 

A  printer,  but  eminent  especially  as  a  type  founder,  was  born  J-""«'-y  2^''. 
IboT  inthe  city  of  Hull,  England,  where  he  received  the  rud.men  s  ol  u 
0  S;  y  Knglish  education.  When  ,uite  a  youth,  he  ^^o-J,/.';  """J^^^' 
?o  the  purpose  of  entering  the  printing  office  of  Messrs.  John  (.h.lds  ^  ^on. 
1,  an  apprentice.  During  his  seven  long  years  of  service,  that  energy,  ,u.ck. 
n  ss  of  perTeTtion,  and  self-reliant  ju.lgment  which  characterised  his  whole 
Ifter  ife  be  le  measurably  developed.  While  yet  a  boy,  he  became  so 
;     abl    and  fi  ished  a  workman,  that  to  a  considerable  extent  he  was  entrust  .1 

w   h   1  e  d  rcction  of  the  aftairs  of  the  office  ;  and  by  his  devoted  at  ention  t.. 

h is  eml-ers-  interests,  he  completely  won  their  confidence  and  cs  eem. 
1,"       m"^  s  rvice  aided,  he  at  once  decided  that  the  United  States  was 

hi    p  op      field  of  labor,  as  aflording  all  the  scope  which  his  ambition  crave.l. 

He  h  led  his  parent  ,  with  their  numerous  family,  to  emigrate  with  h,n,. 
Vnn   lulv      h     819    they  arrived  in  New  York.    The  unheahhy  appeur- 

:!:;  ui^ihi";^  of  tLt  dt.  made  so  ^^^^^;^^r^^  zi 

the  parents,  that  they  resolved  to  proceed  at  once  to  Albany,  llure  U 
^nr  n  h  s  parents  (Who.  a  lew  n.onths  later,  purchased  a  larm  m  0  y 
cou  ty  N.  Y.  ,  and  returned  to  Now  York  city,  to  engage  as  a  comp.  nl  ■ 
h  pinling  nice  of  Mr.  (iray.  He  devoted  himself  to  his  -';'"-;;  "^'; 
d  ig  almost  incredible,  lie  boarded  in  the  house  m  which  the  oih  e  .,  - 
10  a  and  for  weeks  .ogether  did  not  go  out  of  the  house.  exee,.t  .o  ..n  ,  1, 
Im  Inday.anU  often  would  protract  his  l.bor  sixteen  and  eighteen  h - 

''"aS;  the  year  1820,  his  attention  was  directed  to  the  comparatively  ...  w 
art  o;rteu!oty ping,  and  with  a  view  of  obtaining  a  knowledge  ol  .1,  he  culerea 


LAWRENCE   JOIINSOX,    PIIILADELnilA. 


645 


erioil,  the  art  of 
ml  Elt'ctrotyping, 
and  ihe  i'lvontiou 
lie  Unilod  Slates, 
Bpclkd  by  slcaiu 
lit,  the  proJucliuii 
J  finish  ihoy  itni- 
itioiis.     If  furthi'i' 
injioniry  check  by 
t  Civil  War,  let  us 
tend  to  restore  the 

the  suhjoet  of  this 
typographical,  Mr. 
rocale  of  home  in- 
ideavored,  throu{,'li 
e  such  a  change  in 
iiition  of  the  justice 
,   whether  agricul- 


born  January  23d. 
lie  rudiments*  of  uu 
emoved  to  Bungay, 

John  (.'hitds  &  Son, 
,  that  energy,  (luick- 
raeterized  his  whole 

boy,  he  became  so 
ent  he  was  entrusted 
devoted  attention  to 
lice  and  esteem. 
;io  United  States  was 
his  ambition  cravtMl, 
0  emigrate  with  him. 
le  unhcahhy  appear- 
>  an  impression  upon 
V^lbany.    There  Li'.w- 
scd  a  farm  in  L!ayu;;;i 
ge  as  a  comjtv  *itor  in 
Ut  his  business  with  .i 
n  which  the  ofllce  wa- 
use,  exccjit  to  chnn  l 
n  and  eighteen  Imii.- 

he  com])aratively  in  w 
iledgo  of  it,  he  culeiea 


the  craphiy  of  Messrs.  n.  &  J.  Collins,  of  Xew  York.  This  knowledge  obtained, 
h<!  removed  to  Philadelphia,  and  witii  \v.i^  sm.vll  capital  set  up  a  Stereotype 
Foundry.  Owing  to  his  imperf'ct  knowledge  of  its  di-tails,  and  his  very 
limited  means,  he  met  with  many  difficulties;  but  with  that  indoinital)le  per- 
severance which  never  forsook  him,  lie  overcame  them  all. 

In  IHISU,  Mr.  Johnson  added  type  founding  to  his  previous  calling.  The 
original  proprietors  of  the  Philadelphia  Type  Foundry,  Messrs.  Archibald 
I'inney  and  James  Ronaldson,  had  withdrawn  from  the  business  with  con- 
si. lerable  wealth,  and  Mr.  Richard  Ronaldson,  l)rotlier  of  one  of  the  preceding 
firm,  who  then  held  it,  felt  himself  unsuited  to  the  progressive  demands  of 
the  age.  'Mv.  Johnson  thought  he  saw  what  was  needed,  and  in  connection 
with  Mr.  George  Smith,  (a  former  workman  in  the  foundry),  purchased  the 
establishment  on  accommodating  terms. 

Connecting  stereotyping  with  type  founding,  and  throwing  all  his  energies 
into  the  business,  Mr.  Johnson  soon  found  he  was  not  mistaken  in  his  calcu- 
lations, and  that  the  foundry  was  susceptible  of  resuscitation;  and  the 
Philadelphia  Type  Foundry  once  more,  uioler  his  judicious  management, 
lu'gan  to  emerge  from  the  "  slough  of  despond"  into  which  it  had  hopelessly 
drifted  previous  to  his  taking  the  lielm,  and  has  continued  steadily  to  sail 
before  the  breeze  of  public  appreciation  from  that  day  to  the  present. 
Availing  himself  of  tlie  newly-discovered  art  of  electrolyjjing  iinraedlately  on 
its  development,  he  bore  down  all  rivalry  in  the  production  of  a  new  ipiarfo 
Specimen  Book  that  has  no  superior,  and  but  few  equals,  in  the  world  of 
typography. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  aware  that  there  was  no  stand-still  in  type  founding.  All 
must  be  onward  and  progressive.  IFo  was  ever  a  patron  of  imiiroveinent, 
imd  an  cncourager  of  the  mechanic  and  artisan  ;  and  while  his  Specimen  Book 
e.xhibits  a  liberal  draft  on  "the  public  domain"  of  type  founding,  to  his 
memory  be  it  spoken,  lie  was  never  known  to  appropriate  to  himself  the 
labors  of  an  artist  by  elcctrotyping  where  ho  could  procure  the  niatri.\  by 
purchase.  Indeed,  one  of  the  last  acts  of  his  life— in  conjuncticm  tvith  other 
leading  type  founders  in  this  city — was  to  procure,  by  petition  to  Congres.j. 
Mich  a  modification  of  the  copyright  law  as  to  aflbrd  protection  to  letter- 
cutters,  engravers,  and  originators  of  (K'signs. 

As  his  business  increased,  he  foresaw  the  advantage,  and  almost  absolute 
necessity,  of  enlisting  in  the  interest  of  his  foundry's  growing  greatness  that 
species  of  talent  wliich  would  tend  to  tlie  development  of  its  highest  excel- 
lence; and  with  that  view,  in  184."),  lie  associated  with  him  Mr. 'I'hoiuas 
MacKellar,  Mr.  John  F.  Smith,  and  Mr.  Richard  Smith— all  of  whom  had 
been  in  his  employ  for  many  years.  About  tliis  time  the  heuhh  of  Mr. 
Johnson  became  very  precaricuis.  Under  Ihe  new  arrangement,  however,  a 
large  portion  of  the  burden  that  was  pressing  him  to  tlie  grave  being  removed, 
he  rapidly  recuperated,  and  to  some  extent  enjoyed  a  fair  share  of  health 
once  again,  llis  connecting  these  gentlemen  with  him  in  his  general  busi- 
mss  was  another  evidence  of  his  far-seeing  wisdom  as  a  busint  ss  man.  Under 
their  united  etforts  the  Philadelphia  Type  Foundry  continued  to  prosjier; 
and  when  "the  grim  messcngtr  of  death"  called  him  away  ou  the  2Gih  of 


046  i:minknt  pu.ntf.rs  and  type  fovkdebs. 

as  before.  •      ^^  i^ir.  Johnson's  dciith. 

A  friend  who.  for  more  ;^-  V;;;^;.  'J^    /;   [  ^  i„  forel,n  lands,  and 

e.ioyed  his  uninterrupted  ^""f  ^"P' '    J'",*^  Vcompanion,  hus  furnisliod  us 

powers  of  c' ncenlrati^on  and  f*^.;;  -^';^^"'^-,,,^    rss  a  we^    cultivated  mind 
L  termed  a  -Uberal  education,   he  h^a  n^^^J  'j^  j^j,  ^,^^6  and  usehd 

In  the  true  sense  of  ^l'^/^.  f'J^,^^  in„a  y  and  thus  became  a  precise  and 
life,  he  studied  men  and  jj^  "f^^o«  ;^^«^;'y ,.^„^j,,,  ^^h  him,  especially  ol  a 
logical  reasoner.  l^f  ^f '"  ^^i'^S  i  ow  larirely  decision  of  character  was 
b,?;.ness  kind- -nnot  but  l^avenouu^ho^  itstpLtions.but  of  great  gras^. 


Tcannot^but  1-ve  n.Uc^  h-   -^^— ;  ,^- Jf  great  grasp, 
aeveloped.     His  mim  was  i}''    °"  YJ\\\^'^;\n  {vhich  he  was  concerned,  his 

"Ml  Johns.m  was  a  liberal  and  a  ^««"'^.f,t     '"his  books  of  accounts  and 
came  the  duty  of  the  -vUer  to  ex^ie    «     cal  ^  his  ^^^ 
papers.    The  goodly,  array  of  flares  o^  i.  J  ^^^^^j_    There  ^yas  no 

Wests  that  with  his  mcreasmg  '"^^^^^    •^Xw's  heart  has  leaped  for  joy  on 
ostentation  in  l»>*b«"P°''^"f„;,,f,  ^r]^!     from  an  unknown  (lonor;  many  a 

knew  nothing.  .  ^,  ;,    j^p  expected  and  insisted  on  punc- 

"  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  jud  man.   J^'^"f  '      nroinnt  and  scrupulously  exact 

tuality  and  strict  probity  from  others,  he  ^  M>r JP  J  implicitly  on 

rendering  to  every  man  his  due.     All  who  f "^^  '^  ^.,,ere  his  confi- 

•;  word,  h-om  which  he  ^^.^^l^^Z^^^r^^^'^^^  'l'«'^">^^?  ^'^"" 
.l.ncc  was  reposed,  no  amp  nt  o  «"«'°^^^"J  breach  of  faith,  or  otherwise 
«l>ake  it;  but  when  once  '"'•'[^f^J '^y,;^  Xg  o^  arranging  with  honest,  hn 
,t  could  never  be  '•'•f?!""^  ,  Jm3u  bSne  almost  proverbial ;  and  n.any 

iiSiri^rKitedS^lt^Ju^^^^^ 

Sin  many'cases  afterward,  to  attain  V^^V^^    ,„,i„ess  career  he  had 

..  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  successful  man.     J    '"y^jj^^i.e  ,v>jnt  of  means,  and 

„»any  dimcultios  to  overcome,  ar.si  g  f^^^^  ^^^^ts  and  his  sagac  ons 

iVien.is  who  could  assist  l>"n.     "Y  '''"j^.^ju  ,    ..  workman  and  his  indoin- 

talent  in  business  aftairs,  as  well  as  ^Y  '>'^^'*'"  ,j     ^^^  i„r^,e  esl.vtc.  and 

aide  energy  and  industry,  he  ™"""X\^;^tu  „"«  of  IM.il^^^^^^ 

business  which  has  now  '^^^^-Csf  a  d  skil         n  this  connection,  it  may 

left  as  monuments  ol  his   "[^/^  '/j^^/^^jf  m  ^Johnson  engaged  largely  in  busi- 

uolbeinipropertostale      ataU,ou.u.  ,.^,„^,  j,^^  book. 

ness  matters  outs.de  ot  ^^'^''']'\'f;'2lj  dearer  to  his  prosperity. 


CONGER   SHERMAN,    PHILADELPHIA. 


W 


le  extensive  trade 
a  uninterrupteilly 

Johnson's  deiith. 
forelirn  lands,  aiul 
has  furnirtliod  us 
proper  tribute  to 

)alance(l.  ITc  pos. 
i,  anil  remarkaljie 
favored  with  what 
II  cultivated  mind, 
i  active  and  usel'iil 
came  a  precise  and 
lim,  especially  of  a 
m  of  character  was 

but  of  great  grasp, 
was  concerned,  his 

were  made  up,  so 
o  act  on  the  matter 

er  his  decease,  it  be- 
jks  of  accounts  and 
aeconnt  abundantly 
ided.  There  was  no 
as  leaped  for  joy  on 
own  donor ;  many  a 
knowledgment  been 
fitted  by  his  counsel 
much  less  iho  world, 

,nd  insisted  on  pnnc- 
d  scrupidonsly  e.xaet 

relied  implicitly  on 
2.  Where  his  confi- 
,es8  difticulties  could 
if  faith,  or  otherwise, 
'ing  with  honest,  but 
iroverbial ;  and  Jiiany 
his  manly  and  liberal 
J  were  effected  on  the 

on  with  his  business, 

iisincss  career  he  had 
e  want  of  means,  and 
orts  and  his  sagacious 
rkinan  and  his  imlom- 

His  large  est.vte.  and 
IS  of  rhiladelphia,  are 
this  connection  it  may 
Imaged  largely  in  busi- 
ppear  from  his  books 
prosperity, 
lany  corporations   ami 

have  spread  on  their 
'and  the  personal  loss 


they  sustained  when  liis  wise  counsels  were  withdrawn.  At  a  meeting  of 
liook  pul)lishers,  held  imniediafely  after  his  decease,  the  venerable  chairmim, 
Henry  ('.  tJarey,  Ksij.,  said  of  him  :  '  I  have  known  him,  perhaps,  longer  than 
any  of  you— one  of  his  first  tiusiness  operations  was  undertaken  for  me.  I 
have  found  him,  in  all  his  relations,  hon?st,  intdiigent,  and  upright.  We 
could  scarcely  find  a  better  man,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  he 
was  as  worthy  as  any  man  I  ever  knew.'  Among  the  resolutions  adopted  at 
that  meeting  was  the  following  :  'Resolred,  Tliat  in  his  decease  the  community 
has  lost  one  of  its  worthiest  citizens  ;  for  with  an  unsullied  personal  integrity, 
and  a  heart  of  tlie  kindest  promptings,  he  united  clearness  of  judgment, 
activity  of  enterprise,  faithfulness  and  diligence  in  an  extensive  bu.siness.  and 
thus  presents,  in  his  finished  character,  a  union  of  (|ualities  rarely  combined, 
which  vye  shall  ever  cherish  as  an  incentive  and  an  example.'  As  a  husband, 
father,  and  friend,  he  was  eminently  all'eetionatc,  indulgent,  and  true.  'I'he 
venerable  and  universally  esteemed  Rev,  Albert  Barnes,  his  pastor,  standing 
by  his  open  grave,  in  the  beautiful  cemetery  of  Woodlands,  briefly  and  feel- 
ingly recounted  his  life  and  many  virtues,  and  expressed  his  belief  that  he 
died  with  a  well-founded  hope  of  a  glorious  and  blissful  immortality, 

"The  family  of  Mr.  Johnson,  prTerring  a  last  resting-place  beyond  the 
rapid  advances  of  the  city,  subseiuently  selected  a  beautiful  location  in 
the  cemetery  of  Mount  Vernon.  Indicative  of  the  character  and  taste  of  the 
departed  is  "the  plain  but  substantial  granite  shaft,  which  marks  the  spot 
where  lies  all  that  is  mortal  of  a  man  who  was  useful  to  the  world  while 
living,  and  at  his  death  left  a  name  and  character  more  enduring  than  the 
stone  which  tells  the  simple  story  of  his  nativity  and  death."  m. 

Conger  Sherman,  Philadelphia, 

One  of  the  old  and  most  wealthy  printers  in  the  United  States,  was  born 
in  New  Scotland,  near  Albany,  New  York,  August  7th,  1793.  His  father,  Job 
Sherman,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Saratoga,  though  he  continued  in  the  army 
until  the  end  of  the  war.  After  his  release  from  inilitary  service,  he  married 
Miss  Anne  Conger,  of  New  Rochelle,  New  York,  a  lady  of  Huguenot  descent, 
took  up  land  near  Albany,  and  commenced  farming,  in  which  pursuit  he  con- 
tinued until  his  decease,  in  1832.  It  will  tliua  be  perceived  that  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  comoines  in  his  blood  the  French  Protestant  and  primitive 
English  Puritan,  tlian  which  there  is  no  better  ancestral  stock. 

Uefore  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  young  Sherman  left  his  country  home 
and  entered  tho  printing  establisliment  of  Rarber  &  Southwick,  then  pub- 
lishers of  the  Alhany  licgistei;  and  State  I'rinters.  In  this  office  all  the 
Department  and  Legislative  printing  for  the  State  was  done,  and  during  the 
session  of  the  Legislature  it  was  part  of  his  duty  in  liis  new  vocation  to  carry 
from  tlie  printing  office  to  the  State  House  the  printed  bills  and  journals  of 
the  previous  day's  proceedings,  and  consequently  ho  had  access  to  all  parts 
of  the  Legislative  halls,  the  (Jommittee  rooms,  and  (iovernor's  mansion,  in  all 
of  which  he  was  a  welcome  visitor.  He  has  furnished  us  witli  a  condensed 
account  of  his  professional  life,  and  some  memoranda  of  his  recollections  of 
a  few  of  the  eminent  men  of  that  day,  that  are  quite  interesting,  and  we 
cannot  do  better  than  give  them  in  his  own  words : 

"  It  was  at  tliis  time,"  he  says,  "that  I  had  frequent  opportunities  of  seeing 
bome  of  the  public  men  of  that  day,  among  others,  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  and 


em 


EMINENT   PRINTERS   AND   TYPE    FOUNDERS. 


De  Witt  Clinton.     In  person,  manners,  and  mind.  Clinton  was  a  splendid  man. 
Sedate  and  reserved,  he  yet  appeared  to  me  always  cheerful  and  kind.    He 
hud  just  been  appointed  by  the  Senate  of  New  York  one  of  the  h.^vioi 
Canal  Commissi..«ers,  and  was  engaged  in  perfecting  the  plan  of  the  Lno 
Canal,  of  which  he  was  the  originator.     I  was  sent  to  him  one  mormng  at 
his  room  for  copy.    When  I  entered  I  doffed  my  cap,  made  my  bow,  and 
said,  '  Please,  sir,  1  was  sent  for  some  copy.'     '  Sit  down,  my  son,'  was  the 
kind  and  encouraging  reply.    He  took  up  from  the  table  before  liim  a  neatly 
prepared  manuscript,  fastened  at  the  top  of  the  leaves  like  a  lawyer  s  paper- 
book,  and  asked  me  if  I  could  read  that.     I  looked  at  it ;  it  was  written  in  a 
clear  round  hand  as  plain  as  print.     'Yes,  sir,  I  can  read  it,  was  my  reply. 
He  said,  •  I  have  here  a  duplicate  copy  which  I  wished  to  ven  y  before  I  give 
you  the  original ;  stand  up  before  me  and  read.'    This  was  the  first  Report 
of  the  Commissioners  appointed  to  survey  the  route  of  the  great  Lne  Canal. 
I  did  my  best  at  reading.    I  was  accustomed  to  reading  copy-bad  manuscript 
generally ;  this  was  good.    I  read  on  in  a  clear,  firm  tone,  and  with  emphasis, 
pronouncing  every  word  correctly,  until  I  came  to  the  estimated  cost  of  the 
work-yi.e  millions  of  dollars.     I  drew  a  long  breath,  more,  perhaps,  from 
some  natural  cause,  than  a  comprehension  of  the  enormous  sum  o  money  in 
those  days.     The  grave  statesman  looked  at  me  as  if  I  did  understand  it 
financially.    '  Large  figures,  sonny,'  said  he  ,  '  I  may  not  live  to  see  the  work 
finished,  but  you  will,  and  paid  for,  too,  I  hope.'     1  then  read  on  to  the  end 
of  the  document,  put  the  copy  in  my  pocket,  felt  highly  honored,  and  returned 
to  the  printing  office  with  it,  where  I  came  very  near  getting  a  good  thrash- 
ing for  loitering  about  the  State  House,  which  I  sometimes  did,  for  it  was  a 
vcrv  agrceaole  place  for  me  to  spend  my  time. 

"I  look  back  with  pleasure  to  my  boyhood.  What  I  learned  then  made  a 
.rood  and  permanent  impression  on  my  mind.  Some  one  has  said  'the  boy 
makes  the  man.'  I  have  always  felt  that  it  was  for  me  great  good  fortune 
that  my  lot  was  cast  among  exemplary  men,  and  in  a  profession  wliere  study 
and  mental  improvement  were  my  daily  business.  Big  figures  J  never  ex- 
pected to  make,  but  for  a  respectable  figure  I  have  always  had  an  abidmg 

ambition.  .     .  „  ■       ,        t  „,oo 

"In  the  summer  of  1811, 1  left  my  employers  m  Albany,  to  whom  I  was 
never  indentured,  and  went  to  New  York,  where  I  staid  about  twomoriths. 
Business  of  all  kinds  was  then  very  dull  in  New  York,  and  the  printing  busi- 
ness especially  so.  Sherman  &  Co.  in  Philadelphia,  now  in  18G7,  are  using 
more  paper  for  book  printing  in  one  day  than  was  tlien  required  to  supply 
all  the  book  presses  in  New  York  for  the  same  period  of  time. 

"In  September,  1811,  I  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  and  here  began  another 
epoch  of  my  life.  Fifty-six  years  are  nearly  gone  since  my  advent  in  this 
city  Time  flies  fast.  I  cannot  realize  it.  It  seems  but  a  few  years.  But 
when  I  recall  all  the  eventful  changes  in  the  past  years,  memory  revives 
many  incidents  personally  impressive-the  War  of  1812,  the  subsequent  de- 
pression of  business,  the  years  of  toil  and  tuition  as  a  journeyman  prmter 

from  1812  to  1630.  .  j      uv  i  •      *    j«= 

"Infancy  very  well  expresses  the  state  of  the  printing  and  pubhshing  trades 


CONGER   SHERMAN,    PniLADELPHTA. 


r.49 


I  a  splcn(li<l  man. 
1  and  kiiul  He 
(f  the  Boiird  of 
plan  of  the  Eric 
I  one  morning  at 
ide  my  bow,  and 
ny  sou,'  was  the 
■ore  liiia  a  neatly 
a  lawyer's  paper- 
;  was  written  in  a 
it,'  was  my  reply, 
irify  before  I  give 

the  first  Report 
great  Erie  Canal. 
—bad  manuscript 
nd  with  emphasis, 
nated  cost  of  the 
ire,  perhaps,  from 

sum  of  money  in 
did  understand  it 
,'e  to  see  the  work 
read  on  to  the  end 
ored,  and  returned 
ing  a  good  thrash- 
es did,  for  it  was  a 

rned  then  made  a 
has  said  '  the  boy 
?reat  good  fortune 
ession  wliere  study 
figures  I  never  ex- 
ys  had  an  abiding 

ny,  to  whom  I  was 
about  two  months, 
li  the  printing  busi- 

in  18G7,  are  using 

required  to  supply 
ime. 
lere  began  another 

my  advent  in  this 
it  a  few  years.  But 
rs,  memory  revives 

the  subsequent  de- 
journeyman  printer 

ad  publishing  trades 


a  half  century  ago.  Yet  there  were,  at  that  time,  both  printers  and  pub- 
lishers who  were  solid  men  and  men  of  enterprise.  The  pioneers  were 
Johnson  &  Warner,  Mathew  Carey,  and  Philip  H.  Nicklin.  Their  successors 
were  the  Careys,  John  Grigg,  Carey  &  Hart,  Blanchard  &  Lea,  T.  &  J.  VV. 
Johnson,  most  of  whom  have  amassed  fortunes  and  retired  from  business. 
The  improvements  in  the  art  of  bookmaking.,  such  as  stereotyping  and  steam 
power  presses,  came  just  in  time  to  insure  prosperity  to  many  engaged  in 
the  publishing  business  from  183.5  to  1860;  certain  it  is  these  were  prosperous 
years  for  those  engaged  in  printing,  publishing,  and  the  kindred  professions. 

"  I  say  improvements  came  juit  in  time  ;  I  should  '  y  that  these  improve- 
ments had  their  origin  in  the  rapidly  increasing  requirements  of  the  day  for 
books  and  newspapers.  Neressiti/  is  the  mother  of  invention — the  old  hanil 
press  would  no  longer  suffice.  The  Adams  press  was  invented,  and  is  still 
the  approved  machine  f.ir  book  printing.  Iloe's  great  invention,  the  eight 
and  ten  cylinder  press  for  newspapers,  is  now  indispensable  in  America  and 
in  Europe.  Stereotyping  was  done  here  long  before  1833,  the  date  I  have 
given  as  a  marked  period  of  prosperily. 

"  In  May,  1830, 1  purchased  the  printing  establishment  of  Messrs.  Towar  & 
llogan,  booksellers  of  Philadelphia,  and  began  business  with  four  or  five 
hand-presses,  printing  for  that  firm  the  Bible  and  Henry's  Commentary.  I 
have  said  above  tliat  my  probationary  years  as  a  journeyman  were  years  of 
tuition ;  those  years  of  toil  prepared  me  for  the  future  years  of  business, 
which  required  skill  in  my  profession,  constant  industry  and  economy  in  all 
things ;  for  I  may  as  well  here  tell  it — I  began  business  on  borrowed  capital. 

"For  the  first  four  or  five  years  after  my  commencement, in  1830,  my  pro- 
gress was  very  slow.  In  1835,  the  country  generally  began  to  feel  the  reviv- 
ing influence  of  trade.  In  1837,  I  put  up  my  first  steam  press — the  second 
jiress  of  the  kind  for  book  printing  in  Pliiladelphia.  From  that  period  to 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  in  18G1,  there  was  a  gradual  incrense  of 
business,  attended  with  moderate  success,  which  I  shared  in  common  with 
my  professional  contemporaries. 

"In  184.5j  the  first  volumes  of  Commodore  Wilkes'  Exploring  Expedition 
were  printed  for  the  Library  of  Congress  at  my  office  in  St.  James  street. 
Wilkes'  Narrative  consisted  of  five  volumes,  quarto,  with  an  Atlas  of  Plates. 
Then  followed  in  succession,  Hale's  Philology,  Dana's  Geology,  Gould's 
MoUusca,  Dana's  Crustacea,  Gray's  Botany,  with  an  Atlas  of  Plates,  Picker- 
ing's Races  of  Man,  Dana's  Zoophytes,  with  Atlas  of  Plates.  Some  sixteen 
volumes  in  all  have  been  published  in  the  same  style  for  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress. Separate  editions  of  all  of  these  works  were  printed  for  diff'erent  pub- 
lishers in  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston,  immediately  following  the 
volumes  for  Congress.  Of  the  five  volumes  of  the  Narrative,  many  thousand.s 
were  printed  for  a  publishing  house  of  this  city — Messrs.  Lea  &  Blanchard, 
a  portion  of  them  in  quarto,  but  considerably  the  largest  number  in  super 
royal  octavo.  These  are  the  only  works  of  public  notoriety  that  liave  issue<l 
from  my  press. 

"  Many  of  the  latter  years  of  my  professional  life  have  been  agreeably 
passed.    I  loved  my  business,  and  I  was  happy  and  contented.    Frequent 


was  the  first  to  fall."  ,     „„„   Rnfrer 

n  l.i,  Drintinf?  business  to  his  only  son.  Roger 

most  complete  in  Vhiladelphia. 


s. 


friends— Johnson, 
beneficial,  hiippy, 
ngest  of  the  party, 

s  only  son.  Boger 
rs.  M.  F.  Benerman 
;  Co.,  whose  tstab- 
of  the  largest  and 


INDEX  TO  PORTRAITS 


OF 


EMINENT    MODERN    PRINTERS. 


C.  A.  Alvord,  New  York, 

Who  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  best  printer  of  illustrated  works  in  the 
United  States,  is  a  native  of  liitchfield  county,  Connecticut,  lie  was  early 
apprenticed  to  learn  the  typographer's  art,  and  worked  as  journeyraau  for 
many  years  before  he  became  a  master  printer.  During  this  period  lie  ac(|uin'd 
such  proficiency  in  all  branches  of  his  profession,  that  when  he  fitted  up  his 
first  printing  office,  in  1844,  he  was  able  to  direct  the  proper  arrangements, 
not  only  of  the  presses,  but  of  the  engine,  boilers,  and  shafting,  and,  in  fact, 
performed  a  large  part  of  the  work  with  his  own  hands.  He  first  commenced 
business  at  the  corner  of  Dutch  and  John  stre-'s,  from  which  he  removed  to 
Gold  street,  where  he  remained  until  1857,  when  he  removed  to  No.  15  Vau- 
derwater  street,  which  is  among  the  largest  and  best  arranged  edifices  for 
the  printing  business  in  the  United  States. 

This  building  is  five  stories  in  height,  about  sixty  feet  in  front,  and  nearly 
one  hundred  feet  in  depth.  The  greater  part  of  the  basement,  which  extends 
under  the  entire  building,  is  occupied  as  a  paper  wareroom,  while  a  small 
portion  is  appropriated  to  an  engine  of  thirty-five  horse  power,  that  drives 
the  machinery.  The  boilers  arc  placed  in  a  court  on  the  outside  of  the  main 
building.  One  peculiar  and  distinctive  feature  of  this  establishment  is  the 
immense  vaults  for  the  storage  of  stereotype  plates  of  publishers  whose  works 
are  printed  by  Mr.  Alvord.  Of  these  there  are  four,  which  extend  under 
odjaccnt  buildings,  are  separated  by  thick  walls  and  wrought-iron  doors,  and 
lock'jd  and  guarded  as  a  sub-treasury.  The  air  in  these  vaults  is  cool  at  all 
seasons,  and  tl.e  roar  of  the  great  city  is  unheard.  Here  are  thousands  of 
books  in  metal— a  mammoth  cave  of  literature ;  with  intricate  and  winding 
passages  in  which  the  inexperienced  explorer  is  in  danger  of  being  lost,  with- 
out the  services  of  a  guide. 

Leaving  the  vaults  and  wareroom,  and  ascending  to  the  first  floor,  we  come 
to  the  composing  room.  Here  about  eighty  meu  are  constantly  employed  in 
setting  type,  and  sometimes  the  force  is  increased  to  one  hundred.  The 
room  contains  over  three  hundred  pairs  of  cases  of  type,  among  which  are 
fonts  of  Hebrew,  Greek,  Old  English,  and  a  sufficient  variety  of  old-style  typo 
to  make  reprints  or  fac-similea  of  old  newspapers,  which  has  been  done  here 
in  many  instances. 

(651) 


652 


EMINKNT    MOPF.UN    PIUNTEHS. 


Tl.c  rro.s  room  i.  on  tl.c  sooo.ul  floor..  Hero  arc  sixteen  A.km«'  prosso. 

fincsMllustratod  works.  Even  these,  l.owevor,  are  worke.  l-y  te.nn  A  1  ho 
bolk  work  is  dried  by  steam  after  what  is  known  as  the  hmndry  mot]  od.  and 
U  th^  P  es  ed  inlydraulic  presses.  The  upper  stories  are  oceup.ed  as  a 
W.  b;:ii;,  whi,e  t,ire  is  also  on  the  premises  a  sterc^typj  ^^^^^^ 
foundry,  so  that  all  the  operations  necessary  and  mc.dental  to  convc,t«>. 
^Inuscript  into  a  finished  hound  book  are  carried  on  under  one^ 

To  enumerate  all  the  fine  works  that  have  issued  from  '^^l^^'^tlZ 

within  twentv-two  years,  would  involve  the  compilation  of  a  small  catalogue. 

I   i^  prelum  dlha    mo;c  work  is  done  at  this  office  for  publishers  o    books 
old  bv  sr.<M-iption,  than  at  any  other  in  the  United  States,  and  the  hst 

of  fine  hoi  d'y  books,  annually  printed  here,  is  a  very  comprehensive  one. 

A  wdter  In  one  of  the  New  York  dailies  makes  the  following  remarks  on 

''?.rSc  which  was  issued  by  this  house  a  few  weeks  ago,  will  be  of  great 
intetesrto  read  about,  although  the  '•-<^- ^^'-Y'-.-^X^'mTTi 
not  offered  for  sale,  being  intended  for  private  circulation  °"  V^    J^  ;;^^2 
considers  it  one  of  the  finest  books  he  ever  printed  and  Mr  ^^  "^^^^  ^^'^ 
bLer  was  so  pleased  with  it  that  he  bound  a  copy  m  superb  style  and  sent 
i    to    kr  Paris  Exposition.     The  book  is  called  'Armsmoar,    and  was  pre- 
pared by  nenry  Barnard,  LL.D.,  of  Connecticut.     As  it  was  intended  for  a 
ho  day  P    --nt  for  friends,  it  was  produced  without  regard  to  cost,  being 
pr  iteJ  i  th  beautiful  type,  on  extra  calendered  paper,  with  open,  free  margin  . 
Eh  volmnc  was  valued  at  twenty-five  dollars  when  they  were  completed. 
The  book  contained  an  autobiography  of  Colonel  Colt,  written  by  us  w.  ow, 
and  a  full  description  of  '  Armsmear,"  the  name  of  her  residence  at  Hartford. 
?twaV  splendidly  illustrated,  giving  views  of  the  house,  deer  park,  grounds, 
conservatory,  picture  gallery,  the  pistol  manufactory,  etc. 

.  mU  we-l  thy  people  publish  books  for  their  own  amusement,  and  some 
of  th    residents  o'f  our  Vifth  avenue  have  indulged  in  the  luxury^  Some  time 
:l    Mr  James  Lennox  gave  an  order  through  his  agent,  Mr.  Randolph,  f^ 
Ihe  republication  of  the  second  voyage  of  Columbus,  w.  h  copie    of    he 
odginal  drawings  made  on  board  the  ship.    Mr.  Lennox  wished  to  have  th 
Took  produced  in  the  highest  style  of  the  art,  and  he  was  fearM  it  woul 
have  to  be  sent  to  Whittingham,  of  London ;  but  when  he  saw  Mr.  Alvord  s 
proofj  he  decided  they  would  do,  and  so  the  book  w.s  printed  m  America 
Two  copies  of  it  were  issued  in  folio,  one  of  .Inch,  it  .s  understood,  found 
its  W.V  to  t>  .  British  Museum,  while  the  other  reposes  ,n  the  library  of  Mr. 
Lennox,  on  Fifth  avenue.     A  few  were  issued  in  octavo  form,  and  some  in 
nuarto     The  paper  on  which  it  was  printed  was  imported  Scotch  paper  as. 
C  a   steel.    A 'History  of  Vassar  College  and  'ts  Founder,'  by  B.  J  Los- 
ing Esq  nl  a  ve^y  beautiful  illustrated  work,  brought  out  by  Mr.  Alvord 

'' '^Another  elegant  book,  well  known  to  those  curious  in  such  matters  issued 
by  thrimuse,  is  James  Wynne's  Private  Libraries  ot'  New  Yorl.  It  is  as 
fine  a  specimen  of  printing  as  ever  came  from  the  American  iress.     This 


SAMUEL   BOWLES,    SI'IUNIIFIELP,    MASS. 


653 


Vdams'  prossps, 
Hployod  on  tho 
<ti>i\ni.  All  tho 
liy  inotliDil.  and 
re  occupi'-'cl  as  a 
a'.nl  electrotype 
to  convertriig  a 
me  roof. 

lie  Alvord  Press 
small  catalogiu'. 
jlishcrs  of  books 
tes,  anil  the  list 
iprelieiisive  one. 
rting  remarks  on 

,  will  be  of  great 
1  copy,  since  it  is 
nly.     Mr.  Alvord 
Ir  Matthews,  the 
rb  style,  and  sent 
ar,'  and  was  pre- 
aa  intended  for  a 
ird  to  cost,  being 
)pen,  free  margins. 
y  were  completed, 
ten  by  his  widow, 
[lence  at  Hartford, 
eer  park,  gromids, 

isement,  and  some 
ixury.     Some  time 
Mr.  Eandolph,  for 
vith  copies  of  the 
wished  to  have  the 
vas  fearful  it  would 
le  saw  Mr.  Alvord's 
rinted  in  America, 
understood,  found 
I  the  library  of  Mr. 
form,  and  some  in 
id  Scotch  paper,  as 
nder,'  by  B.  J.  Los- 
out  by  Mr.  Alvord 

such  matters,  issued 
4ew  York.  It  is  as 
erican  Press.    Thia 


house  frequently  reprints  old  newspaj)ers,  with  the  discolored  paper  and  the 
old-fashioned  type.  When  Mr.  Warren  was  in  the  Recorder's  hall,  he  com- 
menced to  i.'-suc  the  old  records  of  the  city  of  New  York,  but  the  book  was 
never  finislied,  owing  to  some  change  in  llu^  Recorder's  ollice." 

Mr.  Alvord  is  an  active  member  of  the  New  York  Typographical  Society, 
and  President  of  the  Typothetie,  a  society  formed  of  master  printers  for  llu! 
purpose  of  perfecting  the  art  and  jiromoting  good  fellowship  among  tiie  cralt. 
This  society,  which  keeps  itself  informed  of  all  the  improvements  in  the  art 
ot  printing  that  are  brought  out  in  difl'erent  parts  of  the  warld,  through 
correspondence  with  similar  societies  in  I'aris,  and  London,  and  (Jermany, 
has  been  of  great  advantage  to  printers  in  tho  United  States,  enabling  thcui 
to  keep  pace  with  their  brethren  in  Europe.  Mr.  Alvord  has  recently  pur- 
cliased  a  farm  near  Hartford,  Connecticut,  which  he  is>  now  adorning,  and  it 
is  probable  that  he  will,  in  a  few  years,  retiie  fiom  the  profession  of  vliich 
he  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  members,  leaving  the  extensive  business 
tiiat  he  has  built  up  to  his  son,  who  is  now  associated  with  him. 


Samnel  Bowles,  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 

Is  entitled  to  a  place  among  distinguished  American  printers.  Though  more 
properly  a  journalist,  yet  he  is  the  head  of  one  of  the  most  extensive,  com- 
prehensive, and  successful  Printing  Offices  and  IJinderiefi  in  New  England, 
and  is  entitled  to  rank  alike  as  a  professional  man,  an  artisan,  and  a  manu- 
facturer. His  grand  lather  was  Samuel  Bowles;  his  father  was  also  named 
Samuel ;  and  a  fourth  of  the  same  name  is  well  advanced  on  the  way  to 
manhood. 

The  present  Mr.  Samuel  Bowles  was  born  in  Springfield,  Masa.,  in  18'26, 
soon  after  his  father,  coming  from  Hartford,  Conn.,  had  commenced  there 
The  Spnvfjfidd  liepublican  newspaper  ;  and  there  lias  his  home  always  been, 
and  probably  always  will  be — a  rare  fact  in  the  history  of  the  American  mnr 
He  went  to  school  there,  never  elsewhere,  and  at  si.\teen  turned  in  as  a  boy 
of  all-work  in  his  father's  printing  office,  folding  and  carrying  papers,  rolling 
the  type,  attending  the  counting-room,  dabbling  with  pen  and  scissors  for 
"  copy"  for  the  weekly  paper. 

In  1844,  when  he  was  eighteen,  he  persuaded  his  father  to  start  The  Daily 
Republican,  and  from  its  beginning,  he  has  been  its  constant  and  substantial 
conductor.  It  was  a  '-wee"  affair  at  first,  with  only  a  hundred  or  two  sub- 
scribers, but  the  Mexican  War  came  in  1846,  and  the  Telegraph  began  to  dot 
and  carry  news  about  the  same  time,  and  the  paper  grew  into  position  and 
profit  by  1848.  In  these  early  years,  Mr.  Bowles  was  omnipresent  in  the  busi- 
ness. He  slept  on  a  sofa  in  the  office,  gathered  and  prepared  the  general  and 
local  news  of  the  paper,  marshalled  the  compositors  at  four  o'clock  every 
morning  for  the  late  "  copy,"  superintended  the  "  make-up"  of  the  paper, 
took  his  turn  at  the  wheel  of  the  Adams'  press  that  worked  it  off,  despatched 
the  town  carriers,  and  prepared  the  mail  and  railroad  packages— all  before 
breakfast.  Such  perseverance  and  industry  rapidly  told  in  producing  success. 

In  1849,  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland  ("Timothy  Titcomb,")   came  in  as  associate 


654 


EMINENT    MODERN   miNTEUS. 


rfHot  tl,a  .onior  Mr.  Bo.les  acvoting  himself  to  Ite  bwin-s^  m«n»s™.',,l 

enterprising  provincial  newspaper  in   the  country.     l>r.  Jioiui 

^"^^'l         "   ^         ,    „  ..,    ..  „„t  mtift  nrov  nsr  a  larjro  element  in  its 

witV>  the  naner  and  hrra  until  aoout  18bU,  provinj,       u  ^ 

:     uWty  Id  success,  and  retired  from  active  partic.pat.ou   m  -■  .  orj. 

V  I  ors  only  to  devote  himself  more  exclusively  to  purely  literary  ^^olk  ,  bu 

;  e::^:e,'und  since,  the  euitorial  .taff  of  the  i^«p.^^|--  "ZfZ.^ 

various   excellent  additions,  until   it,    now  numbers    six  to  e^h     1    eient 

lilv  circulation  in  SpringfiJd  averages  a  copy  to  every  family,  and  is  moic 

:::  sev-L  tou    nd  i^.'  ireV.  that  of  the  ^yeeMy  R.pn,Ura^  which  .s 

prld  ext  n  ively  all  over  New  England,  and  in  the  Wesv.  is  lil.een  thou- 

7nlr  Th ts"  aggregates  are  far  in  advance  of  those  of  any  Journals  outside 

n;^f  U;r::i;  M^Cls  havmg  died,  M.  ClarU  W.  Bryan  was  added 
to^i  finned  u..der  his  direct  ^uP-i'^t-dence  ^  extensive  «oo  and 
Tnb  Printinir  Office  and  Book  Bindery  was  planned  and  gradually  built  p. 
By  his  en'gy  ta  t,  ,.,1  other  high  business  qualities,  this  has  fe-own  to  the 
fi.lt    ank  in  nanufctories  of  this  description,  and  is  indeed  a  model  m  New 

twe my  nvt  photograph  Albums  of  all  kinds,  and  Blank 

:  ;     ;"  ^:     .abUshment  in  a  year,  one  book  that  they  '"-;';^'  '^  ^ 

"tt^'this  time   Mr.  Bowles  and  his  partners  occupy  a  new  and  extensive 
At  tbis  time  „„n)oses.     Located  on  a  central  corner  m 


SAMUEL   BOWLES,    SPRINGFIELD,    M.iSS. 


C55 


aoss  manairomoiit, 
writti'n  niul  most 
Holland   remained 
piro  elemt'iit  in  its 
atiou    in   "'ditorial 
literary  work ;  but 
ati  has   grown  by 
to  eijrht  diflerent 
Mr.  J.  E.  Hood,  a 
I  writer  of  the  lie- 
le  a  model  in  jour- 
iche  so  completely 
rliborhood;  and  its 
'amily,  and  is  more 
paper  in  any  town 
Jnilv  Ilepuhlican  is 
'epabliran,  which  is 
esi,  is  til'teen  thon- 
Qy  Journals  outside 

y.  Bryan  was  added 
sxtensivc  Book  and 
frradually  built  up. 
is  has  grown  to  the 
oed  a  model  in  New 
w  its  list  of  workers 
jnthly  payments  for 
inling  presses  are  in 
linds,  some  of  them 
A  steara-*»niiine  of 
ions  of  printing  and 
all  kinds,  and  Blank 
the  superintendanoe 
still,  Messrs.  Bowles 
e  country,  their  sali's 
Ircd  tons  of  paper  are 
they  manufacture  re- 
winter  of  lH(tr)-(),  the 
d's  "  Life  of  Lincoln" 

a  new  and  extensive 
on  a  central  corner  in 
I  a  brown  stone  fron 
stories  in  height,  the 
g  devoted  to  their  ex- 
added,  and  now  tbe 
,nd  complete  us  any 


in  the  country.  Tlieir  tools  and  machinery,  and  materials  on  hand,  are 
valued  at  between  one  hundred  and  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  the 
capital  required  in  the  whole  business  is  not  far  from  a  quarter  of  a  million 
of  dollars. 

The  success  of  the  establishment  is  very  largely  due  to  the  liberal  course 
adopted  in  the  beginning  by  Mr.  Bowles,  and  followed  since,  of  giving  an 
interest  in  the  business  to  every  one,  who,  after  trial,  proved  equal  to  leader- 
ship in  any  departraenu  Thus  there  are  now  six  partners  in  tiie  firm,  in- 
cluding those  mentioned,  two  of  the  editorial  assistants,  and  Mr.  Bowles's 
brother,  who  has  charge  of  the  counting-room  and  finances.  All  the  capital 
in  the  concern  has  been  made  out  of  it,  none  has  been  brought  into  it  from 
without;  and  the  experience  of  Mr.  Bowles,  in  dealing  thus  liberally  with 
associates  and  assistants,  is  a  praisewor*ny  example  to  all  business  men. 

Aside  from  tlie  growth  of  his  paper  and  this  extensive  connected  business, 
Mr.  Bowles's  life  presents  few  salient  features  for  a  biographer.  He  has 
slirunk  from  all  public  life  so  called.  Journalism  has  furnished  him  enough 
association  with  public  affairs  to  satisfy  his  ambition,  and  he  has  greatly 
strengthened  his  paper  and  its  influence  by  refusing  to  u.^e  it  for  any 
outside  personal  advantage.  He  has  been  repeatedly  urged  to  undertake 
journalism  in  a  larger  field,  but  is  quite  content  with  his  present  triumph 
and  position.  In  18,57,  he  undertook  the  charge  of  a  newspaper  enterprise 
in  Boston ;  but  being  disappointed  in  the  character  and  purposes  of  some 
of  his  associates,  left  it  in  a  very  few  months,  during  which  he  still  con- 
tinued liis  control  of  the  Republican,  and  his  residence  in  Springfield.  The 
hard,  exhaustive  life  of  his  business  has  greatly  broken  his  nervous  system 
of  late  years;  but  he  stills  continues  at  the  h.iad  of  the  paper  and  it.) 
connected  establishment.  In  18G'2,  he  spent  the  summer  in  Europe  for  the 
benefit  of  his  health,  and  in  I8G,'),  he  joined  Speaker  Colfax  in  a  smnmer 
tour  overland  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Utah,  and  tlie  States  of  the  Pacific 
coast.  His  letters  to  the  Eepublican,  describing  this  journey,  attracted  so 
much  attention  and  praise,  tliat  they  were  revised  an<l  published  in  a  l)ook 
form,  with  the  title  of  "  Across  the  Continent,"  and  fifteen  tliousand  copies 
of  it  speedily  sold.  Mr.  Bowles  haa  gained  more  reputation  from  this  volume 
than  from  any  other  circumstance  or  performance  of  his  life.  It  is  regarded 
as  liy  far  the  best  account  ever  written  of  Nature  and  Life  in  the  Western 
half  of  our  continent,  and  by  many  critics  lias  been  commended  as  the  most 
interesting  book  of  modern  travel.  The  style  of  the  volume,  and  the 
characteristics  of  its  pages,  are  perhaps  the  best  illustration  of  the  author's 
miml  and  capacities.  He  writes  fluently,  but  tersely,  and  compactly  and 
graphically.  His  quick  instincts,  and  his  trained  powe.s  of  observation  and 
scrutiny  among  men  and  tilings,  give  him  rapid  an;l  thorough  comprehension, 
and  discarding  superfluous  details,  ho  goes  at  once  to  the  heart  of  liis  sulijecf, 
and  presents  the  marrow  of  every  thing  of  which  he  treats.  Without  the 
si'holarship  of  the  college,  without  extensive  reailing  of  books— few  nie.i.  piT- 
haps,  have  read  fewer  volumes— he  has  acciuired,  by  long  reading  of  ik^wb- 
papers  and  intimate  connection  with  jieople  of  larger  culture,  i.y  a  closo 
observation  and  a  quick  and  natural  power  of  appropriation  and  absorption, 


EMINENT  MODERN   PRINTERS. 

much  Of  the  results  and  advantages  that  tliese  give  to  men,  and  few  of  our 
ionrnalists  write  more  gracefully  and  scholarly  than  he  does. 

Though  ody  forty-one  years  of  age,  Mr.  Bowles  has  had  a  long  career  as 
a  business  and  professional  man-two  more  years  will  compld.  a  quarter  of 
,v  century  since  he  became  the  conductor  of  the  Daily  Repuhacau     He  has 
been  part  and  parcel  in  the  birth  and  growth  of  modern  American  Journ.hsm 
and  no  one  man  has,  perhaps,  contributed  more  to  its  development  and 
elevation.    His  ideal  of  the  Public  Journal  is  still  far  from  realization  ;  he 
looks  to  see  it  still  more  the  great  instrument,  guide,  and  pro'  ctor  m  the 
..rowth  of  our  political  and  social  system,  disseminatmg  knowledge,  dis- 
arming  ignorance  and  vice,  and  defending  order  and  justice.    There  remams 
only  to  Tdd  to  our  sketch  that  Mr.  Bowles  was  married  as  early  as  he  began 
business  life,  has  a  large  family  of  children,  and  lives  in  a  home  of  taste  and 
elegance  in  Springfield,  respected  and  honored  most  by  those  who  have  known 
him  longest  and  best. 


Newton  Case,  Hartford,  Conn., 

Whose  printing  establishment  is  the  largest  in  Connecticut,  and  one  of  the 
largest  in  New  England,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Canton,  neor  Hartford,  m 
the  vear  1807.     His  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  attending  the  common 
schools  of  his  neighborhood,  and  in  farm  labors,  and  not  until  after  he  was 
of  age  did  he  have  any  connection  with  the  profession  of  which  he  is  now  a 
prominent  member.    When  he  had  attained  his  majority,  he  left  his  father  s 
home,  and  went  to  the  city  of  Hartford  to  learn  the  art  of  plate  printing, 
with  a  compensation  merely  sufficient  to  pay  his  board.     After  spending 
nuirlv  a  yoar  in  what  may  be  called  an  apprenticeship,  he  removed  to  New 
York  whore  he  w.«  employed  in  the  same  pursuit;  but  an  opportunity  pre- 
senting to  engage  in  the  business  on  his  own  account,  he  returned  to  Hart- 
ford  and  set  up  a  small  establishment  for  printing  school  maps  bank  notes, 
otc     From  iHliOto  18^.  he  employed  from  'wo  to  six  persons  in  this  business, 
when  Mr.  J.  Hubbard  Welles,  a  book  an.1  job  printer,  with  some  six  or  e.-ht 
hand  presses,  and  a  proportionate  amount  of  type,  offered  his  establishment 
for  sale  and  Messrs.  Newton  Case.  Edwin  H.  Tiffany,  and  Alanson  D.  W  at.Ms. 
under  the  firm  name  of  Case,  Tiffany  &  Co.,  purchased  it  for  .?4.r.O,)  mns.ly 
on  credit.     Being  young  and  ambitious,  the  members  of  the  new  lirm  d-vo  ,m1 
themselves  with  energy  to  their  business,  the  result  of  whi.h  was  soon  n.u.iilest 
in  an  increase  of  patronage,  demanding  additional  facilities,  to  supply  wui.h. 
one  Adams  Towei    Press,    of  the  first  patent,  was  purchased        I  his   lor 
nearly  two  years  was  p.opelled  by  an  Irishman,  who  co^.s.dored  it  a  great 
priviledge  to  run  it  chven  hours  a  day.     The  result  of  the  first  years    ms.ness 
wa.  quite  satisfactory,  the  net  income  amounting  to  nearly  fiffen  hundred 
dollars     'I'lie  year  18:17  was  one  of  disaster  to  business  men  g.'neraliy  ;  tmt 
the  new  firm,  by  caref.M  management  and  close  attention,  were  enabled  to 
close  the  year  without  loss.  i  .  , 

In  .lanuury    A.  D..  :":»8.  Mr.  Philemon  Cunt.eld,  having  had.  for  a  lonfl 
time,  the  la^i^t  printing  office  in  tlie  State,  offcrcJ  it  f-^r  sale.     At  thi8  lm>« 


NEWTON    CASE,    IIARTFOUD,    COW. 


65T 


,  and  few  of  our 

a  long  career  as 
let?  a  quarter  of 
iblkan.     He  Iuih 
•ican  JournD,li8m, 
levelopment  anil 
1  realization ;  he 
pro'  ctor  in  tlie 
knowledge,  dis- 
.    There  remains 
early  as  he  be{?an 
lome  of  taste  and 
J  who  have  known 


it,  and  one  of  the 
neor  Hartford,  in 
iding  the  common 
until  after  he  was 
which  he  ia  now  a 
he  left  his  father's 
of  plate  printing, 
I.     After  spendin;,' 
I  removed  to  New 
n  opportunity  pre- 
3  returned  to  Hurt- 
maps,  bank  notes. 
)ns  in  this  business, 
1»  some  six  or  ei^ht, 
d  his  ests\blisliin('iit 
Alanson  H.  Waters, 
t  for  .?4.riO(),  mi'slly 
le  new  tirm  d"voti'd 
h  was  soon  miLiifest 
L's,  to  supply  which, 
irchiised.      This   for 
ilisidiTcd  it  a  jircul 
iirst  years'  liusincss 
arly  tifttrn  hundred 
men  peneraliy  ;  but 
,on,  were  enabled  to 

injr  hail,  for  o  lony 
r  sale,     At  thib  liu>n 


l\fr.  Alanson  D.  Waters  retired  from  the  firm  of  Case,  Tiffany  &  Co.,  and 
.Mr.  Leiiinlcr  Bnrnham  was  adniitlcd.  The  new  firm,  retaining  the  name  of 
Case,  Tilfauy  A:  Co.,  pujcliased  of  Mr.  Canfield  liis  entire  establishment,  con- 
sisting in  part  of  five  Adams  Power  Presses,  nine  hand  presses,  with  a  largo 
quantity  of  bonk  and  job  typQ,  and  a  steam-en^^iue,  the  whole  being  valued 
at  about  $(),()00.  Wislung  to  unite  the  two  estal)lishments,  they  leased  the 
premises  on  the  corner  of  i'earl  and  Trumbull  streets,  formerly  occupied  as 
a  county  jail  arid  liotel.  Tlie  building  was  about  foriy  by  sixty  feet,  three 
stories  high,  with  basement  and  attic.  After  making  the  necessary  altera- 
tions to  at'.apt  it  to  their  business,  they  removed  to  the  new  location 
April  1st,  1838. 

In  September,  1810,  the  firm  p'  -hased  the  steel  and  stereotype  plates  of 
the  Cottage  Hible,  a  popular  commentary,  edited  by  the  Ilev,  W.  Patton,  ^''.D., 
The  year  1841  proving  a  prosperous  one,  they  printed  and  sold  nearly  ten 
thousand  copies  of  this  valual)le  work.  They  also  jjurchiised,  in  the  course 
0*'  the  year,  the  premises  they  occupied,  for  §1(),'»00.  This  Cottage  liible, 
of  which  they  have  sold  L')0,000  copies,  was  the  Iirst  of  many  valuable  publi- 
cations issued  by  th'.s  firm. 

On  tne  9th  of  June,  1848,  the  firm  was  dissolved  by  the  sudden  death  of 
Mr.  Hurnliam.  'J'he  remaining  jiartners  continued  the  business  in  the  former 
name  of  Case,  Tiffany  &  Co.,  and  as  their  business  steadily  increased,  in  tho 
year  IHoO,  t}iey  erected  a  building  south  of  and  nearly  adjoining  the  one  then 
occupied  by  tliem,  the  main  j)art  of  which  was  fifty  by  si.\ty-four  feet,  with 
an  L  twenty  by  twenty  feet,  and  five  stories  high,  la  this  they  placed  a  new 
engine  of  larger  size  than  the  one  before  used  by  them,  au<I  added  to  llieir 
business  that  of  Hoidibiniling,  devoting  a  large  part  of  this  new  building  to 
that  department.  'J'hey  wore  tlius  enabled  to  print,  bind,  and  sell  such  works 
as  tlicy  ]iul)lishcd,  as  well  as  to  do  printing  and  binding  for  other  parties. 
In  the  year  18.').'l,  they  admitted  to  the  firm  .lames  I.ockwood  and  Albert  G. 
Cooley.  Mr.  Ijockwood,  being  a  practical  printer,  devoted  himself  chiefly  to 
that  branch  of  the  business. 

In  January,  1  •if)?,  Mr,  Cooley  retired  from  the  firm,  and  in  August,  of  the 
same  year,  .Mr.  Tifl'any  also  retired.  The  retirenu'nt  of  Mr.  TilTanv,  who  had 
been  associatinl  with  Mr.  Case  more  than  twenty-one  yi'ars,  ne<i -sitated  a 
change  in  the  name  of  the  firm.  .Mr.  Case  and  .Mr.  Lockwood  continued  tlie 
business  in  the  name  of  Case,  l.ockwood  &  ('o.,  and  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1S.')8,  admitted  Leverctt  Itrainard  as  an  active  partner  in  their  firm. 

About  the  year  I8,")(),  the  firm  commenced  the  manufacture  (d'  Webster's 
nictioniiry  Unabridged;  and  \\\\  to  the  commencement  of  the  war  in  the  year 
iSlil,  they  iiad  produced  ubiml  ;t(l(),0.iO  copies  of  this  work.  They  also 
manufactrred  a  large  number  of  Statute  and  Law  books,  among  which  were 
tliiise  for  the  States  (d'  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  and  two  edili<ins  for  the  State  of 
Minnesota;  and  for  other  )iarlics  si^veral  hundred  thousand  School  book.-> 
annually,  besides  their  own  publicatiiuis,  an<l  a  largo  amoimt  of  jott  printing. 

Huring  these  years  tluy  ]iros|)crcd  and  extended  their  business,  imlil  it 
became  necessary  to  secure  more  extensive  buildings,  and  they  have  reci'ntly 
42 


p^g  EMINENT  yOPERN  TBINTEUS. 

,„„,e„  .n,>  ™«  .,c„pv  one  of  .he  n,.».  co.npIC  cs,.b,is.,mc„.s  of  U.  ki.,1 

in  the  Union.  ,  triiiftiinirs  of  Portland  brown 

The  buiUhng  is  of  hrick.  ^vth  ba.oment,  ^"J/  "*^'^f  ^^^.^  ,.,.,,  ,,i.,,.  (ox- 
stone.     It  i.  one  hundrca  an.l  ^'-^V-^'.^.Jf^*  '7J;^j;  Lets),  andfour 
elusive  of  an  I.  containing  stairways,  ^-f  "^    f ^^^  ^^^^^    ^  ,,,,,-.,.1  by  a 
stories  high,  beside  basement  and  alt    .     ^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^f  j  ,,„.,  ,ud 
,aachine  and  carpeMer  shop,  and  «-^^';  Z^^^;-;^,;;:   ^  ividid  for  the 
U,.  on  the  east  unu  south  ^'J'^^- "  ^^^'^'J'^'^'fi^T^;  or,  in  front,  is  the 
storage  of  eleetrotype  phUes  and  'f:^^.""'^'?;^^^^^^ 
office  of  the  firm,  neatly  and  "-^^''V  «" '^t ral  offi  e     re  the  p  ivate  office, 
walnut  trimmings.    IntUerearof  ^^^^^:^J^,,^;o..,M.r., 
and  the  packing  and  press  rooms.     In  the  atter  ^^^^  ^^^^^^^ 

Power  Presses,  adapted  to  the  var.ous  ^-^^^^^^f^  P;"^^^^^^^  ^ands  ;  also  on 
«oor  is  the  composing  room,  capable    U^^^^^^^  J^  ^^^^^,^^  ^,^,^^„,.^ 

Ihe  same  floor  are  six  of  Hoes  ^i""""^"^  conveniently  arranged  and  sup- 
,,,,,,.  On  the  third  floor  is  ^^^^^^l^^Z,  ,  ,,:|  for  folding 
''''-'  ''"''  '  t  TZIZ  itStly  aceomldate  nearly  one  hundred 

easily  moved  from  one  story  to  anothe,  ^^^^  ^_,^^^^^^^^^, 

The  business  of  this  firm  is  excelled  ^'^  ^'^'  \       ^,,i^i„^  ,„  t,,ose 

Among  the  many  books  printed  and  bound  H/  J^,"  -^^^  ,, 

^..eady^am..d,  are  upward  of  2..0.000vou.r  .so  Or^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

besides  large  quantities  o  other  war  ''"f-  .         '^^^^^         g..,,Uy  extended, 
fore  large,  is  capable,  with  their  present  faculties,  ot  Dcmg  b 

TiUiughast  K.  Collins,  Philadelphia, 

one  of  the  old  and  wid.y  '-- printers  of  Pl^^^P^^^.-^ 
city  in  the  year  1B02.     His  ancestors  on  ♦^    T>"^^  ^^  J^    ^,„,,.,,ted  there 
early  settlers  of  Rhode  Island,  his  great  grandfather  hau  n.        . 
.,.iW  it  was  yet  a  colony,  and  his  father  was  horn  ;t  J         ;;;  ^^  „^, 

Mis  great  grandfather  on  the  maternal  ^'l'  y;//^  ;;;;„!,,,,;,,«  river  known 
profession,  who  resided  on  and  owned  an  island  '"  ^^  »  '  ,^,  „,^,,  ,„,,,  „,.., 
I  White's  Island.  On  returning  to  Wales  I^>  w  '^  1^- 
the  island  having  been  taken  possession  o  ^'V  !  -/^^^  '  .  ,  ,,,,„  ,Ue  sons 
it  was  never  recovered  by  the  family.  Mr.  *;'.'l'"  ^J^  '  ^  .j,,,.!  f„,..  it  be- 
,,,,>  cuite  young,  and  the  mother  being  lef   '"^  ^^^  ^J'  „,fo,..  he 

camc'necessary  for  the  lad  to  begin  the  f ["^^^ ;;;;;.;  ,,Lnt  Mathew 
was  thirteen  years  of  age  he  entered  <»'%!;""* "'^  •"'';;,  .'.'lar  apprentice- 
<,,roy  as  a  "sheet  boy."  and  not  long  after  ^■""^^^j^"  ,,,,',,,,,.. in, 
,,,i,,;i,h  .lame.  Maxwell,  who  at  tha  tune  h  d  "";';''*',,.  ,,_,,.  ,„ 
.„,I.,,i„.n.ents  in  Philadelphia,  on  ^"'f^'-*^-";,;  .."*;„  ,,  ,.,.ils  of 
novitiate  in  the  wareroom.  and  progressed  ^^J-  ^^^^^  h  reputation  ut 
a  compositor's  and  pressman's  duties,  and  finuhtd  witu  vi         l 


TILl.TNOIIAST    K.    COI,I,INS,    rniLADEUMIIA. 


C.;0 


luncnts  of  its  kind 

of  Portland  brown 
'orty  feet  wide,  (ex- 
id  closets),  and  four 
t  is  oecuiiied  l>y  a 
ttinjr  of  pape--,  and 
•rly  divided,  for  tho 
oor,  in  front,  is  tho 
and  "ak,  with  hhick 
e  the  private  office, 
,'e  improved  Adams' 
ing.    On  the  second 
'orty  hands  ;  also  on 
t,  and  three  smaller 
ly  arranged  and  sup- 
er is  usL'd  for  folding 
nearly  one  hundred 
;toring  paper,  and  is; 
3  for  pressing  sheets. 
by  which  goods  are 

ly,  in  New  England. 
,  in  addition  to  those 
r's  American  C'ontlict, 
ness,  although  hereto- 
ing  greatly  extended. 


lia, 

)hia,  was  born  in  that 
side  were  among  the 
aving  emigrated  there 
ranston  in  that  state. 
ihman,  and  a  lawyer  by 
Delaware  river  known 
pwrecked  an<l  lost,  and 
whom  it  did  not  belong, 
[her  died  when  the  sons 
tely  provided  for,  it  be- 
r  life  early.     l?efore  he 
of  the  eminent  Malhew 
m\  a  regular  apprentice- 
of  the  largest  print  in-.' 
Walnut,     lie  bega"  his 
lirough  all  the  details  of 
with  tho  reputation  of 


being  one  of  the  best  pressmen  in  the  city.  After  completing  hi>  appn'iitire- 
ship  he  removed  to  Washington,  and  was  employed  by  IVter  Force,  who  lias 
since  t)ecome  noted  tor  Iniving  collected  the  rarest  historical  library  in  Ami'r- 
ica.  Subsequently  lie  was  engaged  by  Gales  &  Beaton,  and  DufT  (!reen,  all  of 
thera  well  known  printers  and  jjublishers.  During  his  residence  in  Washing- 
ton he  became  connected  witli  tho  Methodist  Episcojiul  (:hu;'ch.  of  which,  for 
more  than  forty  years,  he  Inis  been  a  consistent  and  prominent  member. 

A  difliculty  having  occurred  between  the  journeynuMi  printers  and  tlieir 
employers  induced  Mr.  Collins  to  return  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  soon  found 
employment,  though   trade   at   that   time  was    dull.     James  Kay.  the  law 
bookseller,  appreciating  his  merits  as  a  superior  and  reliable  pressman,  offered 
to  engage  him  by  the  year  at  what  were  then  considered  good  wages,  viz..  nine 
dollars  a  week.     Jle  accepted  the  ofl'cr  and  remained  in  this  situation   for 
about  eighteen  months,  when  lie  left  it  to  become  foreman  for  Liiwrcnce.K.hn- 
son,  wlio  had  entered  upon  his  i)rosperous  career.    Subse.v.iontly  lie  was  cm- 
l>loyed  in  Frankfor<i,  and  again  by  James  Kay,  when,  in  l,>;i;{,  his  lifelong 
friend  Edward  C.  Biddle  proposed  to  loan  him  two  thousand  dul'irs  us  caintal 
to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  account,  and  associating  with  him  Robe.t 
Wriglit,  a  compositor  in  Kay's  office,  they  opened  a  printing  office  in  Prune 
street  with  b\it  one  hand-press.     This  partnershij),  however,  ccmtinued  but  for 
a  short  period,  and  in  1835  a  new  one  was  formed  with  his  yoim^'er  brother, 
establishing  the  firm  of  T.  K.  &  P.  (J.  Collins,  who  by  their  superior  skill 
attained  a  position  at  the  very  head    f  their  profession.    During  tho  e.\i.<tence 
of  this  copartnership,  which  was  not  terminated  untH  nfter  the  decease  of  the 
junior  member,  tiiis  firm  executed  some  of  the   finest  specimens  of  tyjio- 
graphy  of  which  tlie  art  in  America  can  boast.     Many  of  the  magnificent 
liublications  of  the  United  States  Government,  for  which  the  Wa>liiiigiou 
presses  received  credit,  were  printed  by  tlie  Messrs.  Collins.     Pice  &  Hart's 
'•  National  Portrait  Gallery,"  .nd  "  North  American  Sylva;"  Mr.  Isaac  Le.i's 
"Naiades,"  and  "Fossil  Footmarks  in  the  Old  Red  Sandstone;"  and  nnmer- 
pus  standard  medical  works,  illustrated  with  the  finest  wood-cuts,  are  among 
the  handsome  volumes  wiiich  bear  the  Collins  imprint.     During  this  period 
also,  the  old  office  in  Lodge  Alley,  now  Jayne  street,  occujiied  by  them  from 
the  beginning,  was  enlarged  from  time  to  time  until  it  becam.-  one  of  the  most 
extensive  in  the  city. 

TIio  junior  partner,  P.  G.  Collin.s,  died  in  iHiU.  }Ie  was  a  printer  of  rare 
ac(piirements  and  general  knowledge.  His  familiarity  with  every  department 
of  the  business  was  intimate  and  exact.  A  man  of  high  personal  integrity, 
keen  sense  of  lionor,  and  generous  instincts,  Iiis  loss  was  deeply  felt.  After 
his  decease,  the  business  was  managed  by  the  senior  member,  imtil  recently, 
when  he  became  unable,  through  ill  liealth,  to  give  it  perseu;d  and  active 
supervision.  The  management  tlien  devolved  upon  Mr.  J.  Wesley  Hull',  a 
rntletnan  of  remarkable  clearness  of  intelleet  and  of  long  exp,  ■ieiue  in  the 
-ilablisliment,  who  has  been  connected  with  it  as  nnin  and  boy  for  over 
•Mrty  years,  passing  through  all  gradf.tions,  from  an  apprentice  coinpositoi, 
iiid  proof  reader,  to  he  the  general  manager. 
The  composing  room  of  the  establisliment  is  now  one  hundred  und  sixty 


6  GO 


EMINENT    MODERN    PRINTERS. 


fiM't  in  lcii;itli  iiiul  will  iiccommoilatc  sixty  compositors  with  tlicir  casos.  The 
touts  oi'  tyjH'  in  this  room  are  luiusually  large,  some  o(  tliciii  weighing  itpwards 
of  lour  thousand  imuiuls.  The  job  room  is  tliorouuhly  organized,  wiin  se>  eral 
hundred  handsome  fonts  of  job  type,  and  every  facility  for  the  execution 
of  plain  and  >  -namentiil  work.  The  press  room  contains  seventeen  jxiwer- 
presses  and  fou.  hand-presses  with  i)atent  inking  machines,  and  all  the  ini- 
jjrovements  which  modern  ingenuity  has  developed  for  facilitating  the  business. 
In  illustration  of  the  capacity  of  the  press-room,  we  may  state  that  the  average 
of  each  week's  work  done  in  it  is  about  liftein  hundred  tokens,  wliich  is  ecpii- 
valent  to  nine  million  duodecimo  pages  ;  or,  in  other  words,  about  twenty-live 
thousand  duodecimo  volumes  of  ordinary  size  arc  printed  on  their  jircsses 
each  week.  In  the  wareroom  there  are  two  hydraulic  and  three  of  Evans' 
screw  presses  of  the  largest  size.  Over  one  hundred  persons  are  generally 
employed  in  this  establishment. 

Mr.  Collins  was  for  many  years  a  Director  of  t)ie  Public  Schools,  and  has 
at  various  times  received  murke  .  '  ^stimony  of  the  appreciation  of  his  fellow, 
citizens  in  the  community  in  which  he  has  so  long  lived.     His  business  suc- 
cess and  personal  popularity  were  due  in  no  small  degree  to  the  beauty  of  his 
moral  character  and  his  many  excellent  social  ((ualities.     Kindness  of  heart, 
and  l)enevolence,  beaming  from  a  round,  good-humored  countenance,  were  his 
distinguishing  chevacteristics,  and  endeared  him  to  all  who  were  brought  ii>to 
contact  with  him.    Tluent  and  aflable  in  conversation,  abounding  in  apt  stories 
and  illustrations,  courl(>ous  in  business  intercourse,  to  know  liini  was  to  love 
him.     His  intellect  also«was  of  more  than  the  average  order.     He  contributed 
to  the  profession  with  which  he  was  identilied  two  improvements  of  great 
value  to  printers— the  patent  r»ller-boy  for  inking  hand-presses,  and  the  iui- 
movaljle  rules  which  surround  the  blocks  on  which  stereotype  plates  for  cer- 
tain works  are  pUiccl.     Probably  no  man  during  an  active  and  long  business 
career  had  fewer  enemies  and  more  friends  among  rivals  and  colaborers  in  the 
same  field,  than  T.  K.  Collins  of  Thiladelphia,  while  in  his  present  allliction 
and  physical  disability  he  has  the  sympathy  of  all  who  prize  a  most  estima- 
ble charactci. 

George  P.  Gordon,  New  York, 

A  practical  printer,  but  more  widely  known  as  the  inventor  of  new  styles  (.f 
printing  presses,  now  e.\tensively  used,  was  born  in  Salem,  New  Hampshire, 

ui  181(1. 

In  early  life,  he  manifested  the  mechanical  and  inventive  ability  for  wliidi 
lie  aftcrward>  became  distinguished  ;  and  his  capacity,  in  fact,  may  be  said  to 
luive  been  inherited,  lie  was,  for  several  years,  engaged  as  a  practicil 
printer  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  through  a  knowledge  of  the  defects  in 
the  jircsses  then  iu'tise,  was  led  to  attempt  improvements.  In  \mi  or  M.").  b'' 
made  his  first  exiicrimeiit  for  the  improvement  of  Card  Tresses,  the  best,  .1 
which  were,  at  that  time,  imperfect  in  construction,  unsound  in  principlr. 
and  slow  in  operation.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1850  that  lie  applied  1.  r 
his  first  patent  since  whiib  time,  he  has  obtained  from  twenty-Uve  to  tliiny 
patents  for  various  additional  improvements. 


1 


GEORGE  V.    OOUDON,  XKW  YOUK. 


r,r.i 


tlieir  casos.    The 
ivi'igliiiig  »i|)war(l.M 

lizOll,  will!  SIM  Ol'lll 

for  the  execution 
ses-enteen  jxiwer- 
1,  anil  all  tlio  ini- 
iiting  the  business, 
e  that  the  aver!ij,'e 
.'US,  which  is  e(|ui- 
about  twenty-live 
I  on  their  jiresses 
il  three  of  Evans' 
sons  are  generally 

Schools,  and  has 
it  ion  of  his  fellow- 
llis  business  suc- 

0  the  beauty  of  his 
Kindness  of  heart, 
uitenance,  were  his 

were  brougiit  into 
inlini?  in  apt  stories 
w  hiin  was  to  love 
r.  He  contributed 
ovenu'iits  of  ^leal 
iresses,  and  the  iui- 
typc  plates  for  cer- 

1  and  lontj  busines-* 
id  colaborers  in  the 
s  present  attlictioii 
rize  a  most  estinia- 


:or  of  new  styles  of 
n,  New  llampshiro, 

vc  ability  for  which 
fact,  may  be  said  to 
ifjed  as  a  practical 
Ige  of  the  defects  in 
In  's;!4  or  ';i"),  1m' 
I'resses,  the  bcsi,  <  I 
isouud  in  principli'. 
that  lie  ajipiied  U't 
twenty-live  to  tliiny 


Since  the  building  of  his  first  jircss.  he  has  continued  an  miinterrupted 
series  of  experiments,  and  bniit  more  than  oiu!  hundrcil  varieties  of  jiresses 
of  various  sizes,  including  more  tlmn  seventy-live  dillercnt  styles.  I'ornis,  and 
coililiinatinns.  And  he  has  conscientiously  cast  aside  and  .il)iuidoned  any 
design  which  has  not  been  foutnl  ]iractically  satisfactory,  retaining  only  its 
available  features  and  tested  improvements. 

This  persistent  experimenting  has  been  attended  with  a  cost  of  more  than 
one  hundred  tliousand  dollar:'.  Indeed,  for  years,  Mr.  (iordon  expended 
every  d<illar  of  Iiis  income  in  the  |)rosecution  of  his  purpose. 

Among  the  pr.'sse  buil  by  liim,  is  one  called  "''/Vic  Fire  Vhj"  whi(di  is 
driven  by  tlie  foot  or  steam  power,  and  is  capal)le  of  printing  ten  thousand 
impressions  in  an  liour,  and.  with  the  dinible  feed  motion,  twenty  thousand 
impressions  in  an  hour.  This  jiress  performs  its  own  inking,  fcetling.  cutting 
and  counting,  and  is  thoroughly  automatic.  As  a  card  press,  it  is  unexam- 
pled for  eond)ining  speed  aiul  ])re<'ision  of  operati(Ui. 

llis  last  and  most  perfect  invention,  is  called  "The  FranJdin  Pirss,"  which 
contains  the  best  features  of  his  presses  m  their  best  combinations.  For  the 
classes  of  printing  for  which  his  presses  are  adapted,  il  is  believed  they  are 
unecpialhid. 

.Mr.  (!ordon  is  truly  a  self-made  man.  TTe  has  risen  to  his  present  position 
as  an  inventor  by  virtue  of  his  own  unaided  industry,  integrity,  an<l  genius. 
He  -i  sanguine,  and  yet  patient— indefatigable  and  inexhaustil)le  in  resources, 
aim  fertile  in  invention;  he  delights  to  grapple  with  mechanical  dilliciilties — 
and  has  always  succeeded  in  snrmountijig  obstai  les. 

If  the  assertion  may  be  liazardcd  of  any  man,  that  iie  mis  the  jdace  for 
which  he  was  designed,  it  may  be  said  of  this  inventor,  that  he  lias  found  the 
sphere  for  wliicli  his  natural  gifts  and  his  life  training  have  eminently  lilted 
him.  "  lie  is  the  right  man  in  the  right  jilace  ;"  for  he  combines  the  capaci- 
ties of  the  ])ractical  printer  and  the  thorough  nnvdiaiiic. 

'I'lie  printing  craft  is  iierbiips  more  largely  indebted  to  liiin,  in  the  peculiar 
department  to  which  he  has  devoted  his  powers,  than  to  any  other  single 
known  inventor. 

Many  thousands  of  his  presses  are  in  use,  and  the  best  evidence  of  their 
worth  is.  that  they  have  been  submitted  to  ]iractical  tests  for  years. 

Mr.  (lordon  is  still  i-ngaged  with  untiring  imlustry  in  inventing,  improving, 
building,  and  selling  liis  presses,  for  which  the  demand  continues  unabated  ; 
and,  at  length,  after  years  of  test  and  exjienditure,  he  is  reaping  the  reward 
lie  so  richly  deserves. 


C6-2 


EMINENT  MODERN  PBINTERS. 


Edward  0.  Jenkins,  New  York, 
S?;'™"!^!  W.L  sue.  Ja  h.  r„n.«  in.^^^^^^^^^^^ 

„ece.sary  for  stereotyping  .nd  printing  books.    "»  "»  '  J  „„j,„, 

„d  otUe,  ,0b  !«•;- ,„f  .:,;X;"irB  the  rare  LuH,  of  ,.«m,  ...e 

-;:;ir;t;:r»Tr:^^^^^^^^ 

others  ^vhose  terms  of  Bervicc  range  from  ten  to  faltetn  years 

is  always  creQitable  to  both  employer  and  employee 
With  a  large  spirit  of  active  and  sagacious  inquiry  mto  all  the  '^^^^"^'^  ^\ 
W  itu  a  iarj,t.  intelli"'ent  appreciation  of  all  the 

economies  or  <1--1°P'"7^^;/;;; '"  '  "^VaTin  any  w  the 

r;;i:rre::urs;r=::-e".»-:nd;^^^^^ 

"'hJI'"  Ik' relted  o,  ..u«h.  notoriety  ..  .  public  n,.n,  nor  ha,  he  ever 

the  intercourse  ..fbeneun.nt_mitu  troublesome  struggles 

:;r';Si::^^^'tir^Ur  t;:;:t^n  conviction,  smceremfriena. 
1  ge^rt:  hi  ^is  sympathies,  he  is  an  honorable  example  of  private  worth, 
which  dignities  the  profession  to  which  he  belongs. 


EGBERT   r.  KlXa,    PIIILVnELPniA. 


663 


■ho,  under  free  in- 
inly  c'wilities,  and 
Welsh  pan-ntairc 
suing  the  vocation 
;|T  the  old  printers 
ilhren  of  his  craft 
a  journeyman,  he 
mid  when,  in  1844. 
A  fair  share  of  the 
is  time,  though  not 
,art  of  a  five  story 
elude  every  thinjx 
ress  room  are  nine 
of  Hoe's  cylinders, 
;  facilities  for  sixty 
ulty  of  gaining  the 
reman  of  the  press 
iremau  of  the  coni- 
nineteen  years,  and 
a  years — a  fact  that 

I  ?.ll  the  interests  of 
preciation  of  all  the 
iggesting  important 
with  the  wants  of 
connected  with  the 
ious  in  undertaking, 
on  his  original  foun- 
eans  which  are  a  ju>t 

nan,  nor  has  he  ever 
'  the  social  circle,  or 
c  for  his  talents  more 
roublesome  struggles 
ion,  sincere  in  friend- 
aple  of  private  worth, 


Robert  P.  King,  Philadelphia, 

Eminent  both  as  a  printer  and  a  public  spirited  citizen,  was  born  in  the  city 
where  he  has  achieved  his  honors,  in  the  year  1815.  He  attended  what  was 
called  the  "Model  School"  of  Philadelphia,  of  which  J.  Loxley  Ilhees  was 
principal,  until  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  when  he  became  a  store  boy  in 
the  chitia  warehouse  of  Messrs.  Read  &  Gray.  During  his  school  novitiate  he 
secured  the  rci^pect  of  his  teacher,  wlio  thus  early  testified  to  his  worth  and 
predicted  his  future  usefulness  and  prominence.  Before  he  was  sixteen  years 
of  age,  he  was  duly  indentured  as  an  apprentice  to  the  printing  business,  in 
whicli  he  served  the  usual  period,  until  his  majority,  April  2d,  1830.  During 
the  ensuing  wo  years  he  worked  at  "case"  as  a  journeyman,  and  was  distin- 
guished both  for  rapid  composition  and  freedom  from  errors.  In  1838,  he 
formed  a  copartnership  with  his  present  partner,  Alexander  IJaird,  and  com- 
menced business  in  the  same  building  now  occupied  by  them  on  Sansom  street 
above  Sixth.  Their  limited  facilities  at  that  time,  compared  witli  their 
now  extensive  estaldishraent,  presented  the  widest  difference.  Mr.  Baird 
worked  a  single  hand-press,  and  Mr.  King  was  sole  compositor,  solicitor  of 
jobs,  bookkeeper,  foreman,  proof  reader,  and  purchaser  of  supplies.  The 
young  firm  found  that  two  of  the  smallest  rooms  in  their  present  building 
were  amply  sufficient  for  the  accommodation  of  their  infantile  business ;  but 
by  diligent  attention  and  unwearied  industry,  this  gradually  expanded,  until 
at  present  the  firm  have  one  of  the  largest  and  most  complete  printing  offices 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

They  have  now  in  their  pressrooms  twelve  Adams  presses  on  book  work, 
two  Hoe  'ylinder,  four  Gordon,  and  one  Liberty  press  on  job  work,  which 
consume  daily  about  one  hundred  reams  of  paper.  They  employ  in  the  com- 
posing roor-is  over  sixty  hands,  and  in  all  the  departments,  about  one  liundred 
and  twenty  persons,  exclusive  of  the  stereotype  foundry,  which  has  just  been 
fitted  out  with  entirely  new  machinery  of  the  latest  improved  style,  by 
Messrs.  Hoe  \-  Co.,  and  is  now  in  successful  operation.  This  firm  was  the 
first,  it  is  said,  in  this  country,  to  establish  an  office  for  printing  German 
books,  and  they  liave  now  what  is  believed  to  be  the  largest  and  best  appointed 
German  printing  establishment  in  the  country.  The  Gernuui  Dictionaries 
stereotyped  by  them  are  in  demand  in  (Jermany,  where  ihey  are  noted  tor 
their  accuracy  ami  typographical  neatness.  In  1844,  they  conunenced  the 
publication  of  tlie  National  Clay  Almanac,  which  was  the  pioneer  of  mil- 
lions of  other  almanacs  since  issued  by  them  ;  their  series  at  present  consist- 
ing of  no  less  than  seven  English  and  three  (!eriuan  editions,  of  which  they 
print  one  million  copies  annually.  Probal)ly  no  firm  in  the  Union  have 
equal  facilities  for  printing  works  in  rare  languages.  They  have  printed  a 
hymn  book  in  Cherokee,  numerous  works  in  Swedish,  including  a  volume  of 
Swedish  poetry,  several  works  in  Norwegian,  and  liave  stereotyped  and  printed 
an  Episcopal  Prayer-book  inthe(!rebo  language,  under  supervision  of  Bishop 
Payne,  and  also  a  Dictionary  of  the  Grebo  dialect.  Special  fonts  of  type 
were  cast  and  prt  pared  for  these  works. 

Mr.  King  was  never  a  mere  politician,  but  has  always  been  an  active  and 
influentiil  member  of  that  party  which  has  made  protection  to  American 


CM 


EMIXEN'T    MnDKB-N    miNTEUS. 


i,,,.,.trv  it.  ..uMinal   fo.turo.     ITo  ha.  hehl  many  officos  of  l^-^"'-   J     ^  ' 
;  .,,\,,,r,t.     A.  early  as  1810,  he  was  elected  by  the  Couuc.ls  of  I  h-hulel- 
,        o„    of  the  (Juar.liLs  of  the  Toor,  a..!  re-eleete.l  for  a  seconu  ter.n  ,u 
.;     After  the  cousoli.lation  of  the  several  city  .hstr.ct.  nn^ler  one  mu.u- 
;  Uity  in  1804,  he  was  elected  by  the  people  to  the  same  pos-fon.  alter  a 
;;Scontest:aud  served  in  all  .W  si.  V^- f  f^^^^::;^  ^:;,  ^.I^ 
I'revident  of  the  I',oanl.     In  1800,  he  represented  the  becond  ton^.t  .  <  n.u 
)    tit  of  rennslyvania  in  the  electoral  college,  and  in  1804,  the  l-.r.t  Cou- 
i;     io lal  District!  in  both  instances  casting  the  vote  "f   -    -tnct  for    l. 
Lincoln  for  President.     In  1803,  ho  was  aj.pointed  by  the  Pres  dent  of  tb . 
sZ;^ldl  of  Philadelphia  a  member  of  the  Bounty  ^^J^^^^^ 
He  was  elected  President,  and  served  for  thirteen  months,  at  great  ptiso  ul 
^^;:,t  his  business,  having,  at  the  time  a  son  a;;^  r^phew^  .  w. 
his  assistants  in  business,  absent  on  active  duty  m  the   field.     Lndtr  tlu, 
liS      a^  of  this  Commission,   the  ,uotas  of  Philadelphia.  . a  varnn^s 
cals^  troops,  amounting  to  .-er  thirty-fue  thousand  men,  were  filled,  h  un- 
ie    being  pa  d  to  more  thin  twenty  thousand  men.  involving  an  expend,  u 
of  fie  mil  ions  eight  hundred  thousand  dollar...     This  enormous  amount     f 
:L  Lid  busiiress  was  transacted  by  the  Commission  at  the  comparatively 
trifiin.'  expenditure  of  less  tlian  seven  thousand  dollars. 
'^1:;;'!::  o.her  o^-ices  held  by  Mr.  King,  may  be  -ntioned  he  fd  owing 
Pre«ident  of  the  Philadelphia  Fire  Insurance  Company,  President  of  Board 
Tf  Mam"-rs  of  Mount  Moriah  Cemetery  Association,  of  which  he  was    ne  o 
the  proi^ctor^-  and  President  of  the  National  Union  Club,  a  Kepublican 
;:.E  U  n        Philadelphia.     He  is  also  Director  of  the  Union   Passenger 
a"  r  y    n««ber  of  the  Union  League,  and  President  of  the  Soldier  s  Home 

^i:;r:n  active,  .ealous  Mason,  he  is  tK«/-^-f  ^^^  °V"  Wh  f  il^  e 
has  been  a  member  of  the  (irand  Lodge  for  sixteen  years.  AV  lul  tl  e  c 
umerous  oflices  involve  considerable  labor,  and  some  of  t liem  an  absohUe 
0  thy"  money,  from  no  one  of  them  has  he  ever  received  any  pocumary 
Zl  or  rewari  of  any  kind,  save  the  satisfaction  of  doing  his  duty  to  his 

"^  M:  S:-s  record  as  a  political  leader  is,  in  (act,  a  rem..rUable  one  Ibr^Us 
n^fny  selflcrilicing  labors  audits  unsullied  integrity.  '^^^^^^^^^^^ 
ZA..\on.  panizan,he  has  never  sought  to  achieve  success  by  acts  and 
a-encies  that  are  "  not  justified  by  honor."  „„„ii4ipc 

Personally,  Mr.  King  has  the  advantage  of  possessing  phys    a    <iuaht.es 
th.t     0    on  y  attract,  but  cement  friendship.     His  figure  is  well  developed 
is  bea  in"  dignified    his  manners  frank  and  genial,  and  his  countenanc 
am    wi  h  inudligence,  good-fellowship,  and  humor.     It  na.  been  said  o 
rwiU  much  truth,  tlu^  his  disposition  is  of  that  magnetic,  genuine  kn. 
Xh  leaves  an  impress  of  liking  upon  every  one  with  whom  he  is  brought 
into  contact. 


^ 


ALFRED    MUDOE,    IIOSTON 


666 


'  honor  nml  irn-f, 
mcila  of  rhilmU'l- 

a  spc'ond  tcnn  in 
;  nii'lor  oijc  luuni- 
c  posilioii,  after  a 
a  of  wliah  he  was 
111(1  ConRi'»^*»i*Jt"^l 
;-4,  the  Fir?t  Con- 
js  district  for  Mr. 
e  Tresident  of  th  j 
?und  Commissii  n. 
,  at  great  personal 
nephew,  who  were 

field.  Under  the 
ielphia,  in  various 
n,  were  filled,  houn- 
ing  an  expcirditure 
oriuous  amount  of 
t  the  comparatively 

ioncd  the  following: 
President  of  Board 
fhieh  he  was  one  of 
LUul),  a  Kepublicaii 
e  Union   Passenger 
the  Soldier's  Home. 
'V  of  his  Lodge,  and 
years.     While  these 
of  them  an  absolute 
eived  any  pecuniary 
oing  his  duty  to  his 

uarkable  one  for  its 

Though  an  active 

success  by  acts  and 

ng  physical  (lualities 
urc  is  well  developed, 
and  his  coimtenance 
It  has  been  said  of 
gnetic,  genuine  kind, 
I  whom  he  is  brought 


Alfred  Uudgc,  Boston,  Mass., 
Who  may  he  called  the  pioneer  in  job  printing  in  New  England,  was  Iiorn  in 
Portsmouth,  New  llamiishire,  in  18(10.  'I'he  family  from  which  he  is  de- 
si'iiiided  can  be  traced  l)ack  for  more  than  two  cont\iries.  The  earliest  mem- 
licr  in  New  England  of  whom  there  is  any  record,  was  (ioodman  Mudge,  who 
[)urcliascd  in  Iti-H),  as  appears  by  an  old  deed,  a  house  and  five  acres  of  ground 
in  New  London,  Connecticut,  for  •■live  Bushels  of  wheat  and  a  dog."  'J"ho 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  compelled  at  an  early  age  to  carve  his  own  way  in 
the  world,  and  before  he  was  fourteen  had  embarked  in  business,  which,  how- 
ever, he  r(!lin(|ui!-he(l  to  learn  ihe  art  of  setting  type,  in  the  office  of  Ham 
Miller,  in  Portsnioulli.  In  IH2'>  he  left  his  native  home  and  went  to  Huston, 
where  lie  completed  his  apprenticeship  with  Samuel  II.  Parker,  at  that  time 
a  leading  printer  and  also  publisher  of  the  Waverly  Novels  in  fifty-six  volumes. 
Six  years  sul)se<|uently  he  commenced  business  for  himself  with  less  facilities 
probably  than  any  printer  ever  before  had  attempted  to  do  bii.iiness  with,  and 
in  18I!4  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose,  by  fire,  the  little  he  had  accumulated, 
lie  then  removed  to  School  street,  where,  for  over  thirty  years,  his  printing 
office  has  been  established,  though  at  dill'erent  localities  on  the  same  street, 
and  in  1830  he  formed  a  copartnership  .>ith  George  Dexter,  the  founder  of  the 
well  known  news  firm  of  Dexter  and  IJrother.  Ai  that  time  the  leading 
printers  in  Boston  were  Munroe  &  Francis,  and  Lillie,  Waite  <t  Co.,  but  there 
were  no  printing  offices  organized  especially  with  reference  to  the  speedy  exe- 
cution of  commercial  and  other  job  work,  and  Mr.  Mudge  set  liimself  about 
su])plying  the  vacancy,  in  which  he  has  been  so  successful,  that  his  estab- 
lishment is  now  generally  recognized  as  the  leading  job  printing  office  in  New 
England.  The  partnership  with  Dexter  continued  but  for  a  short  time,  and 
with  the  exception  of  giving  an  interest  in  the  profits  to  his  son,  Air.  Mudgo 
has  carried  on  business  without  u  partner  most  of  the  time. 

The  office,  composition,  ai.d  press  rooms  of  Messrs.  Mudge  &  Son  are 
now  located  at  31  School  street,  opposite  the  city  Hall.  They  employ  about 
fifty  persons  in  the  composition  room,  and  have  in  the  press  room  five  Adams 
presses,  two  card  presses,  one  Hoe  cylinder,  and  other  smaller  presses.  They 
have  set  up  and  printed  an  octavo  voluiue  of  five  hundred  and  twenty-four 
pages  in  nine  working  days,  with  but  one  single  typographical  error,  and  it  is 
said  they  could  print  a  book  of  u  thousand  pages  in  a  week.  Among  the 
specimens  of  fine  work  executed  by  them,  is  a  "History  of  the  City  Hall," 
published  by  authority  of  the  City  Government  of  Boston,  a  genealogical 
history  of  the  descendants  of  Hugh  Clark  of  Waterlown,  printed  for  the 
author,  and  the  "Mudge  Memorials,"  a  biographical,  historical,  and 
genealogical  account  of  the  Mudge  family.  Tjioy  have  also  printed 
a  number  of  law  books,  and  for  the  last  two  years  have  been  elected  tlie 
official  printers  by  the  city  authorities,  which  has  added  to  their  general 
business  an  item  of  forty  thousand  dollars  a  year,  but  the  department  in 
which  tliey  excel,  is  in  executing  commercial  job  work  with  disi)atch.  In 
this  particular  they  are  without  a  superior  in  New  England,  and  their  work  is 
also  distinguished  for  neatness  and  good  taste. 

Mr.  Mudge  is  a  gentleman  of  prepossessing  appearance  and  courteous  man- 
ners, and  is  a  worthy  representative  of  the  profession  with  which  he  is  iJentified. 


EMINENT    MODERN    PRINTERS. 

George  F.  Nesbitt,  New  York, 

Whoso  establishment  for  printing,  and  the  kindred  arts,  is  one  of  the  industrial 
a  t  L  ions  of  New  York  and  among  the  largest  in  the  United  States,  was 
bli  that  city  in  the  year  1809.  Like  most  others  who  have  r.sen  to  enn- 
nence  n  the  various  departments  of  practical  life,  he  has  ach.eved  success  by 
Z  force  of  natural  talents  unaided  by  early  advantages.  AVh.le  a  mere  bo> 
was  apprenticed  to  Joseph  C.  fepear.  to  U  .rn  the  a.t  of  pn.tmg  a., 
cfore  he  was  fifteen  he  was  entrusted  by  his  en  ployer  w.th  t  -  --n--"'  V 
o  the  business.  AVith  Mr.  Spear  he  remain  d  untd  ^'^^^^^;^^^ 
jnajority,  and  subsequently  became  his  partner,  a  relation  however,  that  was 
mamtained  only  for  a  few  years.  . 

Early  in  his  business  career  Mr.  Nesbitt  gave  evidence  of  P---'"^       ^ 
pro-rressive  spirit  wluch  has  made  the  United  States  the  marvel  of  he  wo  Id, 
and^ml  if  St  d  an  aptitude  for  adapting  machines  to  accomphsh    u-retofore 
rit-nTn  results.    His  disposition  to  depart  from  the  routine  of  las  profes- 
Ton  ^manifested  in  1835,  when  he  began  the  introduction  of  the  mach.ne 
TadeWord  Type,  and  originated  styles  superior  in  novelty  and  be^vuty  to  any 
Tat  had  befor?b;en  kno>vn.     The  printing  of  a  combinat  on  of  colors  at  one 
mpr  ssion  next  engaged  his  attention,  and  about  1840  he  devised  and  pro- 
^^^  richine  iW  tte  purpose,  which  s.^erseded  the  old  -d  s ic-w  memo 
Jf  printing  one  color  at  a  time,  and  proved  an  entire  success.    But  h.s  mos 
valuable  achievements  in  this  direction  have  been  in  the  improvement  and 
aS'taUon  of  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  envelopes  for  the  Government 
^85    Mr.  Nesbitt  received  his  first  order  from  the  Postmaster  General  of 
he  United  States,  for  a  large  quantity  of  envelopes  with  a  Prepa"!  ^  arn^ 
combined,  for  the  use  of  the  public.    Previous  to  that  time,  various  attempts 
Sbcen  made  in  England,  to  introduce  and  popularise  such  envelopes,  but 
olg  to  tTe  want  of  proper  machinery  to  manufacture  them  economica  y. 
hlifot  be  nluccessful.     Mr.  Nesbitt  undertook  the  task  of  overcoming  the 
obst'les  and  80  far  succeeded  that  these  envelopes  are  now  sold  at  but  a 
lail  ad  ance  on  the  cost  of  the  stamp.    Ue  has  made  every  prepaid  envelop 
that  the  Post  Office  Department  has  issued  up  to  the  preseu   time,  and  has 
fumilei  his  responsible  engagements  with  such  fidelity  as  t.  elicit  numerous 
clmenlvtov,   .oLices  from  successive  heads  of  the  Post  Oftice  Department, 
Jn  Oipir  offi'i-d  •  .'ports  to  Congress. 

A     heln-ifa  ture  of  these  envelopes  is  a  novelty  in  this  country,  it  may 

belt  resU  g  to  give  an  account  of  the  procesnes  adopted  in  an  es  ab hshment 

rherl:  quafter  o'f  a  million  are  made  daily.    The  paper  is  --f-^-    - 

nresslv  for  the  purpose,  and  bears  the  water  mark  P.  0.  D.  U.  b.,  which  is    o 

ar  2ed  that  tl.ese  initials  appear  on  each  envelope  after  the  paper  is  cut  to 

sir    This  paper  is  brought  in  large  sheets  from  the  mills  packed  m  eases, 

anTcarely  counted  in  divisions  of  fifty  sheets  each     After  being  again 

coxuiJed  on  its  arrival  at  the  envelope  manufactory,  and  carefully  compared 

3  the  invoice,  it  is  taken  to  the  cutting  room,  and  cut  by  an  mgeniou 

mach  ne  driven  by  steam  power.    The  knife,  which  is  made  o    the  exact  size 

Tt      eivv  lope  before  it' is  folded,  is  placed  upon  a  pile  of  four  hundred 

le    ,    nd  bdng  set  under  the  lever  of  the  press,  is  made  to  pass  easily 


«■ 


GEORGE   F.  NESniTT,    NEW   YORK 


G67 


3  of  the  industriul 
lited  Slates,  wiis 
ave  risen  to  cnii- 
lieved  auecoss  by 
Hiile  a  mere  boy, 
of  priatins;,  ami 
the  responsibility 
had  attained  his 
lowever,  tliat  was 

if  possessing  that 
irvel  of  the  world, 
raplish  lieretofore 
tine  of  his  profes- 
)n  of  the  machine 
and  beauty  to  any 
in  of  colors  at  one 
B  devised  and  pio- 
1  and  slow  method 
;ss.    But  his  most 

improvement  and 
)r  the  Government, 
master  General  of 
I  a  prepaid  stamp 
e,  various  attempts 
uch  envelopes,  but 
:hem  economically, 

of  overcoming  the 

now  sold  at  but  a 
ry  prepaid  envelope 
sseut  time,  and  has 
to  elicit  numerous 

Office  Department, 

this  country,  it  may 
in  an  establishment 
is  manufactured  ex- 
0.  U.  S.,  which  is  so 
r  the  paper  is  cut  to 
Us,  packed  in  cases, 
After  being  again 
carefully  compared 
cut  by  an  ingenious 
iide  of  the  exact  size 
3ile  of  four  hundred 
made  to  pass  easily 


throufrh  the  whole  thi.kness  of  the  paper  producing  four  hundred  envelopes 
in  about  three  seconds.  After  this,  the  envelopes  are  handed  over  to  .i 
number  of  youn-  women,  whose  business  it  is  to  place  the  adhesive  sell- 
Bealing  preparation  on  the  outer  tlap.  Ho  rapidly  is  this  done,  that  one 
person  is  able  to  prepare  and  dry  many  thousand  i)er  day.  Alter  this  tl,o 
envelopes  are  i-asse.l  to  the  stumping  and  folding  department,  where  here 
are  about  sixty  of  the  most  i.igenious  and  perfect  machines.  A  sell-leed.r  is 
employed,  by  which  the  flat  envelope  is  carried  forward  to  an  apparatus  wbi.l. 
embosses  it,  places  the  adhesive  gum  on  the  side  flaps,  folds  the  envelope, 
fastens  and  drops  it  into  a  tin  oox,  which  quietly  counts  oft'  its  contents  into 
layrs  of  twenty-five  each,  and  hands  them  over  to  be  counted  again,  bunded, 
and  packed  subject  to  the  order  of  the  Post  Oflice  Department. 

The  manufacture  of  envelopes  however,  extensive  as  it  is,  is  but  *  secondary 
item  in  the  general  business  of  the  firm  of  Nesb.tt  &  Co.  No  less  than  eight 
adjacent  buildings  are  occupied  in  the  various  operations  earned  on  under 
their  direction,  but  these  are  so  arranged  and  communicating  as  to  seem  but 
one  building.  The  printing  department  is  the  most  extensive  in  the  country 
In  the  press  room  there  are  some  fiCty-^ix  presses  of  diflcrent  sizes  and 
kinds  and  all,  with  the  exception  of  four,  worked  by  steam.  Among  them 
i.  an  immense  cylir,der  Napier  press,  standing  eight  feet  high-a  giant  among 
pigraies-and  by  its  side  are  the  so-called  lightning  presses,  for  printing  cards 

""  The'comp'osing  roomys  are  stocked  with  copious  fonts  of  type,  which  are 
arran^'ed  in  the  most  admirable  order  and  precision.  This  department 
whicirpresents  a  scene  of  unusual  attraction  for  a  printing  oflice,  is  provided 
with  apparently  every  variety  of  facilities  for  plain  or  display  printing,  Irom 
a  card  to  a  poster,  from  a  bill  head  to  a  book,  and  we  believe  even  news- 
papers  are  set  up  here.  The  fourth  floor  is  appropriated  to  the  manufac- 
ture of  Blank  Books.  In  this  branch,  which  is  ordinarily  a  speciality,  this 
firm  do  a  very  large  business,  supplying  merchants,  banks,  and  incorporated 
companies  with  all  styles  of  blank  work.  Here  are  machines  for  ruling  paper 
with  great  expedition.  Tlie  attics  are  utilized  as  drying  rooms,  and  fitted 
up  wifh  racks,  and  properly  ventilated  for  the  purpose  of  drying  the  prmted 
sheets  as  they  come  from  the  press  room.  ,  -c-       ,     „ 

This  firm  are  not  only  Printers,  Lithograpliers,  Blank-book  and  Envelope 
Manufacturers,  but  Card  Manufacturers  and  Stationers.  They  make  not 
meTely  he  cards  consumed  in  their  printing  establishment,  but  also  a  arge 
amouJt  for  sale  in  the  market  and  for  exportation,  while  the  store  on  ihe  ower 
floor,  in  the  rear  of  which  are  the  countirg  rooms,  is  well  filled  with  e^«ry 
variety  of  stationery.  There  are  also  capacious  rooms  for  the  storage  of  paper 
and  ler  stock,  and  a  machine  shop  for  the  repair  of  machinery  on  the 

^Twould  be  superfluous  to  eulogi/.e  one,  who  by  his  energy  and  practical 
intelligence  has  built  up  an  establishment  so  important  and  cx,mprehensive 
as  this,  and  which  is  now  justly  regarded  as  an  important  cons  ituent  in  the 
L„  t  ial  reputation  of  America.  His  best  eulogy  is  the  simple  story  of  his 
^aevements,  his  best  monument  the  record  of  his  success.    We  pass  to  say 


668 


EMINENT    MODKUN    I'lUNTERS. 


„  word  of  hi.  coa,1jutors  an.l  ,Kuluors.  Mr.  Jamk.  A\  u,t..  .I.o  ^  en  man- 
a-^cr  of  tlK-  printing  dopart.nont,  has  been  associated  with  Mr.  N.;sl..tt  mikc 
18:55  and  possesses  extraordinary  capnci-y  for  li.e  dispatch  ol  Lusincss.  Mr. 
Epwuu.  I'.Mahtin,  who  superintends  tlte  Stationery  and  l.iUM.jrrajd.ic  de- 
partments, has  also  been  a  mend.er  of  the  firm  for  many  years  ^vh.le  l-rod- 
erick  A.  Harter  and  George  V.  Nesbitt.  Jr.,  who  have  recently  beco.ne  part- 
ners, are  not  without  experience  in  the  details  of  the  business.  Uus  t.rux 
furnishes  employment  to  over  three  hundred  persons,  and  have  m  active 
use  a  capital  exceeding  three  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


John  F.  Trow,  New  York, 

Is  one  of  the  oldest  establisliod  and  most  extensive  printers  in  th«  ^'J^Y  ^|" 
New  York.     He  was  born  at  Andover,  Massachusetts,  m  the  year  18  0,  and 
was  descended  fron.  one  of  the  best  families  in  New  England      U'l t.  he  wa. 
ten  years  old,  his  lile  was  spent  upon  his  father's  farm,  and  in  l«  ••1.  at  the 
age  of  fourteen,  he  commenced  his  apprenticeship  at  the  printing  business, 
with  Flagg  and  Uould,  of  Andover.    Their  office,  known  as  ihe  -aodman 
l-r.  ss-  (from  the  fact  of  its  possessing  an  outfit  of  Oriental  type,  f.ru.shed 
hv  the  then  late  Rev.  Dr.  Cdman.  of  Dorchester,  Massachusetts),  was  noted 
in  those  days  ns  doing  the  best  Oriental  printing  in  the  country  excelling 
Pven  the  Cambridge  I'ress,  from  which  it  had  originally  emanated.     D  was 
from  this  "Codman  Press"  that  the  first  printing  an*pnblishing  were  execu- 
ted f,.r  the  now  great  American  T.^act  Society,  when  the  presei,     veneralde 
Dr.  Ilalleck  commenced  his  editorial  labors  in  the  preparation  of  the  series 
of  tracts  which  have  found  their  way  not  only  to  every  corner  of  our  own 
land,  but  it  may  be  truly  said,  to  every  portion  of  the  k.unvn  world.  Here  M 
Trow  industriously  spent  his  apprenticeship,  receiving  thirty-five  dollars  per 
annum  for  clMhing  and  board  and  lodging,  in  the  family  of  his  employer, 
M     l"la.'g,  who  was  also  his  brother-in-law.     In  addition  to  this  he    uul  a 
"pnvilege"  of  a  "stint"  of  I'our  thousand  ems  T^v  day,  and  twenty  cents  per 
thousand  for  all  overwork.    In  this  way  the  hoys  of  that  day  were  enabled 
to  earn  their  spe,iding-money  and  to  procure  the  luxurus  M  d.ess      Uy 
risinix  early,  often  at  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a  bo>    ■ould  earn 
by  overwork  some  six  dollars  per  week,  which  was  .,uite  a  sum  lu  those  «ld- 
f,:.hioned  times.     On  these  terms  he  served  out  his  seven  years,  mostly 
oii-mged  on  the  Oriental  works  published  at  Andover  under^he  authorship 
and   supervision  of    such   literary   and   theolog.cal    notabilities   as   Muart 
Robinson,  tiibbs,  Edwards,  and  others.     He  remaine.l  m  the  same  ol^lce  for 
n  short  time  after  his  majority,  but,  receiving  a  pro,  osition  to  estabhsh  a 
weekly  newspaper  at  Nashua,  ^^.  11  ,  he  repaired  to  tl.,,t  place,  where  during 
,1,.  whiter  of  lK;U.-:i2.he  printed  and  published  T.e  .'iashna  Herald ;  but 
the  enterprise  not  proving  satisfactory  to  him.  he  returned  to  A'ulover  and, 
after  remah.ing  there  for  a  few  months,  he  came  to  Ne«  \  ork  city,  m  the 
spring  ..f  IHIU,  under  the  encouragement,  and  afterward  under  the  patronage, 
of  thelalclomithan  Leavitt.  t  w..af 

Un  the  Ist  of  May.  18:i3,  he  commenced  business  with  Mr.  John  I.  ^Vt8t, 


JOHN    F.  TnOW,    NKW    YORK. 


GC9 


who  is  cliiof  man- 
Mr.  Nc!*l)itt  since 

of  Imsincss.    Mr. 

LiU'oirrajiliic  ile- 
ycurs.  wliile  Fred- 
■iilly  beciiine  jiart- 
siiio.s.s.  This  tinu 
.ud  have  iu  active 


tors  in  the  city  of 
the  year  1810,  and 
md.     Until  he  was 
and  in  l«21,  at  the 
!•  printing  bn.xincss, 
1  as  the  "Oodnian 
itttl  typo,  fiiruishi'd 
■husetts),  was  noted 
>  country,  e.xcplhnfr 
'  ennniati'd.     It  wan 
Idishiiifr  were  e.xecu- 
c  present  veneral)le 
ration  of  the  series 
'  corner  of  our  own 
iwuworhl  Here  Mr. 
lirty-five  dollars  per 
ily  of  his  employer, 
in  to  this  he  had  a 
md  twenty  cents  per 
lat  day  were  enabled 
Turi(f)  of  dress.     15y 
njr,  a  boj  -ould  earn 
;  a  sum  iu  those  old- 
seven  years,  mostly 
.iider  Mie  authorship 
italiilities   ns   Stuart, 
i\  the  same  nllice  for 
isition  to  establish  a 
t  phice,  wliere,  duriiin 
i^ashua  Herald ;  but 
lu'd  to  Andover,  and, 
>;t'\s  Yorli  city,  in  ihi^ 
1  under  the  patronage, 

Ih  Mr.  John  T.  West, 


whose  issues  were  amonp:  tlie  best  typotrraphical  specimens  of  that  day 
under  the  liiin  style  of  M'est  it  Trow,  at  No.  144  Fulton  street.  Two  iron 
hand-presses,  one  furnislied  l)y  Mr.  West  and  upon  whicli  he  liad  printed  the 
Neiv  York  Observer,  and  the  other  by  Mr.  Trow  with  a  supply  of  type  cor- 
respondingly extensive — constituted  the  oHice  with  which  they  eoninieiici'd 
business.  This  i)artnership.  however,  only  lasted  a  few  years,  ami  in  iHliO 
the  business  devolved  upon  Mr.  Trow,  and  was  continued  by  him  at  No.  M 
Ann  street  mail  about  tlie  year  1840,  when  he  t'Mrmed  a  partnership  with 
his  early  friend  and  patron,  under  the  name  of  Leuvitt  A:  Trow,  |)ublishers 
iiud  booksellers,  and  John  F.  Trow  k  Co..  printers.  This  connection  lasted 
until  abiiut  1H4S,  durinif  which  time  they  published  the  comjili^te  works  of 
the  elder  Jonalban  Kd wards  and  the  classical  series  of  the  Kcv.  Prof.  John  J. 
Owen,  besides  many  minor  works. 

During  the  time  that  >[r.  Trow  carried  on  business  at  36  Ann  street,  he 
iatroduceil  Tufts'  press,  worked  by  mule  power.  This  jiiess  and  mule  power, 
however,  not  proving  satisfactory,  were  soon  disjiensed  with,  and  when  the 
improved  "Adams  press"  was  int'-oduccd,  Mr.  Trow  adopted  it,  and  in  this 
anticipated  all  his  eotemporaries  in  New  York.  As  early  as  1840  he  inlro- 
dueed  stereotyjiing  in  connection  with  the  printing  business,  and  his  foundry, 
to  wliich  an  elcctrotyj)ing  department  lias  been  added,  is  now  one  of  the 
largest  in  that  city. 

Mr.  Trow  has  always  been  foremost  in  introducing  improvements  to 
facilitate  the  nnmufacture  of  books.  About  18r)4,  William  Mitchell  patented 
a  machine  for  setting  and  distributing  type,  whicdi  was  the  first  practical 
machine  of  the  kind  ever  used  in  the  world.  Mr.  Trow  purchased  one  of 
these  machines,  and  tiuding  it  a  success,  saving  largely  in  the  cost  of 
composition,  he  addi'd  others  until  now  he  has  five  machines  in  constant  u.se 
iu  setting  the  type  for  the  ])ublications  of  many  o^'  tlie  leading  publishers. 

In  18.").")  a  til'  destroyed  the  premises  in  whiih  he  was  then  h)cated  and  lie 
removed  to  .'179  Broadway,  where  he  remained  imtil  1800,  when  he  took 
l)osscssion  of  liis  present  buildings  Nos.  4(),  48,  and  ."lO,  (Jreen  street.  Here 
he  has  one  of  the  largest  printing  offices  and  stereotype  foundries  in  this 
country.  A  lire  proof  vault  under  the  sidewalk,  extending  the  width  of  tlie 
l)uilding,  is  used  for  storing  stereotype  ])lates :  anil  oi:e  room  is  di'voted  to 
the  storage  of  paper.  t)n  tlie  second  floor  is  tlie  counting-room,  the  balance 
of  the  same  floor,  and  the  first,  being  occupied  by  the  bindery.  Tlie  third 
floor  is  occupied  by  tlie  book  and  job  press  rooms,  containing  seventeen 
jircsses.  besides  iiyd;.. lilies  and  screw  presses  for  pressing"-  sheets,  and  a  large 
steam  cutting  press.  On  the  fourtli  floor  are  the  stereotype  and  electrotype 
foundries  and  finishiir  rooms.  Tlie  fifth  floor  is  occupied  liy  the  book  and 
job  compiisjtiiin  rooms,  the  type-setting  machines,  and  reading  room.  The 
number  of  workmen  employed  varies  from  one  to  two  hundred — the  latter 
nmnlier.  more  especially,  during  t'  •  ju'lnling  of  the  City  llireclnry. 

l''or  many  years  Mr.  Trow  lias  been  prominently  connc(fH|  with  the 
publication  id'  directories.  Jn  184',(  he  eniliarked  in  the  issue  of  Wil.ion'n 
JiiisincHs  Piriitori/.  and  on  the  death  of  the  late  John  Hogget,  he  purchased 
Uiu  type  which  liad  been  used  ou  Doggel's  City  Directory,  uud  commenccU 


670 


EMINENT   MClDERN   TKINTERS 


inuls 


in    I  rSr>-:  Till:  Ir'nii'J  "1    x  /  vn.  "*•■-*-'-■- -  ^^  . 

2nD  rectory,  botl.  compikMl  by  Mr.  Wil.on.    Thes.v  ...vl^s  have    u.n  c 

lii<fm-p  been  atteini'tod  in  this  country. 

t  ca   y  i  IHli  Mr.  Trow  had  imported  complote  fonts  of  Or.cntal  typo, 
from  th      clebrated  Tauchnitz  foundry,  vi^. :  (ire.k,  Hebrew   Aralne.  hyr.u. 

hop  u     Coptic,   Samaritan,   etc..   and   far    surpassing   u.   quantUy   and 
V         y      0  Lous  "Codman  press"  or  any  other  establishment  n.  ,he  coun 

y  lis  specimen  book,  published  in  I8r,.5,  a  beaut,  u  producUou 
t7poKraphic'.rt.  contains  specimens  of  these  var.ous  and  elog  :■.  ion  s 
recoK«ition  of  the  beautiful  and  accurate  class>cal  amU'rtcn::  ,,  ductions 
hat  rve  issued  fro„.  his  press,  the  University  of  New  iork  i.as  conferr  d 
X  ^the  title  of  University  printer.  It  is  said  that  lus  ,s  the  only 
Sulhmont  in  the  city  where  this  peculiar  class  of  work  .s  ^^-^^ 
variety  and  elegance  of  its  fonts,  is  unsurpassed  by  any  pres.  m  the  country. 


Albert  Judd  Wright,  Bostoa, 

Now  State  Printer  of  Massacluisetts,  was  t.orn  in  South  Iladley,  Hampshire 
cZty,  Massachusetts,  in  the  year  1818.     At  the  a,e  of  s,.x  years,  h.s   a  he 
having  died,  he  was  adopted  by  an  uncle  who  was  engaged  n.  the  pr.nt.ng 
bi  iLess  in  Boston.    He  was  speedily  initiated  iu  the  n.ystery  of  sweepu.g 
out  a  printing  office,  where  there  were  six  K.-mage  presses  j'-'I'-"^";"- -• 
some  dozen  con.positors  employed.     He  was  kept  at  a  pubhc  school,  unt.l 
fir  een  years  of  age,  employing  his  n.ornings  and  hohday  afternoons  m 
doing   "Chores."   setting   types,  working   in   the  wareroom,  and  o  he    .^. 
making  himself  generally  useful.     During  so.ne  of  these  years,  by  th-        .  - 
"  s  ;t  his  uncle.'he  was'allowed  the  use  of  a  room,  where  he  used  to  as.  v  ., . 
Bome  dozen  of  his  boy  companions  in  the  evenings  for  recrea  ion  and  m..-  - 
tion     Here  they  had  a  debating  society  wh.'re  national  ,p.es hons  were  iree.; 
discuc.ed.     A  post  office  was  also  established,  each  boy  having  his   box. 
nd  considcrnble  correspondence  was  the  consequence .     At  length  a  military 
;;„,,„ny    .as   organized   .n   this  juvenile   head-quarters,   embracing    ove 
Bisl V  boys,  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  seventeen  years.     \  oung  \\  right 
wn    .•hosen  the  captain,  and  trained  the  boys  for  about  two  years.     (  ap  ain 
Wriu'hfs  "Young   Volunteers."  armed  with  pikes,  are  well  remembered  by 
many  now  living  in  Hoston.    At  the  age  of  sixteer  years,  his  uncle,  whose 
rushlss  at  that  tinu-  was  printing  music,  left  him  in  charge  o    one  hall  the 
fflce    selling  out  the  other  half  to    Mr.   Luke  Shepley    and  they  carne.l 
:„  the  music  printing  business  u.^ler  the  .irn.  of  Shepley  .V  NV  .;...» 
about  two  years  more  Mr.  Shepley  sold  out  his  interest  to  Andrew  b.  ividdur, 


ALBERT   JUDP   WRir.IIT.    ROSTOX. 


eti 


Usdn'n  Ci'partner- 
H  liavc  lic(>n  con- 
isity  to  tli.iusunds 
ork,  ami  iilVorilinn 
anmuii,  tn-  tlurin;,' 
idri'il  ami  sevuuty 
ach.  ^\■ilhin  the 
the  Uiiili'd  Slates 
le   than  hud  ever 

5  of  Oriental  type, 
■w.  Aruhic.  8yriae, 
ill   (juantity   and 
iiiieiit  ill  the  coun- 
iil   production    of 
elcg:'*  fonts.     In 
ik'rit      I     diii'tions 
k  oik  iiasf  conferred 
lit  liis  is  the  only 
:  is  done,  and  in  the 
ress  in  the  country. 


Iladley,  Hampshire 
six  years,  liis  father 
ged  in  the  printing 
iiystery  of  sweeping 
les  in  o])er«tion,  and 
public  school,  until 
diday  afternoons  in 
ooin,   and   otlu"  v-  isc 

>  years,  liy  ill''  i'li''- 

>  he  used  to  asu  iJii-l!.' 
creation  and  msti  ''- 
Hueftioiis  were  free.; 
)oy  haviiiir  his   Itox, 
At  Icnutlui  military 

[■rs,  eniliracinir  over 
■ars.  Yi>ung  \Vri):ht 
two  years.  Cajitain 
well  renienihered  by 
Mirs,  his  uni'ie.  whose 
large  of  one  half  the 
ley.  and  they  carried 
leiiley  A  Wii^'.hl.  In 
to  Andrew  U-  Kidder, 


and  the  business  was  continued  under  the  firm  of  Kidder  &  AVriglit.  At 
one  time  this  firm  monopolized  about  all  the  music  printing  done  in  IJoston. 
Both  partners  worked  steadily  at  the  case.  It  involviul  much  labor  for  small 
pay,  and  after  two  or  three  years'  work  in  this  tread-mill,  young  Wright 
notified  his  unci'!  to  take  possession  of  his  interest  in  the  office,  as  he  pro- 
posed to  get  married  and  branch  out  into  business  on  liis  own  avcount.  In 
]84;J  he  established  a  small  book  and  job  office  in  Water  street,  where  ho 
finally  secured  business  enough  to  encourage  iiim  to  enlarge  liis  facilities  until 
he  occupied  fi  c  large  rooms,  and  was  able  to  keep  in  ojieration  five  Adams 
Power  Presses,  and  employ  a  large  number  of  coinjtositors.  Business  had 
increased  so  that  lie  wa^  induced  to  share  its  cares  and  profits— and  losses — 
with  a  partiK .-.  In  18.)4  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
in  1H.')5  to  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts.  Attending  to  politics  nt  that  time 
was  not  conducive  to  jirosperity,  and  in  18.55,  dissatisfied  with  his  partnership 
he  put  tlic  concern  into  ("hancery  as  the  only  way  to  free  himself,  by  which 
means  he  got  delivered  of  his  partner  and  his  office  too.  For  some  eight 
years  lie  had  pulilished  and  edited  a  weekly  piper  called  the  "  South  Bodon 
Gazette,"  an  enterprise  which  was  not  prf-erainently  remunerative.  In  a 
short  time  afterward  he  entered  Into  an  rrrangement  with  William  White, 
then  Htate  Printer  for  the  Commfnwea'th,  to  whom  he  endeavored  to  mr.ke 
liimself  generally  useful  in  assisting  him  to  bear  the  load  he  had  to  carry. 
In  18.')"  he  was  again  elected  to  the  House  of  Representative  •,  when  he  was 
able  to  bo  of  service  to  liis  friend  White,  whom  he  regarded  as  one  of  the  best 
men  in  the  world— by  securing  for  him  a  renewal  of  iiis  contract  to  execute 
ihe  State  Printing  for  five  years.  About  1800,  Mr.  White's  health  having 
hi  en  nearly  destroyed  by  his  devotion  to  the  details  of  his  large  business,  lie 
proposed  to  Mr.  Wright  and  Mi.  Robert  K.  Potter,  to  buy  his  office  and 
continue  his  contract  with  the  State.  'I'hrough  the  instrumentality  of  friends 
the  necessary  mtans  were  obtained,  and  the  bargain  consummated,  and  a 
new  firm,  on  an  old  foundation,  of  Wrkhit  &  Pottkk,  successors  to  William 
White.  State  I'.intcr,  was  ushced  into  being. 

In  I8(i'2,  when  the  printing  contract  expired.  Mr.  Wright  was  again  elected 
to  the  Legislature,  and  the  contract  was  secured  for  the  new  firm.  In  1H«17, 
Mr.  Wright  was  again  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  The  State  [irinling 
for  Massachusetts  moiiOpolizes  nearly  all  the  material  of  Wright  and 
Potter's  large  eslalili.shment  during  most  of  the  time.  Their  office  con- 
tains nine  power  presses,  besides  numerous  job  presses,  and  employs  on  an 
average  sixty  workmen.  The  cmjiloying  printers  of  Boston  and  vicinity 
having  organized  an  association  known  as  the  New  England  Franklin  Club, 
Mr.  Wright  was  elected  first  president  of  this  ossociittiou,  to  wJiich  posiUou 
he  lias  been  re-elected  for  three  successive  terms. 


C7: 


EMINENT    MODERN    PRINTERS. 


Cornelius  Wendell,  Washington,  D.  C, 
V7hosc  rune  as  a  Printer  is  identified  will,  the  public  printini?  office  at  tl^e 
National  Capital,  of  which  he  is  the  founder,  was  born  at  Can.brid^c,  ne;>r 
Albany,  New  York,  in  the  year  1813.  lie  was  early  apprenticed  to  Croswoll 
k  Van  IJenthuysen.  State  Printers  in  Albany,  and  after  compl(;tu.ff  hi. 
apprenticeship,  was  employed  as  foreman  for  0.  Van  Benthuysen,  and  luui 
control  of  his  entire  business. 

In  IHtf)    Mr.  Wendell  removed  to  Washington,  and  became   enframed  on 
Oonsressional   Printing.     Af  er  ten  years'  experience,  he  determined  upon 
ercctin-  a  model  public  printing  office,  and  so  expeditiously  were  his  plans 
carried  out,  that  though  *he  building  was  begun  in  S.'ptember,  1H..(.,  it  was 
ready  for   occupancy  in    iho    followin-,'   November.     It  consists  of  a  long, 
wide,  brick  editice,  four  stories  in  heiglit,  surmounted  by  a  cupola,  over  which 
is  perched  the  emblematical  eagle.     At  cacli  end  of  the  roof  is  a  flag  stall, 
from  whidi  the  national  ensign  floats  on  gala  days,  and  the  entire  s(,uare  is 
neatly  fenced  in.  while  rows  of  shade  trees  overshadow  the  broad  sidewalks 
Detached  from  the  main  building  is  an  engine  house,  with  an  ornamental 
chimney  that  towers  above  the  establishment.     It  contains  a  magnificent 
steam-engine  of  forty  horse  power,  that  operates  with  the  facility  of  a  chro- 
nometer.    Its  large  tubular  boiler  also  supplies  steam  for  heating  the  main 
building,  and  for  a  small  donkey  engine  that  pumps  water  from  the  adjacent 
branch.     The  press  rollers,  "  those  mystic  compounds  of  glue  and  molasses, 
arc  also  manufactured  in  tlie  engine  house. 

n.ere  is  also  a  machine  shop  on  tlie  grounds,  and  commodirus  stables 
within  the  enclosure,  for  the  aecomiuodation  of  the  horses  re.,uired  m  the 
transportation  of  work.  Tlie  Storehouse  is  also  a  detached  building,  sixty 
feet  by  ci-hty.  where  the  paper  is  deposited  until  wanted  by  the  public  printer. 
Some  forty  thousand  reams  of  fine  printing  paper,  pass  through  this  deposi- 
tory  in  a  year,  weighing  forty-five  to  fifty  pounds  per  ream  of  four  hundred 
and  eighty  sheets,  each  measuring  twenty-four  by  thirty-eight  inches.  In 
addition  to  this  large  supply  of  standard  printing  paper,  large  quantities  ol 
paper  for  blank  books,  etc.,  arc  consumed  in  this  office,  which  alter  being 
inspected,  counted,  weighed,  and  measured,  are  also  deposited  in  the  Store- 
house  until  wanted  for  use. 

Entering  u.e  main  building,  we  find  on  the  lower  floor  a  "  wetting  room, 
supplie.l  with  troughs  and  appliances  for  dampening  the  immense  ><»l'I'ly  "I 
paper  used,  with  a  powerful  hydraulic  press,  for  pressing  it  smooth.  I  he 
press  room,  however,  is  the  remarkable  feature  of  tlie  lower  floor,  c.uitainiug 
as  it  does  twenty-ninc  ponderous  machines,  each  moving  with  the  regularity 
of  a  watch,  devouring  reams  of  white  paper,  and  throwing  olT  n.  ally  pnnlcd 
sheets  Some  of  the  presses  are  of  the  Napier  pattern,  but  the  greater  por- 
tion are  the  well  known  Adams  press.  Two  hundred  and  ten  reams,  <.r  up- 
ward of  one  hu...lred  thousand  sheets,  can  easily  be  printed  in  ihis  ro.,m  m  a 
day  Adjacent  to  the  press  roon.,  on  the  lower  floor,  is  the  drying  rootn, 
where  the  sheets,  as  Ihey  leave  the  press,  arc  hung  on  largo  frames  whuh 
are  pulled  out  on  hanging  rollers.  When  one  of  these  frames  is  covered  « ill. 
damp  sheets,  it  is  pushed  into  the  drying  apparatus,  which  is  composed  ol 


CORNELIUS    WENDELL,    WASIIINUTON,    D.  C". 


6T8. 


ting  ofTice  at  tl'e 
t  CainhruliiC  noiir 
iitk'C'l  lo  ("roswrll 
r  compli'tiiijj  \\\^ 
ithuyi*en,  and  luui 

came   cnfrajjcd  on 
(leterminiHl  ui)ou 
sly  wci-o  his  iilaus 
'iiihor,  lH.')(i,  it  was 
onsists  of  a  lone;, 
cupola,  over  whicli 
roof  is  a  flag  stall', 
he  entire  s(|naro  is 
e  broad  sidewalks, 
ith  an  ornamental 
aius  a  magnidcent 
3  facility  of  a  chro- 
)r  heating  tlu'  main 
r  from  the  adjacent 
glue  and  molasses," 

lommodicus  stables 
ses  reciuired  in  the 
;hed  building,  sixty 
ly  the  public  printer, 
through  thi.-i  dcposi- 
am  of  four  liundred 
ty-eight  inches.  In 
•,  large  quantities  of 
B,  which  after  being 
)ositcd  in  the  Store- 

ir  ft  "  wetting  room," 
!  immense  supply  of 
ing  it  smooth.  'The 
wer  tloor,  containing 
g  with  the  regularity 
ng  otr  ni  ally  piiiilcd 

liul  the  greater  por- 
jul  ten  reams,  or  up- 
ili'd  in  this  room  in  a 

in  the  drying  riKim, 
1  large  frames  wliirh 
Vanics  is  covcrt'il  wilb 
whicli  is  composed  of 


ranges  of  steam  tubes  which  maintain  a  high  temperature,  while  the  vapor  is 
carried  off  by  a  proper  system  of  ventilation.  In  the  drying  room  are  also 
live  massive  standing  presses,  to  which  an  enormous  pressure  is  applied  by 
hydraulic  pumps.  When  the  sheets  have  thus  been  pressed,  they  are  taken 
to  the  bindery,  in  the  third  story,  by  a  steam  hoisting  apparatus. 

I'asr.ing  to  the  second  door,  we  find  the  private  and  business  ofRces,  and 
also  the  proof  readers'  rooms.  The  central  and  much  the  largest  portion  of 
this  floor,  however,  is  appropriated  as  a  composing,  room,  which  is  lighted 
by  sixty  windows  during  the  day,  and  by  gas  at  night.  There  are  about  one 
hundred  double  "stands"  for  compositors,  with  twenty  imposing  stones,  and 
every  other  rcfiuisite  convenience.  A  portion  of  the  second  story  is  enclosed 
for  the  "executive  printing."  Some  of  this  is  of  a  confidential  nature,  and 
when  it  was  executed,  as  in  former  years,  at  newspaper  offices,  it  often  be- 
came public,  to  the  annoyance  of  all  concerned.  Many  amusing  anecdotes 
are  told  at  Washington  of  tlie  strategems  resorted  to  by  newspaper  corres- 
pondents to  obtain  confidential  documents,  and  on  one  occasion  a  I'resident 
had  types  and  workmen  brought  into  the  White  House,  that  he  miulit  liave 
his  annual  message  confidentially  printed. 

The  third  story  is  devoted  to  binding ;  and  in  the  largo  "  folding  room  "  is 
a  small  army  of  neatly-dressed  girls,  seated  before  tal)lcs,  who  fold  the  i)rinted 
sheets  with  astonishing  rapidity.  The  "executive  binding  room"  is  fitted 
up  with  two  powerful  machines  for  tiimming  the  edges  of  books,  shears  for 
cutting  pasteboard,  and  other  labor-saving  inventions.  The  furnaces  for 
heating  the  stamps,  and  for  gilding,  are  heated  by  gas,  which  is  safer, 
cleaner,  and  steadier  than  charcoal. 

In  another  room  are  "  ruling  machines,"  by  means  of  which  acres  of  paper 
are  annually  covered  with  faint  red  or  blue  lines,  laid  on  vith  mathematical 
precision.  Some  of  the  larger  blank  books  for  the  use  of  (Jovcrnmcnt  are 
master-pieces  of  accurate  ruling  and  substantial  binding.  The  appointments 
and  fixtures  in  the  binding  department  are  fully  in  keeping  with  the  typo- 
graphical  arrangements  below  stairs. 

'l"ho  fourth  story  is  a  store  room,  where  stacks  of  printed  sheets  arc  kept 
in  readiness  for  the  binder. 

Tlie  process  of  manufacturing  Public  Documents  dor  not  dilTer  essentially 
from  the  ordinary  methods  of  making  books,  except,  perhaps,  in  the  quantity 
of  "  rule  and  figure  work."  The  amount  of  brass  rule  annually  required  iu 
this  office  is  without  precedent  in  any  other  establishment. 

In  1861,  Mr.  Wendell  sold  the  printing  office,  which  ho  liad  founded,  to  the 
(Jovernment,  and  retired,  to  devote  himself  to  other  pursuits.  During  his 
administration,  he  always  maintained  the  kindest  relations  with  the  opera- 
tives  in  his  employ,  who,  on  one  occasion,  presented  him  with  a  gold  snuft 
box,  inscribed  "as  a  memorial  of  his  worth,  and  as  a  testimony  of  tha 
])rinters  and  binders  in  his  employ."  Ho  was  also  d'stinguished  for  tho 
facility  and  accuracy  with  which  ho  could  tell,  from  a  rapid  glance  over  a 
maniiscript,  about  how  many  pages  it  would  make  when  i)rinted,  antl  tho 
shortest  time  within  which  the  work  could  be  done,  if  huste  were  desirable. 
In  18G6,  Mr.  Wendell  was  appointed  Superiuteudeut  of  the  Tublic  Printing,  hut 
43 


674 


EMINENT   MODERN   PRINTERS. 


iu  March  ISCT,  ^-us  lounslated  out  for  an  alleged  charge  of  political  favoritism, 
.00  'cLionof  loyal  soldiers,  which  charge  ajoiut  Co.um.ttee  on  Priu  .ng 
both  nouses  of  Congress  p  onounced  unfounded.  T  .s  ^-nut^^^^ 
reporting  that  "  the  late  Superintendent  was  lugh^  ^'°{^'\^' ^'  ,F  .;*,;  ! 
he  had  filled."  add  the  testimony  that  "  inasmuch  as  Mr.  ^V  omku  >e  tc  M^ 
e  o'.S  his  official  connection  with  the  Government  l'-^'-=^Offlco  .t  .s  due 
U>  him  to  say  that  in  courtesy  of  deportment,  m  e-.ergy,  m  offic.encj  .u 
fiilX tl  puhiic  trust,  he-  has  mot  the  highest  favor  with  all  of  the  Commatec 
who  have  been  brought  in  connection  with  him. ' 


olitical  favoritism, 
nittee  on  rriulini; 
Committee,  iil'tcr 
of  t}ie  post  wliiih 
SVendc'il  yestc-iUiy 
ng  Office,  it  is  duo 
y,  in  efficiency,  in 
I  of  the  Committee 


INDEX  TO  rORTRAITS 


Of 


REPRESEymiVE    LEATHER    MANUFACTURERS. 


John  Cummings,  Woburn,  Mass., 

One  of  the  oldest  and  most  enterprisinn;  of  the  tanners  of  Massnchnsetts,  was 
l)orn  Fehruaiy  26,  1785.  His  grandfather,  David  Cummings,  came  from 
Topsfield,  in  Massachusetts,  and  settled  in  Woburn  about  the  year  1757, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  business  of  tanning  and  farming— pursuits  that  it 
was  tlien  customary  to  combine— the  former  furnishing  occupation  for  the 
winter  and  farming  for  the  summer  months.  At  that  time,  it  was  considered 
a  large  business  to  tan  two  hundred  hides  a  year,  and  tliese  were  mostly 
'  tanned  "  at  the  lialvcs,"  that  is,  the  tanner  took  one  side  for  tanning  and 
currying  the  other.  The  business  thus  estaldislied  by  the  grandfather  was 
transmitted  tlirough  his  father,  Ehenezer  Cumminirs,  to  the  subject  of  the 
present  notice,  who  commenced  for  himself  about  the  year  1804.  His  liides 
were  mostly  obtained  from  farmers  through  liis  own  exertions  in  travelling 
on  horseback  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  them,  and  the  bark  was  brouglil  in 
from  the  adjacent  country  on  teams.  As  bark  became  scarce  in  the  imm(!diate 
vicinity  of  the  tannery,  it  was  a  source  of  no  little  anxiety  and  frequent  dis- 
cussion where  the  future  supply  ol  this  essential  tanning  material  would  bo 
obtained.  While  the  raw  material  was  obtained  in  this  primitive  manner,  the 
sale  of  tlie  tinislied  leather  was  aeliieved  in  much  the  same  way,  by  carrying 
it  about  the  country  in  a  wagon,  and  retailing  from  one  to  ten  sides  in  a 
place. 

About  the  year  1830,  however,  Mr.  Cummings  efTeeted  a  revolution  in  his 
business,  by  engaging  in  tlie  manufacture  of  "  Chaise  I;eather,"  as  a  speciality. 
In  this  he  achieved  a  wide  reputation,  and  for  many  years  supplic.'d  the 
wants  of  the  chaise  manufacturers  not  OiJy  of  ^lassaclmsetts,  but  of  New 
England.  When,  however.  Enamelled  leather  came  into  use  nnd  took  the 
lilace  of  the  common  oil  linislied  chaise  leatlier,  Mr.  Cummings  directed  his 
basu.  'ss  in  another  clumncl,  and  became  one  of  the  largest  slaughter  leather 
tannert  in  the  State.  He  was  probably  the  first  to  appreciate  the  advantages 
of  the  Splitting  machine,  which  has  been  of  the  greatest  importance  in  facili- 
tating the  finishing  of  leather,  and  was  appointed  almoner  of  the  fund  wliicli 
was  contributed  by  the  leatlier  interest  for  the  benefit  of  the  inventor  of  tliis 
machine. 
As  a  man,  Mr.  Cummings  was  remarkable  not  only  foi  his  industry  nnd 

(G75) 


676 


REPRESENTATIVK    LEATIIKH   MAXLFACTIRERS. 


perseverance,  but  for  his  penerous  in.puUos.  Ho  prohaMy  taufrht  more 
vouriK  men  the  business  of  tanning,  .uul  aided  them  to  embark  ni  trade  for 
themselves,  than  any  other  leather  n.anufacturer  of  the  State,  and  now  has 
a  lar-e  circle  of  friends,  who  regard  hiiu  as  their  early  benrla^or.  I'or 
the  last  sixteen  years,  he  ha.  not  been  engaged  in  active  busmes.,  and  has 
been  succeeded  by  hi  eldest  son,  who  is  also  held  in  high  esteem  by  his 
neighbors  and  the  citizens  ci"  Woburn. 


Abyah  Thompson,  Woburn,  Mass., 

Another  of  the  early  and  eminent  manufacturers  of  leather  in  Massachu- 
setts,  was  born  in  Woburn  in  the  year  1793.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he 
was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  trade  of  tanning  and  currying,  at  whicli  he 
served  faithfully  until  he  had  attained  his  majority,  when  he  commenced 
business  for  himself,  in  the  town  of  Medford,  buying  leather  in  the  rough, 
dressing  it  with  his  own  hands,  and  selling  it  thus  finished  in  parcels  of  from 
one  to  six  sides  to  the  shoe  manufacturers  of  the  adjacent  towns.  Ihis, 
howevc,  he  continued  but  for  a  short  time,  when  he  resolved  to  return  to 
his  native  town,  and  engage  in  the  tanning  of  hides. 

Here  he  built  a  small  tannery  of  sixteen  vats,  and  commenced  coUectmgh.s 
hides  from  the  farmers,  grinding  his  bark  with  a  liorse  and  the  old  stone  wheel 
or  mill,  and  producing  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  finished  hides 
in  a  year,  his  only  assistants  being  two  apprentices.    Mis  leather  ho  trans- 
ported semi-monthly  to  the  shoe  towns  of  Reading.  Stoneham,  and  Maiden  ma 
wagon  which  returned  loaded  with  such  raw  hides  as  he  could  procure  in 
the  vicinity.    At  the  end  of  ten  years,  he  found  his  means  had  increased 
Bufficiently  to  enable  him  to  purchase  fifteen  acres  of  land  near  the  centre  of 
the  town  of  Woburn,  on  which  was  a  small  power,  and  here  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Thompson  Tannory."    At  first,  he 
only  put  down  thirty  vats,  but  these  were  added  to  from  year  to  year,  as  h.s 
means  and  the  demand  for  his  leather  increased.    In  183.  he  introduced 
Bteam  power,  and  in  the  subsequent  year,  associated  with  h.m  hisson-m- 
law    Mr.  Stephkn  Dow,  who  is  now  his  successor.    Before  his  retiremen 
from  active  business,  in  1 866,  his  facilities  had  so  increased  that  he  was  enabled 
to  tan  twenty-five  thousand  hides  per  year.  ..  ^  ^^  , 

The  town  of  Woburn  is  probably  more  indebted  to  Ab.jah  Thompson-who 
is  called  by  his  neighbors  by  his  military  appellation.  General  Thompson-than 
to  any  other  one  of  its  citizens  for  its  public  enterprises  and  business  pros- 
perity.    His  success  and  example  attracted  to  it  other  tanners,  until  now  it 
L  one  of  the  central  points  of  the  leather  manufacture  of  New  England.     He 
was  the  first  to  secure  to  Woburn  its  branch  railway,  and  to  establish  the  Gas 
Companv,  and  the  Bank  of  which  he  has  been  President  since  its  organization. 
His  financial  sagacity  has  made  him  sought  after  by  other  incorporations, 
and  he  has  been  a  director  of  a  bank  in  Charlestown,  one  of  the  original  direc 
tors  of  the  Faneuil  Hall  Bank  of  Boston,  and  for  many  years  one  of     lo 
active  managers  in  the  Middlesex  Insurance  Company  in  Concord     His 
integrity  and  financial  probity  are  unquestioned,  and  he  belongs  to  that  select 


IRS. 


WILLIAM    MUSSEU,    PHILADELPHIA. 


6n 


lily  tauirlit  more 
ilmrk  ill  tnute  for 
itatc,  and  now  has 
lionrl'a'jtor.  Fur 
business!,  und  has 
igh  esteem  by  his 


ther  in  Massachn- 
•e  of  seventeen  he 
yinfr,  at  which  he 
en  ho  commenced 
ither  ill  the  rough, 
in  parcels  of  from 
cent  towns.  This, 
solved  to  return  to 

lencedcoUectinghis 
the  old  stone  wheel 
ndred  finished  hides 
is  leather  he  trans- 
am,  and  Maiden  in  a 
e  could  procure  in 
leans  had  increased 
1  near  the  centre  of 
d  hero  he  laid  the 
nf'ry."  At  first,  he 
year  to  year,  as  his 
1835,  he  introduced 
vith  him  his  son-in- 
jfore  his  retirement 
3  that  he  was  enabled 

jah  Thompson — who 
ral  Thompson — than 
s  and  business  pros- 
tanners,  until  now  it 
f  New  England.  ITe 
\  to  establish  the  Gas 
lince  its  organization, 
other  incorporations, 
3  of  the  original  direc- 
my  years  one  of  the 
ny  in  Concord  His 
belongs  to  that  select 


few  who  achieve  success  by  force  of  nature  and  talent,  without  early  advan- 
tages, and  who  use  the  wealth  thus  accumulated  for  the  benefit  of  the  com- 
munity  in  which  they  Uve. 

Alfred  Loring,  South  Hingham,  Mass., 

Is  a  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  tanners.  His  father  was  Elpalet  Loring, 
of  Hinstham,  who  was  born  July  3,  1774,  and  died  December  20,  1852. 
aged  seventy-eidit.  He  reoeived  a  tannery  located  in  Hingham.  Tlymouth 
county,  l^Iass.,  from  his  father,  in  the  year  1800,  carried  on  the  business 
BHCcessfuUy  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  transmitted  it  to  his 
son  in  1827. 

The  father  of  Elpalet  Loring  was  Job  Loring,  who  was  bora  in  Hingham, 
February  U,  1740,  and  died  iii  that  town  February  10,  1825,  at  the  patri- 
archal age  of  eighty-five  years.  His  father.  Solomon  Loring.  purchased  the 
estate,  on  which  the  tannery  is  situated,  of  the  family  of  Jacob,  and  set  up 
his  son  Job  in  the  business  of  tanning  in  very  early  life.  The  ancestor  of 
Solomon  Loring  was  Thomas  Loring,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Hingham. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Loring  tannery  has  been  occupied  and  the 
business  conducted  by  the  same  family  for  upwards  of  a  century. 

Under  the  management  of  the  present  owner,  the  business  has  been  ex- 
tended, modern  improvements  introduced,  and  the  tanning  and  currying  of 
leather  in  their  various  forms,  have  been  so  perfected,  that  Mr.  Loring's  calf- 
skins and  upper  leather  have  an  excellent  reputation,  and  meet  with  a  ready 
sale.  Ho  bestows  his  personal  attention  upon  every  part  of  his  business,  and, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  it  is  well  done.  Mr.  Loring  was  probably  the  first  to 
introduce  what  was  known  as  Pierce's  improved  process  or  art  of  tanning, 
with  Professor  Eaton's  improvements  superadded,  and  from  various  experi- 
ments, for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  process,  obtained  information  of  which 
he  still  avails  himself  in  the  manufacture.  About  the  same  time,  viz., 
in  1852,  he  adopted  England's  patent  handles,  of  which  he  continues  to 
maintain  a  favorable  opinion,  and  recently,  he  tried  Towers'  patent  alcohol 
process,  and  thinks  it  entirely  practicable,  and  very  valuable,  if  the  cost  of 
alcohol  were  reduced. 

As  a  citizen,  Mr.  Loring  is  highly  esteemed.  He  is  public  spirited  and 
liberal ;  and  his  life  presents  a  fair  specimen  of  a  substantial  and  enterprising 
manufacturer,  who  finds  also  leisure,  as  he  has  the  good  taste  and  inclination, 
to  diversify  his  employments  by  considerable  attention  to  agricultural  and 
horicultural  pursuits. 

"William  Musser,  Philadelphia, 

Who  is  one  of  the  oldest  living  representative  men  in  the  Leather  Trade 
of  Philadelphia,  with  which  he  has  been  connected  for  more  than  a  half 
century,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  August  17,  1789. 
His  progenitors  were  among  the  German  families  who  originally  settled  that 
county  and  he  inherited  from  them  the  qualities  of  energy,  thrift  and  self  re- 
liance which  have  been  distinguishing  characteristics  in  his  business  career. 
His  father  was  a  tanner  and  currier,  and  for  many  years  carried  on  the  busi- 


f.TS 


REPRESENTATIVE   LEATHER   MANUFACTURERS. 


ness  successrully  in  Lancaster,  Pcnn.  Tn  1803,  when  only  fourteen  yoiu?  of 
iif^e,  young  Musser  left  his  inland  home  and  came  to  riiiladeli)hia,  whitli  was 
tlieu  universally  acknowledged  to  be  Ihc  commercial  metropolis  of  t'ne  Union, 
His  lirotlier-in-law,  John  .Singer,  was  at  that  time  keeping  a  liide  -v^  U'utlur 
store  on  Market  street  in  connection  with  a  grocery,  and  he  entered  liis 
employment  as  an  apprentice  or  clerk.  'J'his  Mr.  Singer  was  the  surviving 
partner  of  the  firm  of  Casper  Singer  &  Sons,  who  may  be  said  to  have  been  the 
founders  of  the  hide  and  leather  trade  of  Philadelphia,  having  been  the  first 
to  introduce  the  custom  of  buying  Spanish  hides  from  the  importers,  and 
retailing  them  to  the  tanners.  I'revious  to  that  it  was  the  habit  of  the 
tanners  to  buy  their  hides  from  the  importers  tliemselves,  and  in  payment  to 
send  their  leather  to  the  merchant  to  be  sold  or  exchanged  for  other  goods. 

During  the  time  that  Mr.  Musser  was  faithfully  discharging  his  duties  as 
clerk  in  this  store  tlie  clamor  of  war  sounded,  and  all  peaceful  avocations 
were  interrupted.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  on  account 
of  the  position  and  importance  of  Philadelphia,  it  was  thought  this  city 
would  be  one  of  the  first  objects  of  attack.  Old  and  young  men  prepared  to 
shoulder  the  musket  and  repel  the  invader.  William  Musser  was  among  the 
first  to  join  the  force  raised  in  Philadelphia  and  vicinity,  and  accompanied 
the  troops  to  Camp  Dupont,  The  service  performed  by  these  volunteers 
was  simply  a  tedious  routine  of  duty,  not  at  all  varied  by  excitement  and 
adventure.  The  British  made  no  attempt  to  reach  Philadelphia.  At  the 
close  of  the  war,  the  volunteers  returned  to  the  city,  and  were  welcomed  as 
their  protracted  service  and  the  :5acrifice  of  their  private  interests  in  behalf 
of  the  general  weal  deserved. 

Soon  after  his  release  from  military  duties,  Mr.  Musser  was  taken  into 
partnership  as  one  of  the  firm  of  John  Singer  &  Co.,  and  his  attention  and 
talent  for  trade:  soon  made  him  the  principal  manager  of  the  business.  All 
kinds  of  domestic  manufactures  had  been  greatly  stimulated  by  the  war, 
which  had  the  efl'ect  of  a  prohibitory  tariff,  and  the  adairs  of  the  house  had 
risen  in  importance.  In  1829,  the  senior  partner  retired,  when  the  style  of 
the  firm  was  changed  to  John  Singer  Jr.  &  Co.,  who  continued  the  business 
■with  success  until  1836,  when  the  junior  Mr.  Singer,  on  account  of  impaired 
health,  was  obliged  to  withdraw  and  seek  a  foreign  clime  for  its  restoration. 
Mr.  Musser  then  conducted  tlie  business  under  the  firm  of  William  Musser  & 
Co.,  having  associated  with  him  A.  H.  Bryant,  until  184.5,  when  Mr.  Bryant 
withdrew.  Subsequently  he  took  as  partners  Adam  Ruth,  and  his  nephew, 
Richard  M.  Greiner,  continuing  the  name  of  William  Musser  &  Co,  which  firm 
is  still  in  existence.  Thus  it  will  appear  that  Mr.  Musser  has  been  connected 
with  the  hide  and  leather  business,  directly  and  indirectly,  since  the  year 
1803,  a  period  of  ovf^r  half  a  century,  although  for  the  past  seven  or  eight 
years  he  has  not  taken  an  active  part  in  the  management  of  the  concern, 
which  has,  in  the  main,  devolved  upon  the  junior  partners. 

As  a  result  of  his  business  career  Mr.  Mus.ser  has  been  emine'itly  sncees?. 
fill  in  accunnilating  wealth.  At  one  time  it  is  true  the  calamity  which  hangs 
over  all  commercial  transactions  befell  him,  and  the  firm,  in  1848,  to  the 
general  regret  of  all,  was  compelled  to  suspend  payment,  but  his  character 
had  inspired  confidence,  and  the  creditors  readily  granted  an  extension.  This 
confidence  was  well  deserved,  and,  in  1853,  every  cent  of  every  just  demand 


nr 


;EnS. 

fourteen  yoiirs  of 
iU'l|)liiii,  whitli  was 
[lolis  of  tiie  Union. 

ii  liiilc  ••P'l  '.I'utlur 
1(1  ho  ciiU'ri'il  Ills 
ft'iia  thn  surviviiijr 
ilto  have  l)een  the 
ring  been  the  first 
he  importers,  and 

the  hiihit  of  the 
and  in  payment  to 

for  other  g-oods. 
rging  his  duties  as 
caceful  avocations 
2,  and  on  account 

thought  til  is  city 
g  men  prepared  to 
ser  was  anionji  the 
,  and  accompanied 
y  these  volunteers 
by  excitement  and 
ladelphia.  At  the 
I  were  welcomed  as 
nterests  in  behalf 

!er  was  taken  into 
1  his  attention  and 
the  business.  All 
ilated  by  the  war, 
)  of  the  house  had 
when  the  style  of 
inued  the  business 
ceount  of  impaired 
for  its  restoration. 
William  Musser  & 
,  when  Mr.  Bryant 
li,  and  his  nephew, 
er  &  Co,  which  firm 
has  beei  connected 
tly,  since  the  year 
past  seven  or  eiglit 
nt  of  the  concern, 

eminc'itly  snccess. 
lamity  which  han}:s 
rm,  in  lS4fi,  to  the 
t,  but  his  character 
ui  extension.  This 
every  just  demand 


IIEXllY    POOR,    BOSTON. 


6T9 


was  paid.  From  tliat  period  until  tlic  present  day  no  house  in  the  leather 
trade  has  stood  higher  in  commercial  credit  and  general  esteem  than  the 
firm  of  William  Musser  &  Co. 

During  his  life  Mr.  Musser  has  been  a  director  in  various  enterprises  of 
pulilic  importance  and  has  been  solicited  to  preside  over  the  aff\iirs  of  several 
coal  companies,  a  railroad,  and  one  of  our  principal  monied  institutions. 
'J'iiis  he  has  invariably  declined,  not  from  any  defect  of  public  spirit,  but 
from  the  inherent  modesty  and  diffidence  of  his  nature.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  St.  John's  Lutheran  Church,  and  has  long  been  President  of  its 
Board  of  Trustees.  He  has  also  been  trustee  for  a  number  of  large  estates 
and  has  discharged  the  duties  incident  to  the  position  with  rare  fidelity  and 
skill.  Mr.  Musser  is  now  in  his  seveuty-eighth  year,  and  enjoys  in  compe- 
tence the  rewards  of  a  well  spent  life,  the  honor  and  respect  of  the  community 
in  which  he  has  so  long  lived,  and  the  attachment  of "  trooi)s  of  friends." 

Henry  Poor,  Boston, 

Is  one  of  the  eminent  leal.:er  manufacturers  of  New  England  whose  birth 
antedates  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  He  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Danvers.  Essex  county,  Massachusetts,  January  IG,  1799.  Both  his  father 
and  grandfather  were  surnamcd  Joseph,  and  were  prominent  tanners  in 
their  day,  and  though  the  family  have  been  engaged  one  liundred  years  in 
the  u.ime  pursuit,  no  one  of  them  ever  failed  to  meet  his  commercial  obliga- 
tions at  m  iturity. 

Henry  Poor  was  instructed  in  the  business  of  preparing  leather  in  his 
father's  tannery,  where  he  commenced  his  apprenticeship  in  1814.  when  he 
was  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  was  thus  employed  until  ISaO,  when  he 
embarked  in  the  hide  trade  in  a  limited  way,  and  not  long  after  became  con- 
nected with  Mr.  Abel  Proctor,  of  Danvers,  with  whom  he  was  associated 
for  several  years.  In  1845  he  established  himself  in  Boston  in  the  hide  and 
leather  business  in  association  with  his  son  Eben  S.  Poor,  and  Alexander 
Moseley,  under  the  firm  style  of  Moseley,  Poor  &  Co.  This  copartnership  con- 
tinued  until  18.51,  when  Mr.  .Aloseley  retired,  and  the  now  well  known  nume 
of  Henry  Poor  &  Son  became  the  style  of  the  firm.  .Since  then,  two  other 
sons  liave  been  admitted  into  the  copartnership,  and  receatly  a  grandson, 
presenting  the  anomaly  in  American  mercantile  life  of  a  business  being 
prosecuted  continuously  and  successfully  by  one  family  through  five  succes- 
sive generations. 

Mr.  Poor  formerly  confined  his  business  almost  exclusively  to  the  produc- 
tion of  Upper  Leather  but  since  the  establishment  of  the  present  firm  they 
have  entered  largely  into  the  manufacture  of  Sole  Leather,  which  now 
constitutes  the  principal  part  of  their  business.  They  now  own  and  operate 
three  Sole  Leather  tanneries,  besides  others  which  they  stock  by  contract. 
I^heir  taimery  in  Winn,  Maine,  owned  by  them  in  connection  with  Shaw, 
Kingman  &  Co.,  is  one  of  the  largest  in  America.  'J'nc  main  building  is 
seven'Jiundred  feet  long,  with  a  leach  house  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet 
in  length,  and  scrubbing  rooms  about  sixty  feet.    It  contains  three  hundred 


680 


BirUESENTATIVE  lEATHEE  MANUFACTURERS. 


and  thirty  larfje  pits,  and  its  machinery  is  propelled  by  a  steam  engme  about 
ono  hundred  horse  power.  The  tannery  is  easily  capable  of  tannmg  tilty 
thounand  hides  in  a  year.  Their  other  tamicries  are  in  Saratoga  county,  in 
the  State  of  New  York.  These  are  provided  with  many  of  the  modern  im- 
provements, and  are  operated  by  both  steam  and  water  power. 

This  firm  also  supply  some  tanneries  in  Salem  and  South  Danvcrs,  with 
upper  leather  hides,  the  trade  in  which  is  still  a  prominent  pnrt  of  tlu'ir 
business.  During  tlie  year  18G6,  they  erected  three  leatlicr  stores  in  Con- 
gress street.  Boston,  one  of  which,  on  the  corner  of  Williams  street,  now 
occupied  by  them,  is  one  of  th«  largest  and  most  convenient  stores  m  the 

"  Mr.  Poor  is  a  higlily  influential  member  of  the  trade,  and  has  at  various 
times  filled  prominent  positions  of  trust  and  honor,  conferred  upon  him  by 
his  fellow  citizens.  lie  has  held  a  seat  both  in  the  Senate  and  House  oi 
Kepresentatives  of  the  State,  and  throughout  a  long  Ufe  has  secured  and 
maintained  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  who  know  him. 


Zadock  Pratt,  Prattsville,  N.  Y., 

One  of  the  best  known  tanners  in  the  United  States,  was  born  at  Stephens- 
town,  Rennselaar  county,  New  York,  October  30th,  1790.  He  was  the  son  of 
Zadock  Pratt,  a  tanner,  shoemaker,  and  a  revolutionary  soldier,  and  while  a 
boy  employed  in  his  father's  tan-yard,  invented,  it  is  said,  an  improve- 
ment  in  the  three  cornered  eye-board  leather  pump,  for  anging  liquors 
from   the   old-fashioned   vats,   which,   with  some   modi'  s.   is   stdl   m 

He  was  early  taught  the  value  of  industry,  a ned  his  first 


use 


spending  money  by  gathering  whortleberries.  While  employed  m  his  father  s 
Tannery  he  spent  his  leisure  hours  in  braiding  whip-lashes,  from  the  su'e  of 
which  he  accumulated  a  capital  of  thirty  dollars-no  small  sum  for  a  boy  in 

those  days.  ,     r  ■ 

In  1810  he  was  apprenticed  to  Luther  Hays,  a  saddler,  and  after  serving  a 
short  apprenticeship,  and  working  one  year  as  a  journeyman  at  ten  dollars  per 
month,  he  commenced  business  on  his  own  account,  as  saddler  and  harness 
maker,  in  a  small  shop  at  one  end  of  a  bark-house. 

His  average  time  of  labor  then  was  fifteen  to  sixteen  hours  per  day.  With 
a  system  that  commenced  with  his  first  pursuit  in  life,  he  kept  an  exact 
account  of  all  business  transactions,  and  every  year  made  an  inventory  of 
his  possessions,  so  as  to  calculate  his  profits ;  and  it  may  be  remarked,  that 
he  has  adhered  to  this  plan  even  to  the  present  time.  He  made  the  first 
year  five  hundred  dollars,  and  the  second  twelve  himdred,  which  continually 
increased  until  ISl.").  He  sold  his  store  just  in  time  to  escape  the  storm 
which  so  frequently  and  suddenly  rises  in  the  commercial  world,  and  which 
overwhelmed  his  purchasers.  He  now  entered  into  partnership  with  his 
brothers  in  the  tanning  business,  which  was  carried  on  with  such  energy  and 
management,  that  it  proved  prosperous  to  all  concerned.  We  will  give  a 
little  incident  that  will  serve  as  an  illustration  of  his  judgment  and  ener-y 
of  character.     He  knew  that  the  first  annual  products  sold  best  early  in  the 


R3. 


ZADOCK  PRATT,  PRATT8VILLE,  NEW  YORK. 


681 


;am  engine  about 
of  tanning  titty 
ratoga  county,  in 
:  the  modern  im- 
er. 

ith  Daavera,  witli 
ent  part  of  their 
cr  stores  in  Con- 
lliaras  street,  now 
ent  stores  in  the 

,nd  lias  at  various 
rred  upon  him  by 
late  and  House  of 
i  has  secured  and 


born  at  Stephens- 
He  was  the  son  of 
oldier,  and  while  a 
said,  an    improve- 
anging  liquors 
-s,   is   still   in 
...lied  his  first 
oyed  in  his  father's 
(s,  from  the  sa'e  of 
,11  sum  for  a  boy  in 

and  after  serving  a 
in  at  ten  dollars  per 
addler  and  harness 

lurs  per  day.  With 
,  he  kept  an  exact 
de  an  inventory  of 
f  be  remarked,  that 
He  made  the  first 
1,  which  continually 
o  escape  the  storm 
ial  world,  and  which 
irtnership  with  his 
ith  such  energy  and 
!d.  We  will  give  a 
idgment  and  ener;;y 
old  best  early  in  the 


season,  and  ho  was  always  among  the  first  in  market  with  his  yearly  product 
of  leather.  One  spring,  however,  one  of  his  partners  wished  to  postpone 
the  sale,  which  Mr.  Pratt  insisted  should  take  place  immediately.  His 
partner  at  length  y.'-'lded  to  his  solicitations,  and  the  result  showed  the 
correctness  of  Mr.  Pratt's  judgement.  Twenty-eight  cents  per  pound  were 
obtained  for  the  leather,  which,  if  the  sale  had  been  postponed,  would  liave 
brought  but  twenty-»ne  cents  and  a  half  per  pound ;  the  latter  being  the  price 
obtained  by  the  tanners  who  sold  at  the  time  that  Mr.  Pratt's  partner  wislied 
to  dispose  of  their  joint  stock. 

In  1821  he  made  an  excursion  to  Canada  with  leather,  for  the  purchase  of 
furs,  and  in  these  and  other  enterprises  accumulated  money  until  1824,  when 
he  determined  to  locate  on  the  Schoharie-hill,  now  Prattsville,  and  build  a 
tannery  that  would  be  the  largest  in  the  world.  This  tannery,  when  com- 
pleted, was  five  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet  long,  forty-three  feet  wide,  with 
three  hundred  vats,  and  a  capacity  for  tanning  sixty  thousand  sides  of  sole 
leather  annually.  During  the  twenty  years  it  was  in  operation,  Mr.  Pratt 
purchased  for  the  tannery  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  cords  of  bark,  at  a 
cost  of  half  a  million  of  dollars,  employed  some  thirty  thousand  men,  paid 
over  two  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars  for  labor,  tanned  over  a  million  sides 
of  sole  leather,  and  in  various  ways  used  over  ten  millions  of  dollars  without 
a  lawsuit.  Besides  this,  Mr.  Pratt  has  been  interested  in  eleven  other  can- 
neries, containing  in  the  aggregate  two  thousand  vats.  In  1837  he  received 
from  the  New  York  Institute  the  first  silver  medal  ever  awarded  for  hem- 
lock sole  leather,  and  iti  1839  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American 
Institute. 

The  establishment  of  the  Mammoth  Tannery,  in  the  wilds  of  Windham,  led 
to  the  erection  of  a  village,  which  has  developed  into  a  town  of  two  thousand 
inhabitants  called,  after  its  founder,  Prattsville.  One  hundred  of  the  houses 
were  built  by  Colonel  Pratt  himself,  and  for  the  erection  of  the  public  edifices 
he  subscribed  liberally.  Of  three  of  the  churches  of  different  denominations 
he  contributed  more  than  one  third  of  the  cost. 

In  1836  Mr.  Pratt  was  elected  a  Representative  in  Congress  for  the  eighth 
Congressional  district  of  New  York,  comprised  of  Greene,  Schoharie,  and 
Columbia  counties,  by  a  msijority  of  over  twenty-eight  hundred,  and  in  1842, 
was  again  elected  for  the  same  position  from  the  eleventh  Congressional 
district.  His  Congressional  career  was  a  highly  creditable  one  to  himself,  and 
beneficial  to  the  country.  It  illustrates  in  a  forcible  manner  the  advantage 
to  constituencies,  of  sending  as  their  Representatives  in  the  National  councils, 
men  of  practical  ideas.  He  devoted  himself  to  the  utility  of  legislation,  and 
was  the  originator  of  the  popular  system  of  cheap  postage,  which  has 
proved  of  such  vast  benefit  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States.  He  was  one 
of  the  standing  committee  on  public  buildings,  and  advocated  the  use  of  marble 
and  granite,  in  their  construction  in  the  place  of  the  Sandstone  that  had  been 
formely  used.  The  Post-office  in  Washington  was  erected  of  marble,  and  in 
accordance  with  plans  submitted  by  him.  In  1839,  he  addressed  the  House 
of  Representatives,  for  the  purpose  of  having  constructed  a  Dry-dock,  at 
Brooklyn,  and  in  the  same  year  moved  for  the  establishment  of  a  branch 


C82 


REPRESENTATIVE   LEATHER   MANUFACTURERS. 


y.iid  at  Now  York.  As  chairiiifin  of  a.  select  committee,  he  submitted  a 
report  on  tl>e  advantage  of  a  Bureau  of  the  statistics  of  commerce,  wilii  vahi- 
able  tables,  showing  the  loai.s  and  discounts  of  the  banks,  inq.orts  and  cNiun-ts, 
and  balance  of  trade  for  a  series  of  years,  of  our  government  with  othrr 
nations,  illustrating  the  importance  of  the  proposed  Hureau,  and  concluduig 
with  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  collection  of  national  statistics. 

Ho  also  was  one  o!'  the  early  advocates  of  the  importance  of  anaiionM 
railroad  to  the  Pacific,  and  in  184.5  offered  a  resolution  providing  for  the 
en-raving  of  patenl^  and  their  distribution  through  every  county  m  tlie 
United  .s'tatcH,  for  the  benefit  of  mechanics,  to  suggest  by  a  view  of.dineivnl 
improvements  and  models  a  new  train  of  ideas,  which  would  be  of  the  greatest 
practical  use,  and  might  be  the  germ  of  future  inventions. 

He  can  truly  say,  looking  back  to  his  Congressional  career:  "I  was  faithful 
to  the  principle  of  labor,  and  I  )ved  my  country  so  well  that  I  was  not  less 
anxious  for  her  grasp  of  commerce  abroad,  than  for  her  integrity  and  cdi- 
cioiicy  of  service  at  homo." 

.Shortly  after  his  election  to  Congress  the  second  time.  Slv.  I'ratt  established 
a  Hank  at  Prattsville  with  a  capital  of  one  hundied  thousand  dollars,  and  its 
liills,  being  i.ecured  V)y  United  States  and  New  York  si.x  per  cent,  bonds,  were 
always  kept  at  par  in  New  York  city.  This  bank  continued  in  operat.vu 
until  IHn:?,  when  it  was  closed,  after  doubling  its  capital  in  nine  years,  and 
usin"  in  various  wavs  eight  millions  of  money. 

Zadock  Pratt  is  one  of  the  few  men  who  deserve  an  extended  biography, 
and  such  a  tribute  to  his  worth  is,  we  uudcrstan*  in  course  of  preparation. 
We  have  not  attempted  more  tha.i  an  allusion  to  the  leading  incidents  of  his 
career      As  a  tanner,  banker,  representative  and  farmer,  he  performed  his 
part  well,  end  in  all  the  various  relations  of  life  exhibited  trrits  that  indicate 
a  true  "  Nature's  nobleman."     During  his  business  career,  lie  furnisiied  em- 
ployment to  forty  thousaiul  working  tnen;  and  now,  at  the  close  of  a  long 
and  useful  life  says,  "  if  1  should  ask  to  be  remembered  by  one  epitaph  ol 
honor  it  would  be  as  the  friend  of  the  man  that  labored."     lie  endor,scd  lor 
his  friends  in  the  cou.-se  of  ten  years,  to  the  amount  of  five    undred  thousan.l 
dollars,  and  received  four  hundred  protests.     In  the  language  of  a  Memorial 
now  before  us,  wc  may  say,  "He  lias  not  only  anuissed  wealtli  for  hmiself, 
but  has  ever  been  an   assistant  to  others.     He  has  extended   his   helping 
hands  .0  individuals  when  oppressed  with  want,  and  to  societies  and  insti- 
tntion<.      In  his  public  career  he  was  assiduous  in  his  duties,  always  at  his 
post      lie  tells  us,  in  his  speech  delivered  to  his  constituents,  that  he  was 
never  absent  even  for  a  single  day,  from  his  duty  ;  and,  to  quote  one  forcible 
expression,  he  exclaims,  '  Wrong  I  may  have  done,  mistaken  I  may  liave 
been  •  i>ut  I  have  never  ncglcded  to  do.'      View  him  '  all  in  all,'  m  every 
relation  that  lie  has  fil'.ed-aud  they  liave  been  multiplied  and  varied  enough 
to  test  tlio  man-he  has  been  an  example  to  his  cotemporaries,  and  will  be 
lu-ld  up  as  a  model  by  posterity.    With  the  practical  wisdom  of  a  Franklin, 
he  guided  and  directed  with  a  master  liand  the  political  current  of  the  day, 
without  exciting  the  envy  or  enmity  of  his  associates.     And  this  was  no 
doubt  owing  to  his  straightforward  character ;  for  there  is  nothing  abuul  him 


PURERS. 


THOMAS   SMlI.l,,    NEW    YORK. 


G83 


ittee,  he  siibmittod  a 
■  comincrco,  wiili  vulu- 
■j,  iiikports  and  oxptuis, 
ivernmcnt  witli  othrr 
iircan,  niul  concliuliiii,' 
sties. 

portancc  of  a  naiioiml 
tion  providing-  for  the 
I  every  coiinly  in  liie 
;  by  a  view  of  .dilli'rt'nl 
real  J  be  of  the  groat  eel 
ons. 

career:  "I  was  faithful 

ell  that  I  was  not  less 

her  integrity  and  elVi- 

e,Mr.  ^ratte8tabli^hed 
lousand  dollars,  and  its 
ix  per  cent,  bonds,  were 
continued  in  operation 
)ital  in  nine  years,  and 

in  extended  biography, 
I  course  of  preparation, 
leading  incidents  of  his 
rnier.  ho  performed  his 
)ited  tri'its  that  indicate 
;areer,  lie  furnished  ein- 
!,  at  the  r,loso  of  a  lonij 
jered  by  one  epitajih  of 
jred."     lie  endor,sed  for 
jf  five    undred  thousand 
language  of  a  Memorial 
issed  wealth  for  himself, 
,s  extended   his   helping 
,1  to  societies  and  insli- 
his  duties,  always  at  his 
umstituents,  that  he  was 
md,  to  quote  one  forcil)le 
le,  mistaken  I  may  have 
liim  '  all  in  all,'  in  evi'ry 
liplied  and  varied  enough 
itcmiiornries,  and  will  be 
.•al  wisdom  of  a  Franklin, 
litieal  current  of  the  day, 
■iates,     And  this  was  no 
icrc  18  nothing  about  him 


that  isdoiibtful-lhal  hasa  IniHdit  existence ;  but  all  liis  traits  are  stron? 
in  tiieir  native  lijit  as  sunimer-s  day.  Whatever  lie  has  touchc.;,  you  have 
seen  at  once  a  cliange  lor  the  better— it  tiourislied  and  prospered."  As  the 
moon  affects  tiie  tide  of  nature,  so  will  great  minds  swell  the  current  of  luiman 
events.  Viewing  him  as  a  philanthrojiist,  we  can  only  say  that  he  is  the 
Howard  of  his  time.  Like  him  he  has  relieved  :he  voice  of  anguish  by  his 
bounty,  and  assisted  the  needy  to  advance  in  their  business;  and  more  than 
lie  lias,  that  charity  has  been  exer'od  in  a  mure  munificent  spliere." 

Thomas  SmuU,  New  York, 

Auiither  citizen  of  New  York  who  attained  a  most  distinguished  position  in 
the  leather  trade,  was  born  at  Whitehall,  Pennsylvania,  in  1800.     When  he 
was  twenfy-one  years  of  uge,  he  hjft  his  native  state  and  wont  to  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  after  a  clerkship  of  two  years,  commenced  business  on  his 
own  account  in  association  with  Andrew  Itobb,  as  tanners  and  finishers  of  calf 
skins,  and  dealers  in  sole  and  upper  leather.     This  partnership  continued  but 
a  couple  of  years  and  was  not  prosperous.      In  IS.'it  lie  associated  with  liim 
William  Miles,  establishing  the  firm  of 'I'homi-s  .Smull  k  Co.,  who  did  a  large 
business  in  C'alcutra  hides,  and  sold  largely  of  an  article  of  tralTie,  now  ob.s'i). 
li'te,  known  as  seal-skin.s,  to  be  used  in  covering  trunk.s.     About  this  time  also 
he  became  acquainted  witli  Nathaniel  (iilinaii,  of  Waterville.  Me.,  a  wealthy 
merchant  engaged  in  importing  hides  from  Africa,  who  was  so  much  pleased 
with  Mr.  SmuH's  manner  of  doing  Imsincs.s,  that  he  enlrusted  him  with 
whole  cargoes  to  sell,  witli  power  to  employ  the  procee.Is  ia  investments  at 
Ills  discretion  for  joint  account.     'I'he  rclatujnship  thus  formed,  sub.sefiuently 
led  to  a  copartnership  under  the  firm  style  of  (iilman,  .<mull  A-  Co.,  an.l 
their  experience  and  large  resource?  enabled  them  at  once  to  attain  a'le;id. 
iiig  position  among  the  hide  and  leather  merchants  of  New  York.     'I'liis 
association  continued  until  1S4S,  when  Mr.  .Smull  became  connected  with 
Jonathan  Thorno,  who  contributed  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  the  capital  stock 
as  special  partner,  a  relation  that  continued  after  the  admission  of  Aaron 
llealy,  and  until  ISfiO,  when  the  firm  of  Thomas  Sinull  k  Sons,  was  esiab- 
lished.     'J"he  firm  style  was  continued  with  some  change  of  members  until 
]H(;,-,,  when  Mr.  .Smull  retired   from  active  business,  n  taining  however  an 
interest  us  special  partner  in  the  present  firm  of  T.  L.  .t  C.  (J.  Smull,  until 
his  death,  November,  2t<th,  186G. 

At  the  time  of  his  decease  it  was  said  that  among  the  manv  prominent 
men  in  the  leather  trade  in  xVew  York,  there  was  no  one  who.se  death  would 
create  ii  irreu'.er  void.  Ceniul,  public-spirited,  liberal,  progressive,  lie  consti- 
tuted  a  most  valuable  member  of  the  commercial  and  social  circles,  and  it 
will  be  long  years  l)efore  his  active  form  and  pleasant  countenance  shall  havo 
,i:issed  away  from  the  memories  of  the  me.nhera  of  the  hmther  trade,  or  the 
vi<itors  of  the  "Swamp."  Mr.  Smull  took  the  most  lively  interest  in  all  tlie 
improvements  and  inventions  .ippertaining  to  leatlier  producticm,  an.l  was  a 
eoninlmtor  of  excellent  articles  to  tlio  trade  journals  on  the  subject  of  tan- 
niiig.  In  lH,-,.-i  he  erected,  ui  White  Haven,  Pennsylvania,  a  tannery  tliat 
cost  sixty  thousand  dollars,  with  a  view  of  making  it  a  model  establishment  for 


eg4  RErUESENTATIVE   LEATHER   MANUFACTURERS. 

tl,  production  of  the  best  kind  of  sole  leather.  As  a  business  man  Mr. 
Kn.ull  was  remarkable  for  sagacity  and  commercial  ability,  combming  boldness 
with  caution.*  For  many  years  he  gave  a  li.rge  share  of  his  time  and  in- 
fluence to  the  aid  of  varions  public  institutions.  He  was  for  a  ong  penod 
Vice  President  and  President  of  the  old  Mechanic  Institute.  He  was  also 
one  of  the  incorporators  and  directors  of  the  Metropolitan  Bank  o  New 
York,  and  director  in  the  Continental  Fire  Insurance  Co.,  New  York  L.ie 
ln.surance  Co.,  the  Clinton  Fire  Insurance  Co.,  and  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Sin.'  Sing.  He  was  also  one  of  the  originators  of  the  six-penny  bavings 
Bank.located  in  Clinton  Hall,  which  it  is  said  was  the  first  bank  organized 
to  receive  deposits  o"  small  sums.  ,     ,  . 

After  his  decease  the  various  associations  with  which  he  had  been  con- 
nected  passed  resolutions  of  the  most  commendatory  character,  that  consti- 
tute a  priceless  family  record.  It  was  said  of  him  that  he  was  naturally- 
kind  and  grateful,  and  often  assisted  old  friends  and  acquaintances  who  hud 
been  unfortunate.  His  former  employer,  having  later  in  life  become  in 
straitened  circumstances,  received  many  substantial  tokens  of  his  kind. 
ne«s  Another  line  trait  in  his  character  was  a  disposition  to  assist  wortliy 
voun-r  men.  He  spent  a  portion  of  the  night  previous  to  his  death  in  mak- 
ing a"rangemonts  to  assist,  with  his  influence  and  capital  a  young  man.  who 
wi'shed  to  engage  in  1  he  leather  business.  ,.,.,.  ,    ,        , 

Mr  Healy  who  for  fifteen  years  had  been  connected  wi«h  him  as  clerk  and 
nartner,  testified:  '•  As  an  employer  I  always  found  him  generous,  confiding 
and  liberal;  he  made  my  situation  a  pleasant  and  comfortable  one.     As  a 
partner,  being  my  senior,  he  treated  rac  with  respect  and  consuleration. 
cannot  recollect  an  instance  when  he  asserted  his  opinion,  as  he  had  a  right 
to  do.  in  opposition  ".o  my  own.     He  never  asked  me  to  do  any  thing  which 
was  not  sti-ictly  just,  and  which  I  did  not  think  it  right  to  do ;  and  I  may  add, 
that  during  my  whole  knowledge  of  his  business  career  I  never  k.  jw  hnn  to 
do  any  act  which  was  not  right,  both  in  a  business  and  moral  pomt  of  view. 
"I  found  him.  as  a  business  man,  shrewd,  energetic,  cautious,  and  very 
upright  and  honorade ,  not  over  an.Kious  to  make  money,  but  careful  to 
keen  what  he  h«d  r  Uher  than  run  much  risk  to  make  more.    He  often  said 
he  had  no   desire   to  accumulate  a  great   fortune.      No   d.fl-erence.s  arose 
between  us,  and  when  we  came  to  dissolve  our  business  relations  he  re- 

•  It  U  recorded  of  hit,  that  when  ho  w«,  .oarcoly  twonty-eight  year,  of  ngo  he  tru.  ted 
.  ,„nncr  «ill.  four  thousand  doUur.  worlh  of  hid«  to  be  tnnnod  on  joint  account.     It 
tr."     flr.,t  contract  and  he  went  to  a  leadioK  f'wainp  merchant  to  borrow  a  fonn  of 
"re lent  a.ed  in  .uoh  oa.e.,  a.  a  copy.     To  .hi,  he  added  a  clau...  not  u.ed  at  that    nn... 
ftho  effect  that  the  hide,  were  not  to  ehan.e  ownership,  but  re,.ai«  the  properly  of  Mr 
Lu,    through  nil  the  ..ge,  of  tanning  until  the  leather  w».  returned  to  New  .0       . 
,r    The  tanner  fniled  and  oonfe-.ed  a  judgment  to  hi.  father,  who  .old  the  .took  u      0 
u/yard.    Several  Swaa.p  merchant,  were  •  oiong  the  creditor,  and  .hey  r.,.lcv,„cd  .1.. 
"  k  b      upon  .he  oa.o  coming  to  trial,  the  contract,,  being  without  the  -nv.ng  cla  . 
we  ignored  by  the  court.     Mr.  Smull  recovered  hi-  ,.ock.  but  a  verdict  wa.  given  n«„u 
roll'er  crediL..     HI,  carcfulne,,  in  thi,  transaction  ..v.d  him  from  a  lu,,  of  nearly 
twi.-«  the  amount  of  hi.  entire  capital  at  the  time. 


JRERS. 

business  man,  Mi. 
,  combining  boldness 

of  bis  time  and  in- 
'as  for  a  long  period 
itute.  He  was  nlso 
jlitan  Bank  of  New 
Oo.,  New  York  Lil'e 
First  National  Bank 
le  six-penny  Savings 
first  bank  organized 

ch  he  had  been  con- 
haracter,  that  consti- 
ittt  he  was  naturally 
quaintances  who  had 
er  in  life  become  in 

tokens  of  his  kind- 
ition  to  assist  worthy 

to  his  death  in  mak- 
tal  a  young  man,  who 

wi<h  him  as  clerk  and 
m  generous,  confidinf,' 
mfortnble  one.  As  « 
and  consideration.  1 
lion,  as  he  had  a  right 
to  do  any  thing  which 

to  do ;  and  I  may  add, 
•  I  never  ki  ^w  him  to 
1  moral  point  of  view, 
tic,  cautious,  and  very 
money,  but  careful  to 
J  more.    lie  often  said 

No   differences  arose 
siness  relations  he  rc- 

jht  yenrs  or  age  he  tru.teil 
incd  on  joint  account.  It 
ihant  to  borrow  a  form  of 
Auae,  not  u»e<l  nt  thut  tinii', 
romaiu  tho  proiicrly  of  Mr. 
returned  to  New  York  fi^r 
r,  who  sold  the  stock  in  llio 
irs  and  they  r'-nU'vim-d  llio 
without  tlie  ni\\nn  cliin?.', 
a  verdict  whu  given  nuiiinnt 
1  him  from  a  luss  of  nciirly 


FAVKTTK    SHAW,    tUISTilN' 


MAS.S. 


marked  'wo  have  been  friends  so  lo.ig.  in  ,„„i„oss  wo  will  .separate  friends- 
our  dissolution  shall  he  satislactorv.'     And  so  it  was  " 

Another  who  liad  known  him  iniimutely  for  thirJy-five  years,  and  who  had 

heen  hKs  partner  remarked  that  he  had  a  great  tact  "for  drawing  aroun.l 

him  tKMsc  wlio  had  certain  talents  which  he  might  not  possess;  if  one  wa.s 

a  .';uporu,r  salesman  another  a  good  judge  of  stock  or  possessed  of  financial 

..l.il  ty,  he  was  quick  to  noti.c  and  avail  liimself  of  such  talents,"  while  the 

I'as  or  o(  the  St.  r.uV.  Kpiscopal  church  at  Hing  Sing,  bore  witness  to  his 

high  moral  .haracter.  and  observed--  upright  in  his  aims,  direct  and  open  in 

his  measures,  he  always  in-,,ircd  confidence.     I  certainly  never  found  that 

onfiden,.e  nnsplaced.      lie   end-avored   to   satisfy  himself  respecting  the 

".<Ii  and  riglit,  and   when  Thonia.  Sn.ull  had  once  taken  his  stand  on 

honest  conviction,  he  stood  ,  egardlcss  of  a!!  other  influences.     He  wa.s  a  verv 

kind  man  ;  earnest  but  pacific  in  his  dispo.sition  ;  silent  and  unostentatious,  but 

generous  in  his  aid  lor  an  object  which  commended  itself  to  his  judgment." 

Fayette  Shaw,  Boston,  Massachusetts, 

U  the  head  of  a  finn  who,  it  is  iudieved.  are  the  largest  sole  leather  l.nners  in 
the  worl.l.  Ills  father  was  among  the  early  tanners  of  Cum.nington,  ^Ja^sa- 
ehusetts,  which  at  one  time  was  the  principal  tanning  district  of  the  State  ..„■) 
here  tayette  was  born,  in  1S24,  and  with  his  brothers  who  are  a.ssociated'with 
hmt  m  business    was  instructed  in  the  trade.     After  the   decease  of  ,l,..,r 

f';"     ?;."?,  ''''''  '■•"""'"  ^-'»«' -opar,ner.ship  nnder  the  , I 

of  1 ,  Shav^  .\.  I>,  others,  and  as  tanning  material  had  become  scarce  in  ti.rir 
native  State,  they  sought   a  broader  field  in  Maine,  who.se  virgin   to!!!, 
urn.shed  an  abundant  supply  of  bark.     They  opened  a  brancli  house  at 
He   ter,  M  -..ne,  under  the  style  of  C,  &  B.  Shaw  A-  Co.,  with  their  undo  as 
par  ner  and  subse-pumtly  at  other  places,  tmtil  now  they  have  liouses  in  th  .t 
State  at  De.vter.  Burnham,   Detroit,  Plymouth  and  Winn.      About   ci^bt 
years  smce,  they  directed   their  attention  to   the  advantages  presented"  in 
Canada   for   tanning   hides,  and   established   house,   at   Montreal,    Ko„„n 
^\aterloo    and    Fand.a.n.     They  are    now    the    most   e.v.en.sivo    lle.ulo    ' 
Sole    leather   tanners   m  ('anada,  consuming  in    this   department  of  their 
busme,ss  no  less  than  l-J.^OCO  hides  per  annum,  and  engaging  largely  in      , 
exportation  of  this  kind  of  leather  from  Canada  to  Kngland      They  if 
were  the  pioneers  in  this  tra.le.  and  the  only  American  firm  who  hav..  made 
tlK.  exportation  of  hemlock  leather  to  England  a  regular  and  pern.a,;;;!: 

This  firm  have  now  fen  tanneries  in  operation,  several  of  which  are  e.nnl 
...  eapac.ty  t.  any  m  this  country,  and  probably  in  the  world.    Th.^v  c  n 
snine   annually   ..bout   2r.(.,0„0  hides,   and   produce   nearly   or   quite   e  .1  t 

.;     CU.S  o    poun  .s  of  sole  leather.     This  enornums  business,  so  widelv  ■  ! 

. .  ded,  IS  thoroughly  systematized,  and.  under  the  direction  of  those  fully  Ion.. 
petent,  IS  ..arried  on  with  ease,  dispatch,  and  entire  sueccs.  The  groat,  r  part 
of  heir  tanneries  are  provi.le,!  with  the  modern  improvements  whieh  ,h,.y 
hau.  been  foremost  in  introducing  whenever  convinced  of  their  i.ructicubili.y 


G86 


REPRESENTATIVE    LEATHER    MAMVACTUREUS 


A,non.  ^ho.o  w.  m.y  moutiou  tl.o  '■  t.uln.pnor,"  .Inch  tl.oy  have  porfoctod   o 
..  U>  r.,>.k-r  tli.  ln.nu,.fr  of  wet  spout  t.u  l.a.-k,  as  thrown  from  the  leech,  ho.h 
p..actic.,ul  and  suoeesslul.     This  .hey  now  use  in  all  of  the.r  works,  .n  son,o 
'of  which  s.eamis  en.ploye.l,  eons.nnin,  10,..0.,  cords  of  h.uk  per  annnm 
This  firm  are  also  largely  interested  in  "  Miller's  I'atent  Bark   extract      or  1 
„,anufacture  of  which  they,  in  association  with  other  gentlemen  of  l?o.  on 
Td  Canada,  have  four   lar.e  works  in  ,he  hen.lock  forests,  w.th  taohucs 
Bnfficient  to  extract  the  tannin  fron.  .^,0.000  cords  of  bark  per  amunn.       h.s 
is  the  first  successfnl  eflort  over  made  to  extract  'I  annul  h'oni  bark    n  >..tli- 
Cieut  quantity  and  of  uniuM-aired  .,nali.y,  to  warrant  its  general  and  exten- 
sive use.  and  large  .,uanti.ie8  are  now  sent  not  only  to  al  parts  oi  the 
United  Slates  and  .he  C'anadas,  remote  from  the  bark  regions,  but  a.-e  shipped 
to  England.     AVhile  av..i.ling,  as  a  general  rule,  speculation  foreign  from  Ihe.r 
business,  they  regard  the  manufacture  of  an  extra-t  of  bark  so  in.portant  to 
the  national  interests,  as  well  as  legitimately  connected  with  then-  tannmg 
bu.ine.s,  that  they  have  not  hesitated  to  engage  in  it,  and  prosecute  it  w.th 
the  energy  that  distinguishes  them  in  all  their  commercial  and  n.anulaclur- 
ing  operations. 

George  K.  Pevear,  Lynn,  Mass.. 
Has  been  selected  as  a  representative  of  that  large  class  of  enterprising  men 
who  have  made  Lynn  the   largest   morocco  manufacturing  town,  w.th  the 
exception  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  United  States.     His  histoi-y  ns  a  ta.mer, 
comp.u-ed  with  the  others  whom  we  have  noticed,  is  ,,ui.e  nioder.,  tl.o..gh  h.s 
father  was  also  engaged  in  morocco  tanning,  and  he  and  h.s  brother  Henry, 
who  is  still  associated  with  him,  were  educated  to  the  business   _'i;he.r  UvA 
essays  in  the  tanning  of  goat  .uul  sheep  skins,  were  made  in  1^4.,  in  a  small 
woo.lenbuildi..g  on  Mon.-oe  street  in  Lymi.  and  the  first  tew  yTa.-s  ol  the.r 
bn.iness  life  re(,uired  all  the  proverbial  energy  of  the  New  Lnglaml  character 
,0  supply  the  deficiencies  of  a  want  of   capital.    Their  business  however 
nradually    increased,  additional   buildings  were   erected,   and   .n   1H;,4   they 
onc.ed  the  store  in  Boston,  at  Nos.  GT  &  (li)  Kilby  street,  wh.ch  they  now 
occui.v      \n  18GI   they  tam.ed  one  hund.-ed  thousand  goat  sk.ns.  and  as  the 
c.m.nencement  of  the  AVar  caused  a  surplus  of  calf  skins  in  the  market,  they 
embarked    in   this    manufacture.  ta..ning   them   by  a  novel    and  .mproved 
n,,hod   i..to  leather  peculiarly  adapted  for  ladies' boots.    'Ih.s  addition  to 
their  former  business  involved  the  necessity  of  erecting  a  new  bu.ldmg  wh.ch 
they  co..structea  of  brick,  forty-eight  by  eighty  feet,  five  stor.es  m  height, 
with  a  fire  proof  boiler  and  engine  room  attached.    About  tins  t.me  they  ..Iso 
al,a..doned  the  ol.l  method  of  la....ing  goat  skins  by  sewing  them  m  the 
.in.ne  of  bnus,  and  then  by  means  of  a  tunnel  filling  these  bags  w.th  tan 
li.iuor  and  piling  them  o,.e  upon  another,  and  a  .opl^''' "'^■iM'^'sct  plan  ot 
tanning  the  skins  without  sewing  them. 

Vr.cr  the  close  of  the  war.  in  IH.I;..  the  return  of  the  sold.ers  who  requ.red 
caif.>kin  boots,  i.i  place  of  the  cow-hide  s'u.es  which  they  had  worn  in  the 
ar..,v,  so  enhanced  the  ma.-ket  v.dm>  of  calf  ski.is  that   this  hrni  deemed  . 
dcM."able  to  p.'ocu.-e  somethi.ig  t.    take  the  place  of  their  gram  or  pebbled 


UKRS 


J08IATI   M.    JONES,    BOSTON,    MASS. 


efr 


?y  have  porfoctrd  ?o 
'roin  the  leci'h,  both 
loir  works,  in  soino 
f  l)ark  per  annum 
irk  Kxiract."  tor  tlic 
entlemen  of  IJoston 
rests,  witli  faciUties 
■k  jier  anniiiu.     'I'his 
;i  from  liark  in  siitli- 
s  general  and  exlen- 
to  all  parts  of  the 
;ious,  l)Ut  are  shijUJed 
on  foreign  from  tlieir 
bark  so  important  to 
I  with  their  tanning' 
md  prosecute  it  with 
cial  and  nianufactur- 


5  of  cnterprisinpf  men 
uring  town,  with  the 

history  as  a  tanner, 
le  modern,  thou.uh  his 
id  his  brother  Henry, 
business.  Their  lir.-l 
ide  in  1^47,  in  a  small 
St  few  years  of  their 
ew  England  character 
leir  business  however 
d,  and  in  1^54  they 
:reet,  which  they  now 
gout  skins,  and  as  tlie 
ns  in  the  market,  they 

novel  and  improved 
lots.  This  addition  to 
;  a  new  building,  whicii 
five  stories  in  height, 
out  this  time  they  also 
y  sewing  them  in  the 
g  these  hags  with  tan 
d  their  present  plan  of 

0  soldiers  who  required 
they  had  worn  in  the 

lat  this  lirm  deemid  it 
their  grain  or  pebbled 


calf  and  found  a  very  good  sul)stitute  in  neat's  liide.  tanned  by  a  novel 
niclhod  and  linished  in  a  manner  which  never  fails  to  retain  its  color.  An 
nidre  time  is  reiiuired  for  tanning  hides  than  either  goat  or  calf  skins,  they 
foiiiul  iheir  tanning  facilities  inadefiuate  to  their  increased  business,  and  they 
sou-ht  aiiutlier  locality  for  tlieir  factories.  In  18(1"),  they  purchased  the  pro- 
jierty  known  as  the  "  Lynn  hermit  Estate,"  and  that  known  as  the  "  Lynn  Rub- 
ber fact.iry,"  situated  on  the  main  road  from  Lynn  to  South  Danvers,  contain- 
iiig  ill  all  about  twenty  acres,  on  which  were  two  large  factories,  a  large  brick 
boarding  house  and  several  dwellhig  houses.  These  fa(!tories  they  renmdelled, 
and  also  built  a  new  one  so  nr-  -ngeJ  as  to  form  three  sides  of  a  liollow  s(iuare, 
and  provided  them  with  all  tlic  modern  improvements  for  ii:anufacturing 
nearly  all  the  dillerent  kinds  of  upper  leather  known  in  the  market. 

In  factory  No.  1,  the  first  floor  is  used  for  liming,  milling,  beaming  and 
prcitaring  skins  for  the  t.  "  room,  and  may  be  called  the  calf  skin  tannery,  the 
upper  stories  being  n.sed  for  drying  skins.  Of  factory  No.  2  the  first  story  is 
used  for  tanning  goat  and  calf  skins,  and  also  the  hides,  until  ready  for  split- 
tinyr,  while  the  remaining  portion  of  the  building  is  appropriated  almost 
exclusively  to  the  manufacture  of  gjat  and  shoe])  skins.  Of  factory  No.  ."J  the 
first  floor  is  used  for  splitting  the  leather,  scouring  and  preparing  it  for  the 
finisiiers,  and  tanning  out  the  splits;  while  the  rooms  in  the  ujiper  stories  are 
devoted  to  finishing  splits,  pebbled  grain,  polished  grain,  bull',  wax  leather,  etc. 
Tiiese  buildings  are  painted  of  a  uniform  color,  with  slated  roofs  and  a 
cupola  on  each,  in  one  of  which  is  a  bell.  In  a  brick  building,  thirty-six  by 
forty  feet,  is  a  rutiiam  built  engine  of  fifty  horse  power  and  two  large  boilers, 
so  arranged  that  power  and  steam  are  carried  throughout  the  factories  :  and 
tlie  room  above  is  used  for  drying  in  damp  weather,  being  separated  from  lli(« 
engine  and  boiler  room  by  an  iron  floor,  so  constructed  as  to  conduct  th.< 
heat  and  be  perfectly  fire  proof.  In  tliis  building  is  the  only  Are  on  the  whole 
premises. 

They  Jiave  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  connected  with  the  establishment, 
tenements  sumcient  for  the  most  of  their  workmen.  This  tannery  is  one  of 
the  largest  of  the  kind  in  the  country  and  is  known  as  the  "  Stetsonville  tannery." 
The  Messrs.  Pevcar,  it  will  be  noticed,  are  an  illustration  of  the  enterprising 
men  of  the  nineteenth  century,  fertile  in  resources,  ingenious  in  adajitation" 
undaunted  by  diHicuIties,  sljrcwd,  successful  and  courageous  in  executing  well 
formed  plans. 

Josiah  M.  Jones,  Boston, 

Is  a  representative,  not  only  of  the  great  Tanners  of  the  present  day  but  of 
the  old  Tanners  of  IJoston.  He  was  born  in  IHOO,  in  Athol,  .Mass.,  where  his 
father,  Mr.  I'rescott  Jones,  had  been  a  tanner  for  some  years,  liaving  com- 
menced in  that  town  shortly  after  the  llev(dutiona'-y  war.  'I"hi.s  geutlemau 
did  .piite  a  large  business  for  that  perio.'.  and  ilealt  to  some  extent  in  forei"n 
hides,  which  ho  sold  to  other  tanners  in  tlie  vicinity,  lie  pursued  the  voca- 
tion of  tanning  until  the  year  iWi,"),  when  he  iTtired.  His  two  sons,  Josiali 
M.  and  Frederick  Jones,  served  an  apprenticesliip  of  seven  years  in  their 
f.illier's  yard,  tlie  business  of  the  former  being,  for  a  portion  of  the  time, 


688 


REPRESENTATIVE   LEATHER   MANTFACTIRERS. 


to  bring  the  leather  to  market  in  Boston  and  rctnrn  with  a  load  of  hidos. 
In  the  year  1823,  Mr.  J.  M.  Jones  went  to  Boston,  and,  in  company  with 
Luke  Brooks,  under  the  style  of  Brooks  &  Jones,  commenced  business  on 
India  wliavf.    'I'lic  capital  of  the  partners  was  five  hundred  dollars  eadi.  T1m> 
connecti',n  lusted  only  two  years,  when  it  was  dissolved,  and  another  fornunl 
under  the  style  of  Emerson  &  Jones.   This  firm  did  a  business  to  the  amount 
of  fiity  or  sixty  thousand  dollars  a  year;  whJ.ch  was  considered  quite  large  tor 
thr.t  period.  A  great  share  of  the  trade  was  done  on  credit,  at  an  average  prolil 
01  from  eight  to  t"n  per  cent.    Large  quantities  of  rough  leather  were  sold 
to  Curriers  in  Iloxbury,  which  at  that  time  was  the  chief  seat  for  curryn.g 
upper  leather  in  the  Htatc.     In  1832,  however,  this  firm  was  dissolved,  and 
Mr.  Jones  carried  on  the  Hide  and  Leather  business,  without  a  partner,  for 
over  thirty  years,  or  until  1863,  when  his  son,  Clarence  W.  Jones,  entered  the 
firm,  and  the  present  style  of  J.  M.  Jones  &  Co.,  was  established. 

During  the  early  years  of  Mr.  Jones'  business  experience  he  was,  as  was 
mentioned  before,  located  on  India  wharf;  from  thence  he  removed  to  Broad 
and  Fulton  Streets,  and  in  1844  to  Tcarl  Street,  being  one  of  the  first  leather 
dealers  who  moved  into  that  street.  His  store  was  at  No.  12,  but  after  a  few 
years  he,  with  his  brother  Frederick,  and  Levi  A.  Dowley,  erected  the  five 
gr-.uie  stores,  Nog.  96  to  118,  and  in  18.51  he  removed  to  the  present  location 
of  the  firm,  No.  104  Pearl  Street.  Tlie  stores  at  the  time  cost  twenty  thoii- 
Band  dollars  each,  including  the  ground. 

For  the  past  twenty  years  Mr.  Jones  has  tanned  most  of  the  leatlicr  lie 
sold.     The  firm  now  stock  and  run  nin"  tanneries,  five  in  New  llainpshire, 
viz  :  two  in  Bristol,  and  one  each  in  Wilmot,  Newport,  Danbury,  Woodstock, 
and  Now  London.    The  othc.?,  arc  in  West  Halifax,  and  Reedsboro,  Vermont. 
At  these  tanneries  seventy  thousand  ndes  of  leather  arc  produced  yearly.    'I'his 
is  finished  into  wax,  kip,  and  splits,  and  sold  at  the  warehouse,  in  Boston.  The 
business  of  the  firm  amounts  to  over  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars  annually, 
consisting  principally  of  upper  leather  of  their  own  tannage  and  finish. 
'  Mr  Jones  has  been  one  of  the  most  successful,  as  well  as  one  of  tlie  most 
highly  respected,  members  of  the  leather  trade  in  New  England.  He  is  a  director 
in  one  of  the  largest  banks  in  Boston,  and  pays  taxes  on  real  estate  in  tliat  city 
valued  at  over  a  quarter  of  a  million.    He  has  been  largely  instrumental  in 
improving  the  architectural  appearance  of  the  business  streets,  having  built, 
beside  the  five  granite  stores  already  mentioned,  one  of  the  wareliouses  in  the 
Richardson  block  on  Pearl  Street,  between  Purcha-     and  High  Streets,  and 
in  association  witl;  his  brother  he   rectcd  in  18,^.^  t    s  fine  store  at  the  corner 
of  High  and  Pearl  Streets,  and  is  interested  with  other  persons  in  a.  block  of 
tight  large  granite-front  stores  now  being  built  in  High  Street. 


SRS. 


HON.    GKlir.V    \V.    COillllAM;.    r.OSTON,    MASS. 


C89 


h  a  load  of  liidrs. 
in  compiuiy  witli 
jnced  bnsini'ss  on 
dollars  each.  The 
id  another  formed 
eas  to  thu  aniouiii 
red  quite  large  for 
,  an  averaj:fe  ])rolil 
leather  were  sold 
seat  for  curryinj-- 
(vas  dissolved,  and 
lOut  a  partner,  for 
Jones,  entered  the 
ilishcd. 

ice  he  was,  as  was 
removed  to  Broad 
of  the  first  leather 
?2,  but  after  a  few 
y,  erected  the  five 
lie  present  location 
cost  twenty  tliou- 

t  of  the  leather  he 
n  New  llainpshire, 
nhury,  Woodstock, 
eedsboro,  Vermont, 
duced  yearly.    'I'his 
use,  in  Boston.   'I'he 
of  dollars  annually, 
ige  and  finish, 
as  one  of  tlie  most 
ind.  He  is  a  director 
al  estate  in  tliat  city 
;ely  instrumental  in 
trcets,  having  built, 
e  warehouses  in  the 
1  High  Streets,  and 
3  store  at  the  corner 
crsons  in  a  block  of 
Street. 


Hon.  Gerry  W.  Cochrane,  Boston, 

Who  has  liecu  scloclcd  us  a  ri'iircsciitativc  of  the  •^[■vni  Bout  and  Shoe  inaiiu- 
factui'ci's  ami  dealers  fur  wliicli  New  Mimiaiid,  and  Massachusetts  especially, 
is  laiiiotis,  was  l)(ii  11  in  New  linstdn.  New  llain]ishir(\  March  'lid.  ISdS.  Mis 
fatlKT.  .Iiilin  t'oclii'aiie.  was  a  I'aniier.  and  hisyoiilli  was  passed  in  a,i;riciiltui-al 
]'ursiiits  and  in  attciidinj''  the  distiict  schnols.  lie  appears  to  have  enjciycd 
1lu'  ai!vantaL;i's  ofa  better  educatinu  than  is  oi'ilinarily  all'iirdid  to  faniiiTs' 
s'  n-.  for  we  liii<l  a  recdi-d  that  he  was  a  student  at  I'inkerton  Academy  in 
New  Hampshire,  and  at  tlie  liradl'm-d  Academy  in  .Massachusetts,  and  lielnfo 
he  was  (if  ag(!.  had  (|nalilied  himself  to  be  a  teacher.  After  he  had  attained 
bis  majority  he  entered  the  store  of  Jacob  How,  in  Haverhill,  Massachu- 
sclts.  and  spent  four  years  i.i  ac(iuiriiii;-  that  knowledge  of  mercantile  transae- 
tinus  for  whieh  he  has  since  bce()iiie  distiiijiuished.  Jn  ISIiH  he  emiiarked  in 
the  inanuracture  of  ladies'  and  childrcn.s'  shues.  in  Mcthuen,  Kssex  County, 
and  ill  assoeiatioii  with  J.  \V.  Carletoii,  carried  on  a  large  stori',  where,  in  addi- 
tion to  a  vari((l  and  iniscellaiieoiis  stock,  they  dealt  in  cei'taiii  sjiceialities  not 
oi-:!i::arily  fmind  in  ,-tores  in  the  country.  They  traded  largely  in  Wool  Hats, 
and  ill  wool  for  manufacturing  hats,  selling  to  others  of  hatters'  wool,  both 
I'ei'eiiiu  and  domestic,  'i'liey  purcliased  upper  leather,  in  the  markets  of  I'iiila- 
(lelpliia  and  Italtimore,  in  its  rough  state  and  curried  it.  They  also  curried 
<  ilf  skins  and  sometimes  purchased  tlie  skins  and  had  the  liides  tanned  for 
the  ]iurposc,  iireferriiig  the  oak  tanned  Icatlicr  to  hemlock,  because  of  ii.s 
sujierior  tenacity  in  retaining  the  blaidi  color. 

This  varied  experience,  both  mercantile  and  inanuracfuring,  fitted  Mi* 
(oehrane  to  enter  upon  a  more  extended  (ield  of  operations.  'I'herelbre,  al'li  r 
]iioseeiiling  i'or  I'oiirteen  years  a  successful  business  in  Mcthuen,  he  removed 
to  I'.oston  and  entering  into  partnership  with  Mr.  K.  V.  Emerson  and  his 
bidlher.  jirosecuted  for  ten  years  a  wholesale  jobl)ing  trade  in  h;atlier.  boots 
and  shoes,  and  Wool  bats.  ]  luring  the  las't  ten  years  he  has  also  been  emiaged 
largely  in  the  inanufaetiire  (d' boots  anil  shoes,  and  for  some  years  owned  and 
operated  a  tannery  for  making  upper  leather  for  consumption  in  the  shoe 
manufactory.  Al  the  present  time  Mr.  ('o(dirane  has  a  largo  factory  in 
Mili'ord,  Massachusi'tts,  where  he  is  maiiufacturiiig  boots  with  special  care, 
of  a  (piality  superior  to  the  average. 

His  success  in  business,  combined  with  his  intellectual  (pialifications.  has 
iittracti'd  the  notice  <d'  the  citizens  of  liostoii,  who  have  elected  him  to  several 
(nisitions  of  pulilic  trust.  He  has  been  for  many  years  a  director  in  one  lA'  the 
largest  banks  in  Boston,  and  in  two  Insurance  Companies  In  isdo  h(>  was 
chosen  one  of  the  Presidential  Electors  of  Massachusetts,  and  in  ISOL'  aiul  1  S('.;[ 
was  one  of  tlu^  Executive  Councillors  of  (jovi'rnor  Andiew.  AVliile  in  this 
jiositionheactedas  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  .Vecounts.  then  one  of  the 
most  important  committees  of  the  Council,  from  the  fact  that,  during  this 
jieriod.  about  four  millions  of  dollars  were  advanced  iiy  the  State,  I'or  raising 
and  eiiuiiijiiiig  s(ddiers  to  suppress  the  Rebellion.  He  was  also  a  memlier  u( 
the  Military  Committee  during  all  the  period  of  his  (dlicial  service,  aial  sub. 
Bciiuently  w^s  elected  delegate  to  t'.ie  Convention  at  Balliiiioie,  that  reuomina- 


'.10 


RKrUESENTATIVK   LEATIIKU    MAN'UFACTURERS. 


ti  il  rn'.>i(lriit  Lincoln  by  iu'cliimation.  Durinfr  the  robollion  two  of  his  sons 
wcio  in  the  lifhl  and  in  many  of  the  most  important  battles,  the  one  as 
captain.  au<l  the  other  acting  as  colonel  of  Ids  regiment,  at  the  surrender  of 
(ieiicral  Lee. 

Mr.  ("ochrane's  political  services,  it  will  be  perceived,  have  been  limited  lo 
the  period  when  the  country  in  its  time  of  trial  had  special  need  of  such  men, 
and  his  record  is  so  brilliant  and  honorable  that  it  is  probable  he  will  be  called 
in  the  future  to  more  exalted  positions. 


Edwin  C.  Burt,  New  York, 

Is  selected  as  a  representative  of  the  pioneers,  who  have  cfTected  a  revolution 
in  tlic  methods  of  making  shoes  by  the  application  of  machinery.  'J'houdi 
not  a  practical  tanner  himself,  he  is  the  son  of  the  proprietor  of  the  .-Id 
Handislield  tannery,  in  Berkshire  County,  Massachusetts,  and  from  liis  youth 
to  the  present  time,  has  been  connected  with  the  leather  m.anufacture  in  its 
various  forms.  In  1824  his  fatlier  removed  to  Ifartford,  Connecticut,  and  in 
addition  to  dealing  in  leather  engaged'  extensively  in  shoe  mamii'acturing, 
and  for  several  years  had  the  contract  for  the  prison  labor,  employing  in  that 
branch  seventyfive  to  one  hundred  hands.  In  1843,  Edwin  C.  l?iu't  re- 
moved to  New  York  to  establish  a  house  for  the  sale  of  the  goods  manul'ac- 
turod  at  Hartford,  which  at  that  time  were  principally  gentlemen's  line  boots. 
The  firm  was,  originally,  Burt,  Sears  &  Burt,  which  was  isuccee<led  in  184() 
\jy  Burt  Brothers,  who  added  to  their  wliolesale  jobbing  business  the  manu- 
facture of  ladies'  line  shoes,  and  this  branch  became  from  that  time  a 
specialty  of  the  firm.  In  1856  the  copartnership  was  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Burt 
withdrew  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  account. 

Thougli  the  firm  had  acquired,  during  this  period,  a  fiiir  reputation  for 
manul'acturing  superior  slioes,  particularly  line  slippers  and  gaiters,  Mr.  Burt, 
was  dissatisfie  i  with  the  old  methods  of  making  them  by  hand,  and  conceived 
the  idea  that  shoes  could  be  best  produced  Ity  a  regular  organized  division  of 
labor,  with  the  aid  of  machinery.  But  for  several  years  he  was  deterred  fron; 
engaging  in  it,  from  the  constantly  expressed  opinion,  that  it  was  imitossiblu 
to  produce  any  but  inferior  goods  in  this  manner.  In  the  year  18r)9  ho 
determined  to  make  the  attempt,  and  fitted  up  a  room  in  his  wareliouse  for 
that  purpose,  and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  ladies',  misses',  and  chil- 
dren's line  channel  nailed  shoes  ;  and  having  resolved  to  make  only  a  superior 
article,  soon  found  that  tlic  goods  could  be  made,  not  only  cheaper  but  better, 
than  by  the  old  process. 

In  1H(;2  the  Mao  Kay  Sole  Sewing  Machine  was  introduced,  and  being  well 
prejjared  for  its  use,  by  the  organized  division  i-f  labor,  he  was  cna'olcd  to 
produce  at  once  very  superior  sewed  work,  which,  being  considered  more 
desirable  for  ladies'  wear  than  the  nailed,  soon  gained  a  wide  reputation. 
At  this  time  Mr.  Burt  has  a  manufactory  at  27  Park  Bow,  on  the  east  side 
of  City  Hall  Park,  which  gives  emidoyment  to  two  hundred  hands,  and  ])ro- 
duces  about  three  thousand  pairs  weekly,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
pairs  annually,  of  ladies'  and  children's  Hue  shoes.    The  workmen  are  selected 


;us. 

1  two  of  his  sons 
ttk's,  tlio  one  as 
tlie  surrender  of 

•c  lieen  liniileil  lo 
leed  of  Kiieh  men, 
0  he  will  be  culled 


•cted  a  revolution 
hinery.  'I'hougli 
irietor  of  tlie  ./Id 
id  from  liis  youth 
lanufaeture  in  its 
jnnecticut,  and  in 
e  mamifacturiny, 
employinff  in  that 
Iwin  (J.  J5urt  re- 
le  goods  nianufac- 
emen's  line  boots, 
ueceeded  in  184() 
isiness  the  manu- 
pom  that  time  a 
vvd,  and  Mr.  Burt 

lir  reputation  for 

jraiters,  Mr.  IJurt 

ind,  and  coneeived 

anized  division  of 

rt'as  deterred  fron; 

it  was  imi)ossil)lo 

the  year  IHfjO  he 

his  wareliouse  for 

misses',  and  chil- 

ke  only  a  superior 

heaper  but  better, 

■od,  and  bein^  well 
lO  was  enabled  to 
;  considered  more 
I  wide  reputation. 
,  on  the  east  side 
L'd  liands,  and  ])ro- 
md  fifty  thousand 
•kmen  uro  selected 


EDWIN    C.  BL'IIT,    NKW    YOKIC. 


601 


from  the  host  in  their  respcelive  departments,  and  regard  is  had  to  their 
regularity  of  habits,  as  well  as  lo  their  meehanieul  exeelienee.  They  are  paid 
by  tlie  i)ieee  for  their  labor,  and  earn  on  an  average  over  twenty  dollars' per 
week.  The  system  of  workin;:  is  by  <ran>.'-s  or  teams,  consisting  of  liisler,  sec- 
ond laster.  heeler,  trimmer,  buniisher  and  finisher.  The  bottom  sewing  is  all 
done  by  the  Mac  Kay  .Sole  Sewill^•  .Machine,  of  which  there  are  four  in  this 
maimfactory,  each  one  of  which  is  capable  of  sewing  two  hundred  pairs  of 
shoes  daily,  if  driven  to  its  full  capacity,  thougl;,  as  o.xcellence,  rather  than 
rapidity  of  workmanship,  is  aimed  at,  tliis  rate  of  pro.luction  i.s  never  attained 
in  this  estalilishment. 

At  the  I'aris  H.xposition  of  ],«G7.  Mr.  ]?urt  received  a  silver  medal,  the 
highest  awarded,  for  a  collection  of  Ladies',  Mi.<ses',  and  Children's  Fine 
Shoes. 


FND   OF   VOI4.    I, 


INDEX. 


Ahinnt'in,  A^r,,  4S8. 

Ajfi-iculiural  Bocietlcs,  367, 418 ;  impl<'mpnl8,  492, 

Ai.AKAMA,  first  printing  in,  179  ;  cnltou  grown  in, 

;(.").;. 
Alliiniy,  "liiplmilciinjf,  64;  saw  mills  mul  lunibcr 

mule,  liii;,  lOS;  cuni  iiiilli,  l.'IJ;  primiiii;,  175, 

ls7;   brirks   Kiid   tilow.  *J2:i--'JH  ;   i.'la-'H  work-^, 

240;    ba-weries,  2.J4-2.JIJ ;  iuir^'O  oullure,  :)14, 

34S. 
Ahiianapa,  flrit,  159,  lli2,  16.!,  IG.S. 
Auc'hor«*  .uiii  Hiicbur  iorgt'S,  4S.>,  4S9,  50.S,  M2,  51.'1, 

.■lis,  .',42,  027. 
AnthracitH  isi^e  CoAI.l. 

AuviU  ami  r,)r»;e  biuninors,  4fi7,  490,  497,  S.'il. 
Arkiiii''a!<,  lirst  printing  in,  179. 
Arkrt  iuvi'uti'il,  107. 
Arkwriglit  luachinery,  3S4,  .397,  399,  400,  402,  403, 

410. 
Arm.irips,  public,  49.5,  60«,  6.11. 
ArtilicorB,  cindition  of,  in  lUth  cenlury,  19;  first 

Kent  to  AuiiTica,  2.5 1  euji),'raliuu  of,  jiruhibitcJ, 

396,  .11)7,  iiliO. 
Ari!<  ami  Jlanafactnres  in  16th  ami  17th  centn- 

I'ies,  1.3,  l.'i,  M  ;  in  niiililln  ai;("«,  17.  1»;  caii.ses 

of  slow  growth,  22,  Si ;  intr,>iiuci'J  in  America, 

24,  27. 
Asl)e«tos,  paper  made  of,  207;  early  mention  of, 

3.n. 
Axes,  4S6,  494,  608,  617. 

Bai.ti.worr,  shipbnildlnar,  79,  S2 ;  prowlh  of,  79, 
M,  229,  .Wi ;  mill.i,  112,  14':,  147,  ,v.M  ;  priiuiiii,', 
17ii,  1^7;  brit'kiiiakinLr.  229;  breweri**.-*,  2ti.*> ; 
cloth  luakiui.',  3)0,  390,  39s  ;  ladies  of,;i9.) ;  tiui- 
uerios,  44s ;  iron  worlt-*,  os.'),  5S6,  'tS7,  u90,  fi'J'i, 
,594  ;  coal,  59.5  ;  (jat  liulit  lirat,  o9.5  ;  exports  of, 
.3.i7,  .S97  ;  tradesmen,  pi'tiliou.s  of,  81,  39S,  394. 

Hark  mill^  440,  44."i,  4"i;i.  4.-.4 

liarley  and  .Malt,  123,  143,  24J,  240,  249,  2.56,  2.'/7, 
2."iS,  •2.")9,  2') I,  262. 

Beer,  Ale  and  Porter,  use  of,  in  early  times,  244, 
2.59;  first  excised  in  Kii^'land,  247  ;  in  America, 
251,  2.52;  prices  of  at  diH'.Teiit  tiiii.s,  09,  249, 

2.57,  259,  260,  261,  262  ;  exported,  'i'.'!.  25S,  260, 
261,  262;  importations  of,  261 ;  quality  of,  2J0, 
261.     iSee  Bbkwi.n'i.i 

Beeswax  exported,  3.'17  ;  premium  f,ir.  406. 

Benniniiton,  Vt.,  205,  206,  511,  52.1,  524. 

Berk-hire,  102,  12S,  420  ;  iron  ore  aud  works,  493- 
495. 

Beverly  cotton  factory,  399. 

Bible,  tirat  printed  in  America,  157, 158;  first  in 
Euglish,  l.-|9,  isl,  183. 

Bieachiuit,  204,  205,  397,  405,  406,  407,  499  ;  pre- 
miums f.ir,  369,  416. 

B.iat  buiidintf,  37,  44,  75,  77.  107. 

Boats,  Durham,  and  Arks,  S4.  Iii7,  .559. 

BoliiuK  act.  Now  York.  60,  133,  441  :  iiiiils,  142. 

Bo.iks,  flr-t  primed  in  British  Aiin'i  1  a,  31,  154; 
flret  medical,  162;  trade  fairs eslaWished,  18 1— 
bluuk  first,  192,  197  ; — 'limiitiy  and  himters.  157, 

1.58.  190,  191,  192,  193;  price  of,  190  ;—»»//•  r», 
early,  189,  190';  premiums  for,  406. 

Bi)ot«  prohibited,  4.'1.5;  limited  use  of,  454. 
Boriuk?  mills  for  ^.'Uhs,  486,  492,  566,  573. 
BosTn.v,  tliiplMiildinK.  .39,  40,  41,  42,  47,  43;  mills 
at,  ItO,  117,  118,  123,  128;  prmtiutf,  162-167,  177, 


1S3, 1S4, 185, 1^7  ;  bo.ik.seilers  and  bookliindsrn, 
1.57,  1911,  101,  192,  197  ;  paper  makirii.',  I^'7,  2iH, 
299,  210,  237;  stops  imporiint;,  2ii2,  'J.!7,  372, 
37.3,  374,  375,  379  ;  lypii  foundry,  212  ;  flr-t  brick 
bouse  in,  219;  described,  220,  221  ;  Kla-sworks, 
241  ;  vineyaril,  269;  salt  works,  29ii ;  rope. 
niakinkT,  .303,  419;  solid  imyi  of,  .314;  spinnitii^ 
pcliools  and  linen  inauufticlures,  .3.3.3,  .3.)4,  ,i:i5, 
345,  .362,  ,372,  375,  .376,  419;  liatmakinK,  ;i42  ; 
port  bill  passed,  379;  card  factories,  :),sS,  420, 
497  ;  mint  house,  477  ;  uiechaulcs,  500  ;  Bre  eu- 
gines,  500. 

Bounties  and  Premiums  parliamentary,  on  naval 
ptores  ami  raw  UKiterials,  99,  11)5,  :i2H.  :VS7.  35s, 
,365,  372,  624;  on  indis;.)  and  silk,  .323,  358;  eu 
exports,  337,  344; — 'iinnentic,  on  maunfactnres 
and  raw  materials  in  .Massachnseiis,  2;*9,  .3.14, 
.33.5,  .362;  in  Rhode  Island,  334,  .3:15,  398;  in 
Connecticut.  29o,  :i,35,  418;  in  New  York,  367, 
3iiS,  369,  4.5,5,  5,32;  iu  I'ennsvlvania,  296,316, 
.338,  ;163, ;«!,  402,  406,  407,  499,  57S,  579,  619  ;  iu 
Delaware,  :146  ;  in  .Maryland,  .592;  in  Virgina, 
320,  ;121,  3>2,  383,  «)6;  in  N.prth  Car.dina,  615, 
616;  iu  South  Carolina,  3s2,  416,  417,  619;  in 
Georgia,  357  ;  of  .-Society  of  .\rts  in  London  isert 
SoOIKTV  OF  AUTS  ANi'i  Mahufactukk.s)  ;  aud 
drawback  elfects  of,  327. 

Bowiloin,  (i.iveruor,  242,  367,  414,  498,  499, 

liradtord,  Williani,  16S,  109,  170,171,  172,  196,197. 

Hraintree,  221,  2:19,  472,  474,  47.5,  476. 

Brandy,  lirst  made  iu  America,  2.50;  bousehold 
manufactuiv  of,  25S,  262,  264,  265,  274.  276. 

Brass  and  Bronze,  antiquity  of,  463  ;  Aiuericau, 
546, 

Brass  and  Bell  Foundinit  in  Massachusetts,  476, 
485,  4h7,  492,  490,  497;  in  KIl.mIo  Island,  5o2, 
503  ;  in  Oounecticut.  510,  518  ;  iu  I'ouusylvauia, 
.568,57.3,574;  iu  Maryland,  594. 

Brazil,  first  citt.in  fr.on.  354, 

Brewint'aud  .Maltini.'.  244-263;  in  Ma«sachusett,s, 

.  24.5-2.50;  usn  of  Maizo  iu,  247,  25S,  263;  in 
Khode  Island  and  ('ounecticut,  250;  in  .\ew 
York,  2.50-2)4,  257;  taxed,  251;  in  Alljany, 
2.54:  monopoly  of,  2.55;  pndiihited,  256:  n'^u. 
lated,  249,  257;  in  New  Jer-ey,  257,  25S  ;  ni 
Peunsylvaniaaud  Delaware.  •J5S-2ii2  ;  in  "';iry- 
land  aud  Virt'iuia,  27,  262-264:  iu  ('.uMlii'a 
and  Oe.irjjia,  264  ;  as  a  liousehold  an,  244,  2'.s. 
263,  264  ;  of  pale  ale  aud  porter  first,  265.  (8»)« 
Bfkr.  ke.) 

Bricks  aud  Tiles,  216-231 ;  first  in  New  Eni[laud, 
217,  221  ;  iu  Virginia,  28,  220  ;  in  New  York, 
222;  in  New  Jersey,  226;  in  Pennsylvania. 
228;  .Maryland,  229;  Carolina  and  Lie.irg,a, 
229;  prices  of,  222,  223,  224.  226;  exports  a', 
231  :  duly  on,  222,  224,  231  ;  improvemeuts  in 
niukini;,  231, 

Brid.es,  iron,  proposed,  519,  581, 

liridg-water,  346,  :«I8,  485,  4,S6,  487,  488,  496. 

British  Trade  acts  aud  policy,  origin  of,  87,  202, 
30,1,  324,  325,  327, 

Board  of  Trade  aud  Plantations  created,  30.5.  S2S  ; 
reports  and  suggestions  to,  respecting  ccdonles, 
57.  61,  6:t,  63,  69  90,  97,  1112,  199,  2(K),  a3f>,  3J2. 
326,  28,  329,  ,3.30,  337,  339,  340,  341.  342,  :I46, 
362,  370,  371,  489,  491,  522,  526,  527,  5:iO. 

Br.'adcloth,  ,331,  .344.  .366,  371,  ;172.  .375,  :i77,  :!8:4 
418  ;  first  flue  iu  Europe  and  America,  306  4^> 

tty.ij 


INPEX. 


Brown  li  Almy,  309,  401,  402,  403,  404, 

liui'kli'n,  iiluia  and  knoe,  400,  447,  403,  4i)-.',  51(1, 

,Vil,;i74. 
Kuck  KHil  ilop«kin8,  317,  340,  3«S,  42!),  432,  444, 

447,  44,\  44:1,  4."pS,  4."i!i  ;  |irii-i'M  uf,  42;i,  444,  44'i, 

4.')S,  4.>:l;  ini'iiiiiiniH  fur,  34rt,  3<iS,  447;  expniln 

.■f.  447,  44;i  ;  jiruliibitud,  444,  440. 
Il'iiriil..,  «4,  ti.'i. 

I'.iill",  noviil  ii»<!  of.  13C,  141  ;  of  piipal.  lO"*. 
liiirliiiui.iii,  N.  J.,  lili,  70,  lo:i,  121,  172,  17S,  22i5, 

2'iS,  .'i4>,  .')4).  ,ViO. 
Iill^i^w■ll''^  Marine  Turtle,  ,'.3. 
BillleLi,  331),  3^2.  41S,  4ii2,  .WO,  .'i74,  .'.7.'i ;   silk, 

4).S  ;  dold  and  biIvit,  372,  OIU;  Wiiodi?!!,  !i7:> ; 

in  p'lrlatiiins  uf,  4llii. 
Bra  old  wolcu  and  cotiun  factory,  404,  421, 

f  lhlf^  S3;  1  on.  48.',  .'jiS. 

».  4lioo  and  l;ui'u  printinp,  kuown  to  the  Ecyp- 
tliinn,  307  ;  in  Enj;land,  M,  .307  ;  in  Aini'rifa, 
377,  404,  4011.  407  ;  blockB,  plates,  ie..  uut  to  be 
exported,  ;J!)(i ;  cylinders  invented,  ;)07. 

1ai.ikok.mja,  llrst  priniiui;  in,  Ibtl;  p.ipcr  mill, 
20."t ;  vine  culture.  270. 

jKinlilels,  314,  317,  314. 

Janiloidue,  .30,  40  ;  lir»t  prinlini,'  at,  l.V!,  I.'j4, 1,')7, 
lill),  lijl,  221,  ,sn!. 

Caoiida,  first  fa»-inill  in,  101  ;  printers  sent  to, 
]Si) ;  iron  Works,  o3f). 

Canals.  124;  first  proponed,  .134,  .Y.)'),  ,W2;  first 
surveyed,  .')(j2  ;  in  Mnrylaud,  OOO:  iu  Virginia, 
(io.'j ;  III  (jarolina,  tJ21. 

Candle  factories,  .V). 

Cannon,  brass,  first  in  England,  407  ;  first  in  Ame- 
rica. 4.s7,  4!'7,  ,')72.  .073,  .'j74  ;  iron  and  sli-.i  in 
EiivIhikI.  407;  first  in  Ainenca,  4S2.  4S4  ;  iu 
Mas-acliil.selts,  4~2,  4^4,  4SJ,  4m;,  4^7,  400.  4'.C) ; 
in  Khode  l.-laud.  .'102.  J03  ;  in  ('onmelicut.  .'ill, 
.'il2;  ui  New  York,  .'iJS,  J31  ;  iu  ^'ew  .ier^ey, 
;V12.  .'ilo  ;  in  Pennsylvania,  Cu'.i,  ot;7.  ''08.57*2, 
.'i73  ;  in  .Maryland.  .'>.s7,  .Os.s,  .'jOO;  first  bored,  4sO  ; 
inscription  on,  4^7  ;  wrought  iron  and  wooden, 
jOO  ;  prices  of,  6^0. 

^al■diu^'  machines,  3S4,  30S,  ;!00,  4O0,  401,  402,  403, 
407,  408.  400.  413,  417,  421,  .'•)70. 

Cards,  c..itou  and  wool,  3.33,  3i.S,  40.),  414,  420,  4.14, 
404,  407,  ."lis,  071.  tioO,  l,l.->,  010;  first  stuck  in 
riiited  States,  ;i:*8  ;  maclunery  lor  makiuy,  3^&, 
420,  407,  ;)18,  o71. 

Carey,  Matthew,  170,  ISO,  400. 

Carpets,  Flemish,  l.'t ;  none  in  IGth  century,  16  ; 
in  America.  209,  414. 

Carriages,  taxed  lor  the  support  of  t^piuning 
schools.  3.3:1,  ;)3.> ;  not  to  ho  imported,  372  ;  nia- 
niifacture  of,  44,'),  .llS,  .MS; — -i/jrinyn  first,  53,s, 
.080,  eo'j  ;  boxes,  uOO,  .")!iS;  steam,  60.3. 

Carvini;,  ship,  40,  70.  74,  7.' 

Cattle,  domestic,  intr<iducti'>i  .  id  propagation  of, 
427,  420.  431,  430,  448;  iir.c.  -  c,f,  208,  429,  4.30, 
431,  4.39.  443,  444.  448,  449  ;  exiiorted,  2o7,  341. 

Chains,  heavy  forged,  4S.*j,  528 

Charcoal  best  fur  emeliing,  482,  489  ;  prices  of, 
480,  ,-i2.'),  .)07. 

Charleston,  S,  0.,  shipping  at,  8.),  66  ;  printing  at, 
170,  187:  bo>>kselling  and  binding,  100;  build- 
ings of.  2.f  > ;  settlement  o*",  271  ;  exports  of,  ;(4S, 
349,  .301,  3.)4,  ;«i),  449.  401  ;  Hilk  filature  at,  .300. 

Charlestown,  shipbuilding,  40,  41  ;  mills.  117  ; 
first  acts  at.  1.02.  220  ;  luauufaciures  at,  221,  303, 
304,  4:!:t,  4:!0,  470. 

Chemicals,  first  made,  0^2,  407. 

Child,  .Sir  J..  81,  88. 

Ohimuevs,  iu  lOih  century,  18  ;  early  American, 

mo,  210. 

Ohimi,  first  American  ship  at,  64 ;  increased  trade 
with,  02.  411. 

Chiaaware  and  porcelain,  Sevres,  1.0  ;  dutyon  re- 
pealed, 2;i7  ;  factory  eHiablished.  238,  tilO  ;  ex- 
cluded, 372. 

Chlorine,  use  of,  in  bleaching  204  205,397,406. 

Cbocolate  mills,  121,  144 


Cider.  2J0,  2.07,  203,  200.  274, 

Cincinnati,  first  priming  in,  179, 

Clapboards.  2.0.  20.  O.o,  00,  111.112,   "J2 

Clock  and  watchinaking  in  (Jonnectu  tit.  .0I,\.)10, 

£i20;  in  r isylvania,  501,  408,  5'i  !,  58o  ;  ma- 

cliiuery  ;  52o,  .021. 
Clocks,  curious,  .001,  521,  .'>79. 
Cloth  manufacture  and  its  material).  200.  423; 
why  commence*!  in  .Massachusetts.  2''8  ;  fir-.t  le- 
g.'il  encourHgement  of,  2!io  ;  first  sami'le  of.  :ioo  ; 
lu'giiu  in  Connecticut.  300;  scarcity  of  ai  Viy- 
inoutl.,  301  ;  first  regular  manulactiir"  of.  .3o.S:..» 
;roo/c?j,  state  of  in  EuglaiHl,3O0; — liinn,  hous.v 
bold,  iu  New  York,  314;  Kew  .lio'sey.  314; 
reiinsylvania,  315;  Delaware  and  Marylanl, 
319;  Virginia,  314,  320,  ;i4:i;  prcdihiti.oi  of  n>- 
commended,  322 ;  promoted  by  lavs  of  tiade, 
322-.327,  307;  complained  of,  327;  P''")"'-,* 
me.insof  checking,  .328,  329,  3:10,337,  j^;  • 
chi-fly  made,  330,  .3:51  ;  linen  bre-  .  ..%iprovid, 
331  ;  importations  of  British,  344,  307.  380,  4,01  ; 
American  silk  used  in,  .3:1,  300,  414  :  frugal 
tiso  of,  ;iSO  ;  increased  atlentiou  to,  :tSl-:is3  ; 
improved  maehiuiTy  Introduced,  3^3  :  fiist 
facoiry.  3?.0  ;  scarcity  of  during  war,  .300,  ;i'."j, 
303 ;  ellorts  to  provide,  :i91-:ia.O ;  price  of 
woUeii,  3,t2  ;  otFccts  of  the  peace  on,  3:t."> ;  re- 
newed efforts  to  procure  cotton  and  woolen  nia- 
chinery,  :i00-400  ;  first  water  mill  for  coiom, 
4  0-40:);  state  of  household  production,  411- 
41s;  woolen  and  linen  factories,  418-422 ;  du~ 
th's  laid,  423  (.see  CoTTo.v,  Line.v,  bii.K,  and 

WoiO.K.N). 

Coal,  early  use  of,  iu  England,  20 ;  in  Rmeltine  imn, 
20,  407  ;  Anthracite  in  smelting,  4S4,  oC>2 ;  found 
in  Khode  Island.  o(>3  ;  in  Pennsylvania,  .Ofil  ; 
Maryland.  .00.8,  501,  69.0  ;  in  V,;i'gilila,  OO.O ;  bitu- 
minous of  Pittsburg,  608. 

Cobalt  and  Nickel,  018,  019. 

Cochineal,  .3.00,3.56,  619. 

Coius  and  Coinage,  colonial,  78,  307,  477,  473, 
.010,  510;  and  bullion  whence  obtained.  3O.0. 

Colles,  Christopher,  634,  639,  647,  676,  677. 

Coluinhium,  .00.0. 

Co.v.NKCTiccT,  shipbuilding  in.  40-54. 90 ;  saw  niilln 
in,  10:1-10.1 ;  corn  mills,  131, 1.32;  prinlingin.  17.0, 
183. 1.S7 ;  paper  making  in,  200,  20,5, 207.  2io  ;  tyjio 
f.Mindry  and  presses,  213,  215;  brickinaking, 
210  ;  glassinaking,  242  ;  beer  and  cider  makiug, 
2.00  ;  textile  arts  aud  materials  in,  .300,  313,  320, 
S:!0,  3:iO,  340,  :10O,  S8S,  389,  41.3,  417,  41S.  410; 
silk  raising,  :i60, 301 ;  leather  making  in,437-4.3;i, 
4''2;  iron  minesand  manufactures, 604-021  :cuii 
per  mines, 507-510  ;  non-importali"Mi  agreeiniuii.s 
in,  373,  :174 ;  imports  of,  49,  61,  629  ;  exports  of, 
51.  104,  242,  300,  341,  346,  436,  438,  4:19,  6i'0,  620, 
628. 

Coopers,  early,  280;  incorporated,  434. 

Copperas  works,  403,  524,  643. 

Copper,  use  <if  pieceded  iron,  46.5;  mines  and 
manufactures  of,  in  England,  21,  60s,  .009,  548; 
iu  .Ma.ssacliusetts,  471,475,  483;  in  Khode  Island, 
503;  In  ('onnecticut,  .507-610;  iu  New  Mamp- 
eliire,  522;  in  New  York,  609,  524.  520,  .032, 
530;  in  New  .Jersey,  541,  540,  64S  ;  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, 550,  551,  56:1,  6.50,  5.00,  ,074  ;  in  Maryland, 
580,  586,  688;  iu  Virginia,  471,  599,  603;  in 
North  Carolina,  610;  in  Tennessee,  613;  in 
S'OUh  Orolina,  619  ;  in  Wisconsin,  626  ; — ivreji 
enumerated,  609,  .546  ;  exported,  3.37,  61W,  5:1.5, 
647,  609  \— smelting,  483,  508,  609,  647,  648,  5R0  ; 
coins,  American,  307.  478,  610,  619  ;—td«f:v  first 
used  in  America,  488  ;  o^,,,:.-',  648.  674. 

Copvright  law  first,  16'. ;  in  Caiolina,  186. 

Cordage.  27,  55,  70,  75  hi,  83,  303,  304,  336.  572, 
419,  448,  496,  609. 

Cotton,  early  introdnctionof  in  Virginia,  28,  341, 
recommended,  3.54:  early  imports  of,  49,  3110,  3;to, 
first  exports  of,  .337,  340,  :151,  .354;  from  Soutn 
America.  304  ;  its  culture  iu  t7arolina  and  Ceor- 
gia,  3o4-il.50  ;  ginning  niacliiuee,  361,  3.)3,  ;i65, 


INDEX. 


CO  5 


4, 

,  171). 

11.  112,   "J2 
Cunrii'Cluut,  .^l.\.5r!), 
)1,  6t)8,  ;V, ",  jSu  i   liia. 

ro. 

(  material  i.  20(1.  4'Jt , 
itluisi'tl*.  J'-;;  (ir-t  1.- 
t;  llMl  NHini ili'i.r.  :iii(l; 
0  ;  M'aroily'ol'  Rt  Vly. 
inuriiiriu'tiir"  nf,  .S.p.S;..* 
i(l,3i'.'i; — limn.  Il"'l^.v 
I;  Kew  .li  r->-y,  314  ; 
iWHre  anil  .Miiiyliiiii, 
A'.i ;  prdlrbiti.id  "f  r.^ 
ted  liy  lavs  of  ti;i.|.>, 
>(l    of,  327 ;    I"'"l"'-,(« 

JB..^),  ;i:i7.^;     •  "^ 

upu  lii'i*'  ..^nprovcil, 
IkIj,  ;144.  3ti7.  »»'<,  4,-)l  ; 
.t!,  3()0,  414  :  fniu.-il 
uttenliiiii  to,  ;iSl-:!s:i ; 
ilroilucod,  ,1-i:! :  fli>it 
diiriii);  Will'.  3110,  3'.'2, 
,  3!ll-;ia.'i ;  i.riio  iif 
he  jieHce  on,  olt.t ;  n..- 
jotton  and  woolfii  ini»- 
vatcr  mill  for  eoUon, 
loid  prodnclinn,  411- 
raclorie.-*,  41i^-422;  du- 
j.v,  LiNK.v,  Silk,  uui] 

d,20;  tnnmrllincimn. 
I'ltinif,  4S4,  ii(;2;  I'ouiiJ 
n  Ht^nnwylvauia,  .'»'il  ; 
ia  V,;rgiuia,  Ou.j ;  bivu- 


ial,   78,  307,  477,  473, 
piice  oljt:iint'd.  ;5tj.>. 
9,  S47,  676,  ii77. 

In,4n-.'i4,  nO;  ^awniilU 
tl.  1.S2;  i»rintiiii:in.  17.5, 
,  2110,  20,"),  207. -Jioitviio 
i,  2\ri;  brick niiiiii'ii^', 
leor  and  cidor  ninkiU4,', 
prialsin,;ioO,  313,  32(1, 
3(>9,  41.3,417,  41S.  411i; 
liermaking  i  n,  4.37-4.3H, 
ifactures,  O04-.V21  :cop 
mportation  aifriM'iiiotii.H 
19,  ,11,  629  ;  e.xport.'i  of, 
430,  438,  4:19,  J09,  (320, 

lorated,  434. 

)43. 

iron,  41.5;   miiips  and 

and,  21,  .W-i,  ruin,  .',4^; 

1,  4i3;iu]ilioil.'l,iianil, 

-SIO;  in   N.'W  llainp- 

:k,  009,  024,  02ii,  ,-,32, 

04(1,  04S  ;  in  IViinsyl- 
0.1(1,  074  ;  in  Maryland, 
nia,  471,  099,  603;  in 
a  Tennessee,  613;  in 
WisconHin,  626  ; — f>reji 
tponed,  337,  fliH,  !i.ir>, 

008,  009,  647,  64S,  ,1R1 ; 

,  610,  619;— kdHc»Ilrs« 

,..;.',  648.  674. 

n  Carolina.  186. 

83,  303,  304,  336.  a72, 

ofinVirpinia,  29,  34(, 
importsof,  49,  31HI.  .330, 
301.  304  ;  from  Soiitn 
I  iu  (Carolina  and  (leor- 
lacliiueii,  301,  3.i3,  ;w>. 


2 


620 ;  pricn  of.  30,  XVt.  3^6,  40,-),  40.S  ;  con»iimp;|,.T: 

of  ill  hlU'l.llld.  3;* 7  ;  duty  ult  ion*.;,' 11.  41  0  ; ti'tit. 

u/iiiturr,  aiiiiiiuiiy  of  ii'nd  wht'nco  donvfl,  ;iii(i ; 
k.iowii  to  iili,iri<iuo»,  .)07  ;  lir.st  lU  l-'i.i-'.ind,  :iii,s  ■ 
in  AiiiHricii,  309  ;  piirly  nientioi)  o'  ,,011 ;  encoiir- 
ai.'.iiionl  of,  3S1.  3>.l ;  (ir.sl  '  .y  and  company 
envj.iiii-d  in,  3'i3-.l-.7  :  :,  .'a^MiolinsPttn.  .S.iij ; 
doiiin>tic  "union'"  .'.-i  advcriiscd.  396,  3;i8  ; 
flr.»t  New  to.  ,.  >  factory,  3;'9 ;  lir.st  waior 
frame,  •K^.;,y  .iai«r'»  die  llmt  ^ucces^rll|  „nt\ 
♦  13 :  J  .ATs',  clii'cks,  4c.,  lir^t  made,  404; 
'.V-;.'-/-"«'l'l'i*    inaniifactiirB,  404-409;    assi,.,icd 

«'>^' Act  of  .A,-i,<cmlily,  409  ;   water  null  in  (Jaro- 
-.  .»|C'*''  lii'i,  417  ;  household  pro.lucta  of,  412,  41,J. 
'..•iPy'  Colloiis,  India,  first,  3,il,  3ii.'i,  411. 

C'oxe,  r.'uch.  49,  410;  i.r.onote.-t  manufactures, 
397,  400  4ii,"i,  408;  his  plan  of  a  inanuf.iciuring 
town,  410;  various  statements  of,  S2,  2'il,  2il2, 
277,  364,  4UJ,  408,  4i0,  412,  413,  423,  409,  4ij0, 
07,1,  60.S. 

Crompion,  hi.s  mnlo  jenny,  397. 

Curi-ency,  early  colonial,' 04.  7S,  99,  109,  146,  ion, 
StH,  204,  .1,30,  336,  42s,  477  ;  paper  prohibited, 
'M.'i.  :i,)0,  360;  eoiiiinental,  393,  3)4. 

Curriers,  laws  respeclin^',  433,  4,i0,  439,  447;  a 
corporate  b.idy  iu  EuKland,  4,)4  ;  prices  jiaid  to 
in  I'liiladelpliia,  444;  oil,  444,  4JS. 

Cutlnrs,  391,  .'102,  06s,  070. 

Cylinders,  steam,  llrst,  0,i4,  077,  090;  for  calio 
priuiiug  iuveuicd,  397. 

Dan  vers,  4.).'?,  4,=!3. 
Dedliam,  31,i,  4:i7. 
l)eer...kln.s 'see  Bl'Ckskins^. 

Dur..4WAKB  sbipbuildiufc',  77,  78;  mill.s,  110,  111, 
139,    140;    priutinsf,    178;   paper-niakini;,    201, 

207,  210;  bricks  and  pottery,  227,  22:i ;  brewiu;;, 

208,  262;  vine-i,  270;  salt,  280,  280,  290;  cloi'li 
and  its  materittl.s,  310,  319,  346.  3,53,  363,  364; 
leather  and  skins,  443,  447,  461;  irou  works 
and  mines,  .102,  0s3,  OaO. 

Del  It  ware,  223. 

Diamonds,  612. 

Dies  for  coins,  477,  492,  010,  ,1,80. 

Disiatl'  and  Bpiudle,   uot    used   ia  this  country, 

■J'-i. 
Disiilliiiff,  30,   ,11,  200,   263,  264,  260,  340,  609: 

prohibited,  140,  2')6,  276. 
Domestic  Comfort  iu  Knifland  in  16th  and   17th 

centuries,  IS,  19;  in  America,  208,  209,  216,  224, 

2.14,  230,  0;C,_  a;,y. 
Dorchester,  39,  122,  221. 
Dry  dock,  41. 
Dullles,  frizes,  4c.,  344. 
Duck  and  sail  cloth,  premiums  for,  334,  33,1,  .340, 

419  ;  patent  for,  .330  ;  bounty  on  export  of,  337  ; 
British  only  to  be  u,sed,  337  ;  manufacture  re- 
commend.'d  by  Congre.s,  391  ;  importations  of, 
411,412,  496;  household  manufacture  of,  413, 
419;  factories,  371,  373,  419,  420. 

Duties,  parliaineutary,  jiroposed,  337 ;  first  laid, 
36.),  482  ;  on  stamps,  201,  203,  337  ;  oq  tea,  slass, 
paper,  4c.,  202,  237,  372,  370,  379;  on  sugars, 
wines,  calicoes,  4c.,  360,  367  ;  on  iron  and  its 
Dianufacturo.s,  .197,  624; — domeKlic  on  touuai?e, 
41,  .14,  62.  71,  72,  78.  92;  on  cordage,  84;  first 
excise,  201  ;  on  barley,  hops,  and  malt, 
246,  249,  260,  261  ;  on  linnors,  2.10,  251,  2.i», 
269  ;  ou  glass,  242  ;  on  salt,  280  ;  on  cotton,  410  ; 
on  iuports  generally,  .14,  60,  423,  631  ;  ou 
leather  and  its  manufactures,  463;  ou  iron  and 
Us  mauufacture,  499,  000,  090,  631  ;  ou  exports, 
60,  109,  090. 

DyeingaHil  dressing  of  cloth,  in  England,  81,  300; 
in  America,  ,'130,  333,  366,376,302,410,  417,  418, 

420  ;  jiriee  of,  400,  408  ;  of  leather,  408,  4.59. 
Dyiv-tulfs,  native,   319,  318,   a50,  301,   3.56,  382; 

enumerated,  87  (see  Ikpiuo,  AIaodek,  4c.) 

Earthenware  (see  PottertI. 

liaat  Indies  aud  China,  iraportalious  from,  331, 


.3.39.  341,  398  ;  first  raw  cotton  from,  3.15 ;  oarlf 
Voyages  to,  00,  64,  261,  262. 

Easion,  ,«ii9sachusetts,  486,  487,  498;  rennsyl. 
vauia.  OO.s,  0.5:1. 

Kdge  tools,  2<,  476.  486,  489,  494  170,  627. 

Kilwards,  Csl.  William,  442,  453,  404 

Kiiot,  Uev.  John,  104,  107,  I60;  Ki,v.  j-ireJ,  nn 
nilk,  361  ;  makes  iron  aud  steel  from  ma^uctii 
sand.  014.  010. 

Elizaliethtown,  Xew  .Tersey,  197,  2.53,  442,  443,  4.13 
406.  040, 

Emigration  cheeked,  38,  206-291!,  431. 

Engineers  and  nmcliinisis,  early.  100,  470,  476, 
6114,  034,  047,  06s,  ,-,7ii,  .-,77^  ;-,s|.  ,'i04,  090. 

Engravers,  early,  172,  397,  492,019;  calico,  377, 
306,  404. 

Evans,  Oliver,  76,  11.1,  130,  145,  147,  149,  3SS,  56,S, 
076,  07,-f,  ,190, 

Exeter,  Kew  Hampsliire,  08.  130,  420, 

Exp.irtof  ships,  44,  46,  47,  49,06,08,6.1.70.  ,S9.  91, 
341,  400  ;  of  lumber,  ,^c.,26,  06,  63,  los,  liio,  11 1 
113,  11.5, 147,  341  ;  of  flour,  bread  slutfs,  4c,.  123, 
133,134,  137,  138,  143,  140,  145,  149;  of  be.  r, 
2.50,  258,  260,  261,  262;  of  bricks,  2:11  ;  of  hemp 
and  flaxseed,  ,3:i0,  :137,  346,  378  ;  of  wo,,l. 
Woolens,  and  hats,  327,  ;i4o,  342,  2.13,  371  :  of 
indigo.  348,  349  ;  of  cotton,  349,  ,301,  ,304  ;  of  raw 
Bilk,  ,337,  :H7,  :«8,  ,3.59  ;  of  leather,  siioes,  ic, 
4:i4,  4,10.  449,  4.50,  402,  40S,  460,  462;  of  deer 
skins,  447,  449  ;  of  iron  and  its  mnnufaeiiir..s, 
401,027,030,  049,  ,ViO,  069,  071,  0,s4,  0s9,  .500, 
02.5,  628  ;  total,  344  ;  duties  on,  60,  100,  .190  ;  of 
machinery  from  England  prohibited,  378,  396, 
409,  630  ;  from  reunsylvania,  079. 

Fairs  established,  203,  315. 

Ei.'deral  procession  iu  I'eunsylvauia,  74.  262.  422. 
462,  074. 

File  cutting,  ,1,)1. 

Eire  arms,  manufacture  of,  in  Mas«ncliii«eits, 
414,  4S6,  492,  494,  498  ;  iu  Klmde  Island,  ,504  ;  in 
Counec'lcut,  016;  iu  Xew  York,  0:17,  in  IVnn- 
eyivania,  068,  .172,  073;  in  Maryland,  09l-.1o4; 
in  Virginia,  607;  in  Carolina,  616;  prices  of, 
072,  073,  .192,  093;  description  of,  073,  002; 
premiums  for,  516,  .192  ;— engines  first  in  Anier. 
ica,  478,  600,  001,  076  ;  not  to  be  imported,  372. 
rirets  for  hose  invented,  492. 

Fiskeries  early  commenced,  37,  41,  38,  4:5,  44,  45 
47,  01.  69 ;  first  deep  sea,  278,  279. 

Fish  hooks,  27,  374,  498. 

Fllcli,  John,  builds  first  eteaniboat  in  Amrrici, 
76,  77,  84,  590  ;  first  working  steam  engine,  077  ; 
bred  a  watchmaker,  621. 

Flax  and  hemp  culture  in  Virginia,  26,  .33,  34  .15, 
319,  321,  326,  .3.36,  3,37,  383;  in  Kew  England, 
300,  314,  331,  ;j40,  :146,  378,  382  ;  iu  New  Vork, 
367,  .36S  ;  iu  New  Jersey,  314,  362,  390;  in  IVnu- 
eylvania,  3:i0,  .336,  4iJ6 ;  ii  Delaware,  346; 
premiums  and  bounties  for,  3.30,  362,  367.  3'i.S, 
406  ;  seed  exported.  33.1,  ,337,  ,346,  373  ;  price  of, 
415;  dressing  aud  spinning  machinery,  oJO, 
346,  :!69,  376,  383. 

Flour  and  grnin,  exports  of,  40,  133, 137,  138,  143, 
14.5,148,149. 

Fly  shuillo  first  nsed,  3.33,  401,  410,  413. 

Forges,  iron  smelting,  early  British,  467,  180; 
first  in  New  England,  472  ;'blooinary,  first,  479, 
4  0,  4.89  ;  first  iu  Uhode  Island,  001  ;  destroyed 
by  Indians,  29,  469,  483,  .102,  502  i—plaliiKj  pro- 
hibited, 491,  008,  620  ;— refining,  489,  493,  612, 
031,  0:0 ;  number  of  at  diti'ereut  dates  iu  Massa- 
chusetts, 483,  4,89,  492  ;  in  Connecticut.  513  ;  ia 
Vermont,  024  ;  in  New  Jersey,  641 ;  iu  I'euusyl- 
vauia,  506 

France  in  17th  century,  15;  opposition  to  cottot 
machinei-y  in,  376. 

Franklin,  Beujamiu,  suggesti  improvementR  it 
shipbuilding,  73  ;  arrives  in  Philadelphia,  17J 
his  services,  184;  anecdotes  of,  18.5,  186;  pub 
lishes  first  literary  journal,  136;  a  buoksellar 


690 


INDEX. 


10?;  promotes  jmr"  mRniif;ii'tnrp,  201  ;  Picrlit 
a  lype  f'liiniiy,  lil.l;  rHroininoinlH  :i  silk  liU- 
tuio.  :)'i.! :  eut'oiiriiK'"*  «I"»»'"-'  ^"f*  1  '"''  '''''''' 
liiral  cliMC.ivorjcs  li'icuk'd,  Oi'' ,  orgauize.s  a 
fill*  Ci'Mpaiiv,  j7(j. 

?r.>;I.Tirk  Cuiuiiy.  MiirylauJ,  24:'*415,  5S-1,  5SS, 
,',v,i,  ■■ji'J,  .W.l,  ■■i:'4.  i>'^ 

FrPiiHi-icksljuri,-,  Viruiuia,  MiS,  .TO7. 

l'r]::iii.'s  n:iiioiml,  Imilt,  -12,  4:i.  .■■'-',  r>7,  63,  72,  74, 
S:i.  S:i  ;  Ainrri'd,  di'-'cripiiou  uf,  i<7. 

Kvl;l.■l■^  carih,  :iiHi,  ;fJ8,  :ij!i. 

Fulluu'  iiiilis.  Ilrst  in  Arnnrka,  :<03;  oarly  one  in 
Kiii-'liiiiii,  .iii'i;  ill  MuKsuliii-.'is  ;!o:!,  :il2.  :!i:i, 
4::'i ;  ill  C.iiin.'cnciii,  :>i:i  ,  in  Ni'V-^  llaiiipsliir.', 
414  ;  in  New  V.ii-k,  oii'i ;  in  Now  .IiT-oy,  :)1.").  414  ; 
iu  ri-nusvlviiiiiii.  lii;,  ;iT7.  *IJ,  414,  41.):  m 
Virt;i"iii,'j.;i,  ;).->:!;  iu  Cnrnliiui,  417  ;  pri'iniuiu 
f, .r.  ;^^l  ;  urn!  ilrfssins'  of  cluili,  price  ol,  4;;0. 

Fnlliii.'  >iock»  for  liiiles  inveulcd,  44i 

Kuli'ii,  U.iljiTt,  ii7,  7.'i. 

furuiic.--,  ir.m,  iu  Knchmd.  21,  4fi7,  47!1,  r,\2  ;  ilrst 
iu  Jfi'W  Knirliiiiil.  47-J.  47:!,  4-J  ;  di-i-ripliou  of 
lijdir.il,  4;mi  ;  in  Camidii,  .'ijii :  nuiiilior  of  tljiir- 
loal  lit  ilillnnoit  dai.v't  iu  Ma»ii(lciiM'll><,  4MI, 
4^1,  4;iJ;  in  Vio-iiiont,  .■)24  ;  in  IVun-ylvauiii, 
fi.iij;  ill  MiirylHiul,  MJ  ;  in  Vir^'iniii,  .Viii  ;  iu 
K>.'ninrky,  iii'2 ;  i,i-t  ii'i:ulur,  .V.iti  ;  cost  of 
eieciiin.'.'o!'7  ;  lirsl  nntliiaf  ito,  .liiJ,  ."iii.'l ;  Mool 
pr..liiliii>'d,  4lil,  (12.5  vsuu  tJnciiL; ;  fuppur  biuidt- 
Ini;,  .MIS,  ."iO:i,  olS. 

Fu.^rms,  diuiiiios,  ic,  HOS,  3i)9. 

(■■■.m   fi.on  coal   first  used    iu   Knglaud,  20;    In 

AiU'oioa,  .'tit-'t. 
Gi-o,  .lo-lMia.  Si*.  :i'iS,  MO. 

lii.oii.ii.v,  sliiiiloiil.iin-  in,  84.  SI,  01  ;  mills  in, 
114,  MS  ;  prililini;  ill,  '7S  ;  beer,  2ii4 ;  wine  rnl- 
tiiii'.  27.">  ;  iioli.'o  iiiaiiiifai'Uiro,  ;i4'.)  ;  coUon 
culuiro  in,  ;i:il-:i.".:!,  :i.Vi,  :«u ;  silk  nilimv, 
;Vi'i-:ri9,  ;Hi4  ;  uon-mn'irour.so  policy  >•!,  374  ; 
Imports  of,  ,374  ;  inicinrancs  niannl'aclnri-s,  3s3  ; 
taiiiiini;  in,  440,  4.']0  ;  ir.iu  minus  and  works, 
U-2  ;  loani'l)  mint  in,  till,  ()23  ;  exports  of,  34;t, 
3.-.7,  .3.'.s,  3:iil,  44;l,  4.'i7. 
Gi-rmautowu,  I'a.,  141,  ISl,  1S7,  1S8, 100,  212,  310, 

,^i.V'). 
Oii;  mills,  333. 

OlHss  In  Krinco,  1.1,  234;  in  Italy,  17,232;  In 
Eniiland,  1!>,  23,  2(1,  M,232,  234;  iiiado  in  Vir- 
ginia. 2.'i,  2il.  30.  J32,  2.33.  242  ;  in  SlassacluisiUts, 
2.13,  231,  241  ;  scariiiv  c^f,  2.34,  23:>  ;  iniidi'  m 
K,.\v  York,  23."i,   240,  '211  ;  in   Curolina,   none, 

2.'lii  ;    In  NVw  J.o-scv,   23i>,   230;    in  I'l syl- 

vania,    •2.1,1-2.17.    23!<,    24.1,371,    4011,    .')74 ;    in 
C'oiMi.ciinil,    242;    iu    .Maryliuul,    242;    doty 
on,  237,  243;  Lord  SliolllBld'a  remarks  on,  2.11*  ; 
«.»l  of,  242, 
Glover,  liev.  .T.,  l.Vl. 

Gloves,  ,lisn«ed  at  i'linerals.  3fin,  ,310;  premitims 
for,  Otis;    niaunfuituros  i,'f,  4iW,  414,  434,  44.'i, 
4.'.s, 
Godfrey,  TliomBn.  73.  .■)7(1,  .ISO  ;  Tlioman  Jr.,  I(i3. 
Oold,  liniinoity  of,  4il.'i ;  e;.rly  s.'Hnli  for,  4iK,  i70, 
024,  .'i2'i,  .Vio',  o.Vl,  .'iH4  ;  loiind  In  ViM,'ini»,  471, 
OOo  ;  in  vlaroliuii,  610,  till,  Bib  ;  iu  tleorgia,  ti22, 
6il. 
Oold  and  sllversinltlis,  ?arly,  ,110,  ft3'.  Ml,  MS, 

ti7:1,  J74,  o}.'> ;  pelition  for  an  assiiv  olllce,  .'i?'!. 
OrKiii  crop,  Brst  in  .New  KoKland,  123  ;  llrsi  l.lii;lit 
in,  and  theory  of  its  cu'isu,  12U  ;  diatlllatiou  of 
piolilloled,  140,  o-„i. 
Granite.  Ilr»t  used,  2.'1. 

Ureeu.  Sainoel,  i-rinis  first  HUde,  l.-i7.  infl.  lOfl ; 
bis  desreiidauit  Iu  Miimt  liunineioi,  lii2,  1114, 17,'>, 
170,  17s,  Isl. 
Grill! II,  tlie,  O'l. 
Uriud-ieiieH,  ;iS3. 
Oir.i  liarrels  and  lock«,  4nR,  ftl6,  fWI,  fiOa,   003  ; 

prices  of,  573,  r,K,  f.ii3  ;  stock*,  fi37,  .138, 
Ouns   see  r«v.s.>N  mid  KiKK  AnM^O 
Uuupowder,  IIW,  3S2  3.s3,  404,  6!I2,  fll« 


Halifax,  Nova  Sc.itia,  llrst  newspaper  at,  187. 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  194.  2nS,  241,  423. 
Ilainili.in  laid  out  t.o'  a  iiianufacinrini;  town,  240. 
llarK'eave'.s  spinning  Jenny  paieuted,  37U  ;    op- 
posed, 370,  3>4  ;  superceded  3'J7. 
Hariford,  shipliulldini'   at.   4!),    .10;   mills    nfar, 
103;   printini;  at,  17.1,  1S7,  20.1  ■   paper   niili-s 
20.1;   ,iilass  factory,  242;   imports  riolon,  3oo  ; 
c.itton  inacliiiiery  made  at,  •>10  ;  woolen  lad..  / 
at,  4IS;  duck  factory  at,  4' J  ;  order  made  ai, 
re~|>ectiiiii  leather,  438  ;  guaii  and  clocks  uiada 
at.  flio,  .120. 
Hats,    preminms   for,    321,   .342,   346;    m,innra(!- 
tnio  eomplaiued  of.  340  ;  manufacture  ol.  340, 
342,313.  371.   40,1.  41.1,  421,   4.1.1,  4'il,  t)0!l  ;  ex- 
portati.ol  of,  340.  342.  343.  371  ;  proliiblled,  342. 
Ilaverliill.  .Mass.,  41.  l.Kj,  420,  4.13. 
Heels,  wooden,  use  of,  in  early  tiiuen,  331,  444, 

447. 
II,  nip  first  raised  '.n  New  Enpland.  303;  boun- 
ties of  parliamoni  for,  32S,  3tii,  ,337,  30S,  371  ; 
first  expected,  337;  a  snbstitnte  for  fiax,  3^"i  ; 
wild,  used  in  manufactures,  20,  302,  303,  31.1. 
Hemp  nulls,  3S3,  410,  41.1. 

Holes   and  >kius.  not  to  he  exported,  42S,  420. 
433.  4.30,  43S,  442;  enninerated.  4.10  ;  laws  and 
ordinances  respectioij,  432,  43(1,  43,S,  4ot) :  priced 
of.  42S.  43S.  442,  444.  440,  4.1.),  4.10;  imp.oled, 
4.1.1  ;  first  from  S.oitU  America,  403;    exports 
of,  440,  410,  4.11,  401. 
Hid.',  fiiUim.'-tecks  invented,  442. 
II..II0W  ware  and  ('astiiii.'s.  372  ;  first  in  MasFr.clin- 
setl.-.  470,  4S2,  4S4,  4S1,  4«S,  4s0,  40O,  4'e2,  403  ; 
ill  i;iiode  Island,  .104  ;  In  Coniieciicnt,  .111,  .111; 
in  New  York,  .1:11,  .1.'i2,  .'>33,  fi44  ;  in  New  Jersey, 
,'i40    .1.10;  iu  I'eniisvlvania,  .W.s,  ,171  ;  in   I'ela- 
waie.  .1S3;  In  Maryland,  .^S7,  .ISS,  .IsO,  .1!<4 ;  in 
Yirjjinia,  ilos  :  prices  of,  ;12.1.  S71,  SOb  ;  Hcarciiy 
of   471,  4ss  ;   first  iu  sand,  4s4. 
H.oio'spnn,  becomes  fashionable,  3flS,  .371  ;  <in;in. 
Iiiv  and  cpialiiv  of,  314,  32:1,  330,  331,  343,  372, 
3:.i,  3sii,  :ioo,  4il-4in, 
Hops,  cultivati.ni  of,  246,  203,  410  ;  duty  ou,  '.OO. 
Il.iru  smiths,  3s2. 

Horse  mills,  110,  110,  121,  122,  1.3.1,  1.3r,,  i:m. 
ll.i-iery  made  by  the  Hutch,  314,  and  (ornian«, 
SIO     :1I7,  40.1 ;    worsted.    314,    3:13,  41s;    knit 
wo.'den,  317,  307,  :il'4,  412,  413,  414,  4ls,  4.0  ; 
woven.  30s,  41.1.  41 S;  silk,  300  301  ;  mannfae. 
tore  of,  to  be  encouraged,  3s2,  3S3 ;  prciuiums 
for,  3liS,  3110,  3S2,  41S  ;  fcarcity  of,  4.17, 
Household  niaiiufactures,  character  and   extent 
ol,  201,  314.  .320,330,  331,340,37.1,  3S«,  300,  ;i!iO, 
4l'l.41ii,  (iiis.  017,  (121  ;  of  nails,  413,  491,  400; 
estimated  value  if  Id  170O,  41(1.  423. 
Hu.  uenots,   expulsion   of,   M,    10,  :io.)  ;    rent  to 
A'merica,  27l,:i22,  31H  ;  cultivate  the  vine,  272, 
2:7,  310;  tud  silk,  322,  34(1,  3.50;  uaturaliied, 
271,273. 
Humplirrys,  .Tophna,  naval  architect,  74. 
Hnuliundon,  I'enu.,  604,  60.5, 

Ii.i,iNoia,  first  printlns:  in,  170 ;  wine  in,  277 ;  nalt 
in,  204, 

Iniporiations.  efi'erts  of  lame.  422,  452;  of  Prlt. 
ish  tjooilB,  SO,  1S4,  2SI,  3:11,  344,  300.  374.  3s:i, 
;m4.  400,  411,  414,  4  ..1,  4'!0,  402;  of  Imu.  li'.':' ; 
fr.'iii  Uiissia,  411.  412,  4"K  ;  o|  wineand  luiu.iis, 
201,  2fi;',  274;  decrease  of.  202,  30«,  ;i7>.  414. 

Indiana,  first  printlint  In,  170. 

liolians,  lav  wasi<'  ea..,,  improvements.  20,  42, 
OS,  101.  272,  400,  4sl,  4R3,  602,  6.12:  'iirKe  ra- 
nges of,  :1K;  brlclimakinii  by,  21H  ;  brewing, 
247;  first  leain  the  use  of  ardent  spirit".  24s  ; 

use    f  suit  amoiiK.  270;  teach  the  11 f  »ild 

lieiiip,  .302;  u»e  of  cotton  among,  307  ;  use  of 
iron  unknown  aiiioug,  20,  406;  toola  and  \ve«- 
p.im  of,  4(10. 

Iiid'tn,   Indigeuonsto  America,  308;  cultivation 

of,  ailemi I  ill  New  York,  314.  34s:  in  l'ar.». 

llua,  322,  3'iO,  34H;  iu  Luulaiaua,    348;    l)uu» 


mm 


rst  newspaper  »t,  187. 

!I4.  'JUS,  ■J4I,  4jn. 
iiiiiuul'Hi'iuriiii;  lown,  2W. 
enny  paicuteil,  37tj ;    ap» 
iM'(ii-a  3J7. 

at.  4:),  W;  mills  nfar, 
p.  1S7,  ai.'i  ■  jiaiiiT  niiii-s 
42  ;  imi"!!'"  cilnii,  a«i ; 
le  at,  •'10  :  wouleii  lact.'  / 
•  at,  4'J  ;  ordor  made  iii, 
8  ;  guaii  aud  clocks  luailti 

.T21,  342,  346;  m.mnrai!. 
UO  ;  miiiiufactiiii'  "f.  ;H0, 
J,  4-Jl,   4.V),  4'il.  (i'):l  ;  rx- 

34),  ,'i71  ;  liroliiblled,  3-li 
id.  420,  4X1 

in  eaily  times,  331,  444, 

s'ew  Enpland,  303  :  b.nin- 
•,  32S,  311),  ,337,  3i;S,  371  ; 
I  Kiilistitme  fur  tUx,  3vo  ; 
'actures,  '2<i,  302,  303,  31.'i. 
l.'j. 

(o  he  pxrortcd,  4':8,  4'-fi. 
miiicrati'd.  4.'iO  ;  laws  and 
<,  432,  438,  43S,  iCtii  :  prion 
.  440,  4.V1,  4.)i;  ;  inip..rlid, 
;U  America,  4iJ;    exiiurls 

vpntoil,  442. 

Dk's.  372  ;  fir.'-t  in  MasFr.i-lui- 
•i."),  4-H,  4M),  4;io,  4''2,  4!'3  ; 
:  in  CfiiintH-iicnt,  .'ill,  .'ilH; 
2,  .')33,  fi44  ;  in  Ni'W  .IiT'o  y, 
Ivania.  .'iti.'^,  C)'\  ;  in  I'cl.i- 
and,  .^S7,  .V'*,  .')^i',  .V'i  ;  i" 
H  of,  !i'Z:>.  .ill,  aiib  ;  marciiy 
sand,  4'>4. 

i^liiunaldp.  3nfi.  .371  :  qnnn- 
;il4,  32:),  330,  331,  343,  372, 

40,  203,  410  ;  duty  on,  '.OO. 

121,  122,  13.j,  13r,,  rm. 
llntcli,  314,  and  (i'rnian«, 
«t('d.    314,    3:t3,  41-< ;    knit 
14.  412,  41S,  414,  41S,  4.'.;  ; 
<;  Kilk,  300   :«;l  ;  niannlif- 
iragi'd,  3v2,  3s3  ;  prtiuiuius 
S  ;  fcari'ity  of,  4.'i7. 
iron,  cltarat'lHV  and    pxtfnt 
,  331,340,  37.'i,  3^0,  SflO,  3!i0, 
•1  ;  of  nails,  413,  401,  4li«  ; 
a  17StO,  410.  423. 
1   (if,   1.'^,    10,  30.)  ;    Fpnt  to 
.■>H  ;  cnlllvatn  Ihc  vim',  272, 
322,  340,  3.(9  ;  uaturaliml, 

navfti  nrcliilect,  74. 

04,  6CJ. 

i  In,  179;  wltie  in,  277;  nalt 

of  lame.  422,  4S2  ;  of  Hflt. 
iSl,  :131,  344,  3«!i.  374,  3^:^ 
I'.'),  400,  402;  uf  It.iu.  02!' ; 
2,  4'"<;  "I  wini'and  Iuimmiii, 
■a»(Mif.  202,  30W,  ;i7«.  414. 
k-  In.  )7:i 

■a..,,  iinprovPtnrnts.  21,  42, 
■  1,  4«3,  ri02,  Mi  :  iiirKi'  «''>• 
niakinii  I'j,  210  ;  lirfWlnK, 

usi-  of  »rd>'nl  «pirit".  24s  ; 
270  ;  !i'Hi'li  tlip  \i-i'  of  »iOl 

dptlon  aiMonK.  307  ;  n»p  of 
lUK,  21),  4«.1;  toola  aud  »>'»■ 

(1  Aniprlo«,  308;  cultlvattoo 
w  York,  314.  34f< :  ui  I'ar.c 
iu  LuuUiitua,   348;    bua» 


I^DEX. 


69T 


tito  md  pr?minm«  for  imprnvd  mannfactnro 
of,  .itO;  an  or,nnii'rat"d  artii'lp,  32.'):  pxporl* 
of.  .34^,  34!);  di-^placed  by  cottou,  .>')0,  3.J0 ; 
yellow,  riiado.  3.'jO. 

Butniini'nt-i,  inaOiomatiral  and  philosophical, 
7.3,  100,  41)2,  .'lOI,  .'i2l,  ."ioS,  .170,  SSO. 

nvouti.ins,  parly  Eur.ipoan,  13,  14,  03.  211,  212, 
.lO'j,  521  ;  parly  American,  nantical,  h'i,  ,^i3.  02, 
73,  74,  7.'i.  70,  107,  4^2,  :ViS,  .I.V).  .•>77,  .073.  .170, 
SSO  ;  in  n  W  and  hvdranlic  nnaohinorv,  00,  lOii, 
113,11.1,  IK),  142,14,1,  147,  14;),  l.irt,  l.'il,  402, 
501,  ■)21,  570,  .179,  (ISO,  ,11)1  ;  in  paper,  typoM, 
and  pr.asps,  200,  207,  210,  212.  213.  214,  21.1, 
402  ;  in  hrickinakini.',  231  ;  in  -altniakiiii,',  20.1 ; 
in  inxtilp  nun'tiinory  and  procossos,  ,340,  3,11, 
3.12,  3.13,  ,3.1.1,  3>H,  3S0,  30'i.  4ii3.  4  I7,  40S,  .IIS, 
fi79  ;  in  Ipatlior  nnikinj;,  442,  414,  41S,  4i)4  ;  in 
tlip  niotallio  tiranclips,  3S-i,  47. i,  477,  4-'-',  4:i2, 
407,  40S,  .101,  ,104,  .1)0,  .114.  .111,  (I17.  .U.S.  ,110, 
fi30,  ;1(io,  .102,  .171,  177,  .17S,  ,1S().  1^1.  104;  in 
steam  appai'atns,  .171,  .177.  I'-O.  .isi,  .104  ;  inis- 
CPllanponi,  230,  41S,  402,  ">00,  ,101,  ."do,  520,  121, 
510,  102,  .170,  17.S,  .179, 1.S0,  5S1,  JOJ. 

In  VA,  first  printini;  in,  I.-O. 

Ipowich,  -1'),  123,  120,  1.1s,  .302,  414,  47.1. 

Jfto.v,  unknown  to  the  Indian'*,  2'),  40.5  :  anti- 
(jnity  of,  2'),  401,  400;  in  Enu'land,  21,  'JO,  407, 
40'<,  470.  023,  020;  first  montion  id',  in  Ame- 
rica, 27,  2S,  3.3,  40.S,  tiOO.  010;  mines  and 
works  in  .Ma^xichn-etts,  470.101;  in  lihoi'.e 
Ishm.l,  ,10l-.1o4;  in  Connectirut.  .104-121;  in 
New  l[anip-.lii)'e,  521-123  ;  in  Vermont,  52  !- 
524;  in  .Vow  York,  .124-1.39  ;  lu  New  Jersey, 
,130-1.10;  in  I'lOui-yUMriio,  .V)0-1S2  ;  in  DiOa- 
waie,  5S3;  in  .Marylaii'l,  '^4-105;  in  Vir^'inia, 
27,  2S,  .11.1-000;  'in  Kentucky,  O02-O04  ;  in 
Norih  C-.AilMia,  000-017;  lu  Teuues-oe,  013- 
til:*;  in  Sjiitli  Carolina,  HI 7-022  ;  in  Oeoru'ia, 
622;  ifeueral  idiservalious  on,  023-031 :  ollieial 
reports  concpniini;,  4s2,  4S3,  4*).  522,  520,  ,130, 
,ViS,  580,  023;  jealousy  of  c.Oonial,  4S1,  023, 
1)20;  acts  of  pnrliament  respeciim,',  330,  300, 
6S5.  023,  024,  020,  027,  02S,  030 ;  hiir,  pricos  of, 
at  dill'ereiit  lin)ps,  473,  .120,  .131,  .150,  5ii4, 
671,  5S4,  500,  .10.  ,  Pii!,  prices  ,tf,  512,  535,  .114, 
5'13,  ,171,  .101),  mi  ;  ex|i.irtsor  harand  p\x,  4ol, 
.527,531,  540,  ,5.10.  ,100,  571,  5S4,  5*0,  ,190,  625  ; 
tables  of,  020,  02S ;  imports  of  bar  and  pU', 
401;  tables  of,  020;  duties  on,  parliamentary, 
597,  024;  domestic,  4o9,  500,  5S4,  590,  031, 

Japannpd  lealhpr,  first,  443. 

Jeans,  tirst,  300,  .30S,  300,  403  ;  cost  aud  price  of, 
400,  403,  407,  40S. 

Jelferson,  opiui.ms  of,  respeotlni.'  mannfactures, 
413;  Holes  on  Virginia,  413,  0(0,  oio;  leiters 
of,  70,  Ml,  413,  (i07  ;  housohold  inanufaiituruii 
of,  413.  5<2.  008. 

Jpuks,  Joseph,  patents  n  saw  n.lll,  no.  470  ; 
uiakos  hrsl  hra"«  and  Iron  casiiuijs.  scythes, 
and  edge  to.ils,  In  .New  Kn^-laiid,  47(1  ;  drst 
dieo  for  mint,  477;  first  lire  en^ 4VS  ;  pro- 
poses wire  ilrawimr,  47 .S ;  -Mr.,  404,523;  Jo- 
seph. Jr.,  erects  first  lioii^e  aud  forge  lu  KUodo 
Island,  502,  Stephen,  .104. 

Jennies,  spiiiniiiir.  Ilrsi  in  Amerlcn.  383,  387,  308, 
4()|,  17!)  ;  cost  of,  400,  402,  407,  408, 

Jauiftia  Iron,  SOU. 

Kaolin,  524. 

Kansas.  flr~l  prlnlinif  In,  1S<1 

Keiili,   Sir    \S.,   ..piloses  Immlifratlon,   31(1;    u.. 

scheme  of  ^orerniieut  for  colonies,  3.17  ;    hii) 

Iron  work>,  .112. 
KK?«ri:i'Ki-.    .irst   printing  in,  17!);  salt  In,  204; 

lauiiin/  in.  402  :  Iron  works  aud  mtue«  In,  OO'i. 
KliikOoo,  4>4,  4SS,  4H0,  4:iU. 

l,*Boi»,  fi dom  of,  21 ;  price  of,  3..,  /2,  3(1,  100, 

li*,i.  220,    !:i9,  340,  444,  474,  527,  597;    aervlle 
•ffects  of,  428. 


Lace,  fiinije.  Ai;,,  importation  of,  344,  372;  mad* 

302,  414,  410. 
Laucasier,  IVnn.,  mills  in.  111.  1H>.  14.3.  415, 
]irinnntr  in,  100,  4o0;  paper  mills,  100;  lirew- 
eries,  2il2  ;  ulass  house,  2:i7  ;  fiiUinK'  mills,  3"7  . 
inaiinracinrers,  415,  421  ;  leather  aud  saddlery. 
441,417,401  ;  iron  and  copper  miueb  aud  work» 
512-557  ;  Ki)i)s.  572.  57.1. 
Laws,  Mimptii.tiy,  MS,  435. 

Lead,  in  .Massacrmseiis.  403  ;  in  ronnectlcnt,  513 
5is  ;  in  New  York,  524,  .127,  .132,  5:t3  ;  in  TeiiK 
sylvania,  .1.10,  .104.  505;  in  Maryland,  5sS,  .I|i2 
iu    Viru'ina,  20,  471,  003,004;  in  A'ortii  Cir.)- 
lina.oio;  in  Tennessee,  iil4  :  iu  s.mih  ('ar.Oi 
na.  Old,  ii20;  in  .Missouri,  oot ;  scarcity  of,  .l.i.'i. 
Leatlo'r  and    its   manulact.ires,  424-404:  extent 
and    importance  of,   424;    antiiiuily   of,    421; 
amiiig   llie   Indians,  421,  420;    the   Japane-« 
420  ;  laws  and  onlinauces  respectim.',  433.  4.10 
437,    41s,   4;!',),  441,  41s,  403;  iu    Virginia,   .3i 
427,42^.402;  in  .Massaehnseiis,  431,  4.32.  43 
431,  411,  413,  4.10  ;  iu  C.inneclicoit,  4:11.  4.10,  43 
4.;s,  4-.I  ;  in  liho.le  Island,  430;  iu  .New  Yorl 
430-442,   4,15,    401,  402;    in   .New  Jersey,    412 
44.3;  iu  I'eiiiisvlvaiiia  and  Ii.-laware,  4t3-41S 
417,  401,  402;  i'n  .Maryland,  44S,  402;  in  Sonit 
Car.ilina,  44S,  440,  l./ii.  401  ;  in  .North  Car.iliiia 
440;   in  (l.'orL'ia.  410;  exports  ,)f,  4:14,  435,  440, 
4.»),  412,  45S,  4tiO,  402;  prohiliited,  t2S,  420,  4,')5 
43s.  442,  445  ;  prices  of,  430,  444,  440.  44o  ;  in. 
piMvements  in.  442.  41.3,   4i)3,  4>i4  ;  fancy  ami 
uiorucfi,  443.  41s.  410,  403  ;  «p,.ariO  of,  in  .luiy 
times,  :il7,  3'i7,  3sl, :''  ,  420,  432.  444.  440,  4.11  ; 
duties  on,  403.     ^Sse  Siioia  aud  Ta.v.ninu.; 
I.ee,  12.S,  20.1. 

I.enox,  ir  01  ore  and  works,  40.1",  4011, 
Leonards,  tiie,  47  ,  470-4s2.  4oi.  490,  540. 
Leslie,  K.,  inve    ions  of,  5so,  5Sl. 
Lii:iitnini.'  rod     fir-t,  .100. 
Lime,  fir^t  ma..ii!'actiiie  of,  21f,  210,  470. 
Limoi.  inauufaclure  of,  in  Enuland,  si,  3,37,  344; 
lu  New  Knuland,  fli'st  h..u»(diold,  20,s,  200.  303, 
314,  :i.30;  iinprovemeiu  iu.  3:il,  3:iJ  ;  faclories, 
first,  :l.33,   ,3.14,  335,  373,    370;    ntade  m    New 
Y'ork,  314,  307,  309,  3";  ,    in   New  Jersey,  :!l  J; 
ill    I'.omsylvauia,  311,    ilO,   317,  330,371,  :!M. 
405.  407,  '40s.  412,  415,  5!i2  ;  in   IliOaware  and 
Maryland,  319,  330;  in  VuKiiiia,  314,  320,  311, 
412;  k'eneial  use  of,  in  early  limes,  :i.3o,  ;10I  ; 
premiums  for,  310,  3:(4,  3.35,  ;130,  :H4,  340,  307, 
30s,    3S|,  3S2,    020;   Importation  of,  .3",  33s, 
330,  344,  3h9,  411 — ^see  Ul'i  K  (mil  tiAlL  CLolll) 
—/,mt  ivhfl  inlrodneed,  331,  332. 
Tiin-ey-woolsey,  330,  ;I71. 
Li.|iiors,    first  excise  on,  211:    cousninptlou  of, 

201,  204,  201,  209,  270.  274.  270. 
Llvinicstou,  lead  and  Iron  inims  and  works,  511, 
520,  527,  130,  ,1:J3  ;—(."«( /11T//0C,  07,  417,  ,W9  ; 
Uobt.  U.,  211). 
LoftstAXA.  first  prinllni:  in,  779;  vine  culture  in, 
277;  iudiiio  lu,  34s,  :(10  ;  cotton  In,  :i51,  ;U2  ; 
flr>t  sujiiir  mill  aud  collou  k'u  "),  •i'l  ,  I'Hk  I ', 
310. 
Lumber,  meanlTiR  of  11  »  terir.,  104;  cost  of  saw- 
Inu,  07,  100,   IDS,  II    •  exports  of,  from  New 
Eim-land,  30,  44,  50,    H,  'Xi.   90,  '.i9,   Itil,  341  ; 
from   New  York,   101    I'lS  ;  from  New  Jern  y 
prohibited,  08,  100;  (roni   I'ennsylvHiiia,   III; 
from  .Maryland  and   Vir^iuia,    113,  147;  total 
fn.m  Hulled  Stales,  ill. 
Lynn,  mills  at.  123  ;  sheep  and  cattle  at,  304,  431  ; 
'-(-..I  New  Kn^land  tannery  at,  411  :  first  »li..e. 
i.aker  at,  432;  shoe  Imsiiiess  of,  3o7.  114.  4.;i, 
t.11.  412,  +i3,  400  403;  first  improved  «Iiom  11. k- 
niifactiire  at,  451,  4.12;  first  Kcw  buKluud  irm 
w.irk«  at,  471-477, 

MArni»KHT,  invention  aud  mannfactnre  of  paper- 
makiiii^atid  printiiiif.  210.  214;  brickmskiiiij. 
231  :  IcKlile,  elfirts  to  obtain,  ;i.35.  330.  377,  3  ((>, 
570  ;  p'finiums  for,  340,  301*,  37(1,  6!9  ;  oppusl 


1 


68$ 


INDEX. 


Hon  to.  In  F,nr«;»>,  37«,  3S4 ;  mannfadurp  of.  ^tf. 
S<^,  .T.i.s,  410,  i'lTS,  .'i7!t;  o.'irJin;ikii]i.',  H''''.  -t-''. 
407,  .')1S,  ,571  ;  llllilmKkin^',  4S.'-,  *i2,  4'.>^,  ;'iii:i, 
,'iri,  fi7l,  .'il'4;  ii-iin  ami  stiwl  ijiiikiu^,',  41)0,  .'ilj, 
:..'i;i,  .'iSO,  .'iiiB,  ('.'JO;  niTcw  outtiii),'.  •'104;  i;nn- 
miikluK.  ■'>17.  '!'>■';  W""<'  !*">*  meii.l  \v.ili.<, 
.'j17;  laiiidnry  ami  iimrlilc  ciutiii.',  .'19,  .'i7!l ; 
ijiiruiiiK,  Al>(;'  lll■o.l^•iUk',  .021.  .'mS,  .VK  :  li.ii-..!..- 
(.'iriil,  .')01,  .Un.  .Vil,  ii76,  liyilraiilu  iUi.l  mill 
(^ee  iNVKSTin.NS) ;  iinisi'iini  of,  |ir.i'.i»i'tl,  .'■"'1  ; 
cxportatiiiu  of,  pi'oUibUca,  a7S,  iM  ii:io;  Aom 
America,  40;i,  .')7i'. 

MaildiT  ami  woad,  319,  S.'.O,  .•iS2,  41P. 

JlH(;afini>r.,  ftr.-.t  in  Kiixlanrl  ami  A;iioiioa,  ISfi, 

W.iiiif,  sliiplmildini;  in,  44-4i) ;  saw  mill'f  iu.  "fi, 
y7-li>0;  covu  mills,  ViH,  1J9  ;  lirioks  iu,  'J:il  ; 
piiiitinn  in,  179  ;  tannini;  iu,  43J,  Hi. 

y.  .It  .«i'e  Haki.ky  ami  Mali). 

."■laustii.ui.  ;f>>o,  ;i«i.  .'iii^. 

Mauul'aclurers,  ijruiJuiiion  of,  to  roimallon,  412, 
41.'),  .')U.S. 

Maiiufacinrex,  flrnt  colDnial,  2.') ;  nets  f.)r  p]ico)ir- 
RL'iui;,  49,  114,  109,  •2Xt,  3.«,  :H4,  IW),  3.')7,  Ml, 
40S,  409,  417,  4'2.),  WW;  cauHi'S  of  netlect  of, 
.30:i.  .123  327,  328,  .3'29,  411.  4.")0  ;  proMiDti'J  li/ 
rHi.tniints  ou  Ira.ie,  :H,  .  4.  '2:i7,  324,  ,i37,  4'2.s, 
4.")0,  4.")1,  4.">4,  4S2,  .')94  ;  coii)|i.aii)is  oi',  NS,  90, 
199,  3'2)i,  .S29,  :V!8,  340.  Ii23  ;  niarniiu!;  pro^'l■o^8 
of,  88,  328,  3'i9,  330,  3C9  ;  ri^'lit  to  coufino  a«- 
Hertfii,  330,  370  ;  doiuostic  eucouraKi'iuent  of, 
l.cronien  if*"""™!.  3S1-3S3 ;  olijoclionii  urnod 
Hk'aiu>t,  40.);  advautaxes  of,  40ii ;  cliararlcr 
and  extent  of  doiui'stic  household,  411-410; 
t,.ial  esliniateil  ani.nint  of.  410,  4'2;t ;— «ri7).v/i 
importations  of.  89.  331,  344.  374,  3S9,  .'<94,  4U)i, 
411,  414.  4t)2,  .044.  B29  :  drawbacks  allowed  ou, 
327,  32S  :  cost  of.  32!<,  3:to. 

Maunraciurinn;  town,  ipropo)ied  plan  of,  410,  411 ; 
laid  out,  240,  421. 

Makvlasi),  shiphuildlns:  in,  "S-,82,  fll ;  Raw  and 
c.irn  niillsin,  112,  H'i,  147,  .094,  of).")  ;  iirii)ll)ii,' 
in,  17.'),  178,  lh7  ;  papermakiun  in,  207  :  hrick- 
nakiuK:  in,  2'.'9  ;  i;las..)iiakiiiK  iu,  242,  243; 
DeeriDakiuK  in,  2ii2,  2)13  ;  textile  arts  and  i))a- 
terials  in,  33ii,  339,  34'i,  :V)3.  .'isl,  .39s,  i\r, ; 
IwHthermakins  in.  448,  4iil,  402;  iron  n)ines 
and  works  iu,  f)84-.'i9.-) ,  c.ial  of,  ."i!  0,  ftO  1 ,  .■)9.') ; 
early  stale  of  arts  and  t)'Kde  in,  14)i,  319.  .094; 
uon-liuporlatiou  ai;reeine)ils  iu,  374,  'inporls 
of,  '202,  322,  374,  Oil;  exp.o'ts  of,  83,  113,  140, 
147,  3'J'2.  337,  448.  .084.  .Os9,  .Oil9,  ti-2(!,  «■!!<. 

Mahsaohi-setts,  shiphnililiun,  iu,  3U-49,  fiS,  90, 
91  ;  saw  mills  In,  94-97,  101,  102;  corn  luilis 
in,  117,  118,  1'22-128;  priiitiuK  in,  1,02-107, 
183,  184,  180,  187;  boukhimliuu:  anil  b.ioksell- 
Iniiin,  190-192,  197;  paperiuakiui;  iu,  197,  198, 

199,  200,  '204,  '2O.0,  207,  '2)19,  340;  type  fouudiUk', 
&e  ,  in,  212,  210;  provincial  Bta)np  act  in,  '2))3, 
20)1;  linekiuaki))^  In,  219-2'22,  231;  ulassumk- 
lui;  in,  '233,  '239.  '241;  li)'erniaki))K,  ■24.V2.0O; 
willrnakiuK  in.  'TO.  •2,s)t-'2s4,  287,  ■2S8-'290  ;  ti>x- 
lilo  arts  in,  '2')  -300,  302-.II4,  33'2-3>.0,  339-342, 
:)4:i.  340,  ■■'.);,  307,  372.  373,  37.0,  3Sl.  398,  .'199, 
401,  4U.  419,  4'20  ;  )itlier  and  shoeinak)Ug  in, 
4,11-430,  4)1,  403,  4.09,  402;  iron  mines  )U>d 
works  in,  470-^001 ;  housi-hold  I t)d list ry  of, '298, 
37'2,  414.  42)),  499  ;  uoii-importalion  axreemoiis 
In.  20'2.  '237.  3)!7,  372,  373,  :t74,  370  ;  imports  „(, 
2il9    3V4.  414,  ii'29  ;  I'Xp.irls  of.  30,  70,  1'23,  231, 

200,  342,  434,  430,  402.  49.0,  497,  02)1.  (128. 
Mii>i  and  raft  sliips,  08.  72:  ti)i)lji.r,  Ul),  1U4,  lOJ. 
M.'.ll.inl,  38.  43,  2'20.  221,  404 

Mil  DOiAN,  lirst  iiriulinu  In,  179. 

Mil  i.s.  sawing,  93-11  ) ;  i)i  Massaohti««!ts.  04-97, 
101,102;  in  Maine  and  New  llatiipslilre,  90- 
IDl  ;  in  V..rm..nl,  |i)2;  Iu  Kliode  Island,  102. 
103;  in  CouuiTiieiil.  1)11-1)10  ;  In  New  \. ok, 
l(l.'i-IO»;  in  ^ew  .lersey.  108,  109;  III  I'eiiusyl- 
VtniR  una  Delawan.,  109-112:  Iu  Miiiyland 
»nd  VliKinia,  11'2-114:  Iu  Car.dimi  and  (ieor- 
(1«,  '1)4,  nii;  In  CauuJa  flr,-t,   101;  iu  olilo 


llr«t,  114;  In  T'nited  Pistes,  112  ;— cm. J.  liR- 
122 ;  — «-r(((r,  grixt  and  Jlmit,  1'2'2-l.Oi  .  ,ii 
f.Ias^achusett.s,  12'2-128;  in  .Maine,  12s,  129; 
ill  New  Hampshire,  129.  130;  in  lili.ide  l>l.ii,.i, 
1:10,  131;  in  Counecticiil.  131,  132;  iu  -N.'w 
Y.irk,  l;)3-137;  iu  New  .Tersey,  l.i7-l:i'> ;  ,n 
reiinsylvania,  i;M-144;  in  D.'lavare.  144.  14,'.; 
iu  Maryland,  14'i,  147.  .094.  .OiiO  ;  in  Virr'in.a, 
147,  148;  in  Carolina  and  (lenritia,  1*8,  It) 

MillwriKlits,  early,  27,  7(i,  JOO,  101,  103,  lOU,  Uii, 
14'2. 

Millstones.  149. 

Milton.  11*7,  198.  200,  491. 

Minnesota,  first  priutiuij  in,  ISO. 

Mines  and  minerals,  search  f.ir,  28,  4S8,  470,  HM, 
,024,  .O'iO  ;  grants  of,  471,  493,  oO.O,  .024.  .020,  5'20, 
fi40,  610.     )^See  CopPKK,  OoLU,  lBo!«,  Lkad,  8ii.- 

Miniug  companie.,   404,  608,  611,  52.0,  627.  632, 

,048,  .0,06,  .007,  602,  674. 
Minis,  colonial.  78,  477,  478;  United  Slates,  478  ; 

hrauches  iu  Carolina  and  Georgia,  611,  623. 
Mississirpi,  printiuK'  in.  179. 
MisRoL-Ki,  piiutiuK  in,  179;  mineral  resources  of, 

61.0. 
MoiK.poHen  InJurloiiR,  18;  Rbolished  in  Eni;land, 

300,  41)8;  prohibited  iu  Massachusetts,  96,  434  ; 

in  Ne.v  York,  2'2:),  '2'24. 
Monrniuir  apparel,  disuse  of,  345,  366,  367,  368, 

370,  37'2,  :i.sO. 
Mnskets,  first  made  In  Massachusetts,  487,  016, 

.090  ;  prices  of,  673,  691,  ,092.     (Seu  FiRK  ABMs.) 
Mustard  niiUs,  144,  678,  679. 

Naii,9,  spikpR,  *(!.,  manufaclnrc  of,  in  Mas»arhn- 
selts,  3.82.  414,  484,  491,  492,  494,  498,  499,  fSiO; 
111  Uhode  Island,  .003  ;  iu  Connecticut,  613,  618, 
619;  iu  New  Hampshire,  6'23  ;  Vermont,  ,0'24  ; 
ill  New  York,  638;  in  New  Jer,-ey,  .0.00;  in 
I'ennsylvauiaand  Delaware,  'itVi.  .051,  660,  664, 
60.1,  .067,668,670,67:1,576;  iu  Maryland,  587, 
694;  iu  Caroliua  and  (ieornia,  617,  619;  in 
Tuited  Stales,  e:K1 ;  Iu  Canada,  536;  foieij.'U 
u.it  to  bo  used,  372;  family  manufactures  ..f, 
413,  491,  499  ;  first  cut,  38s,  4SS-492,  49!<,  619  ; 
ami  nail  rods,  prices  of,  6'2.0,  6:17,  6:18,  671  ; 
Inip.irlatious  of,  62:^,  629  ;  duly  ou  debated  and 
laid,  499,  ,000. 

Nantes,  edict  of  Issued,  16  ;  revocation  of  and  itn 
conseniieucus,  16,305,  3'22. 

Nantucket,  43,  4'20, 

Naval  Btores,  production  of,  to  be  encouniRed  a» 
a  iiieaus  of  diverting  fnoii  maunfaclnie.s,  :I28, 
3:)S,  341 ;  buuuties  ou  (seo  Boi'NriKs  and  I'Ri- 

Navik-allun  laws,  81,  82,  87,  88,  285,  303,  3'ii  ; 
American  peiliioned  lor,  81,  86. 

Navv  yards,  ,02.  83. 

Needles,  604,  016. 

Newark,  N.  .1.,  138,  258,  442,  441,  640. 

N(.wl>ury,  42,  12.5,  126,  ls2,  ls7,  192,  210,  4S6, 
492. 

New  En^'land  RhlpplnR,  90,  91 ;  neWRpav.ers  in,  in 
1788,  189  ;  fisheries,  cioiimeuceiuiMil  of,  278  ; 
I'niti'd  Colonies  of,  174,  '297  ;  early  pursuits  ef, 
278,  '298;  first  cloth  nianofacture  In,  '298,  3:t9, 
310,  341  ;  household  niauuiaciures  of,  413,  414; 
iiiip.irls  of,  374,  6'29;  exports  of,  4.07.  626.  628. 

Nuw  llAMPsiilKK,  ahipliuiiilluK  Iu,  65-58,  90' 
saw  mills  ill,  95,  96,  U7-10I  :  corn  mills  In.  i).l, 
lis,  1'29,  l:IO;  prIulliiK  1),  178,  187,  215;  paper- 
msklnx  In,  '204;  Baltmakiiik'  and  B«1iIiik  in, 
279;  textile  arts  In,  ;U1,  3I'2,  :i:l9,  340,  414, 
420;  first  iieats  callle  In,  431;  tanneries  In, 
402;  Iron  nines  and  w.ol's  in.  621-52:1;  iiii- 
p..ri»  ef,  6'23  ;  exporlM  of,  66,  ,07,  6<,  9:>.  lol,  6'22. 

New  Haven,  :I7,  49,60,  131,  174,  ',75,  1^7.  213; 
►  ilk  riiNlnu  at,  360,  361  ;  coll.m  factory  al, 
419  ;  onler  re.peciiiiK  leather  at,  4:l«,  437  ;  lue- 
tallic  miiuiiiaiinres,  .Hc  ,  ,006,  510.  618,  619. 

Ntw  JtusKV,    Bliipliulldiuu  in.  08,  69,  01,  taW 


PIstps.  112  ;— (/-I'tLj.  1(R- 
aiul  Jl'iiir,  U'^-l.'il  .  .11 
2S;  ill  Miiiiie,  rj^,  1^ ; 
•i!t,  ni>:  in  Uli.iiiH  Ul.ii.'i. 
■ticul.  l:fl,  1H2 :  ill  .Ni'W 
Si'w  .Inrsi'y,  i:i7-l:!:';  a 
14;  in  D.Mii'JiHre.  144.  14.' ; 
17,  TiiM.  .'»!'.") ;  ill  Viiv'iiia, 
I  nnd  (icipritia.  \ii,  H'l 
7t),  hH),  101,  103,  101),  ISii, 

91. 

iL'  in,  ISO. 

aroh  fir,  2S,  4S3,  4"n,  .■(d.^ 

171,  4H:),  AO.'i,  fi24.  Si'i,  52ii, 

K,  OoLii,  Iron,  Lkad,  tiii.- 

4,  608,  611,  52.'i,  627,  .'.:!2, 
I. 

f,  47S;  United  SUtP^',  478  ; 
HUil  Geurgia.till,  iJ2o. 
n.  17rt. 
179;  mineral  resources  of, 

18;  Bbolisheil  In  Eni;laiid, 

in  MaNsacbusetla,  IIU,  434  ; 

!4. 

^use  of,  345,  3i)i),  3C7,  3M, 

n  Ma««acliu«ptt«,  4S7,  .M«, 
ill,  6!) 2.  (Seu  FiRK  Akmk.) 
i,  079. 

nufaclnrc  of,  in  MasMrhn- 
91,  4:i2,  494,  49S,  499,  6<i0; 

;  in  roniiecticnt,  6l;i,  61S, 
iliire,  .'>2;l ;  Verinout,  .124  ; 
in  New  Jer.-i-v,  .ViO ;  in 
elaware.  W:!.  .Vil,  .'lOO,  664, 
■;),  676:  in  Maryland,  ,1^7, 
ind  (leornia,  Ijl7,  619;  in 
In  Cauada,   .VHi ;  foieijrn 

;  faiiiiW  niannlai'tures  .if, 
lit,  ;^s^,'4H^-492,  4rts,  619  ; 
;i.»   of,  62.'),   6.17,   6.1S,    671  ; 

tf2u  ;  dniy  on  debated  and 

1,  16  ;  revocation  of  and  itn 
1.),  322. 

on  of.  to  bo  enoonraged  as 
ig  from  rnaiiufiii'tui'o.'*,  ;12H, 
ju  (i>«o  BoL'NriKs  and  I'Hi- 

82,  87,  88,  286,  303,  324 ; 
1  lor,  bl,  80. 


i8,  442,  441,  640, 

20,  ls2,   1S7,  192,  216,  4S6, 

U,  90,  91 ;  nowsp»!..'rH  in,  in 
s,  cumnieiiei'ineiil  of,  27.**  ; 
174,297  ;  early  inirMiiti' I'f, 
I  niaiuifacture  in,  298,  :i:t9, 
I  manulacuirO't  of,  413,  414; 
;  exi'ortHof,  4.')7.  (126.  628. 
IlilmiidinK  In,  6.W68,  1)0  r 
,  U7-10I  :  corn  mills  in.  9.1. 
iiK  li,  ns,  187,  21.'>;  jiaper- 
altninkiiiLf  and  n>liiiiK  In, 
11,  3.11,  ,312,  339,  340,  414, 
UIIh  111,  431  ;  tannerien  in, 
lid  worl'M  in,  621-62.1  ;  ini- 
rlHof,  66,  ,67,  6*.  99,  Ml,6'.''2. 
■lO,  131,  174,  '.76,  1n7.  213; 
0,  3iil  ;  coll. Ill  fartory  al, 
un  loallier  a!,  43«,  437  ;  me- 
,  tif  ,  .')Ori,  610,  618,  619. 
illdiUK   In.  Ob,  09,  01  ,  »»W 


INDEX. 


090 


BrtMii  In.  108.  109;  corn  mills.  137-139  ;  print- 
ini(  ill,  172,  174,  177  ;  pa|i..riii:tkiii,;  in,  1;17,  2ol, 
2it.),  210;  liricliiniikins'  in,  220;  ula'^sinuliiiit; 
ill,  2.'0,  2,39  ;  1«',t  and  ruler  making,  2.'i7,  2.">S  ; 
Rultuukini;  in,  -JiUi,  liill  ;  Kcairiiy  of  r-alt  in, 
-M  ;  t.'Xlilo  am  and  iiial.TlaU'in,  314,  3l."i, 
411,414;  leaili.-r  and  slioes  in,  44J.  44:i,  4.Vt, 
4'2  ;  iiMii  Hiid  !■  vpiier  miuiis  and  W"rks  in,  .')3  '- 
6io;  e.x-p.iris  of,  109,  138,  646,  640,  .'i47,  548, 
6.0;   |ir..llibiti>.l,  109. 

•N'.'w  I... 11.1. .11,  (',.11 II..  6.1,  61,  62,  103.  119,  1:11,132, 
176.   1>7,  .313,  :M-|,  421.  474.  606.  .MV,'. 

^^n^p..it.  K.  1.,  64,  66,  II5,  l**,  177,221,  277,  334, 

;wi,  ;'7:),  420. 

M.w-pai  .M-i,  oriu'in  of,  106;  first  in  En^•lan(I, 
IH.'.,  I'iO;  flr,t  ill  11, p  C, lollies,  103,  104;  in 
Jla«s.ieliiiseus,  l.;:|,  iiii;  m  I'liiladelpbia,  171  ; 
in  .New  Y.iik,  172,  174;  in  (^irribee  i.slan.ls, 
173;  put  in  ni..iiriiiiii,'  lor  stamp  act,  174;  first 
W"-loiii.  179;  in  CaliOirnia,  ISii;  llrsi  dailv, 
ls7;  niinili.'r  of,  in  1776,  187;  in  I7,ss,  |,s;); 
8MI.1II  pi.illts  .if  early  ones,  l.sj;  llrst  at  Halifax 
ami  •lii..l)..e,  ls7. 
New  Y.'ik  eiiy,  llrst  (.'raiiU  and  city  manistrnev 
111.  oil;  e,irly»liipliiiil,liiii;,  sliippini;,  and  inula 
of,  37,  69,  01,  O.i,  1.14;  llrst  cliiiia  trada  of,  0.3; 
early  in.'rcliaiits  of,  01,02;  nulls  in,  106,  117, 
II.',  13.t;  biiltiiii;  111. mop. .ly  .if,  On,  til,  i.i.i; 
II  1st  pr."s  in.  17.1 ;  llrst  iie\vs],aper  and  iiiimlier 
of.  in  |s4'i,  172:  lir~t  dailv,  ls7;  li....k-ellers 
ail. I  liiH.l-rs,  190,  1112;  typ-'  l'..iiiidry,  ;;14; 
early  lniKes  and  fiirniliii'e  in,  01,  ;;ii;i,  ;;-jj, 
2-'4;  first  tavern,  222.  261;  nr-l  lir.'weis  and 
di^iilli'i-s,  2611.  2"i2;  first  Siiudav  li.|ii..r  law. 
'2'iii,  261  ;  antitariir  spirit  in,  '261,  2i2 ;  lir-t 
ii.iiv.'  niay.ir  01',  2V3  ;  llrst  p..or-li..nse  in,  ,!:(4  ; 
s..ei..ty  .if  arts  in,  :i07-.i71.  4'i6.  6.32  ;  linen  I'.ie- 
t.'iy,  371;  rolL.n  laet.iry,  4ii.l  ;  tiiiin.Ms  aii.l 
sli.ieiiiakers  in,  440-442;  tlie  "..••imp,"  ;;;i4, 
441  ;  e,uiy  sinii'n  in.  626;  air  fiirnae...  6:14; 
llrst  Wiiterwoik*  'o,  .634  ;  Orsi  rariiai,'.'  f.ici.iry, 
63S  ;  niotallie  iiiauiifictiir.'^,  63s,  .VM  ;  noii  iili- 
p..riati'iii  resiiliiii.iiis  in,  3.i7-:i7.i,  376;  imporls 
.if.  0.1,  01,  104,  222,  374,  462,  466,  ii2'i,  li2S  ;  ex- 
p  irts  of,  60,  01,  0.1,  108,  134,  361,  37s,  462,  6.16, 

029. 

Ni;w  VoRK,  shlphiiildini,'  In,  37,  ,69-08,  91  ;  saw 
111111-,  in,  liii-lns;  win. I  nulls  in,  117.  119,  120, 
121,  122;  wat.'rc.irn  iiiills  in,  1.1.3-1.17;  print- 
iiiifin,  102,  I'iJ,  17'i,  171,  174,  176.  Is?;  i,.iok- 
s.Oliii:,'  ami  liiii.liiu-  in.  Ion,  luu  ;  p„;...riini(iiit,', 
'200,  2oi, '2.19.  210;  stamp  act  in,  2iM;  «eaieif 
of  paper  ill,  L'O'i ;  paperliaiiiriiu;s  in,  oi)!.,  oin'^ 
type,  ami  pr..s>es  In,  212.  214,  21  "1 :  hrickii,  ilt- 
111.:  ill.  2J2-220;  i;I:is<m  lUiiiif  in,  2.!'i.  240,  2J I  ; 

I rmikiii.'   in.    2"..i-264.   2.7;  saliiiiakinir  in! 

223,  2S|,  281,  2'*.  .:o3,  2i4;  textile  arn  and 
iimterialu  in,  314  .(28-.330,  :i:io,  :i.iii,  .'m,  ;tiij 
3'iO-;171,  377,  ,'19S,  40,3,  417;  loatliei makin,' In,' 
4ti  412,  4)6,  4VI,  401,  402;  Iron  ..  i  e.ipper 
mill's  and  m.innfael  ire..,  624-.VI:i,  ■  _.i  ;  u.in- 
linp..it..iii..i  HSMieuiii.ins  In,  3i;7,  :I74 .  inip.iri' 
of.  Oil.  01,  1:.'.',  O.I4,  2M,  ;)74,  466.  0J;1  ;  exp.irti. 

of,  00,  01,  0,1,  107,  108,  l.j;t,  134,  l;i7,  'iio,  3,VJ. 
378,  4Vi,  627,  6  .     02«, 

Non-imp  irtali. Ml  .IntloiiM,  eir..ct«  of,  20'2,  300- 
,170.  ;I74  ;  a.l.i)0  Oy  I'.ingr. s«,  3711 ;  Krticles 
exelo.l.'d  hy,  300.     "2.  ,'174, 

RoKiii  i'Aii..'i.iN.»,  ^  i.hiiildlnif  In,  8.3-80,  fll  ; 
null-,  ill,  114.  119;  |  uiiiK  in,  178,  187  ;  paper- 
inakinK,  '207;  brie  oakiiik',  210,  '2.11;  Ki,is«. 
Ill akiiitf  in, '230;  teMilo  arts  ami  materials  in, 
322.  32S,  343.  :16l,  364,  ,3s2,  41.1,  010,  017;  lea- 
llienuakiiiw  in,  448-4"iO;  iron  mlii.'s  and  w.irks, 
lie  ,  111,  Oo'i.  017,  020  ;  liiip..ris  of,  204,  374,  449 
4"ii>,  1.29  ;  oxp.jrts  .if.  .■M4,  44s,  44',  OJO. 

If.irwieli,  C.iuu.,  101,  187,  '.'00,  270,  4ls,  439,  fll8, 

.{ova  Scolia,  newspaper  In,  187;  Se.deh  Irish 
•eiilo  III,  ,'1.12,  31.1;  |lr,t  iieata  catllti  lu,  427; 
Irou  luiuus  and  workit,  ii7. 


Onto,  first  priiitiufr  in,  179;  first  saw  mill  In, 
104:  taniiuries  in  IslO,  402;  mineral  rosoureet 
of,  Oii:t. 

Oils,  expressed,  premiums  for,  30,  410. 

1)11  I'aeiories.  sp.'rm.  66. 

Oil  mills,  10:1,  I'Jl,  |4.i,  3';2.  414,  416. 

Oii.inilal'o  salt  s|.rin-;s  ilis.'..ver..d,  2S4,  293. 

Orm.mx.  llrst  priiiiinn  111,  IsO. 

OrK'aii  biiil.liii,;,  6sii,  .-,81, 

nrieries.  ,'iii|,  621,  ,'i70. 

orr,  Hiiijli,  :i4ii,  .t.is.  480,  487 ;— «(,-jerf,  487. 

Oswejjo,  mills  at,  137. 

Talvt,  limited  nse  .if,  208,  2iV. 

rainters'   colors,   duty    on,   202,   237,    372;    pr». 

miiiins  lor.  407. 
ralalines,  (jerman,  settle   in  .\nieriea,  14'    276 

310,  ,367,  376,  ,-iii(i. 
rAi'Kii,  inaiinlaeliiro  of,  in  t:iii;hiii.|,  81.  IM ; 
in  .Mexico  ami  I'.-rn,  U'.'i  ;  lir-t  cLoiial,  liiii; 
in  l*.Miii>ylvaiiia,  Ilt6-l!i7,  Iiiy,  'Jill,  lim;,  007 
208,  20!l,''Jlll;  in  Jla»>aelliis,.t|»,  l:!?^.!)'  '"o.!' 
204.206,  207,  '201,3411;  in  Ith.i.l..  Maud,  2i'ii,' 
'201:  in  ('.■iiiieetieiii,  '200,  ;;o.i,  J117,  'jio;  i,| 
Xew  Hampshire,  2o4 ;  in  Verm. nil,  L'o6 ';  in 
New  V..rk.  'joii,  200,  201,  'JIO  ;  in  N.-w  .U'l-rv 
197,  '2ul,  •JO;l,  :;ill;  in  H.'laware,  201,  '207,  210; 
in  .Maryland.  '207;  in  I'ar.iliiia.  2ii7,  2iis,  iii 
Calif.. riiia, '206  ;  Inlies  .m,  201,  '2ii2,  '20.1,  '2oO, 
20.S ;  rep.'al.'.l  by  Kiu'laml  ami  Kraiie..,  'JOii 
'209;  ami  racs,  searcity  of,  l;i8.  In;',  'M'),  'Joti  ; 
hleiieliini:  and  blneinif  of,  ii04,  206,  200,  210 
I'ap.'r  liaiiiriiu's,  usa  and  manufacture  of,  •20S-211, 
I'ari  limi.nt.  2ol, 

I'arliim.'iit,  liritish,  nrst  act  of  relatini.'  to  Aine- 
rie.i,  27.S  ;  a.linits  eobmial  pr.idue..  Ir.'e.  :;o.l, 
367  ;  enai'ts  tlio  navi^^atLin  laws,  s7,  2s6,  ;jJ4, 
326,  32'i,  4.'.0  ;  eivcl»  a  H.iaid  of  Tra.le  ami 
J'lantations,  ,■(20;  probibits  Hie  exp.iriaiion 
of  wo.)I  and  w.i'.b'ns  fr.nn  llie  col..iii.'s.  :iJ7  ; 
pavs.'s,  tbe  trespass  arts,  ,67,  9.1,  liio,  lii.) ;  allow.i 
ii. unities  on  naval  St.. res  and  raw  mat. .rials, 
,'12H,  4r.,  isi'e  D.ifxTiHs  ;  encoirav's  imp.,ria- 
li.oi  of  raw  iron,  bin  deelare-.  a,'ainBi  manii  ae- 
tiire-i,  ;i.(.i,  024-ii2s;  calls  f.i  ■  reports  ot  maim- 
factiiies,  33H,  :!7ii,  026;  pr.  bibiis  exp..riai'ou 
ami  limits  tlio  iiiaiiiil'artnr  1  of  bat-,  ;{42,  pi.i- 
lilbits  slittiiiif  mills  ami  hle.'l  fiirn.ir.'-.  4.i|, 
668,  0'26;  probibits  paper  ■mmey,  346.  .106  :  its 
liberal  approprialoins,  99,  327,  :t.")0,  :i6s,  :jii',|  ; 
lays  liro  .inty  for  reveiin"  in  America,  ,306  ;  .  li 
slanips,  |,S6,  2o|,  ;)00  ;  on  glass,  paper,  &c,,  ln6, 
'202,  .172;  pr.iliibiu  exp.iriati.ni  of  tools,  uten- 
sils, ami  ariillcirs,  37»,  ,390,  o;!0. 
Pal.  lit  laws,  unyiu  of,  90;  early  American,  96, 

114,  IsO. 
I'ai|..r-.iii,  N.  .7  ,  f.uiride.l,  411. 
I'liwlniOiel,  It   I.,  07,  10.3,  400,  401,  40.3.  602,  ,603 
I'.'rk,  J..I111,  47, 

I'eiiii,  William,  09,  no,  141,  108,  109,  |:io  oa^ 
236,  2.10,  2V.I,  '272,  273,  :II6,  310,443,444,  ,V,1.' 
,6'''!.  602;— ./"'iH,  24:1,  303,  371,  667  ;— 7'/i.,niii,«, 
660, 
1'k,vnsvi,TAVia,  sbipbnildinir  in,  69-77,  9)  ;  saw 
mills  in,  109-112;  crii  mills,  13''-144;  print. 
lllK  in,  M7-109,  170-174,   isl,  182,  IM.  IsO    |«7 

18.S,  ls9,  l!o),  193;  1 kselliiiKaii.l  llln^,nl..  in' 

190,192;  paperiiiakinK  In,  I9,")-I!i7,  19o,  'jol', 
i'lO,  '207,  2(W,  '2119,  -.Jill  ;  type  I'ouiidiiix,  1.S2, 'Jl-J- 
214,  400  ;  biiekniakiiiit  in,  228;  K'a>-m,ikiiii/ 
In,  2.36-'2.l7,  '2;i9,  213.  371,  400,  ;i74  ;  lieenii.iK. 
Iiiii, '2"i8.202  ;  villi' riiltnre,  272-276,  277  ;  »alt. 
iiiakiuK',  292-2'i.i;  tbe  textile  arts  and  „o,i... 
rials  in,  3': -.117,  ;ii6,  ;i;|ii,  ;i3i,  ,'i4ii,  ;ui,   :f,,i 

3.;2  30t,  371,  377,  ;I78,  ,1s.l-3ss,  ;i;il,  ;|.i;i  ci' 
»:i>i,  400,  401-110.  412,  414.  416;  lialiii.i'kintf' 
421;  lealbeiinakiiii,',  441-418,  467,  4i;|,  4.  ■.' ; 
Iron  mi  III'- a  ml  w.'rks,6  .ii-682  ;  c.al  d  -c.iv.o.j 
til,  6.il,  6'i2,  61.4.  6.1,1;  misi'ell,iii.'..iis,  in.iiiutap. 
lure  .if  nieial,  6iei-6>i2  see  CoI'I'kr,  l,K«n,  Sr,) 
iuipons  ami  exp  irts  .sue  I'uaAnxLrHiA;, 


SM 


100 


INDEX. 


PoppflrpU   Sir  VV.,4.V  87,  38.91. 

Prrkins,  ,Iiic"l),  !r.vi'iitiim»  ot,  492. 

I>,.tei!.l)iirv,  Vk.,  ilN    r,'.>'.l. 

fcv/U'Vi-r*  ami  [iMM.-i  wiiro,  ^,  1,  -fl-  ■'/■^•. 

V-liinnKLiMnA,    sliipl,n;idiiiK    an.l    sliippuiK  nf, 

iVi-7;  •  tr.iili's:riiMi  unci  i.-iftiLufacMiri-i^  ..I,  .n,  ,.i, 

31:!     41-J,    44,,  5.-)l,    .'.■.il- 'L--.!  ;    lli>'   'Cli""'  ''">> 

IH-eU   in,    hi7,  lOS,    ISS,  l:;.:  Il.;-t  n..wM.H|..M-, 

171,  187  •    bo..k>'"lU'r»  aiiJ   !.iniliM>^.  liMi.  l.ii  , 

]M|Ilt    iiiill'f,   '^I'l  ;    iyp« 

eaiiy  ilwei;ini.'«  ami  l>lf" 

ui,i>s-h..m-.'»,   2.1.-..    2:W. 

Vi.ifVi.nl-,  ■!7:i,277;  lairs,  :i|-.,  :(lii:. -..;.. in  cai» 

Mill  ii'Xiili!  niai'liiiicry  i.ia.l.!.  3:1:1,  :i-):l; 

41.'i,  ■>7it ;  ►ilk  lllaiii.i',  :i'' 1, 

377  ;  llr~t  i.-any,  :!'■'.  ■■^7, 

tB<'i.M-i..-.  :is"i,  :is7.  :<  'i.  :W' 

410  ;  Ciiitiiii'i.i 

C..iii|May  lur  I 

■;.>:.  1114,  .'m'.i 

41 14-4 1 1 1.    4.>9 


(',,1.1  ii"i-s.  ii-J,  '.!n; 
.  iif,  -J-J?,  ■J-.is,  '^-'0,  »M; 

iMVW.'li.V,    2.-i!>,  'Jiii; 


(S>.  4l'>, 
.177  ;  fi.lliiiK  ii>.ll'<,   I   Rii 
7!)  ;  ti'Xiilf  iii.'.Mi-    I 
:jliS,  411".  4ii4.  4"7..   I 
I  (•..m;iiv»»im>etsat,  :i7:) ;  I'ljii.-u   j 
i,..ii'iiiiiK  iiiaiii.fai-li.ivs  ill 
I'lMiii-^ylvaiiia  f^' 
l>liil..».ililii.'Hl 


1115  Island,  i-liiiiliiiililiiiL'  In,  rA, 
iiiilU  ia,  im  livi,  l:;ii:  iniutiai:  i.i 
Iiap.Tlilakiai:,  ii'M, '^H  ;  liri.^k  ami 
ill.',  '21^.  --1  ;  ln'o.-.iinki.iw  a 


I'ty  >if  Arts  in, 
I'ii'lV    ill,    1^'i, 


■)S4;  makiOK  of. 


2ii.>,  42.1,  4'.;i,4«-2,  4P.'., 


1-J^  178,  1S7, 
,  mi,  3,1,  IW,  114, 


1'i:i;  iM-iiw  .if  cnlioa  in,  3~n.  Hii-i ;  Hr-'  ''ii'il^. 
?.<.I4-  lirst  clien.ical  wnrks,  4.17;  iiiv.i"iiu.'n  ut 
luaa.iraclnivr.H  in,  41J  ;  l.att.Ts  i.u  4J1  ;  \va«.'H 
at.  444;  li^aili'-rinakini;,  44.i,  44/,  4iH.  ■i"i  , 
moli.llicinanul'acti.res  in,  .'i."il,ri,Vi.  .•i.j,H,  ^''j".  ■"■''- 
6SJ;  lli-,^t  !).■  en>;iu«and.:oin|.ai.yin,  .),..;  nr^^ 
Blnaiii  enaiii.'s,  07.1,  .'.77  ;  inu-nn.  ,.f  m...J.'ls  al, 
pr,.|i..-.M,  .'.M  i  iin|...i-l»  .'I,  2'io.  2^  ,  2.4,  ..,4, 
'i7s  4.1.;  4Vi,  (i-J'.l ;  ..xi...iis..r.  70,  .:!,  Ill,  H-l, 
144,'  wi  '2.12,  ill."),  :'H1,  :i40,  341,  3j4,  37b,  441, 
44,V.  44.1,  4.12,  .OUU,  07a. 

PHn,.f.ineB,  ■"*!', 

l>ii  Iron.     iS.M-  !i'0!»,i 

I'i,,,.  Ilist   iu    Kn;;lan.l,  20.   47«, 
in  Am.Mi.M,  47s,  .'.o4,  nIS,  (il'i, 

Plll-liiirc,  li.st  |nv«-  in,  1711 ;  .'urly  iiianufa.-tiir.'H 
.if.  24.1.  2.12.  41.'i.  4ti2.  •"..>"    •'  " 

JMtisll.'IJ,  Mass.,  102,  12S, 

Plvmonth,    Ma-.,,  37,  Hn,  97.  123,  124,  2s:l,  ;iUl, 

;io2.  42H,  4S:),  4SS,  4112. 
Poll'  lio.its.  7.1,  ■')7!i, 

I'.iri.T  ami  al.',  2.-.0,  260.  Ml,  21.'..  {'<■<•■  Hkkh)- 
•  I'oillan.l,  M..  ,4".  OM,  12il.  1711,  4:r,. 
p„il.in..illli.  N.  II.,  SO,  i8,  lt.>,   lis 

27'.',  2S.1.  431.  .^22, 
Pol    p.Mirl,  an.l  soup  ftslies, 

V'-,   4.17    414.  .1:12,  IJIH. 
P,:u.My,   is,  27.   32,  220,   223,220,22.1,2,10,  231. 

2:W,  218,  40.1, 
PrHini.inis,     .S«  Boi'STirs  and  I'llESIirMs.l 
PriiM-s  in  11121,  :io,  .»,'h  IIki'k.    Hulks,    Chiton, 

Ikon,  Labor.  I.kaiiikk,  .>^Ai.r 
Prinii.U',  1.V2-II14;  lir-t  In  llio  . 
iiw.,u.l  pr.'s»».'at.  lo.l;,ln.lian  Hi 
flr.t  o>as.,rsl.ip.  1(10;  Hr-l  oM'yrivlit  R.'t.  lol  , 
fir.t  p.'intini!  ill  H^islon,  1..2  ;  pr.Oul.ii.Hl  lu 
N..W  V.irk  KU.I  Vi.'Kinia,  1.12.  17.i;  liivl  mnv.- 
pup.-r  RlioHt,  1.13;  llrst  su.r.'ssful.  104;  n.- 
,.,.„ity  ..r  th»  iL'Wspap.T,  Hi.-.;  c.mllli.iU  of 
th.'  pr.'ss  in  Kiiulau.l,  I'i.i ;  fii"'  Pi''"'<  i»  '  '■''■'■ 
d.-l|.l.ia,  l«7,  l.is-  in  Now  Voik,  1..:';  Hr-l 
n.-tt-|..ipors.  in  lli.i-p  .■itifs,  171;  H.iiJ.  traiik- 
lia  172,  l!<4;  Hr-l  PK"-"  i"  ronm-.tiioii,  l..i; 
In  '  .Maryl:iml,  Vir^iina,  and  .■■o.illi  Carol, iia, 
nn    1^7  i  iu   llli..a.-   IsUmI   ami    .N^w  J.t-.'V, 

177'  187;  in  Ni.rlli   Curolina,   llplawa..',  U • 

Ilia'  HuJ  V.Tin..nt.  178,  187  ;  iu  Maim,  a.ol 
W.'si.on  Siaips,  17!i,  18.1;  8,.w.t«  (i.Toian  Hi- 
Mo,  181  ;  Hr-l  liui;lish  llil.l.',  183;  li.e  .lamp 
»,•(  18-,-  .1. 'I'lMiuaii,  Istl;  Hr-l  imii;ar,m",  Iso; 
tr^  daily  pap.-r».  187;  M.  C.i.vy  and  iriol.' 
sHli's.   18!);  b.M.ksoll.Ts  and  l.iml.rs,  1!I0-1J3  ; 

lii.M-aiv  ciiarariiT.ll  lliocd »-,  I'.i3,  llH. 

Cr  vhLm.m,  47.  oil.  ..I.  tvl.  i.'i,  8.-.,  Ml,  91. 
I'Kovii.K.Ni'H.  popiihiliou  ami  sl.ippUii;  of,  M,  .m  , 
mills  IU  l(i:t,  i:i.i :  pr.M.iiii!  in,  177.  187;  ni»- 
n,ii,i.MiiiiMS  01,  2iH),  JIH.2.'I,  222,  :l:13,  :IVI,  sn, 
Si.i  4.11-404.  ft(i4;  ll.-l  .■■ot.oi  liiclury  al,  401- 
4U4    410,414,  lu.'Uli.i- iu»iiu.ailuru»,  .MIl-ilU, 


Pumps,  492,  301,021,576.  57« 

Quadrant,  the,  14  ;  Godfioy's,  73,  53S,  676, 
Qni.rti  mills,  lio.'i. 
QilidMT.  107,  !s7,  MCx. 
()iiori'ilr..n.  Iir>iox|...rtof,  401. 
Umrn   .ir  liaud  uiiU,  V.\  HO;  In  America,  138, 
14U,  121. 

Railroad   propnspd,  ri3!>  ;  Hist  in  United  Stale*, 

,'.'i3  ;   Haiti  more  and  Oliio,  f,;)0. 
Kaviiliain,  47.1,  480,  4S2. 

U.'v..lnli..n,  Hrsl  act  ol,  277;    ils  Influence  np.'O 
iislry,  3S0,  3S;i,  3n4-:WiJ, 

'''"■-'-    ^'    o,'i,  .■  ,  ■ .  , 
,  1T7,  1-7  ; 
liin.'    iH.k- 
1,1  .li.-tiHiii^.',  2'.'; 
ti'xiilo  arts  and  inaiorials  in,  :1:13,  :):!4,  .1:1 ',  :iil, 
,S4-|     'Ul     388,  :tS!i.  31.!i,  401-404,  410,  414.  42o  ; 
)l,-.'tco!t..n  mill  in,  4.11-104;  Ifailier  manul.o  • 
t.i'-ts,   4:)<1  ;  iron    inim-s  and  \v,.rks,   4s.i.  ..o|- 
004  ,-i3.);  cial  disiMV.oed  in.  40:);  imp^ol^  ■  i, 
64,  f>;>,  i-iO.  277.  374,  62a  ;  uxporlo  of,  lo2,  2.;- 
2."iO,  4:t!>. 
Rililionsinalo,  3R1,  414. 
I)i,.limon.l,V.',  8:1.147, .'.!),'..  Mil.  60,-.  609. 
Hittenlions..,  l)i  ,  77,  :!l.i,  409,  .V21,  0.0. 
K,,i'he-tcr,  N.  v.,  122,  l:>7.  ,      ^     ,      ,    ,.,, . 

K.diiuK  and  slittiiiK  mill",  fi"'  '»  England.  480  , 
Hr-t  in  N.nv  KiikI.mkI.  4UI  :  in  Massa.liii-.  11-, 
4s:t-484,  48.-.,  4Sb.  4,s'.),  4iU,  4'Ml.  .i2.-.  ;  iii  lili  ;"■ 
l-liind,  fio;i ;  in  Connt>i'icnt.  ."07,  ,')I3,  oil)...-. ; 
In  V.rmont,  S23;  iu  Ktw  Vmk,  .'.:)ti,  t>2j  ;  .0 
N,w  J.'rs.-y,  lOll,  541,  54.',  54,'),  fl4H,  62.;  111 
P,.nnsvlvania,  5.-,0,  o/.S,  ,^.i.i,  6.18,  .m  5.8;  <a 
D.'lawarP.  5s3.  62.".;  iu  Maryland.  o,s,i,  ..>■ . 
6*7  .■.'..0,  ."(:12,  .WS,  62.'i  ;  iu  Viri;:iiia,  li'Mi,  Oo.i; 
in  'N..rtli  Car..liiia,  61.);  pruliiliil  .d,  4!.l,  ..o., 
624,  62.);  sti-aiii,  ..78, 
Uowl.>y  Mass.,  Hrst  fnllini?  mill  and  (.'otii  l.^a- 
nnlaomio  at,  3o:i,  3o4,  :to.-,  ;  ii..n  w..rks  hi,  4-... 
Hum.    iiianulamnra  of,  .05,  2.j0,  2.0,  (oea  U;cii..- 

1,1  N.l). 
Kunilord,  Count,  550. 

Uiitii-oian  soci.'iy,  77.  ,•,,■,«  — 

Unm-.'y,  Jaln.•^  nautical  Invflutions  of,  7.1,  70,  .., 

84;  liiiprov.'d    iiiiil    macliiu.My.    113.  144,  14., 

l,'i.l  ;  pt.'ain  .'nuon.'s,  ■'.114,  ,'i!i,'i.  ,,,,,,. 

Kii— ia  L'oods,  impoittttiuua  of.  337,  411,  412,  4,'t', 

627,  62:1. 


,,l<i 


lljli 


,  |..:t-154; 
I.H- 


Saco,  Me.,  flS.  12«. 
8,iddl.My,  44.-.,  •102.  46,3.  609. 
Siul  llili'k,      lSei>  Uf>.'K,) 

Sal!'ni!"3",'''40,"42,    117,  12.1,  120,    1^7,  192,  20;., 

"It  234  282,  :io:l,  420,  4:l.i,  4:U.  4:i2,  470,  4s7. 
Riilioi'i,  N,'.I.,  69,  108,  138,  220,  ^^S  314. 
Sal.'Ui,  N,  ('.,  207. 
H,.i.»lmry,ronu.,  49.'),.'ill,  .131, 
SAi.r.  iiiiinufai'lnro  ot,    in  Km,'Iaiid,  21.  Z'-l.  2-". 
287;  Hrst  iu  AniPricu,27,  2.s  ;  litlie  ns.'il  l.y  iI.h 
natives,  270;  rlKlit  of    makliiw  n'-.MVf.l,  2-1; 
works  in  Ni'W  Kuxland.  27!),  282,  28:1,  28.1.  2», 
■ill);  in  N.'W  York.  2!-4,  285,  2.s6.  U93  ;  Impor- 
taiion  for  llio  fl-li.'ri»»  allow.'d.  2s.'i ;  work-  in 
K.'W  J.Ts.'y,  290,  291  ;  iu   I'lOiii-vivania,  2!'2- 
..., ;  In  Virginia  an.l  .Maryla.nl.  27,  28,  :I3.  27!<, 
'2S0  592;    ill  Carolina,  2s7.  61.1.  020  ;  In  Wi-i- 
tir)i  c.inntry.  292-294,  614;    siMiiciiy  of,    i.ii-l 
price  at  dillVreut  liiues,  261,  2b:l,  28.i,  2'Jl,  2:'2, 
2'.i5;  duty  on,  295. 
Sale  Lake,  Hrst  pr.'««  »t,  ".80. 
S,.ltp.'trp,  114.  382.  383,  .-.92.  flOfl,  010,  019,  R2o 
Sand,  llr^t  caslinns  lu.  4^4;  inaguelic,  dml  Iroo 

and  sl.'i'l  iiia.lH  li-oin,  514. 
Rhus  cul.. tics,. oik'in  of  ili.- term.  303, 
Savaunali,  178.  Is,',  l;)ii,  275,  3  .8. 
saw  mill".    .8""  Mii.l.s.i 
Ijawa,  ui»Duf»cliire  ul,  11).^,  41)2,  494. 


J. 


176,  fiTg 

Jfiey's,  73.,  6SS,  578. 


tof,  4r,l. 
i;i,  UG;  In  America,  138, 


in  ;  first  ia  United  St;Ue«, 

Oliio,  030. 

•» 

I,  277  ;    iirt  luBucncc  upi'D 

;n4-:>'jij. 

iiildiiiL'  in,  .M,  .'..1,  T)'!,  !'i_. ; 

l:iii;  iiriutiiii:  in.  1"",  1~"  ■ 

lidt ;  tirlck  Mini  linn>   k- 

M«kiu«  ami  cli.'tillin^.'.  'JV'; 
t.Mi.iis  in,  ;i:!:i,  :i:U,  xi<,  :■■!!. 

jii;i,    4,)|_4(i-l,   410.   414.    -l-:''  i 

411I-H14  ;  Icatlii'i-  iniuuil.i  • 
iinf»  iiiiil  work!',  4!-ii.  .V'l- 
jviMed  in.  4ti,J;  inip"ii*  •  |'. 
,  ti'^it ;  uxiiorlo  of,  U'-,  --- 

14. 

47,  .w.'i.  .'jDn.  cn,-.  609. 

,!tii,  400,  .'j'JI,  J70. 
,  l:i7. 

nills,  first  in  Eni<liinil.  4sn  ; 
.ind.  4!)l  ;  in  MiUsailm- 11-, 
,s'.i,  4iU,  4'Mi.  ()■-.■)  ;  in  Ui:  1" 
nniH'icnt.  ."07,  ,')13,  oKi.Oi'i ; 
in  Ktw  V.iik,  .««,  ti-jj;  m 
541,  54.',  54,'),  54)1,  O'J'. ;  111 
,,  5/1,'!,  , 'Hill,  5"S,  ,'!till,  .'l.,^;  ui 
."1  ;  iu  M;iryhu)d,  5n"i,  •>■ , 
Oi'i  ;  iu  Viri;:uiii,  lioii,  0";i ; 
I,  01.) ;  iiruhiliil  id,  4yl,  511T, 

fiillinu-  mill  Hnd  ('otli  h^.i- 
)ii4,  :liij  ;  iiiin  wurki  -ti,  4- :. 
of,  .O.J,  iJO,  :270,  i,hei)  Uiciii- 

1. 

r. 

tical  Invontlonn  of,  7.1,  71^.  77, 

II    niiicliini-ry,    113,  144,  147, 

■tiiiouV  of,'  337,  411,  412,  4;i0, 


m.  609.  ■-' 

117,  1'2.'>,  126,    1^7,  105,  eoo, 
4J0.  4:111,  4:il,  4:K,  470,  4s7. 
■■.,  Ills,  i-JO,  aif,  314. 

I.'],  .111,  .131. 

of,  in  Knulnnd,  21,  2<2,  2-1, 
ricii,  27,  2,''  ;  liuU'  usi'd  by  ci.e 
ht  of  niaklnii  n-iMVi'd,  2»1  ; 
iKliind.  270,  282,  2(t3,  280.  2>>. 
■k.  2!'4,  2><."i,  2.S6.  203;  Impor- 
iiTloB  nllowi'd.  2'>'i ;  work-  In 
,  201  ;  iu  I'l'nii-vlvauiii.  202- 
Hud  Marvhmd,  'J?.  2S,  33,  2TM, 
■iilin«,  2>7.  010.  Ii20;  in  Wi-i- 
i-204,  614;  Hiiuriiy  of,  iiiil 
timcH,  2bl,  2b3,  2».'>,  20l,  2:'2, 
.1. 

>■  »t,  ".SO. 

3S3,  .102.  nofl,  616,  61!),  B20 
•>  In.  4^4;  iiotgneilc,  Hml  Iroa 
rom.  .114. 

h  .if  Ho-  li-rm,  30s. 
■.  1011,  27.'i,  3 ',8. 

lll.l.K,  ' 

I  ul,  10.1,  4W2,  491J. 


INDEX. 


701 


Scitnato,  MaHS.,  41,  D7, 117,  434. 

Pciiniiti>,  U,  1  .  .102. 

gcolcOi  lri~li,  331,  ;«2,  34,1. 

SiT.'Ws,  ,'i04,  560, 

Seville.",  cai'lv  iniprovomr'nts  in,  476,  477,  4Sn, 
4S7  ;  miUHifiii-inri'  of,  402,403,  404,406,  532, 
5(iS,  620;  prii'o  of.  525. 

SoiviuiiH  and  lahoiors  in  16th  coutnry,19;  dress 
of.  in  colonial  linit-,  331,  413. 

p.Mvinh'  >ilk  made,  .3.'i6,  301,  302,  303,  414,  419. 

SeuOiig  til:icliines  ojiposed,  23, 

Slnep,  lir>t  in  the  colonies,  304;  propagation  of, 
eiii'oura.^Hd,  310  312,  313,  313,  321,  34,1,  370, 
3^1,  383,406,  417;  meriuo  breed  introduced, 
417, 

Stie.t  iron,  402,  840,  S71,  503  ;  ware,  5,10,  .175. 

Slieeiin^s  mid  iiliirtiut,'s,  340,  412,413;  first  cot- 
ton, 4ii4,  413. 

Shirts,  scaiTily  of.  303,  305. 

SiiiiMu-ii.niMi,  30-02;  ilrst  In  tlio  colonies,  37  ; 
in  Massaeliiiseiis,  37-40,  5S,  87,  00,  01  ;  iu 
5Iaine,  44-40;  in  Connectient.  40-.'j4.  00,  01  ;  iu 
Khodu  Isliind,  54,  ,15,  5S  00,  IM  ;  iu  New  llamp- 
fliire,  .5.1-5S,  00,  01  ;  in  New  York.  :17,  .1:i-U,H, 
01  ;  in  New  .Jersey,  6S,  00,  01  ;  in  I'enusylva- 
niii,  00-71,01  ;  in  Delaware,  77,  7S  ;  in  .>iarv- 
land,  7.'*-S2,  91  ;  in  Virginia,  27,  .30.  S2,  K3,  01  ; 
in  Carolina  and  <ieorgia.  S4-S6.  0]  ;  how'  re- 
^.'arded  ill  Knu'land.  SS.  ,S0,  90;  American  inno- 
vations in,  47,  73,  74,  75,  01,  92, 

Shi|lwri^hts  hent  to  Virginia,  27,  30;  to  Ply- 
nioiuli,  37;  incorporated,  ;ie;  prominent  early 
ones,  40,  47,  5i),  51,  Ii7.  74  ;  number  of,  in  Jlas- 
SiiiOiuseits,  47;  of  liallimoio  and  Charleston, 
]»etiIiiMi  for  iiaviKatiou  act,  hi,  SO. 

SI makers,  early  ones,  32  ;  in  VirKinla,  27,  412, 

4;;s,  402,600;  iu  Massachusetts,  432,  4."i2  ;  iu- 
corporaled,  434  ;  in  Connectient,  437;  iu  Ni'W 
York,  440-142;  iu  New  .lersey  and  IViinsylva- 
uia,  415,  444,  401,  402;  iu  Caroliua  aud  Uuor- 
Kia.  4'iO  ;  wau'os  of,  444, 

Shoe  pi'^',  invention  of,  404. 

Shoes  and  hoots,  iiiHiinfacInre  of,  silk  and  HhifT, 
414,435,455;  iinpirled,  400;  .d'  leather.  412, 
413,  42S,  434,  4.35,437,  43s,  452.  4i:n  ;  wooilen 

1 led,  444.  447  ;  pe^k-ed,  464;  seaniiy  of,  456  ; 

jiriees  ,.f,  423,  43,2,  437,  43S,  430,  443,  444,  446, 
440,450,  457,400;  importations  of.  460;  early 
exporlatiou  of,  434.  4:i.i.  4.12;  duly  on,  400. 

Shovels,  hoes,  &!•.,  4S7.  432,  404.  502,  .132,  (Mi. 

ShiillliH  made,  3;J3  |  llyiu),',  first,  333,  401,  410, 
413. 

Bilk,  cnltu'e  and  mannfartnre,  enrlv  notlcpn  of 
in  Viritini.i,  27,  30,  ;i;!,  :I4,  310,  ,320,  321  ;  pro- 
Ills  of,  C'>mp,'ired  with  tohaeco,  32ii ;  with  linen, 
301;  In  Carolina,  .322,  323,  ,350,  300;  in  Louis- 
iana, 357;  iu  fleorula,  :i,17-350.  304;  iu  Con- 
iieclicul,  380-361,  414;  In  lihode  Island,  301  ; 
111  Massachusetts,  ,162  ;  in  I'ennsylvania,  New 
.ler^ev,  aud  Delaware.  302-364;  h(Minties  and 
ineinfnins  for,  .357,  .35N,  360,  361,  362,  303;  ex- 
p'l'ts  of  raw,  ,3:)7,  :I57,  35s,  ;l")9,  360;  Hlalnres, 
357.  35S,  3iiO,  3iil,  :iii3,  .377  ;  IhrowluK  mills  and 
tlirowslers,  320,  .357,  ;!.")0,  .302.  570;  fahrics  of 
doine-tic,  32'l,  3.17,  300,  .301,  302,  :tO:),  364,  414, 
417,  41S,  410;  stockings,  first,  .300,  361;  cum- 
paiiy  Incorporated,  :ioi. 

Silk  urass,  20,  27,  .33,  310  ;  royal  rohe  of,  ,33. 

hilver,  iisfil  befiire  iron.  465;  eaily  L'otices  of, 
ill  Ani.'rica.  406,  471,  475,  493,  404,  513,  532, 
533,  5.10,  610,  til,  610;  first  coined  iu  Aii<erlca, 
477,  478, 

Sinishnry  and  Walllngford  copper  mines,  507- 

511. 
fiize  stick,  shoemakers,  first  used,  437. 
8laler.    Samuel,    arrives  in  America,  402  ;  erects 

the  lir-i  coltoii  mill,  4111,  407. 
Siulihs,   honored  hv   AiiKlo-Saxons.   407  ;   early 

American.  476,  4>6,  5uU,  510,  aU.1,  52»,  551,  608, 

57.3,  575.  5S4 
SunU' mills,  144,  fi78, 


Society  of  Arts  in  Loudon.  elTeeto  of  its  rewards 
and  preniinins  in  Kiii.'iand,04,  376,  384, 458,  4.'. l ; 
I>reiiiiiinis  lor  colonial  prodiuiions,  viz  ,  vii.es, 
270  ;  iiidit'o.  340  ;  ceclnneal,  ,3,'.o  ;  silk,  ;i5,S,  300, 
301,  302,  oo;t  ;  hemp,  ;o;S;  sundry  inventions, 
402  ;  saud-ir.-u  and  drill  plow,  515  ;  co  ha  it,  Ac, 
&c.,  019  ;—in  Pf-nnxijlranid,  iiistitiiieil,  4m  ;  its 
pieniliinis  andeO'ris,  3"p5,  .(ilO,  407  4o;i.  4.10.400; 
—ill  Stto  Y',rk,  .307,  .369.  371,  4,15.  5.12  ;  to  esui- 
blisli  and  promote  maiinfaetnres  recoiiimeiiili-il, 
Ss2,  os3,  3:11  ;  formed  in  Hoston,  345  ;  iu  Ueor- 
Kia,  3S3;  iu  New  .lersey,  411. 
Society,  Anierican  10iilo,.ophical.  70,  151,  1S6, 
103,' 201,  200,  270,  302,  363,  3'i4.  576,  577,  578, 
579,  5SI1,  5S1  ;— /("l/'l/.  the,  22,  50,  193,  247,  24!i 
286,  2S7,  420,  .100,  514.  515. 

Sole  leather,  372  455.  40ii,  40I, 

SOL'TII  Cakoi.ina,  sliipliuildiuu  in,  S4-'i6,  91  , 
mills  In,  114,  115,  14S.  140:  priiitiuK  in,  176 
],s7;  lirickmakini;,  220;  hrewinn  ami  Oisiil- 
liu^.'.  264 ;  vine  trowiii);,  271,  272,  275,  270,  277  , 
(^altmakinif,  2S7,  610;  textile  arts  ami  mate 
rials  In,  viz.,  silk,  :122,  359,  :ioo  ;  ludiK'o,  cochi- 
neal, Ac,,  31S-:i.1ii ;  colt. Ml,  .351-:156  ;  lirst  coltou 
j:iii,  35:t,  ;i54,  417  ;  household  immniaciures, 
4i:i;  lir.-t  Auriciilinral  Socieiy  In,  410;  medal 
for  .Sleri no  sheep,  417;  leatherniakiiig  in,  448, 
440,  450,  401  ;  iron  mines  ami  works  in.  017- 
622;  imports  of,  ,374,  400,  029;  exports  of,  3:!7, 
348,  349,  351,  354,  350,  359,  449,  450,  461,  620, 
628. 

S.iwer,  Clirlst.iidier,  1S1,  1S2,  212,  310,  555. 

Spreie,  searciiy  of,  3ii5,  474,  475. 

.s^piiiiiiiia  euro  lira  fed  and  enOnccd.  209,  303,  "11, 
310,  320,  .340,  308,  :iiiO,   378.    300;    amoni;  tloj 

Hindoos  and  American  IndlKiis,  ;t07  ;  pru f, 

317,  .302,  4011:  schools,  .33:1,  .3:14,  345,  375,  419; 
matches,  ;t72,  414 ;  machinery,  early,  ;i:i2  ;  im- 
proved, ;)31,  375,  370,  3,S3,  307-310),  401,  403; 
ArkwriKlit's,  3,s4.  3;i7-:)09,  410. 

Spiiiiiin.i;  wheel,  origin  of,  ;t:(2 ;  for  linen  first  in- 
trodiii-t'd  Into  America,  331  ;  mauulaciure  of, 
340,  375,  415.  50,s.  COO. 

Spriiik'tield,  207,  419,  4s7,  40.1. 

Stamp  act  recommended,  3:18  ;  passed,  is.",;  pro. 
visions  of,  2113  ;  eOecls  ,0'  Its  repeal,  .070. 

Sleamhoats,  first  In  United  .States,  75,  .177  ;  first 
Western,  568,  .177  ; — nii/liit«,  early  ones,  400, 
502,  510,  .121,  .1:14,  547,568,576,  577,  605;  llrst 
hnilt  iu  America,  5.34,  676,  577  ;  early  factories 
of,  .108,  578;  various  luodiUcatious  u'f,  76,  492, 
530,  ,147,  577,  634,  .195. 

Bteel  manufacture,  antiquity  of,  460;  In  India, 
.116;  iu  France,  li!6  ;  Iu  Kn^'iaud,  506;  first  In 
America,  506;  In  Massachusoits,  3s2,  4ie2  400, 
498,  62)  ;  ill  Couiii'Cticut,  .100,  510,  51:1,  514, 
61:1,  02) ;  In  New  York,  .128,  .132,  5:17  ;  in  Nevr 
Jersey,  542,  540,  650,  625;  In  I'enusyl  valiia, 
658,  ,16:1,  570,  533,  02.1;  in  Maryland,  .lo:) ;  in 
Vliiriiiia.  3,M,  0110;  iu  North  Carolina,  610; 
prohibited,  4o1,  625  ;  method  of  hardening  and 
sol'iuniuK,  402  :  imports  uf,  4U6,  62.1,  620;  du- 
ties on,  5(0. 

StereotypiUK  iuveuted,  212  ;  first  in  United  States, 
214. 

Steven",  John,  67,  6:19,  59.5. 

Stockini;  looms,  360,  402,  416,  418. 

Stovi's,  430,  4:i7,  52:i,  520  ;  iamb,  .■i55  ;  Franklin's, 
550  ;  air  tight,  X)^;  liutliracite,  562,  504  ;  Willi 
talo  lU-hls.  502. 

Sniiar  col.inies,  complaints  of,  345;  art,  the,  .''65, 
:0i7  ;  canes,  early  meutiou  of,  28,  610;  mlllt 
first  In  Loiitsiiiiia,  351  ;  work  for,  5uO,  679  ;  re- 
fineries, 340,  574 

Sulphur  reHiiInK'.  3S3,  606,  616,  619. 

Swedes,  arts  among,  77,  105,  110,  13:i,  1 14,  227, 
25s,  270,  :U5,  443,  5.10, 

Swords,  502,  501. 

Tacks,  hnids,  ,\c,,  first  cut,  35»,  604  ;  lukiihluerjr 
4ss,  498,  504. 


i 


702 


INDEX. 


Tavntries,  (list  ill  X.nv  EnslaiiJ,  431,  432,  435, 
41ti  •1-.4,  4ti-2;  ill  N'mv  York,  4:W-412,  4V,,  4ii-2  ; 
ill  iii'W  JiTsi-v,  44i,  4t.i,  4.)i!,  4ij-j;  iu  I'eiiusyl- 
VMiiia,  443.  44:>,  441),  4U1,  4ti'J  ;  iu  Di.'linviiro, 
4.il  ;  in  iMiiryliuiil,  42'  ,  44S,  40'2 ;  iu  VirKiuia, 
427,  428,  4l)2,  tiOi)  ;  ill  Ciiroliliii,  44S,  4.JII  ;  iu 
Ki'iuiicky,  4ii2  ;  io  Oiiio,  4il2  ;  Ini^uu'ss  of.  luo- 
ii,i|i..lizo(l,  440  ;  iu  Uuilcd  Stiiiea,  ISIO  und  IS.W, 
4ii2  ;  I'lirly  liiws  ivspoctiU),',  4,'i.).  13S,  441,  443. 

Till-,  p  ti'li,  aud  turiioiiliup,  2"),  2ti,  UU,  32S,  330 
i»i'e  Navai.  sroKKfi  iiiul  Uuu.ni'ies). 

Tauoion,47i),  481,482.  4i)8.  ^    _ 

Tax.itiou,  early  resistanco  to,  240,  328,  36.),  3iO, 
372  ;  lecoiiiinoDilud,  33S.  3iij  ;  light  of  asserted, 
37il  ;  of  ininii|j;iauts,  318. 

Tea,  ttrst  uko  of,  2.J9  ;  duty  ou,  3Vj  ;  use  of  aban- 
doiii-d,  379.  3M4. 

Tea  k.'til.",  Ilrst  cast  Irou,  4SS;  copper  .and  wrouglit 
ivuii,  4SS.  ■)4S. 

T'doscope.  llio,  17  ;  flr«t  made  in  Ainenca,  .'i/R. 

Tk.v.ni;><^kr,  tirst  priiitiii!,'  in,  17S)  ;  nalt  iu.  294; 
irou  ami  dial  iiiiues  and  worlis  in,  t)13-U15. 

Tkxas,  lirst  priutiuif  in,  laO. 

TiieiidolilH,  the,  .Wl. 

Tliread,  31,  348,  387,  3SD,  414,  419  (see  Sewiko 
Silk  I.  ,  .  ,„, 

ThrPHiiiujf,   early  mode  of,  32 ;   machines,   001, 

Tlivowins  mills  »nd  throwsters,  320,  3J7,  359, 
Tilt  liaiuiuers  and  plating  forges,  491,  527,  65S, 

Tlmlier.  definition  of.  99  ;  denominations  of,  105. 

Tin.  iu  France,  18  ;  EuKland,  21,  81,  487 ;  iu  Aino- 
rii-a,  471,  522.  528;  plateniakiiis:,  SI,  3S2,  4'JS, 
575  ;  ware  factory,  Brst,  518,  809. 

Toliacco  in  Virginia,  28,  30.  31,  34,  83,  322,  324, 
428,599;  iu  Pennsylvania,  70  ;  iu  Marylaud, 
79,  322.  599  ;  pipes,  220,  229.  .')02. 

Tonnage  of  Mas^aclinsetts,  40,  47,  4S,  49;  of 
lilaiuo.  48;  of  Connecticut,  51  ;  of  New  Hainp- 
Bhire,  ,W,  58;  of  Kow  Vork,  60.  83;  of  I'euu- 
Kylvania,  71.  78;  of  Marylaud,  SO;  of  all  the 
col. lines  in  1747,  90;  in  1770.  81;  of  Uniied 
Stales  in  1792,  92  ;  duties  ou,  41,  54,  82,  71,  72, 
78  92. 

Trad'  >sinpu  and  moclianics  encouraged,  314,  313, 
323,  324,  378,  408,  429.  442. 

Traveling  in  Kngland  foruiorly,  19,  20  ;  in  Ame- 
rica, 104.  129.  292,  294.  "i41,  .5.)9,  588. 

Trip  iinniiners,  first,  4S8.  487-492,  494. 

Type  I'onuding,  first  iu  America,  182,  211-214. 

irMBREI,i.A9,  first  In  England,  20. 

Cuion  of  colonies,  first,  297  -.—fkiieral,  proposed 
by  Kraiikiin,  174. 

Duiiod  company  for  promoting  American  manu- 
factures, 385,  421,  079. 

Vbsski,,  first  built  Id  America,  .")7  ;  In  Massnchu- 
t-stts.  38;  on  Lake  Erie,  85.  87  ;  on  Lake  Ou<a- 
rio,  88,  87  ;  Iu  Ea-t  .lersoy,  88  ;  subiimrme,  53. 

Vine  culture,  288-277;  in  .Massachusetts,  288; 
272;  in  New  Vork,  270;  in  reuuf-ylvania,  272, 
277;  In  Virginia,  31,  287;  iu  D.'laware  aud 
Maiyliind,  270  ;  In  Carolina.  271,  275  ;  in  Oeor- 
Kia,  275  ;  in  California,  270  ;  encouraged  by 
tiocietjr  of  Arts,  278;  company  incorporated, 
277. 

ViR.ii.viA,  phlpbuilding  In,  27,  30,  82,  83,  91  ; 
MW  mills  iu,   112-114;  corn  mills,  147,  14S  J 


printing  in,  178, 1.S7  ;  brlckmaking  in,  2S,  220; 

glasKinaking  in,  'iJ,  28,  :iO,  232-233.  242:  1 r- 

iiiaking,  27,  283  ;  saltmaking,  27,  2S,  ;i3,  279, 
288,  502  ;  textile  arts  and  materials,  319-:122, 
342.  34:1,  354,  382.  409,  412.  413.  415,  418  ;  l.a- 
thernuiking  iu,  35,  427,  428,  482;  irou  miiiea 
and  works  in,  27,  28,  ,59.)-8o9  ;  non-iiiiporlaii.in 
UL'i-eeineuts  in,  374.  379  ;  imports  of,  3,"),  322, 
374  4-'7,  429,  480,  482,  807, -UOS,  029;  expuris 
of,  28.  30,  8.3,  113,  148,  279,  322,  324,  337,  351, 
42S,  099,  80S,  628,  628. 

Wampum,  477.  478.  '  

Washington,  President,  230,  187,  291,  354,  379, 

391,  3:19,  407,  419,  420. 
Waterbury,  Conu.,  3i:t,  516,  519. 
Water  spinning  first  iu  United  States,  401,  403, 

410,  417  ;  works,  (irst,  5:t4.  577. 
Watertowu.  117,  125(i312,  43:),  4.35. 
Weavers  and   weaving,  first.  27,  304,  312.  317, 
321,  415,  609;    itinerant,  £,'1  ;    prices  ot,  317, 
400.  408. 
West  India  trade,  .30,  41,  44.  49,  ,50,  51,  5.5,  58, 
61,  70,  73.  87,  98,  101,  109,  129,  138.   154,  208, 
231,  242,  288,  289,  270,  274,  2SS,  297,  385. 
Wethoriil.  S.,  392,  .398,  404.  407. 
Whaling,  first,  4:i,  51,  69,  70,  365. 
White  lead,  first  made,  407. 
Whitney,  Eli,  invents  the  saw  gin,  355;    early 
oecnpatiou  of,  494;  establishes  gnu  factory,  518, 
607. 
Wliittemore,  Amos,  3S8,  389,  497,  498.  521. 
Wilmington,  Del.,  77,  78,  111,  143,  144,  M.".,  178, 

364,  461,58.3. 
Wiuciiester,  Va.,  292,  413,  462,  G03,  609. 
Wine,  domestic,  30,31,  285,  287,  288,  270,  271, 

273,  274,  348  ;  imports  of,  269,  274,  276,  2h5. 
Windmills,  118-122. 
Wi.ithrop,   John,  00,  247,  243,  283,  287,  471,  472, 

474,  .504. 
Wire  drawing  in  England,  81,  473,  .548  :  in  ."ilas- 
Kichusett.'.  478,  492,  497:  in  ConneclicnI.  lIsS, 
618;  iu  Rhode  Island,  004;  in  IVnusylviin  a, 
388,  .562,  688,  671 J  in  Virginia,  608  ;  in  Korlh 
Carolina,  616. 
WiscoKSiN,  first  printing  Iu,  179  ;  lead  ore  in, 

604. 
Wolves,  bounties  for  killing,  311. 
Wonieu  of  the  Revolution.  :i94.  393. 
Wo,.l   combs  and   cards,  381.  382,  383,  358.  .397, 
478,   497,   606  ^see  Cards,  CoTTo.i  and  Wooi.i. 
Wool  growing  encouraged  (see  SiiKEP) ;  exporta- 
tation  of  pr.ihlbited,  305,  317,  321,  428 ;  by  par- 
liament, 327;   prices  of,  392,  415 ;    premiums 
for,  408,  417. 
Woolen  cloth,  mannfactnre  of  In  England,  81, 
30.),  .397  ;  in  France  aud  Holland,  1.5,  306;  d.i- 
mestlc  and  honsehold,  304,  310,  329,  ;«9,  340, 
388,  :i71,  377,  381,  383,  38.5,  392,  404,  413,  414, 
418,  417,  418,  420,  592  ;  first  noticed  by  parlia. 
meat,  327  ;  export  of  prohibited,  327  ;  rec.>ni- 
inended  by  C.ingress,  380;  worn  undyed,  331, 
3.13;  machinery  not  to  be  exported,  378,  :)98, 
409  ;  factories,  392,  418,  420,  421  ;  first  incorpo- 
rated, 421. 
Worcester,  101,  127,  207,  221,  362,  306,  401,  420, 
454,  493,  494. 

ZalTre  and  smalt,  premlams  for,  819. 
?.iuc  ores,  493,  622,  641,  643,  648,  688. 


briokmakiiiKin,  28,220; 

26,  ao,  232-2:i:f.  242  ;  1 r- 

liniakiiiK,  27,  2S,  3.!,  27i), 
s  and  inaioiiiil",  ;U0-:122, 
!),  412,  413,  41."i,  4Ui ;  l.ii- 
427,  42S,  4ti2  ;  irou  niiin's 
.iil.i-WJi) ;  ucm-iiiiiKiruitiiiii 
37!) ;  inipiirta  of,  ;!."),  3J2, 
12,  ti()7, -BOS,  029;  expuin 
IS,  279,  322,  324,  337,  3.'j1, 
i. 


:,  230,  187,  291,  351,  379, 
). 

I,  M6,  f)19. 

u  UiiitPil  States,  401,  403, 
,  n-M.  :>n. 

112,  433,  43.'). 

g,  flrst,  27,  304,  312,  317, 

raut,  Z:\ ;    prices  of,  317, 

41,  44,  49,  .10,  Bl,  Si),  .lO, 
(II,  109,  129,  133.  1 J4,  2U0, 
),  274,  2S8,  297,  3ti3. 
404,  407. 
69.  70,  36j. 
s,  407. 

1  tlje  paw  Rin,  35.5;    early 
stablishcs  gua  factory,  !>\i^ 

18,  3Sn,  497,  4ns,  f)21. 
78,  111,  143,  144,  14.-.,  178, 

41,'5.  462,  G03,  609. 

II,  26.'),  207,  20S,  270,  271, 
■t8  uf,  269,  274,  276,  2hj. 

247,  243,  283,  287,  471,  472, 

land,  81,478,  .'543:  in  Mas- 
497:  in  Coijneclicnl,  lIsS, 
nil,  504;  in  IVunsylvan  a, 
in  Virginia,  6oU  ;  in  Korili 

itlng  in,  179  ;  lead  ore  lu, 

killing,  311. 
ution,  394,  SO.!, 
rds,  3S1,  3S2,  383,  353.  .397, 
Cabtw,  Cotto.i  and  Wooi.i. 
■atjed  ("ee  SnKEP) ;  exporta- 
1,30.1,317,321,  423;  liy  par- 
ses of,  392,  413;    preniiuuH 

faclure  of  In  England,  81, 
9  and  Hulland,  1.'),  306;  d.i- 
oUl,  304,  310,  329,  3;19,  340, 
.•183,  SS.I,  392,  404,  413,  414, 
192;  firKt  noticed  liy  parliu. 
of  prohibited,  327  ;  reoni- 
IS8,  380;  worn  undyed,  3.'il, 
It  to  bn  exported,  378,  3I1H, 
,  418,  420,  421  ;  flr»t  iucorpo- 

207,  221,  362,  306,  401,  420, 


>nilnma  for,  619. 
41,  S45,  546,  S68. 


SUPPLE3IENTARY    INDEX 


TO 


VOL.    I. 


AIVORD,  C.  A.,  New  York,  651. 

Bruce,  GF.oRnE,  New  York,  152,  214,  63.1. 
IVnts  and  .<lioes,  689,  090. 
Dowi.K.'J.  iJAMl-Ei.,  .'ipringlield,  105,  653. 
Drvaii.  Clark  W.,  Springfield,  6,54. 
Hum.  Kdwin  C,  Now  York,  402,  690. 

Case,  Newton,  Hartford,  10,'),  656. 
Clark,  .Ioiin  C,  I'liiladclpliia.  1.V2,  G41. 
Cochran.  (iEiiRV  W.,  Hoaton,  402,  6S9. 
Collins,  T.  K..  I'liiladelpliia,  105,  6,'i8. 
Conner,  .James,  New  York,  152.  rt3S. 
CuMMixa.s,  ,IoiiN,  Woburn,  424,  675. 

Kiivelopcs,  liow  ninnufnctuicd,  666. 

Fapan,  .Ioiin,  Philadelphia,  152,  6«. 

OnuDON,  (lEonoE  P.,  New  York,  174,  660. 
fierinaii  Bonks,  663. 

.Tewell,  Pliny.  Hartford,  424. 
.lEXKiNs,  KnwARD  ().,  New  York,  174,  662. 
Johnson,  Lawrence,  Philadelphia,  152,  04:;,  614. 
Jones,  .Iosiau  M.,  Boston,  462.  687. 

Kino,  Hodert  P.,  Philadelphia,  105,  063 


Leafher,424-464,  675-691. 

l.oniNO,  Alfred  S,,  Hinghain,  462,  677. 

I.overi.vg,  Willard,  Vol,  I.,  348:  Vol.  II,  6.33. 

JIcnoE,  Alfred,  Boston,  195,  665. 
.MussER,  William,  Philadeliihia,  402,  677. 

Nesditt,  Oeoroe  F.,  New  York,  174, 066. 

Piintlng  Presses,  660. 
PniNTiNo,  152-104,  633-675. 
Poor,  Henrv,  Boston,  424,  079, 
Pratt,  Zadoc,  080. 
Peveab,  Oeoroe  K.,  Lynn,  424,  08i:. 

nnniage,  Adam,  633,  642. 

Stereotyping,  212,  214,  640,  643-4. 
SlIAW,  Favette,  KosIiui,  424,  685. 
Sherman,  Conoer,  Philadeliiliia,  1!)2,  64T. 
Smull,  Thomas,  New  York,  462,  083. 

Tanneries.  675-691. 

Trow,  John  F.,  New  York,  174.  668 

Thompson,  'rijah,  Woburn, 424,  676. 

■Webster's  Dictionary,  657. 

Wendell,  Corf.nelius,  Washington,  174,673. 

Wrioiit,  Albert  J.,  Boston,  105,  670. 


(575) 


